Monk

Monk (2002)

4 plot holes in season 2 - chronological order

★★★★☆

(48 votes)

Mr. Monk and the Sleeping Suspect - S2-E7

Plot hole: Technically, Brian Babbage's plan would never have worked due to the fact that all outbound mail goes to a main post office from the local post office and then placed through scanners to determine the contents, which would have inevitably exposed the bomb inside.

Mr. Monk and the 12th Man - S2-E9

Plot hole: Monk identifies the killer because of a shirt sleeve that gets ripped off... he noticed the button is sewed on in a unique manner with the threads parallel as opposed to the "standardized" crisscross pattern. The killer and Monk coincidentally use the same dry cleaner and Mrs. Ling sews buttons parallel because it's her style. Dialogue in the episode indicated she is the only one who sews buttons on like that. But I checked over 20 button up shirts here at my house and the ratio of crisscross to parallel button sewing methods is 50% of each - hardly some unique identification method.

Upvote valid corrections to help move entries into the corrections section.

Suggested correction: We never actually saw him commit the murder, so there's no way of knowing what he did or didn't do. The "re-enactment" was just Monk's summation and not the actual murder scene.

Bishop73

Mr. Monk Goes to Jail - S2-E16

Plot hole: It is unrealistic that a prison cook who did not punch out would not be missed or found until the next day, especially after a lock-down scenario as portrayed in this episode, where a meal has been poisoned - likely in that very kitchen.

More for Monk

Mistakes

Mr. Monk Goes to Jail - S2-E16

Factual error: When Monk visits the prison for the first time, he is searched, passed, and has a mini-panic attack because people have touched him. Sharona steps forward to comfort him, and she puts her arms around him. This is a very serious breach of procedure and it is not possible for the guards to miss it, because Sharona has not been searched. It's a common technique for trying to pass contraband called 'a touch through' - a person with an item to be smuggled into the prison (drugs, usually), passes them on to a person who has been searched and is therefore 'clean'. Monk would be taken back to the guard's station to be searched again. He would not be allowed leniency because the guards happen to know or to like him - visitor ingress and egress is always done under CCTV and the guard would know he was being watched - quite possibly by someone who doesn't know who Monk and Sharona are.

Upvote valid corrections to help move entries into the corrections section.

Suggested correction: Sharona was searched first by the female guard.

In fact Sharona breaks away from the female guard to go to Monk. She has NOT been searched.

The correction is correct. The female guard already finished patting Sharona down before the male guard even had a chance to start his pat down of Monk.

Bishop73

Yeah, the correction is correct. I went back six times through that clip: Sharona and Monk both get searched, and then Sharona touches Monk.

More mistakes in Monk

Quotes

Adrian Monk: I don't know how he did it. But he did it.

More quotes from Monk

Trivia

Trivia: Brooke Adams, Tony Shalhoub's real-life wife, has appeared on the show 5 times. In S1 as Leigh the flight attendant Monk drives crazy in "Mr. Monk and the Airplane"; in S3 as Mrs. Carlyle in "Mr. Monk and the Kid"; in S5 as Sheriff Butterfield in "Mr. Monk Visits a Farm"; in S7, again, as Leigh the flight attendant in "Mr. Monk's 100th Case"; in S8 as the crazy cat lady in "Mr. Monk and the Badge."

More trivia for Monk

Questions

Show generally

Question: If Monk is afraid of germs, then why does he keep touching things that could possibly have germs on them like parking meters or books?

Answer: Notice also that in the opening credits scene when he is touching parking meters her also wipes his hand on his clothes each time he does it.

Answer: That's the thing about Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. It's not something rational. He just has to touch things like that. It's not something he can rationally think through. However, since part of his disorder includes an obsession with cleanliness, he also has an assistant walk around handing him wipes periodically. It's like when he gets a cold and uses both a humidifier (because that's what you use when you're congested) and a dehumidifier (to counteract the effects of the humidifier). He may spout rationalizations after he does something, but his compulsions exist outside of any rational thought whatever.

Garlonuss ★

More questions & answers from Monk

Join the mailing list

Separate from membership, this is to get updates about mistakes in recent releases. Addresses are not passed on to any third party, and are used solely for direct communication from this site. You can unsubscribe at any time.

Check out the mistake & trivia books, on Kindle and in paperback.