Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		4.5
Audio		4.5
Extras		2.5
Overall		4.0

Monk: The Complete Fifth Season Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Martin Liebman April 16, 2024

Kino has released the fifth season of the enormously popular and award-winning TV show 'Monk' to the Blu-ray format. As with previous seasons, this release is sourced from a new 4K video restoration and also includes 2.0 lossless audio and a few supplements. Also of note is the inclusion of the color and back-and-white versions of 'Mr. Monk and the Leper.' While the show works very well as a standalone experience for season five, viewers are, as always, encouraged to check out Seasons One, Two, Three, and Four before diving into season five.

Monk's fifth season is very good, but it also feels somewhat stagnant. There's not any significant character movement or development, and the episodes essentially follow formula. Yet there's a certain freshness to the season, and its gets a jolt out of the gate with Stanely Tucci brilliantly portraying Monk as an actor within the show when one of Monk's previous cases ("Mr. Monk and the Astronaut") becomes the subject of a film. As always, the season really thrives when the writers dig deep into the Monk psyche and work in situational humor that is the result of his various phobias, how Monk makes things infinitely more difficult due to his various proclivities, whether that means investigating a murder scene via walkie talkie for fear of a porta-potty or being stymied by a city-wide garbage strike. At one point, Monk finds himself on a farm and, rather than just scattering chicken feed at random like everyone else, he has to count out every single morsel he distributes. In fact, counting and round numbers (especially 10 and 100) seemed like a focus for the writers with this season. Season five sees one of the more famous episodes, "Mr. Monk and the Leper," and it is available in both standard color and a very noir-inspired black-and-white version. For my money, the best episode was "Mr. Monk Is at Your Service," an episode in which he becomes a butler for a wealthy Sean Astin and finds himself being paid to be persnickety about things.

The following episodes comprise season five.

Disc One:

• Mr. Monk and the Actor: A famous actor (Stanley Tucci) is playing Monk in an upcoming movie about a previous case in which Monk brought down a famous astronaut for murder. In order to get into the role, he really dedicates himself to emulating Monk, inside and out. Meanwhile, the real Monk (and the actor playing Monk) investigates a murder and a potential connection when a pawn shop owner is killed.
• Mr. Monk and the Garbage Strike: San Francisco is overwhelmed by garbage while city sanitation workers are on strike. When the union leader winds up dead by an apparent suicide, the striking sanitation workers hire Monk to investigate. However, with being so fed up with the strike and the accumulated garbage, Monk must be coerced to give the investigation his full attention; he’d rather call it a suicide, settle the matter, and help put an end to the strike. When the stench and stress get to his head, he loses all control of his mental faculties and continually misreads the evidence.
• Mr. Monk and the Big Game: A popular girls basketball coach is murdered by electrocution. The police are calling it an accident, but her players think otherwise. Julie and her friends Emily and Emily hire Monk to investigate, which he does, reluctantly. But things don’t end there: Monk finds himself enlisted to support the new coach, Natalie, as assistant coach.
• Mr. Monk Can't See a Thing: While visiting an SFFD fire station, Monk is assaulted and another man is murdered. Monk survives the ordeal but is blinded as a result. And it’s too early to tell if the damage is temporary or permanent. Yet even with the impairment, Monk must try to solve the murder, leaving him in a state of doubt and facing a number of uncomfortable situations, until he realizes that blindness might be the ultimate cure for all that ails him.

Disc Two:

• Mr. Monk, Private Eye: Natalie takes the initiative to start a personal private eye firm in an effort to make more money for Monk and herself. Their first client: a real estate big wig who wants to find the person who scuffed up her new Buick (and who might just find love in the process). Meanwhile, a cheating wife is murdered in the waters off the city. Is there a connection?
• Mr. Monk and the Class Reunion: An elderly woman is murdered in an apartment building stairwell, but the scene is left to look like an accident. At the same time, Monk finds himself reliving the good – and the bad – from his past while attending a class reunion. As the festivities progress, it becomes clear that old secrets are coming out – and they could spell premeditated murder.
• Mr. Monk Gets a New Shrink: It’s murder in Doctor Kroger’s office! And that means the end of the line for his practice. He’s packing it in and retiring; it’s too much for him to overcome. That leaves Monk with no one to talk to, so he brings in the next best therapist in his life: Natalie. As he attempts to settle in with his new shrink, he begins to uncover the truth behind the murder.
• Mr. Monk Goes to a Rock Concert: A talented but fledgling Rock music writer confronts the frontman who stole his music and passed it off as his own. The thieving artist fixes the problem by murdering his accuser. The next day, Stottlemeyer’s son goes missing, and he is suspected to be attending the same crowded outdoor Rock festival where the murder took place. On the case, Monk finds himself rebelling against the entire party scene and disgusted by its sights and sounds.

Disc Three:

• Mr. Monk Meets His Dad: It is Christmastime and Natalie receives a call that Monk’s father is in town, but in jail. When things are ironed out, Monk learns that the father he hasn’t known in decades is a long-haul truck driver. As the two hit the road to reconnect, they find themselves investigating the murder of one of his father’s colleagues.
• Mr. Monk and the Leper: Monk has a secret rendezvous with a billionaire who has supposedly been dead for seven years, but he is suffering a fate that is perhaps worse than death: he is a leper. And Monk has shaken hands with him. He offers Monk a lucrative proposition: break into the man’s own home and secure a few critical documents. However, as he and Natalie find themselves pulled into the leper’s world, they discover that all is not as it appears. Available in color and black and white.
• Mr. Monk Makes a Friend: A woman is murdered for opening the wrong bottle of wine. At the same time, Monk literally bumps into a man at the store, and beyond all reasonable expectations, the two hit it off and become friends. That makes Monk a brand-new San Jose Sharks fan and downright obsessed with this new sensation of actually having a friend. Can the relationship be too good to be true?
• Mr. Monk Is At Your Service: When a wealthy heir to a family fortune is suspected of murder, Monk goes undercover as his butler to investigate. Monk finds himself in paradise, being paid to keep things neat, tidy, and orderly, but much to the chagrin of his co-workers and much to the annoyance of his employer.

Disc Four:

• Mr. Monk Is on the Air: A woman enlists Monk’s help to solve her sister’s supposed murder. She believes that a popular radio host is behind the deed. But as is so often the case, the suspect has an air-tight alibi, in this case literally “air” tight: he was on the air, broadcasting to millions of fans, at the time of his wife’s death. Monk isn’t going to get the truth unless he can match wits with the veteran host on-air, so he’ll need a crash course in radio comedy if he’s going to crack the case.
• Mr. Monk Visits a Farm: After a bust goes wrong, Disher turns in his badge and retires to his family farm. But while there, he starts making inquiries into his uncle’s supposed suicide and asks Monk to make a visit and look into things. A farm is not exactly in Monk’s element, especially with Natalie staying behind and forced to take a bus.
• Mr. Monk and the Really, Really Dead Guy: A man is murdered in San Francisco, but he’s not just murdered: he’s bludgeoned, gagged, poisoned, shot, run over, and so on. And the killer promises to strike again. Monk is on the case, but the feds call in a special, high tech investigative unit to run point. Feeling out of date, Monk decides to learn how to use the computer to help him solve crime, but can he manage the technology in such a way as to be a benefit to the case, or will he fall into the trap of becoming distracted by digital fun and games instead?
• Mr. Monk Goes to the Hospital: When Monk goes to the hospital with a nosebleed, he finds himself investigating a murder when a specialist he visits is found dead in his office. Can Monk solve the case while looking up at the ceiling and holding a tissue to his nose for the episode’s duration?

Monk: The Complete Fifth Season Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

As with all of the previous seasons of Monk on Blu-ray, the end result for this season five release is a wonderful 1080p presentation. This season has undergone the same 4K restoration as previous seasons, and the image is pretty much perfect. The picture offers a firm and faithful film-like appearance, holding to a naturally occurring and eye pleasing grain structure that is flattering and healthy. It allows for a satisfying level of natural film sharpness to present on the screen, bringing exceptionally clear and accurate life to facial features, clothing lines and fabric elements, and of course a myriad of location details throughout the season as Monk finds himself everywhere from working in a mansion to meeting a leper in a dark and shady barroom. Overall clarity and sharpness are excellent. Colors are rich and vibrant, demonstrating a firm and fine command of the entire palette, with bold strokes of natural greens, colorful clothes, and city location specifics displaying wonderful depth and accuracy. Low light shadows and black levels are wonderful, showing at worst only the smallest hint of crush. White balance is strong and skin tones look wonderful. There are no obvious print flaws or encode faults to find. Kino continues to do excellent work with Monk. Fans are going to be absolutely delighted!

Monk: The Complete Fifth Season Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Again, as with previous seasons, this fifth season release debuts on Blu-ray with a DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 lossless soundtrack. The presentation is stout and effective and, even while limited to two channels, finds surprising depth and engagement along the front, to the point that the stage becomes about as full as it can be when limited to the front left and right speakers. Musical clarity is excellent, with the highlight, as usual, the theme song, but extending to score and other popular music cues throughout the season. Additionally, there is suitably lifelike presentation elements in the rock concert episode to the music and lyrics, with aggressive spacing and good detail through the range of musical elements, not to mention the cheering crowds and general rock concert atmosphere. Width, separation, and definition are all first rate. There are some subtle atmospheric effects that help to draw the listener, in, and there are some more prominent ones, including decent directional energy and oomph to a blowing hot air balloon in the Leper episode or when hospital gurneys are being rolled around during the early minutes of the final episode. Dialogue is clear and well prioritized with fine imaging to the center area. This is by no means a legendary track, but it more than gets the job done within the two channel confines.

Monk: The Complete Fifth Season Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

This four-disc Blu-ray release of Monk's fifth season includes a few extras on discs four and five. No DVD or digital copies are included with purchase. This release does not ship with a slipcover.

Disc Three:

• "Mr. Monk and the Leper" (B&W) Intro with Tony Shalhoub (480i, 4x3, 0:37): The actor introduces the reason why the episode is airing in black and white.
• "Mr. Monk and the Leper" (Color) Intro with Ted Levine and Jason Gray-Stanford (480i, 4x3, 0:58): The actors introduce the color version and sell the benefits of seeing it in color.
• Audio Commentary: For "Mr. Monk and the Leper:" Executive Producer David Hoberman, Executive Producer Andy Breckman, Director Randy Zisk, Actor Sarah Joy Brown, Actor Tony Shalhoub, Actor Traylor Howard, Actor Jason Gray-Stanford, Actor Ted Levine discuss the episode (black-and-white version).

Disc Four:

• Mr. Monk and Dr. Kroger: Webisode (480i, 4x3. 1:56): A short depicting another meeting between Monk and Dr. Kroger and Adrian's lack of flexibility to reschedule his appointment.
• Mr. Monk and the Computer: Webisode (480i 4x3, 2:00): Monk takes the initiative to fix the order of letters on the computer keyboard in Stottlemeyer's office.
• Mr. Monk and the Blood Test: Webisode (480i, 4x3, 2:07): Monk waits...and waits...and waits...in the doctor's office.
• Mr. Monk Goes to the Gym: Webisode (480i, 4x3, 1:43): Monk finds himself struggling to get into the groove at the gym.

Monk: The Complete Fifth Season Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Monk's fifth season feels somewhat stagnant, but that's not a bad thing. Every episode is great and, as usual, it's not so much the mystery that sells the episode but rather how Monk's personal proclivities both interfere with the investigation but also help him solve the crime. This is just such a fun, charming show! Kino's Blu-ray is great, as always, with all 16 episodes spread across four discs, looking and sounding great. A few extras are included, including the black-and-white version of "Mr. Monk and the Leper." Very highly recommended!