I wouldn't say Trudy's been forgotten; she does come up frequently, only she hasn't been in many episodes lately, and there hasn't been much pursuing of her killer recently.

But yeah, it does seem since a lot of focus went to Natalie and Julie getting introduced to the show, less of it has been on Trudy. But I hope that changes! I adore any episodes with Adrian and Trudy together.

Hey, Chloe

I'm with you... I love the Trudy/Adrian episodes.

Last season there was a lot going on behind the scenes, and I suppose the Trudy case had to be sidelined a bit while they made the transition from Sharona to Natalie. But, you'll notice we're seeing a lot of references to Trudy lately... her name's being brought up in more episodes, showing that Adrian... and the writer's... haven't forgotten. Plus we had the tragedy of the fake Trudy in the "Mrs. Monk" story. I wouldn't be surprised if the writers weren't laying the groundwork for a new breakthrough in the Trudy case in the next half of the season.

Let's hope. Poor Adrian needs some kind of step in the right direction.

~Cyn

I personally think that if Adrian actively pursued Trudy's case more on screen, I'd expect him to solve the case pretty quickly. It's not that I don't want him to solve the case, but I'm worried that the show wouldn't last much longer if he did.

Besides, even before "Goes to Jail"/"Takes Manhattan," how many times have we seen Adrian actively work on Trudy's case? I believe only in the "Pilot" and "Billionaire Mugger" (the latter of which was footage taken from the "Pilot" and inserted into "Billionaire Mugger").

Well-said, Cyn! I agree, it's probably parcially the fault of the transition from one major character to a completely different one.

And like Tami said, it's hard to have a LOT of footage of him not solving a case. Tony, of course, has done well the few times they had him wandering around trying to solve Trudy's case (especially in "Candidate", the pilot). But they can't keep that up long.

Most of what I'm interested in is getting more back-story for him and Trudy. It's so sweet in episodes like "Back to School" and "Gameshow", where you get some more insight into Adrain and Trudy's relationship.

And I'm always thrilled to have more actual footage of Trudy.

Tami, that's interesting, how do you know footage from the pilot was put into Billionair Mugger?

Raven, I recall a thread at the old USA Board where it was explained definitively by, I think, CarolT (moderator of the TV.com board for "Monk"). All I can offer by way of proof is my memory of that thread, that the weather in the scene was more consistent with the pilot (you can see Tony's breath from the cold in the "Kelly Street" scene) than "Billionaire Mugger" and the radio weather report in "Billionaire Mugger" saying there's a sudden cold snap in the weather just before Adrian enters Kelly Street's house.

There was also, apparently, an episode that was called "Mr. Monk and the Dead Dog" that was going to be the Season One finale that was replaced by "Airplane" ~~ my conjecture at the time was that "Mr. Monk and the Dead Dog" was probably an episode that explained Trudy's murder, having somehow involved the stuffed dog, Mr. Simon of Kelly Street fame.

I think they involve the trudy case quite frequently-- they bring her up often and all the time with reverence and respect-- the fake trudy story was juston a few weeks ago- and that was ALL about trudy/adrian-- so i think they do it a lot already--- also like someone said they could not have him ACTIVELY pursuing the case and then NOT solve it over and over and we STILL be expected to believe he is a brillant detective-- they do it at just the right pacing to me-- just a few clues each season - enough to keep us interested but NOT to solve it or be near that-- becuase THAt is a driving force a real issue with Adrian-- if they solve it too quickly it will TAKE away from a lot of his motivation--

Thanks Tami, you don't need to prove it, I know you're a reliable source of info here! I love these details. I'm going to have to watch those episodes again and look for the things you mentioned, like Tony's breath (happy sigh).
So then what has happened to the Dead Dog episode?
Does that mean there are 'old' episodes that haven't been aired ever?

"Mr. Monk and the Dead Dog" - that is VERY interesting, Tami, I'd never heard that! It's really bizarre, the idea that Mr. Simon may have something to do with Trudy's murder, but Adrian has had by-far more whacky clues in his detecting before.

It's also odd to think of them putting together a whole episode only to cut it out completely. Got to feel bad for Tony, Bitty, Ted and Jason, when that kind of thing happens. Not to mention the actors who probably made their debut in the said-episode.

Here's hoping that it stayed as a thesis, even a script, not a thrown-out episode.

Where did you hear that, Tami?

I've seen all the episodes, but for some reason am drawing a blank on who Mr. Simon is. Would someone please remind me?

Ah-ha, ok, that's very intriguing, possible Monk footage on the cutting room floor! I hope somebody saved it, it's precious!

LOL, Raven! It's so hard to stomach the idea of Monk footage going to waste, isn't it.

Maybe someday they'll make a "Monk: the collector's edition" DVD set- I would LOVE to see some bloopers, as Tony's such a hilarious actor even OFF camera. That'd be swell.

Yes Chloe, I've wished for Monk bloopers for a long time. That would be wonderful to see Tony cracking up, messing up lines....who knows what those guys do on the set in between takes??

Amen! I doubt we'd be disapointed in the least, getting to see some Tony bloopers- he's a stage-actor, for one thing.

I betcha Jason and Ted have their own crack-ups as well. I love bloopers!