The last two minutes of a show are what a lot of networks are now stepping all over. Thankfully it's not happening to Monk yet. Those last two minutes are what a lot of networks are treating as expendable--the throw away part of a show. Some of these network waterheads actually think we're making sandwiches and switching channels while these last two minutes play out. Um, no--we viewers actually watch those final scenes.

Viewers know that a lot of times, the last two minutes contain the best scene in an episode. Sometimes, that's the funniest scene in the whole episode. Sometimes, that's where the most poignant moments of the show occur--especially in Monk. What were your favorite endings? They don't have to have appeared in your favorite episode--they could have happened in your least favorite. Treat it as its own monster.

What were your favorites and why? Here are mine:

The ending of Secret Santa--they played Otis Redding. It snowed for the first time since Trudy died, and though it was supposed to be a big deal for Julie and Monk said he hated Christmas, it was the image of Adrian outside with his arms up, with all the snow falling, Otis singing, and Trudy's last ever present to Monk in his hand that made the whole episode for me.

The ending of The Kid--I still get goose bumpy when I see Adrian rolling on the ground playing with little Tommy, and then having to look away when he gave Tommy up.

The ending of The Carnival--Might be my absolute favorite. Sharona holds Adrian's shoe hostage. To pay the ransom, Adrian must divulge how he knew how many jelly beans were in the jar, having never seen the jar. Adorable, and said a lot about the dynamics between Monk and Sharona. The character of Monk is decidedly a 180 from the character of my favorite detective of all time--Columbo, but the dialogue in this scene, with Adrian explaining how he arrived at the number of jelly beans in the jar, always makes me think of that old, disheveled detective.

The ending of The Panic Room--simple enough, but I can't get enough of seeing that monkey slime Adrian's face and all the convulsing Monk does afterward.




Which were your favorites and why?

i liked these:

big game - very fast

vegas - whole focus on blackjack

rock concert - good music in background

there were more

Mr. Monk and the Kid stands out in my mind. The end of that episode when Monk is walking away after having given up Tommy is heartbreaking.

The earthquake gibberish wrap-up was great.

The protective custody ending with the murder at the FBI cabin and Disher's simultanious wrap up of how he was tricked - well that one was choice.

Alice Cooper as 'the bad kind of hippie' was great. Alice was a sport and a half for that one, wasnt he?

Oh and The DJ - "You're not laughing now, are you?" <shivers> Good one.

The one where Julie gets the medal of bravery from the mayor and ... Oh, wait. That's my fanfic. Sorry, never mind.

-M

P.S. - And of course the ending with Tommy. But it's sooooo sad I cant count it first, you know?

I'm assuming you're talking about that last scene just before the credits, and not the summation, which usually comes before?

It drives me crazy when they're omitted when editing for syndication. I understand that they're often not important to the plot of that particular episode, but they say so much in character development. When I watched Scarecrow and Mrs. King a few years ago on PAX, I had to go to their message board every day and find out what was cut -- someone would post the missing scene -- which was sometimes the last one. (I've also heard the "wrap-up" referred to as the "tag")

All time favorite would have to be Monk rolling on the ground with Tommy. That will NEVER be cut.

But as a shipper (Crystal -- please don protective eyewear) I'd have to say we tend to get a present attached to our tags at Christmas. The whole scene with Natalie rubbing Monk's leg in the "Man Who Shot Santa" and the kiss on the cheek in "Secret Santa" -- yeah -- those were pretty great. We've also seen at least two Monk episode end with a rear view of Monk and Natalie walking off together (as they did with Sharona). And I really liked the whole Disney on Ice thing at the end of "Makes a Friend."

<Shipping over -- it is safe to remove all protective eyewear>

The tag with Randy and the silver guy in Bank was funny.

I thought Monk playing his clarinet with Willie Nelson at Trudy's grave was particularly poignant.

The tag with Monk riding his bike with his father didn't really do it for me, because Jack Monk never won me over. (But that might actually be because of my own father issues)

The tag in Captain's Marriage was really sad -- Sometimes when God closes a door he breaks your heart.

But there are probably many more that I haven't even thought of yet.

Oh, and Monk reading young Trudy's diary at the end of Game Show: No one can be sad forever.

Good stuff.

1. I loved seeing Monk ride his new bike - Mr. Monk meets his Dad.

2. The fake Trudy dying in Monk`s arms- Mr. and Mrs. Monk

3. Monk passing out after solving the case- Mr. Monk gets Drunk

4. The look Monk gave Natalie when she saved his life- Mr. Monk goes to the Hospital

I know there are some favorites with Sharona too.

Mr monk and the garbage strike. He is so happy about it being over and is throwing confetti..then he makes the clean it up lol.

Mr monk is on the run when he talks to dale that is chilling.

mr monk and the office. The guy natalie is dating is mad he didn't believe her and breaks up with her and at the same time Monk is an outcast. So in the end they both walk out only having each other.

I like these too. It seems every Monk had a great ending.

In case anyone else is wondering the same thing, yes--it's the two minutes at the very end, right before the credits. The plot has already been resolved and it's just extra scenes at the very very end--the part that networks usually smash to the right and mute the sound on. NOT the plot resolutions--the extra scenes at the very end.

Adding to the list:

"I know it's you" from Biggest Fan, with Natalie playing with the troll doll and mimicking Marci -- that's pretty funny.

Monk walking into the ocean in Naked Man.

And you know, if I'm not mistaken, the whole "this is me turning off your morphine" was also in the last two minutes of "Takes Manhattan"

Those Monk writers sure know how to close an episode, don't they?

OMG! I don't know if that was in the last 2 minutes or not, but that was such a powerful scene. And right before that didn't Stot grab Monk's hand before walking out? (and Monk let him)

I have to go out for a while tonight. Tomorrow I will look at my DVDs to find those last two min.

Oh Wow!! This is going to be a tough one. I think every episode ends GREAT!! Let me see if I can narrow it down to a couple, in no particular order:

1. Mr. Monk and the Kid- I loved seeing Monk playing with Tommy, rolling around on the ground with him and having Tommy giving him kisses on the cheek. I tear up everytime I watch that episode.
2. Mr. Monk Meets Dale the Whale- It is so sweet that Monk explains to Sharona what the significance of "Bread and Butter" is. Also after he gets finished explaining Sharona puts her arm in his. Very Sweet!
3. Mr. Monk and the Red Herring-When Natalie calls Monk and accepts his job offer, after talking to Julie and telling her she could only think of one other man who would have saved the fish before the valuable moon rock.
4. Mr. Monk gets Cabin Fever- I love it when Natalie realizes Monk doesn't have bad karma because he finds death around him, and it is actually good karma. I love it when she says, "come on I'll buy you a wipe."
5. Mr. and Mrs. Monk- When the "fake Trudy" dies in Monk's arms. She asks him if he loves Trudy, and he answers "yes" and she said, "I'll tell her" and dies. Gives me chills every time.
6. Mr. Monk and the Reunion- When Monk and Natalie are walking down the sidewalk and he stops and remembers the first time he told Trudy he loved her. So Sweet!

These are only a couple that I could think of right off the top of my head. I am going to have to go check with my DVD's.

1. Riding his bike at the end of "Meets His Dad."

2. In "Mr. Monk Goes Home" when he and Ambrose get back to the house and there's the note from their dad. I think the music they play at the end of that one is pretty.

3. In "On The Air" when he's watching the video of he and Trudy's wedding.

4. Mr. Monk and the Kid--Saddest ending.

5. Oh! And "Mr. Monk Makes A Friend". "Let's see if Hal can come along." "Mr. Monk he tried to kill you." "No friendship is perfect." Good times.

-Chik

My favorites:

Mr Monk and the Kid

Mr Monk and the Leper..Julie offering to shake the Leper's hand

Mr Monk and the Naked Man...laughed so loud that my husband came into the room to check on me because I was sounding like I was being killed...

Mr Monk and the Astronaut...when Julie tries to pin the metal on Monk

Mr Monk and the Birds and the Bees...when Monk gets a kiss from Julie and he is begging for a wipe and Natalie says this one stays on...

In Manhatten the last two minutes or so are of the gang trying to hail a taxi. The taxi is the same one from the beginning and Stottlemeyer has to handcuff Monk in order to get the driver to take them to the airport. That was really funny. I also love Mr. Monk and the Kid, but it's so sad. "Let him get dirty. Kids need to get dirty."

You are right about the Taxi scene. I forgot about that one. It's the one where Disher's watch catches on fire and Stottlemeyer handcuffs Monk. How could I forget about that?

Probably because the scene before it is so memorable.

LOL! I forgot about Disher's watch. That was funny stuff. I have to rewatch this episode tonight.

Three Julies--the one when Stott gets a ride from Julie in her little car. Funny.

There are soooooo many memorable endings, cannot pick my favorite few.

Guess I'd pick The Kid for the reasons everyone else did;

Bad Girlfriend because it made me sad to see Stott upset and hurting again, but at the same time I was gleeful because she was gone for good;

Paints His Masterpiece because of the way Stott and Monk walk off together. (Was that the last two minutes or just before??) Their friendship gets to me every time;

Manhattan because of reasons mentioned already;

Most of the endings where either Monk/Sharona or Monk/Natalie go off together. To me, it shows how caring these two ladies are of their boss/friend.


Meme Stottlebeck

Hi everyone! First of - greetings from Turkey - that's the place where I'm spending my holiday The weather is great, very sunny, no rain at all. I've just found some time to look at the board. Be back in Poland in more than one week.

Backing to the theard. My favorites endings are 'The Kid' and 'Stays Up All Night'. Both are very touching moments of the episodes. Monk leaving Tommy and meeting a woman, who's got 'Trudy's eyes'. There are probably few more, but these are my fırst thoughs.

Oh. I've got 16 episodes of 'Monk' on my cell phone, so I actually 'keep in touch' wıth Monk all the time during the stay.

I'd forgotten about Paints His Masterpiece. I like that one too. I like how Natalie keeps trying to burn the painting and Randy finally has to pick her up and carry her away. And Stottlemeyer and Monk walking off discussing stamp collecting. Great stuff.

Oh good one! Poor Stot having to get into the backseat of that little car! Priceless.

I can think of three that stand out for me. Mr. Monk and The Kid, Bumps His Head "what is my name, Adrian, no really, what is my name" and Up All Night - the whole Trudy's eyes thing. Another is from way back, Mrs. Monk, you loved her very much, I'll tell her. *sigh, I'm a sucker for tear-jerk moments*

Now I am afraid i am just repeating things but anyhow...

Meets Dale the Whale - the end, bread and butter.

Three Pies - Adrian saved his brother and afterwards they were together at Trudy´s grave. They have made the reconciliation. My favorities.

Takes Manhattan - the hospital -scene.

Vs. Cobra - When they found him. And somehow also giving up from Trudy´s office.

The Kid - it is one of my favorite episodes, and the end is so touching and sad.

Mr and mrs Monk - the reason has already said early. And when he and Natalie walked in the street after all.

In the Hospital - when Natalie saved Monk´s life.

Is up All Night - the eyes! Again one of my favorities.


Yes, I notice that I favorite the sad and moving moments. There are more, but these came up to my mind.


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I am a sucker for tear-jerk moments, too!