Opinion

Comments on characters

Saturday, August 2, 2008

Hi neighbors. There is great news on television -- the new Monk season has started! The main characters in Monk are Adrian Monk played by Tony Shalhoub. Monk is a detective who gained a lot of phobias and obsessive/compulsive behaviors when he lost his wife Trudy in a car bombing.

Monk wouldn't be able to function at all without his current assistant Natalie Teeger played by Traylor Howard.

The first couple of years his assistant was Sharona Fleming played by Bitty Schram. Schram decided to leave the show and her leaving was written into the next season's scrip when it was declared that Sharona stopped working for Monk when she decided to move back to New Jersey and re-marry her ex-husband.

Other regulars on the show are Captain Stottlemeyer, played by Ted Levine and Lieutenant Disher played by Jason Gray-Stanford. Although Stottlemeyer is the faithful friend and remains ever hopeful for Monk's improvement and return to duty; Disher, his bumbling and over-eager assistant, is often jealous of the captain's belief in Monk's abilities.

With all of Monk's mental problems, he sees a psychiatrist three times a week. Up until this season, his doctor was Dr. Charles Kroger, played by Stanley Kamel. When Kamel suddenly died of a heart attack the early part of this year, his death was written into the new season's script and a new doctor introduced.

Dr. Neven Bell is played by Hector Elizondo and I can't wait to see how the interaction with this new psychiatrist affects Monk's character.

Monk is both a comedy and a real mystery show and has won several awards. You owe it to yourself to at least check it out once. You'll thank me later.

If you like Monk, stick around afterwards and watch Psych. Psych manages to maintain a little bit of a mystery to solve during all the general confusion created by the characters.

The main character, Shawn Spencer played by James RodayRole, is the son of a policeman. From the time he was a child, his father taught him to observe closely and notice details. (Hat tip to Sherlock Holmes no doubt.) When he finds himself unemployable at the police department, Spencer decides to use his skills of observation to pretend to be a psychic and hire himself out to the local police homicide squad. Oddly enough, it works.

His best friend since childhood is Burton Guster, played by Dule Hill. Guster "Gus" has a 'real' job but is easily manipulated by Spencer to aide him in his homicide investigations.

His father is Henry Spencer, played by Corbin Bernsen, a well-known actor. He plays the role very tongue-in-cheek.

The head detective of the local police department who feels that Spencer's over-acted psychic show is all just a show, is Carlton Lassiter, played by Timothy Omundson. He is often called "Lassie" by Spencer. You may remember him from Judging Amy -- another well-written and well-acted show.

The cool thing about Psych is the animated short featured between commercial breaks in the show. This is a cartoon version of Spencer and Guster as children and relates some of the capers they always seemed to be getting into trouble over.

Two of my favorite female lead television shows have also started new seasons, Saving Grace and The Closer. Both of these female characters are powerful women who have a lot to deal with. Both are detectives, both have problems with men and commitment, but always end up solving the case and (barely) making it through the show.

Be warned, Saving Grace is a show for adults only. Holly Hunter, an actress with more awards than she has shelf space to keep them, plays Grace Hanadarko, a hard-living and full-throttle detective who's character unfolds slowly as the back story is filled in a little more with each show. She is constantly being visited by an angel, Earl, played by Leon Rippy.

Laura San Giacomo, another award winning actress, plays Rhetta Rodriguez, the Oklahoma Police Department criminalist and Grace's girlfriend and confidant since childhood. Rodriguez is the only person Grace trusts with the knowledge of Earl.

If you can get past her addictions and the occasional cuss word, her search for, and contentions with, her faith are thought-provoking.

The Closer stars Kyra Sedgwick as Deputy Chief Brenda Johnson. This show has wonderful writers and the plots are always tricky and carried along atop the on-going sub-plot of Johnson's personal life. Again, the lead character is a strong woman with a unique view of life in general and crime in particular.

Until the next time friends, I hope you take time to check some of these shows out, you need to stay by the air conditioner anyway.