The seventh season of Monk was originally broadcast in the United States on USA Network from July 18, 2008, to February 20, 2009. It consisted of 16 episodes. Tony Shalhoub, Traylor Howard, Ted Levine and Jason Gray-Stanford reprised their roles as the main characters. A DVD of the season was released on July 21, 2009.
Crew
Andy Breckman continued his tenure as show runner. Executive producers for the season included Breckman, David Hoberman, series star Tony Shalhoub, writer Tom Scharpling and Rob Thompson. Universal Media Studios was the primary production company backing the show. Randy Newman's theme ("It's a Jungle Out There") continued to be used, while Jeff Beal's original instrumental theme could be heard in some episodes. Directors for the season included Randall Zisk, David Hoberman, Michael W. Watkins, David Breckman and Andrei Belgrader. Writers for the season included Andy Breckman, Hy Conrad, Daniel Dratch, Tom Gammill, Dylan Morgan, Max Pross, Salvatore Savo, Josh Siegal, Joe Toplyn, Tom Scharpling and Peter Wolk.
Héctor Elizondo joined the show as Dr. Neven Bell, Monk's new psychiatrist. Elizondo was cast after the death of the actor Stanley Kamel.[1]Emmy Clarke returned as Julie Teeger, Natalie's daughter, and Tim Bagley reprised his role as Harold Krenshaw, Monk's number-one rival. Melora Hardin continued to portray Trudy Monk, Monk's deceased wife. Casper Van Dien made his first appearance as Lt. Steven Albright, a new love interest for Natalie who was a comrade of Natalie's late husband, Mitch, in the Navy. Jarrad Paul made his final appearance as Monk's upstairs neighbor, Kevin Dorfman. The season saw the return of various villains and acquaintances from the past in the 100th episode.
Dr. Kroger's unexpected death has mourning Monk overly sensitive to his piano-practising neighbour, to the point of buying a new house. He discovers his handyman Jake (Brad Garrett) isn't as honest as his nickname, when Jake begins dismantling the insides.
Natalie's unexpected celebrity status when she replaces a murdered TV lottery hostess unnerves Monk—until he has to clear her and Stottlemeyer of accusations they rigged the counting machine.
Monk gets into the ring when a heavyweight boxer (James Lesure) narrowly escapes a professional hit days before a title shot and hires him to protect him and a sad secret—in return for helping Monk prepare for a mandatory police associate physical. Also guest stars Robert Loggia.
Monk and Natalie are asked by one of Mitch's old friends, Steven Albright (Casper Van Dien), to investigate the suspicious death of a second-in-command who apparently shot himself in a locked room on a Navy submarine prior to a surprise drill. But Monk is terrified when they end up stuck on the submarine in the middle of a new exercise, all the while hallucinating that Dr. Bell is with them. He also becomes suspicious of the submarine's commander (William Atherton), but can't prove a thing.
Monk falls for an immigration counselor (Joanna Pacuła) subsequently accused of murdering a taxi driver who proved to be a warlord known as the "Butcher of Zemenia" in her homeland, but uncovering the truth has fateful consequences for his budding romance despite her innocence.
The TV news magazine InFocus profiles Monk as he pursues a serial killer for his one-hundredth case. But after viewing the documentary, Monk begins to suspect that a second killer may have been responsible for the fourth and last murder. Monk considers retiring since 100 cases is, for him, a nice even number to end his career on, until Natalie points out that the additional murder is technically his 101st. The profile (led by Eric McCormack) includes interviews with many of Monk's companions (including John Turturro, Sarah Silverman, Brooke Adams, Tim Bagley, and Kathryn Joosten) and enemies (including Howie Mandel, Andy Richter, David Koechner, Angela Kinsey and Ricardo Chavira).
When an actress (Dina Meyer) disappears in the middle of a messy divorce, apparently abducted by her husband (Henry Czerny), Monk's companions will not be able to get any help from him, because Monk has paid a secret visit to a hypnotist (Richard Schiff) suggested by Harold Krenshaw (Tim Bagley) and is acting like a six-year-old. But when the actress turns up alive after killing her husband in what looks like self-defense, Monk's naiveté might be what is needed to find out what really happened in her disappearance.
Three homeless men hire a reluctant Monk to prove their friend was murdered and stuffed in an old refrigerator, while a reputed "miracle fountain" promising to cure the sick or injured—including a surprised Stottlemeyer when he drinks from it—may also hold a clue to the murder. Guest stars Michael Badalucco.
Monk is shocked when his delinquent half-brother, Jack Jr. (Steve Zahn) escapes from prison and breaks into his apartment—and manipulates him into proving a frameup for the murder of a prison library worker. Also guest stars Titus Welliver.
When Natalie accidentally helps a thief steal the bicycle of a biotech CEO (Bradley Whitford), she ropes Monk into solving a crime. But when tracking down the thief, Monk is shot in the leg. Confined to a wheelchair, he makes Natalie's life a living hell, having to take care of him all the time. Also guest stars Pamela Adlon.
During a robbery at a museum of oddities, a thief kills a security guard by skewering him on a swordfish display, then steals an egg-eating robot. During the investigation, Monk befriends a warm older woman (Gena Rowlands), but he has trouble believing the friendship comes without a catch, especially after her neighbor (Marcus Giamatti) becomes the primary suspect in the robbery of a jewelry store in which a manager is shot and killed.
Press box tickets to join Bob Costas himself for a big football playoff game lead to Monk and Stottlemeyer investigating the death of an apparent fan (Steve Monroe) in a tailgate party accident that proves more than it seems when a backup quarterback's game playbook turns up stolen.
Monk and Natalie uncover a deeper—and fatal—mystery when Monk's childhood nemesis (Noah Emmerich) hires them to prove his wife's (Julie Bowen) infidelity.
When Monk's upstairs neighbor Kevin Dorfman (Jarrad Paul) is strangled and killed on the night of his debut as a magician, Monk suspects Kevin's mentor (Steve Valentine), who is discovered to be a drug trafficker. Except the mentor in question happens to have called from Reno, Nevada right before the murder, and he can't have been in two places at once.
When the parking garage where Monk's wife was killed is set for demolition, Monk intervenes but soon finds himself investigating the disappearance of a city official key to preserving the garage. Guest stars Jon Polito and Tim Bagley.
