I think Natalie is a better assistant to Monk on a more personal level. Sharona always chewed him out for the things he did and he couldn't really help. Natalie is more patient and willing to go through his problems with him. Together. She's more close to him and connects with him better. She and Julie have become a family to him.

Sharona was a great assitant, and a good friend, but she constantly complained and couldn't stand being around Adrien. She was always trying to get a date in almost every show. She left him to move in with the guy who only wanted her back for money at one time. She did do some cool things like dig in that cherry pie to find a clue lol.

There was an episode where Dr. Kroger quit his job for awhile when his cleaning lady was murdered, and in one scene Natalie sits there with him in those chairs and listens to him like his therapist. That's something Sharona would never do and not bother to do for him. When he goes to reunions and no one remembers him or when he had to say goodbye to the boy he wanted to adopt or when he was a suspect in murder, Natalie was always there for him. She comforts him, aids him, and is willing to go the extra mile for him.

She picks up another half of him that he lacks sometimes. When they first met, Monk was annoyed with the guy in the costume, and he turned away trying to avoid him, and Natalie was there to say exactly what Monk would like to have said. She tells him straight foward "No, we're not interested, leave." Natalie says what's on his mind and is great support for him.

She always has his wips ready, she even tried to give him one when he was in the Jury lol. She lends her finger to clean dust once in the episode where Julie's coach is killed. She is his lookout when he goes to explore places and his backup when he goes to secret meetings (unless he doesn't tel her). She and Monk are both strong people. Both have gone through something terrible and still go on everyday trying to do something right. Natalie put her life on the line as she thought, to prove to her daughter that both her parents are not a coward. Both defend themselves physically when they are in danger. Both are very strong willed. (unless it's monk's phobias).

You have to recognize how great her loyalty and respect for him is. How much she's dedicated to him and how she and Julia have really become close to him on such a personal level.

She also reminds him alot of Trudy.

In the end, Sharona can never amount to the loyalty, respect, and care that Natalie has for Monk. She was a great assitant, but Natalie has gone beyond that and is much deeper than that.

Here here!

I agree. You have to remember and keep in mind Sharona and Natalie are two different "people" who had very different roles in Monk's life. Sharona was his nurse. Natalie came in as an assistant.

Saying that Sharona was a bad assistant is like saying that Natalie is a bad nurse.

The writers and actors thankfully gave us two different characters instead of trying to fit them in the same mold. We should respect and recognize this, and celebrate those differences.

Note that Natalie didn't like sitting in Kroger's chair. She said it made her uncomfortable.

Natalie and even Julie have some love for Monk. I think Sharona only liked him.

Good points Alex. I've personally always felt that Sharona respected Monk and his accomplishments more than she liked him. That she had a bregrudging affection for him that sometimes moved her to be a better friend to him.

And I think that Natalie has a much better balance on that equasion. She would like Monk no matter what he did, and the fact that he does something so important and dangerous - in his condition is more of a concern for her than a sourse of pride. In fact, she would probably side with Adrians safety over his job in many cases that he, himself, would not.

I have a great affection for both characters. When Sharona chewed out the coaches kid for throwing the Eraser at Monk back at Trudy's college you actually had the impression she could take on half the room and win.

And while Natalie might not have the 'battle readyness' of Sharona, she is willing to go the extra mile - like when she tried to join the cult (I cant see Sharona joining the cult) or helping Monk escape.

I hope this is one of those odd series that manage to jump to the big screen a few years after it's cancelled. A monk movie could really go above and beyond what they've done on the show.

Peace by design,

-M

I completely agree with all of the comments. From the very beginning I could tell that there relationship would be different from Adrian's and Sharona's. The first episode with Natalie really caught my attention. I saw a certain connection that Adrian had with her that he didn't have with Sharona right of the bat.

I think that both the Sharona and Natalie characters are great. Sharona was funny, and seemed like a good friend to Monk, but her sarcasm can be a little grating at times (and you feel bad when it is directed at Monk). Natalie is adorable, and I really prefer her. She shows not only a genuine affection for Monk, but also some badly needed respect. I love watching her trying to encourage Monk to try new things, and then cheering him on. Her patience for him seems almost endless.

Last night's episode proved this. I couldn't really picture Sharona going after him like Natalie did.

Watch the old shows with Sharona, she was always there for him too. Sharona would have gone to see Monk. She has gone to bat for him many times. Just remember Sharona met Monk at the worst time of his life. Monk was much better by the time Natalie met him.

i totally disagree!!!!!!! for the most part sharona is actually s nurse. And the reason nattalie has more patience with monk is because she is afraid of him, and sharona was not at all.

I like them both. Besides, Sharona was divorced, and Natalie is widowed, like Monk. Maybe that's also why she can relate him in that way.

Afraid of him?

I'm glad they created a whole new character and didn't just hire a new Sharona, I it when they do that!

I am new to forum. Never been on one of these before. Monk has been my favorite show since it started. It is interesting to see all of the varying topics and opinions. I hope it will be a fun experience. I've said this a couple times now. But, I am just trying to get used to joining in on these on going conversations.

The whole Natalie vs. Sharona and Monk and Natalie together topics seems like fairly heated ones. I'm not used to putting my two cents in, but I think they are good for Monk in different ways, but honestly I do prefer Natalie. Her and Julie are like the family he needs. She is very supportive of him, has personal respect for him, does care about him and understands and even shares his sense of loss. Sharona did take of him and brought him back from a "very bad place", but she also lacked patience, and often seemed embarrassed by him and got frustrated with him so easily.

From the first episode with Natalie, their dynamic was very different, and there was the possibility that something more might happen between them, which seems to have come up more of late, with little comments and actions from both of them. In the first Natalie episode, when Monk is interviewing nurses, the last rather cranky one suggested that what he needed was a wife not a nurse, then after that Natalie shows up... I don't know if anything will or should happen. But, in the end, it would be nice to see them both be happy and together they probably could be, and also see him get past Trudy, find her killer and get better as much as he can. Of course, he will always have certain quirks and phobias or he wouldn't be Monk. (I know it's sappy, but I would like to see them together. They seem to fit well and benefit from each other; give each other things they need.)

Also, Monk has changed gradually over the years and hopefully this is leading to some of these things. Maybe the switch to Natalie was a good catalyst for change. He has continued to change over the last couple years even more than in previous years and this helps to keep things interesting and moving forward. Change is a good thing, right?

Anyway, everyone on the show does an excellent job, and it will continue to be my favorite show.

What makes you believe that Natalie is afraid of Adrian? I see nothing to make me believe that.

Exactly right! Sharona came along and pulled him through the lowest period of his life, and by the time she left, he'd come miles from that. When you consider that Sharona watched her father fade away, becoming more and more distant with metal illness, it really shows a lot of courage and strength of character for her to take the job, considering Adrian was in many ways in the same shape her dad would have been in towards the end. If he hadn't gotten better, it could have been a bad thing for Sharona. Could you imagine the guilt and self blame she would have gone through? I imagine that her this situation with her father made her that much more determined to not let Adrian slip away completely. Losing her father the way she did and at that stage of her her life had a huge impact on who she grew up to be and how she saw herself, even as far as the kind of things she was willing to put up with from men. After all, her role model in these areas was a father who couldn't be reached and was distant, and her mother was married to a man who couldn't be counted on to help take care of the family, or to be there for her and her girls, and while it wasn't Sharona's father's fault, this set the standard for the kind of non-involvement she later accepted from Trevor, and it also made her an easy target for scumbags. All a man had to do was take notice of her and she was swept off her feet. She grew up with a father who didn't notice her or see her, especially in her teenage years. But that was how she was able to relate to Adrian.

Natalie was from a very different kind of background and was able to relate to Adrian on a different level. She probably couldn't have helped him him nearly as much in those early days as Sharona did. She knew what it was like to lose a spouse and to miss him, but she had no experience with seeing someone fade away due to mental illness and severe depression.

dxbret619, why on earth would you think Natalie was afraid on Adrian? I can't imagine anyone being afraid of him, let alone Natalie. It's hard to find anyone Natalie is afriad of, or will back down from. Natalie kicks butt!!

She is afraid...that he will never pay her

Natalie has nothing to fear from Adrian; neither did Sharona. I would see it the other way around, Adrian would be more afraid of Natalie quiting than Natalie would be of Adrian. Both Natalie and Sharona had a problem with Adrian not paying them on time but neither of them were ever afraid of Adrian.

i like both

Fence straddler, 'ay? Good call really. I bet most people do to some extent. And just wait until the new assistant at the end of season seven!

...


...

Okay. that might just be a rumor.

...

That I'm starting.

...

Just now.