I could not agree more...you took alot of my own thoughts on the whole Leland issues. I was so miffed when Karen handed him the divorce papers and when he asked "why" she said..."because you have to ask" after she had lied about going to friend's houses and being with friends at the movies and such....it gives a girls night out a bad name!!!

Anyway, the way these two looked at each other, was awsome...I have always liked leland and this was so human...

I have to admit when Monk said "leap and the net will appear my a**" we all cracked up for aleast 5 mins.

To TPTB great show...

P.S. Is Frederick Weller ("Jay Bennett") related to Peter Weller (who directed "Private Eye" and played the "actor portraying Stottlemeyer" in "Mr. MONK and the Actor")? Peter Weller's father's name was Frederick ...

Hello Renee and thanks for your kind words! It's great to "meet" so many of my old friends here. While I liked the episode more than you did, I honor your well-thought-out points and agree with several. Yes, the doctor character had "no" charm or finesse- to a chilling degree.Most "real" doctors are a bit "smooth."
Why didn't his lover wait to break up until they were back on shore? Why does the victim-to-be in so many murder mysteries always look away and make killing him or her so easy?

I do agree that the "SOB" thing was said too much. Said too much it loses its shock value and just comes off as "potty language." Remember when Sharona kept saying "damn" over and over when her Volvo was ailing in Billionaire Mugger? Then, Adrian said "why don't you say damn a few more times?" (sarcastically) This time he didn't react at all. While my tendency is to initially like the realtor character I think her acceptability over time (several appearances) could go either way. Like anything else, it depends on how the writers want to write her. But Leland needs somebody. Everybody needs somebody.
Variety is the spice of life but nowadays spice is getting expensive!

Jerry

I guess I'm talking to myself but I got lazy and didn't notice who to reply to. Talking to myself AND a sentence ending in a preposition! Eek! Clearly my days of sanity and schooling are far behind me!

All that just to say that personally the realtor peering across into Leland's new apartment didn't bother me for at least three reasons:

First and foremost her profession is being a realtor and a sharp realtor notices fine details, really looks over neighborhoods, etc.

Second, she was very upfront with him before her surprise phone call that she lived just across the way.

Third, her "spying" happened during the day which I think makes things more innocent and less "peeping tom" than would the same behavior after dark.

Here's a bonus fourth reason: the writers may be building up to a relationship between them and her unusual "attentiveness" neatly paves the way. In any event, stalking is to be judged by the "stalkee" and Stott didn't seem bothered.

Jerry

Typical Randy: "This looks like an office"

MONK in water after throwing away the toilet seat: Washing his hands furiously in all that water!! So funny!!!

Lot of good lines. Was looking forward to seeing Sharon Lawrence in this. Didn't like her SOBing. Undecided if she should be a regular. She was also in "Degree of Guilt" with JAG star David James Elliott. Didn't like her character in that at all.

A question was asked about why victim wore flipflops with her outfit. I would guess if she owned sailing shoes (or whatever they're called), her husband would wonder why she had them? For safety aboard, she wore the ff.

Natalie was too controlling when it came to MONK's money. She should have consulted with him first.

But the episode was excellent. Thanks.

Now waiting to see the one about the married Dr Kroger. Noticed he didn't wear a wedding ring. But then, some men don't. Let's see if the writers sneak one on him in the Aug.11th episode.

I can deal with it if they tone her down and make her into her own character. Right now she seems like a mix of Leland and Natalie magnified. With a bit of Natalie's mom thrown in. And a lot of the things I hated so vehemently about her could be attributed to the noir detective movie/novel feel that the writers were going for, the characters and the writing style for those are anything but subtle. Things like the 'entrance' she made, with the little pretentious pose and butting into the conversation between two people who don't even know her, those are fairly classic noir conventions. But I get irritated with those movies so the way she acted in this episode did and always will irritate me. The same for the way Natalie was behaving, but I guess that considering that I did and still do like Natalie in most episodes, if this character appears again, she will have a chance to redeem herself and be less abrasive. Not sure if her belief that she is the center of the universe is part of that ‘noir’ characterization, but that is the main thing that needs to go. I just really hope that if she shows up again, she won’t be acting like a ‘dame’ and like she does/should run everything.

I also hope that she won’t be all stalker and have that behavior continue to be treated as cute or okay just because she is a woman, does it in the daylight, or lets him know she is doing it. Those things don’t make as much difference as how the person on the other end of it feels about it. Stalkers/voyeurs can be female, they do it in the daytime as well as at night, and they do make a point occasionally of being sure that the victim is aware that they are being watched because it gives them the ability to cause fear, or heightened fear and in affect, control the other person’s behavior to a degree. Think of how creepy it would be if someone, even someone you knew, called you and told you they could see what you were doing right that moment, what you were wearing, ect… If they did it once, it could be funny, or a joke. If they did it again, it might not be as funny. If they persistently do it, it will get creepier and make you feel less safe in your own home. It didn’t seem to bother Leland as much as it would have bothered me. It would have seemed very, very creepy to find out someone was watching me through my window so closely that they knew I'd broken something and was looking for my broom, and even told me where my broom was. It would have put most female characters very much on edge, knowing that someone was watching them that closely from across the street, but that doesn’t mean that because she is female that this behavior done consistently is okay, it just means that women in general are more on their guard about that sort of thing than men because you hear about it happening to women more often.

Since Leland didn’t seem to feel creeped out, and if it’s not something she makes a habit of, maybe there’s nothing to it, but she did come across as a very controlling person in this episode and combined with her watching him through the window at the end, she’s definitely showing the potential to be a stalker. If at some point it starts to bug Leland and he wants some space and she seems unable or unwilling to give it to him, she is officially a stalker. Right now, it’s debatable and pretty much up to individual interpretation.

I don't have any problem with the actress, I don't even know who she is. I have heard of SL before and haven’t heard bad things. But this character as she was portrayed in this episode was *very* unlikable, IMO, and seemed to me to have the potential to be a seriously creepy stalker if she appears in other episodes. If the character was supposed to make me dislike her and make me feel like she is someone they should avoid then I have to say Sharon Lawrence has really impressed me and I think she should be considered for lots of awards and the writers did a really good job of writing a character who is meant to have the potential to be a world class freak, but take a few episodes to show whether she really is or not. You know how sometimes, creepy people are really sly and you can’t tell whether they are actually freaky or if it’s just your freak alarm being a bit too touchy. If that’s what they were going for, they all nailed it. And it wouldn't be the first time they have had a character in an episode or two and then meet a bad end as either a victim or a bad guy.

I almost forgot to add that another reason I am wary of having her (and in this case any woman Leland might become involved with) come back for more than one episode, or to have very many episodes that have too much to do with Leland dating is because I'm just not really that interested in watching the romantic lives any of these characters might or might not have. Now if Adrian became romantically involved with someone for longer than an episode, there would just be no way they could continue writing the show about an OCD detective in the quality and way that they have since the beginning, they would have to devote so much attention to dealing with his new relationship. And with this being the main character and a person with the issues he has, they couldn't just ignore it or keep it low key, it would have to pretty much take over the show. The show usually focuses on his professional *and* his personal life in every episode.

The other characters could concievably be involved with someone romantically for longer than a single episode without it being such a big deal that it would intrude or overshadow what the show has been about from the beginning, especially if it was Leland or Randy because for the most part, we usually only see them in a professional setting and it would make sense if we only saw or heard about Randy or Leland's romances once or maybe twice a season. I've enjoyed this show as a comedy/mystery show for four years now, I haven't missed romantic entanglements or felt like they were needed before and really have been happy about the fact that they haven't been there for the most part. When romance starts to become more of a major factor, it gets harder to avoid the show becoming melodramtic and soap opera like. A romance themed episode every now and then or an occasional mention of a girlfriend or boyfriend is one thing, and can be a nice temporary change of pace, but too many episodes that involve romantic themes or if one or more characters start talking about a girl/boyfriend all the time is not really the same show I have loved all this time.