Monk

After Michelle Cullman lures Jack Leverett to her apartment for an illicit tryst, Jack becomes furious when he discovers a hidden video camera. Jack and Michelle struggle over the camera, the fight escalates, and Michelle winds up dead. Jack wipes away his fingerprints, grabs the camera, and flees the scene. The next day, Monk and Natalie arrive at Michelle Cullman's apartment to investigate.

The largest garbage strike in San Francisco history has just begun. Trash is piling up everywhere, and the sanitation union's boss, Jimmy Cusack, is promising a prolonged work stoppage. It's a nightmare scenario for Monk, and it's only made worse when Jimmy Cusack is found dead in his office of an apparent suicide.

When Julie's high school basketball coach dies in an apparent accident, Julie and her friends from the basketball team suspect that their coach has been murdered, and they want to hire Monk. Monk takes the case, and he and Natalie go to Julie's high school to investigate.

When Monk stops by his local firehouse to have his smoke detectors inspected, a fire breaks out in a nearby home, calling away the fire company and leaving Monk alone with a retired fireman named Rusty. Soon thereafter, an unidentified man enters the firehouse. Rusty confronts the intruder, who hits Rusty over the head with a shovel.

Inspired by her late grandfather's entrepreneurial spirit, Natalie decides that Monk needs to go into business for himself as a private investigator. Monk is surprised to learn that Natalie has already taken the initiative and rented out an office, complete with decor straight out of a Hollywood detective movie.

Katherine Rutherford walks out of her apartment and notices the elevator is out of order again. A man comes up behind and also notices. Being heavyset, it will take her a while to get down the stairs so she tells the man to go ahead of her, but instead he pushes her down the stairs, where she breaks her neck and dies. The killer breaks a necklace with beads to make it look like she tripped.

Early one morning, Dr. Kroger's cleaning lady is found stabbed to death in Kroger's office, and the police suspect that one of Kroger's patients could be the culprit. Consumed with the thought that one of his patients would commit murder, Dr. Kroger retires, sending Monk into a complete tailspin and out to uncover what really happened to the cleaning lady.

When Captain Stottlemeyer's son Jared skips school to attend a rock music festival, Monk and Natalie join the Captain at the festival to help look for him. Monk hates the atmosphere and wants to leave, but soon a roadie named Stork turns up dead of an apparent drug overdose. One of Stork's friends, a fellow roadie named Kendra, insists that Stork was killed.

Monk is preparing to spend a quiet Christmas at home, until his father, Jack, who he hasn't spoken to in 40 years, rolls into town! But dad's not sticking around -- he's a truck driver with a tight delivery schedule. Leaving behind Natalie's holiday party and all that is familiar to him, Monk joins his estranged father on the road.

A missing millionaire suffering from leprosy comes out of hiding and hires Monk to recover some papers from his estate. Monk takes the job, and soon finds himself in the middle of a shadowy murder plot worthy of a classic Hollywood film noir.

Gail Segalis and her new boyfriend have just returned home from a trip to Europe. To celebrate their one week anniversary, Gail uncorks an expensive bottle of wine. To her surprise, there's something inside - but it's not wine. Her boyfriend, who just stepped out of the shower, flies into a rage and strangles her with a towel! Gail Segalis falls to the ground, dead.

Monk and Natalie are on a visit to Natalie's parents' house, when the conversation turns to their neighbor, Paul Buchanan. Paul grew up with Natalie and has long harbored feelings for her, but Natalie thinks he is a creep. Natalie's parents explain the circumstances of the recent deaths of Paul's father and stepmother.

Popular shock jock Max Hudson is doing his morning radio show when he gets a phone call. Across town at Max's house, his wife, Jeanette, has been found dead. In an apparent accident, Jeanette left the gas from her bedroom fireplace on, took a nap, and died of asphyxiation. Jeanette's sister, Linda, goes to Monk for help.

Lt. Disher has decided to resign from the police force after botching a big drug raid. Capt. Stottlemeyer tries to persuade him not to quit, but it's no use. Uncle Harvey left Randy his farm after committing suicide, and Randy has decided to move to the country to start a new life. On the farm, Randy has reservations about the death of his uncle.

It's near midnight and a street musician is getting ready to go home. Unfortunately, it's not the musician's night. As he walks down a dark alley, an attacker emerges and whacks him over the head with a tire iron. But the attacker is not finished. He proceeds to suffocate, poison, stab, shoot, and crush the musician, killing the victim six different ways in all.

It's late at night in a major hospital, and everything is quiet. An old man shuffles down a hall, into an elevator, and right into the office of Dr. Graydon Whitcomb. With an amazing burst of strength and speed, the old man lifts his oxygen tank and swings it at Dr. Whitcomb's head! The next day Monk shows up at the hospital with his own medical emergency: a bloody nose.