Just wondering.
All of Monk's assistants have been women. First Sharona, then Natalie, and in the novels Julie was his assistant for a short time. I was just wondering becuase. before we knew anything about Natalie, after Bitty Schram left, I kind of thought he could get a male assistant.
Any thoughts?
Personally, I wouldn't have enjoyed Monk having a male assistant. The rest of the main cast were all males and I really enjoyed having a female in the cast. It would have completely changed the whole dynamic if his assistant would have been a male and I don't think it would have worked.
shareA female makes the most sense because it's best for him. He's surrounded by alpha males at work, investigates horrific homicide cases, and lives alone. He needs someone in his life who is nurturing and compassionate, everything the job isn't.
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I don't see Randy, or many of the cops in Monkland as Alpha Males. Stotts is one, There may be others, but the cops we see seem to be regular Joes.
I can understand what you're going for. But there are a couple of points where I disagree:
I personally don't think that Monk finds homicide investigations to be horrific, and I think he is very comfortable when he is in that environment. It's where he shines. It seems to be the one of the few comfort zones he has. I don't think it's because he's "used to it", but because he's so focused on putting things in order that he isn't distracted by the horror of it. I had a similar phenomena in life drawing in art class. After 15 minutes of awkwardness, you don't see a nude model, you focus on light and shadow and composition.
I also think living alone is a comfort to him, because he can control his little environment. Having other people in his house for extended periods of time seems to drive him crazy (Old Man), perhaps with the exception of having his assistant there, but maybe there are ground rules at his house when Sharona or Natalie are there. (Are they allowed to use his bathroom, for instance? Or do they have to go to the Stop and Go down the street?
And I think there may be a confusion: having someone "in his life" is different than the job of being his assistant. Both require some amount of caring and compassion, but the job is to assist him with things so that he is able to focus on certain things. To drive him around. To have his Monkish supplies, and to help him avoid or to remove distractions while he is working.
The other officers were a bit cold to Monk, especially in the beginning. They tended to mock him and treat him with derision, and dismiss him from their social circles. He was simply tolerated because he was brought in as a consultant, but other than that, he was looked down upon as being unfit for duty, broken. Sharona was more than a personal assistant, she brought a little light into his life.
I have my experiences too. I understand your art analogy, but as a retired policeman, I can't equate an art class with the stark reality of dealing with the loss of human life. (Not that you were trying to do that either.) We have tools and techniques to get through it without going crazy, but it takes a tremendous personal toll. We all need balance in our lives and most of us rotate out of Homicide or Sex Crimes after a few years for sanity's sake. So there's my 2 cents.
I agree he likes living alone, and he's probably most comfortable that way, but that's only because he can't find a way to fill Trudy's void. It's typically not healthy to be alone for too long.
So a female assistant with a kid makes some sense as an instant family that he can tap into. It also help the audience (on a selfish note) to have something nicer to look at than a squadroom full of cops. Whether you're a Sharona or Natalie fan, she's a contrast to the male-dominated police force.
We can agree to disagree, it's the sign of a quality show that there's something for everybody, the fans aren't just a monolithic block.
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The other officers were a bit cold to Monk, especially in the beginning. They tended to mock him and treat him with derision, and dismiss him from their social circles. He was simply tolerated because he was brought in as a consultant, but other than that, he was looked down upon as being unfit for duty, broken.
It seems like they tried out a male assistant and it didn't work so they killed him off after one episode. It was some *beep* Jared from Subway-looking tool. He was another compulsively wacky guy so it just didn't work out because they needed a straight man.
shareKevin was Monk's "assistant" in season 3, and was killed in season 7. He was in 6 episodes. That being said, I'm glad they killed him.
Mr. Monk and the Paperboy (16 January 2004)
Mr. Monk and the Game Show (13 August 2004)
Mr. Monk and Mrs. Monk (12 August 2005)
Mr. Monk Is on the Air (2 February 2007)
Mr. Monk's 100th Case (5 September 2008)
Mr. Monk and the Magician (13 February 2009)