Rating summary

Movie		4.5
Video		4.5
Audio		4.5
Extras		2.5
Overall		4.0

Monk: The Complete Sixth Season Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Martin Liebman June 3, 2024

Once again and in quick order, Kino has released the sixth season of the extremely 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. While the show works very well as a standalone experience for season six, viewers will be rewarded by starting at the beginning and are, as always, encouraged to check out Seasons One, Two, Three, Four, and Five before watching season six.

As noted in the season five review, Monk has really hit a stride of familiarity of concept and execution, but somehow here in season six the writers, and the cast, keep it fun and fresh. The season is packed with wonderfully clever stories that keep Monk uncomfortable, on his toes, and preoccupied with the dynamics of working the case while working through his proclivities and peculiarities. There's not a poor episode here, with the Christmas episode maybe as close as one gets to "poor," but from the first episode, featuring Monk dealing with a fan who is obsessive and compulsive about him, to The Fugitive-inspired finale, there's just nothing but wonderful fun to be had. Add in some terrifically serious moments -- Stottlemeyer's crushing loss, for instance -- and some terrifically humorous moments from Disher ("T" as in "Tsunami," his flirtation with being a living statue) and season six stands as one of the best in the run to date.

The following episodes comprise season six:

Disc One:

• Mr. Monk and His Biggest Fan: Monk’s biggest fan (Sarah Silverman) is herself obsessive about him, and she compulsively desires to be around the detective however she can, including "winning" him at auction, despite there being a restraining order against her. But, there is a secondary motive: her dog is accused of killing her neighbor, but there’s one wrinkle: the dog died three days earlier.
• Mr. Monk and the Rapper: When a rapper is killed, another rapper known as Murderuss (played by Snoop Dogg) is accused of playing a role in the death, and the evidence appears to be open-and-shut. Despite not wanting to be part of the case, Monk finds himself recruited into the world of rap music and discovers that, despite his name, Murderuss may in fact not be a murderer.
• Mr. Monk and the Naked Man: A woman is murdered at night on a nude beach. And, of course, that is going to distract Monk from investigating, not because he likes what he sees, but because he doesn’t like what he sees. He also hates dealing with the sand, so it’s a double whammy for the crack detective. A wealthy local (Alfred Molina) is suspected, but Monk pegs a nudist with an air-tight alibi instead. But the mental distraction and disgust throws Monk off his game in proving his hunch right.
• Mr. Monk and the Bad Girlfriend: A real estate agent is murdered in cold blood. Monk believes that the killer may be Stottlemeyer’s new girlfriend, Linda, a real estate mogul who has motive and fits the profile the police are putting together of the killer. But, as always seems to be the case, the pegged killer has an alibi that even Monk cannot deny.

Disc Two:

• Mr. Monk and the Birds and the Bees: A wealthy man hires a thug to break into his house. He shoots said man and then murders his wife, staging the scene to make it look like murder, followed by a justifiable homicide. While Stottlemeyer and the police believe the shooting to be good, Monk believes otherwise. Can he prove his theory against overwhelming evidence to the contrary? Also: Monk tries to talk life and love with Julie, and it might just make a connection to the murder.
• Mr. Monk and the Buried Treasure: Three teenagers stumble upon a dead body and a treasure map that they realize points the way to two million dollars from a recent bank robbery. One of the boys, who is Dr. Kroger’s song, recruits Monk to help them decipher the map, pretending that it’s tied to a school assignment.
• Mr. Monk and the Daredevil: San Francisco is enthralled with the daredevil antics of a man who is climbing city skyscrapers. When he falls and miraculously survives, he is identified as none other than Harold Krenshaw, one of Monk's "rivals" who is also a patent of Dr. Kroger's and the man who is something of a barometer for Monk's own sense of well-being. Of course, Monk suspects that Krenshaw is not the famous daredevil and that there may be another crime in play.
• Mr. Monk and the Wrong Man: It’s been 14 years since Monk put away a murderer who is now up for parole. In the middle of the parole hearing the criminal receives word that a new DNA test has proven his innocence. Monk tries to make amends and will go to the greatest of lengths to do so, but the killer wants nothing to do with the man who was the key to his incarceration…unless Monk can prove himself useful in his “new life.”

Disc Three:

• Mr. Monk Is Up All Night : Monk has been awake for three days because he's obsessed with a woman who bumps into him on the street. He needs to track her down, and overnight hits the streets to look and clear his head. He sees her driving a cab and runs after her but stumbles upon a murder scene where an undercover cop is supposedly killed. But here's the rub: there's no body, no sign of a struggle, nothing. Has Monk lost his mind, or is there a larger cover-up at play?
• Mr. Monk and the Man Who Shot Santa Claus: It’s Christmastime and a Satna Claus distributes stuffed animals from a rooftop to the people below. Monk confronts him, a few shots are fired, and Monk is caught red-handed standing over the victim with a gun in his hand, a gun he claims Santa pulled on him. Now, Monk becomes known around the city as the man who hates Christmas, and he will have to do some very un-Monk-like things to reclaim his image and prove that "Santa" was -- and still is -- up to no good.
• Mr. Monk Joins a Cult : Monk is approached to solve the mystery behind the murder of a young woman. Monk reluctantly accepts, but it might turn out to be the best move of his life – or the worst. The investigation leads him to go undercover into a seemingly peaceful cult led by the charismatic “Father” (Howie Mandel). As Monk settles in, he finds himself drawn into the community, free of his peculiarities, and unwilling to return to “normal” life, despite the best efforts of his friends on the force. Meanwhile, a murderer remains on the loose.
• Mr. Monk Goes to the Bank: A local bank is robbed, and one of the items from the safety deposit boxes that was stolen was one of Trudy’s bracelets Monk had stored there. He vows to find out whodunit and, to do so, poses as a bank security guard where, of course, hilarity ensues and crimes are solved.

Disc Four:

• Mr. Monk and the Three Julies: When one Julie Teeger is murdered, Natalie panics until she realizes the victim is not her Julie. But when another Julie Teeger turns up dead not moments later, the police take every precaution to protect Natalie's daughter.
• Mr. Monk Paints His Masterpiece: A murder at a junkyard and a sudden need to find a hobby leads Monk to trying his hand as an artist. Monk's works are not particularly good, but they catch the eye of an obscure, but apparently wealthy, art collector who finds Monk's paintings to be irresistible...or perhaps he finds something else about them irresistible.
• Mr. Monk Is on the Run (Parts One and Two): A crime at an electronics store leads Monk to a new lead in the death of his wife. When the man he confronts is murdered, Monk is accused of the killing. He escapes custody and finds himself on the run, forced to clear his own name and perhaps draw closer to his late wife's killer after all.

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

It's becoming almost an exercise in redundancy to review these seasons of Monk. The quality has been consistently excellent from the outset, and this Blu-ray release of season six is no different. The picture looks, well, nearly picture perfect. It's faithfully filmic, retaining a natural grain structure that is largely even, light, and flattering, but with a few instances of modest spikes in density from time to time. The picture shows no signs of even a little smoothing or de-graining, and the result is a sharp, nicely textured image that captures essential skin, hair, clothes, and environmental details with laser precision. The various locations seen throughout the season represent some of the finest detail qualities and characteristics in the season, ranging from roughhewn city exteriors to very plush and high-class interiors where every element is razor sharp and crystal clear. Color output is solid, too, including bountiful natural greens and countless examples of colorful clothes and neckties, all of which are grounded around Monk's more earthy and unassumingly colored apparel. Black levels are solid, white balance is fine, skin tones look natural, and the image shows no obvious print blemishes or encode artifacts. Kino, well done! (Again!).

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

Kino Lorber releases Monk to the Blu-ray format with a DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 lossless soundtrack. As with the video presentation, this effort is essentially the same as previous season issues. The track is pleasantly wide and offers richly defined music, especially in the opening theme song segment. Spacing to all elements is first-rate, both music and sound effects, and the track manages to offer good distinction to essential, and support, elements, and solid distribution across the entire front end of the listening area. Clarity delights even in the little things. The show is otherwise very dialogue intensive, and the spoken word hits every necessary element in a two-channel presentation: well prioritized, naturally detailed and lifelike, and just about flawlessly center imaged.

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

This Blu-ray release of Monk: The Complete Sixth Season contains a handful of extras across all four discs. No DVD or digital copies are included with purchase.

Disc One:

• Video Commentaries (480i): This is a misleading title. These are not feature length commentaries but instead brief video sit-downs with the participants who briefly discussing the episode in question. They're still valuable, but not what they would appear to be at a glance. For "Mr. Monk and His Biggest Fan:" Writer/Executive Producer Andy Breckman (3:45). For "Mr. Monk and the Naked Man:" Writers Tom Gammill and Max Pross (5:14). For "Mr. Monk and the Bad Girlfriend:" Writer Joe Toplyn (2:49).

Disc Two:

• Video Commentaries (480i): For "Mr. Monk and the Birds and the Bees:" Writer Peter Wolk (4:12). For "Mr. Monk and the Buried Treasure:" Writer/Co-Executive Producer Jonathan Collier (1:55). For "Mr. Monk and the Wrong Man:" Writer Sal Salvo (2:27).

Disc Three:

• Audio Commentary: For "Mr. Monk Is Up All Night:" Actors Tony Shalhoub, Ted Levine, and Jason Gray-Stanford; Executive Producer David Hoberman; and Director Randy Zisk.
• Video Commentary (480i): For "Mr. Monk Is Up All Night:" Writer David Breckman (2:32).

Disc Four:

• Webisodes (1080p): Short live action Monk detective stories featuring Monk and Ambrose as schoolchildren. Included are Little Monk and the Missing Bracelet (4:16), Little Monk and the Business Boys (3:30), Little Monk and the New Kid (4:18), Little Monk and the Rubber Ball (4:13), and Little Monk and the Monk Cousin (4:49).

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

Another Monk Blu-ray release and another great Blu-ray experience. This is a great looking and great sounding presentation in support of one of the best shows of the 21st century. Supplements are pretty thin, but the overall package is great and, for fans, an absolutely must-own. Highly recommended!