Monk: The Complete Fourth Season Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		4.5
Audio		4.5
Extras		1.0
Overall		3.5

Monk: The Complete Fourth Season Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Martin Liebman March 21, 2024

Kino Lorber has released the fourth season of the popular detective-comedy series 'Monk' to Blu-ray. As with previous season releases, all sixteen episodes are included on four discs, and extras are included on disc four. The video and audio presentations are excellent. Fans are encouraged to start with Season One (seasons Two and Three are also available on Blu-ray), but because of the show's "crime of the week" structure, it is not necessary to watch in order. However, there are enough character beats and interactions that help to better define the show when viewed in progression.

Beyond the full transition to Natalie as Monk's assistant, season four is a fairly stagnant one, offering not many revelations concerning the central plot that hovers around Monk's search for his wife's killer. There are some character moments in the season that see the world progress, including big news about Stottlemeyer's personal life, and one of the more memorable episodes from season four additionally offers some wonderful insight into Monk's proclivities (and the origin of the "wipe!" gag) during an episode with extensive flashback to his youth. Monk's brother, again brilliantly portrayed by John Turturro, makes a return, though the episode is nowhere near so memorable as his season two debut. This season enjoys some genuine emotion and a wonderfully deep and moving glimpse into Monk’s psyche and his deeply rooted love for his late wife in “Mr. Monk and Mrs. Monk.” The season finale is one of the best that this 16-episode grouping has to offer; it’s a charming take on 12 Angry Men with, of course, a few twists that only Adrian Monk could provide. Otherwise, it's a fairly routine season for Monk, and in this case routine is the route to take, because even now after more than 60 episode the routine just continues to work. Disc One:

• Mr. Monk and the Other Detective: When a jewelry store guard is murdered and the manager goes missing, the police are stumped. Enter Marty Eels (Jason Alexander), a slovenly detective who seems to know everything about the case and readily “out-Monk’s” Monk. Monk’s hunches and suspicions begin to point to his “colleague” as being more than a keen observer of a crime scene.
• Mr. Monk Goes Home Again: It’s Halloween, and a squirrely man murders an armored car driver in broad daylight and in cold blood in a store parking lot. In the middle of the investigation, Natalie receives a call from Monk's brother Ambrose with news that their father is coming home (Ambrose has left his father’s things intact and retained every newspaper and piece of mail that has come in his absence). As Monk, Ambrose, Natalie, and Julie wait at Ambrose’s home, they connect a particular trick-or-treater to the murder.
• Mr. Monk Stays in Bed: When Natalie tracks down a pizza delivery driver who gave her way too much change for her delivery, she finds him dead. The investigation stalls when a local judge goes missing and the police force is pulled to the judge’s case. Meanwhile, Monk is forced to stay in bed sick with the flu, leaving it up to Natalie to look into the pizza boy’s killing, only to have her investigation reveal that the cases might be connected.
• Mr. Monk Goes to the Office: A man murders a parking garage attendant in cold blood and breaks another man’s hand. The man with the broken hand, a high-powered investment analyst, hires a very enthusiastic Monk, who is thrilled to be an “office drone” and to do the same thing over and over again, to be his eyes and ears and keep a look out for the culprit, who may be someone close to him. At the same time, he learns that the organizational allure of office work may not be all that it seems.

Disc Two:

• Mr. Monk Gets Drunk: Monk and Natalie visit the same winery where Monk and Trudy had their honeymoon. His memory appears somewhat impaired when he looks for a rather loquacious guest whom he cannot locate in the morning. However, he begins to suspect some sort of cover-up or foul play. But can he maintain his composure, and sobriety, amidst so much opportunity for sipping wine?
• Mr. Monk and Mrs. Monk: At a café, and right after having a photo of Trudy re-framed for Monk, Natalie believes that she sees Trudy, alive and in the flesh; someone even calls her “Trudy.” Natalie’s investigation – which includes s direct confrontation with the woman – appears to verify that it is indeed Trudy. Meanwhile, Monk finds himself in a new place in his life: almost free of his obsessive-compulsive disorder, a condition which could only be upset by a shocking, life-altering revelation.
• Mr. Monk Goes to a Wedding: Disher is run down by a car while accompanying Natalie to her brother’s wedding. To complicate matters, a body is found in a spa. Obviously, something is amiss, but can a killer with motive use the wedding festivities as cover for the perfect crime?
• Mr. Monk and Little Monk: A housekeeper is killed in a supposed robbery goes wrong. One of Monk’s old classmates – a person he has not seen since the eighth grade – shows up at his door, asking him to look into murder. It turns out that she’s an old high school crush, which makes things interesting and returns Monk to the memories of another crime he solved way back when in junior high.

Disc Three:

• Mr. Monk and the Secret Santa: It’s Christmastime, and a bottle of wine is delivered to Captain Stottlemeyer. He’s not a fan, and at a party he gifts it to another man who takes a drink and promptly drops dead. Stottlemeyer suspects that the poisoned wine traces back to a man who tried to kill him years ago, but Monk may come to a different conclusion.
• Mr. Monk Goes to the Fashion Show: When Monk goes to buy a new shirt – the same one he always wears – he realizes that the usual inspector (number “8”) has fallen into trouble. The work is sloppy, and he takes it upon himself to pay her a visit at the factory and figure out what is wrong. It turns out she’s slipping on the job because her son has been accused of a murder she believes he did not commit. In order to ensure the highest quality work from number 8, he takes it upon himself to break her son’s case and get her back to doing her job to the best of her ability, which leads him deep into the world of fashion.
• Mr. Monk Bumps His Head: Monk and Natalie are looking for an informant who might have news on Trudy, but the deal for the information goes south. Mink finds himself in a scuffle, knocked unconscious, and driven off on the back of a big rig. He awakens the next morning in a small, dusty town. He has no idea where he is, but he also has no idea who he is. He still has his peculiarities, but he doesn’t understand why he does what he does, or how. His memory is also in poor condition, too; he cannot remember, for example his favorite brand of bottled water. Things are complicated when a strange local woman claims that Monk is her husband.
• Mr. Monk and the Captain's Marriage: A murder at a junkyard turns into a brawl between Stottlemeyer and a sergeant who claims he is having an affair with Leland’s wife, and his out of control emotions may get in the way of putting a murderer behind bars.

Disc Four:

• Mr. Monk and the Big Reward: A priceless diamond is stolen, and Monk and Natalie, who are broke, decide to tackle the mystery when the museum offers a million dollars to whoever locates it. But they are not the only ones looking for it. The offer has attracted a wide variety of “sleuths” who are eager to nab the prize money and are not shy about piggybacking off of Monk’s keen insights.
• Mr. Monk and the Astronaut: A former showgirl who is about to publish a tell-all memoir is murdered. The killer frames the murder as a suicide, but Sottlemeyer and Monk believe that the scene betrays the murder and that the evidence points to an astronaut who has an airtight alibi: he was in space at the time of death.
• Mr. Monk and the Dentist: An armored car is “robbed” and the drivers are murdered. Meanwhile, Disher finds himself with a severe toothache and needs a tooth pulled. He’s put under, but he barely comes to and believe that he witnesses an attack and murder while under sedation. Stottlemeyer doesn’t take his claims seriously, so he approaches Monk to investigate, who is absolutely terrified of the dentist. Is there a connection between the real and the supposed crime?
• Mr. Monk Gets Jury Duty: Disher and Stottlemeyer take down the most wanted man in the world: a drug kingpin named Miguel Escobar. At the same time, Monk is called to jury duty and finds himself as juror 11. The case seems to be open and shut, but Monk is the lone juror to vote “not guilty.” As the deliberations drag, a connection between the case and Escobar comes into focus.

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

As with previous seasons, the 1080p transfer here is phenomenal. Fans can click to past season reviews and find a perfectly legitimate for this season as well because the text applies to a "T," but here are a few unique words. The picture is first-rate, very filmic, maintaining a pleasing grain structure with very little changes in density along the way. The image is texturally rich and satisfying, yielding incredible, razor detail to faces and clothes and so many well-defined environments, from city exteriors to very healthy definition inside Monk's apartment, a dentist's office, or a jury deliberation room. Colors are dense and accurate with bold output and wonderful accuracy. Depth is fantastic, too, and temperature and contrast settle into neutral positions. Black levels are solid. There is no obvious print wear and no encode anomalies. As with the other seasons, season four looks fantastic!

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

As with previous seasons, Monk's fourth season release includes a DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 lossless soundtrack. It's well versed within its parameters, offering crisp and clear music with good body to it (especially the opening theme song) and nice separation along the front channels. A few mild ambient effects are nicely integrated and offer as much fullness and stage immersion as a two-channel track can muster, such as rolling ocean waves in "Mr. Monk Goes to the Fashion Show." A few meatier effects, like gunshots, lack serious punch, but the net impact is good enough. Dialogue images naturally to the center and is both clear and well prioritized.

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

This Blu-ray release of Monk: The Complete Fourth Season contains two extras on disc four. No DVD or digital copies are included with purchase. This release does ship with a non-embossed slipcover.

• The Monk Writing Process: Featurette (480i, 14:29): Head Writer Andy Breckman hosts a look into the writers' room and the development process for an episode.
• Jon Perkins Behind the Scenes: Featurette (480i, 3:36): An all-too-quick chat with the show's "Detective Consultant" who helps to give the series a more realistic flair.

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

Monk's fourth season delivers a steady diet of memorable episodes that might not rank collectively as amongst the series' finest, but there are good mysteries, memorable character moments, and a full season of Natalie, all of which add up to a well-rounded season. This season skimps on extras but the video and audio presentations are, as always, first-rate. Highly recommended!