History Awesome / Monk

** It's also awesome in the [[TheDogBitesBack retribution]] [[AndThisIsFor factor]]. First, she's avenging her trainer, who Natashi had killed for knowing too much. Second, she's avenging Sharona, who was further traumatized by said-murder during an attempt to overcome her fear of elephants. Lastly, Bindi's avenging herself for being used by Natasha as [[AnimalAssassin an unwitting tool to commit the murder in the first place]].

* Snoop Dogg rapping TheSummation song "Set Up".

* From the episode in which Monk gets his badge back is the confrontation with Mikhail Almonov, who murdered SFPD officer Russell [=DiMarco=]. While Monk does fall for a HaveYouToldAnyoneElse moment, what happens afterward is all sorts of awesome -- when Mikhail tries to drop him from the scaffold by tilting and shaking it, Monk pulls himself up from the bottom, stabs said guy in the leg with his badge, and then throws away his pistol before suspending him upside down from the scaffold, all while terrified by being many stories off the ground.

** Cindy Chow demonstrates Monk's ability to piece connections together that make him realize that three seemingly improvised murders are the work of one individual

* In "[[Recap/MonkS2E14MrMonkAndTheCaptainsWife Mr. Monk and the Captain's Wife]]", Leland's wife Karen has been hospitalized after Coker shoots a tow truck driver, causing the truck to swerve into the path of her oncoming van, and she collided with the car the truck was transporting. Despite Monk identifying Coker as the guy who committed the shooting, as well as shot another truck driver at the truck depot, they are unable to find the evidence needed to arrest Coker: the MacGuffin that Coker was after (the car was his, and it was being repossessed; he was trying to grab a pistol he had stashed in the glovebox that connected him to another crime), and a pair of shoes that he took off the driver (as Coker hadn't had time to get his shoes on before racing out the door with his rifle to shoot the driver). Monk then hears a garbage truck being loaded and realizes that today is garbage day, and ''runs after the garbage truck, jumps on and flings the bags out of it''. After a few minutes of searching, they find one garbage bag containing the pistol and the driver's shoes.

* In "Mr. Monk Stays in Bed", when Natalie is taken hostage by a criminal and brought to the dump in order to find a piece of evidence that could get him convicted, Monk manages to come in, tackle the guy, and then beats him down with trash long enough for the police to arrive. Oh yeah, and at the time Monk also happened to be ''sick and wearing nothing but his pajamas and bathrobe at the time''.
** Just to elaborate, Monk. Weaponizing ''garbage'', his true nemesis. And succeeding.

* Then there's his response when he manages to get his ArchEnemy Dale 'The Whale' Biederbeck arrested for murder in their first encounter in the series; Dale, who is grotesquely overweight, lunges at Monk to try and throttle him, but can't quite reach:

* In "Mr. Monk and the Captain's Wife", Monk ''jumps into a GARBAGE truck'' to grab the incriminating evidence against Evan Coker.
** This deserves elaboration. Leland's wife Karen has been hospitalized after Coker shoots a tow truck driver, causing the truck to swerve into the path of her oncoming van, and she collided with the car the truck was transporting. Despite Monk identifying Coker as the guy who committed the shooting, as well as shot another truck driver at the truck depot, they are unable to find the evidence needed to arrest Coker: the MacGuffin that Coker was after (the car was his, and it was being repossessed; he was trying to grab a pistol he had stashed in the glovebox that connected him to another crime), and a pair of shoes that he took off the driver (as Coker hadn't had time to get his shoes on before racing out the door with his rifle to shoot the driver). Monk then hears a garbage truck being loaded and realizes that today is garbage day, and ''runs after the garbage truck, jumps on and flings the bags out of it''. After a few minutes of searching, they find one garbage bag containing the pistol and the driver's shoes.

* He also gets a couple of good moments when up against a shock jock. The episode deals with the insecurities Monk feels about his general lack of humour compared to the apparently hilarious DJ Max Hudson. He goes on Max's show, and it goes well until Max jokes about Trudy's death, prompting Monk to leap over the table and attack him. Then, at the end of the episode, when [[spoiler:Monk's finally figured out how Max killed his wife Jeanette and gotten him placed under arrest,]] he solemnly tells him "you're not laughing... now... are you?" Max Hudson says "No. I'm not" and Monk replies "Join the club".

* In the Season Four episode, "Mr. Monk and the Astronaut," Monk runs out onto a military airstrip and stands in front of an F-22 fighter to prevent Steve Wagner from taking off to dispose of evidence.

* In "Mr. Monk Goes to Mexico," Sharona and Monk head to a resort full of rich kids in the country during Spring Break to get some information from one college student in particular. The kid in question turns out to be a JerkJock frat boy who propositions Sharona when he sees her. To get the necessary info, the student suggests a drinking contest: Monk and Sharona versus him and one of his friends--whoever finishes a full pitcher of beer first wins. Monk's naturally no help (he spends the first fifteen seconds pouring a glass so the foam is even), so Sharona grabs the pitcher, throws her head back, and ''chugs the entire thing'' without drawing breath--and then she finishes Monk's glass, too! That's right--Sharona outdrinks ''two'' college age frat guys in their twenties. That is TALENT.
* In "Mr. Monk Goes to Jail," Sharona solves the case at hand on her own, with no input from Monk. When Monk tries to tell everyone what happened, Sharona announces "I know, I already did the whole summation!"

* In the season two finale "Mr. Monk Goes to Jail," Murder of the Week [[spoiler: Sylvia Fairbourne]] has hired several inmates to try to kill Monk. He's been lured into the laundry room, where he holds them off with the sprayer from one of the sinks. Apparently, obsessive cleanliness comes in handy occasionally.

* Monk studying the mummified body of a prehistoric man for a few seconds before saying "I think I know what happened." Yes, proving that [[MysteryMagnet every single corpse Monk walks by has died of murder]].

* Monk's first case, as described by Stottlemeyer in "Mr. Monk and the Carnival": A woman had supposedly committed suicide by overdosing on pills. Stottlemeyer called it suicide, every cop on the scene called it suicide, the ''medical examiner'' called it suicide. Monk walked in, took one look at the room, and called it murder. There was no water in the room, so the victim could not possibly have consumed the large pills by herself. Eight people were in that room, and only Monk noticed it.

-->''[Monk leans in towards Dale, though he staying about two inches out of reach. Dale eventually gives up in frustration]''

* Monk and WillieNelson, on clarinet and acoustic guitar respectively, serenading Trudy's grave, in "Mr. Monk and the Red-Headed Stranger".

** "Mr. Monk Makes a Friend": figuring out Monk's new PoisonousFriend Hal Tucker is using him because he knew that Tim Hayden was pistol-whipped instead of shot (due to the firing pin being worn out).

* From the episode in which Monk gets his badge back is the confrontation with Mikhail Almonov, who murdered SFPD officer Russell [=DiMarco=]. While Monk does fall for a HaveYouToldAnyoneElse moment, what happens afterward is all sorts of awesome - when Mikhail tries to drop him from the scaffold by tilting and shaking it, Monk pulls himself up from the bottom, stabs said guy in the leg with his badge, and then throws away his pistol before suspending him upside down from the scaffold, all while terrified by being many stories off the ground.

** "Mr. Monk Makes a Friend:" figuring out Monk's new PoisonousFriend Hal Tucker is using him because he knew that Tim Hayden was pistol-whipped instead of shot (due to the firing pin being worn out):

* "Mr. Monk Is Up All Night:" Randy stopping criminals while dressed in Captain America [=PJs=]. While drunk. With a garbage pan lid for a shield. The only reason it works is that the criminals are still trying to figure out how to react when the proper, non-drunk cops show up.
* "Mr. Monk Goes Camping:" In the span of a few seconds, Randy goes from being unarmed and sneaking up on Luke and Del Johnston to holding a rifle in his hands and forcing them both to surrender. Moments like these we realize why he's still a cop...

-->'''Ronnie:''' ''[shrugs, indifferently]'' I don't know what you're talking about! ''[Stottlemyer grabs Ronnie by his coattails and shoves him against the wall]''

-->'''Captain Leland Stottlemeyre:''' It means that I ''need'' that name! I need to know the name that Joey Kazarinski is using now.

* In ''Mr. Monk Goes to Hawaii'', we see Monk demonstrate that he can be protective of Natalie when someone tries to prey on her personal emotions.

-->''[Monk leans in towards Dale, though he stays inches out of reach. Dale eventually gives up in frustration]''
--> '''Adrian Monk''': It wasn't much of a fight, was it?

-->'''Monk:''' ''[without looking back]'' Oh, yes, you are.
* His street brawl with a BadSanta.
* In the episode "Mr. Monk Takes Manhattan,"

** This deserves elaboration. Leland's wife Karen has been hospitalized after someone shot a tow truck driver, causing the truck to swerve into the path of her oncoming van, and she collided with the car the truck was transporting. Despite Monk identifying Coker as the guy who committed the shooting, as well as shot another truck driver at the truck depot, they are unable to find the evidence needed to arrest Coker: the MacGuffin that Coker was after (the car was his, and it was being repossessed; he was trying to grab a pistol he had stashed in the glovebox that connected him to another crime), and a pair of shoes that he took off the driver (as Coker hadn't had time to get his shoes on before racing out the door with his rifle to shoot the driver). Monk then hears a garbage truck being loaded and realizes that today is garbage day, and ''runs after the garbage truck, jumps on and flings the bags out of it''. After a few minutes of searching, they find one garbage bag containing the pistol and the driver's shoes.

* Monk and WillieNelson, on clarinet and acoustic guitar respectively, serenading Trudy's grave.

-->'''Adrian Monk:''' You were having a sex affair with her on that couch. The cushions are backwards and one of her earrings fell off. So, it’s right here. Under here. ''[Monk walks over to the couch, picks up the earring with his tweezers, and sets it down on the table]'' She must have torn her blouse. I can see it sticking out of her briefcase. Your honor? ''[beat]''

* Monk's first case, as described by Stottlemeyer: A woman had supposedly committed suicide by overdosing on pills. Stottlemeyer called it suicide, every cop on the scene called it suicide, the ''medical examiner'' called it suicide. Monk walked in, took one look at the room, and called it murder. There was no water in the room, so the victim could not possibly have consumed the large pills by herself. Eight people were in that room, only one noticed that detail. As Stottlemeyer put it:
-->'''Stottlemeyer:''' There is only one Adrian Monk.

-->Stottlemeyer shoves Darryl against the wall and belts him]''

* Moments where Captain Stottlemeyer demonstrates Monk's power of perception:
** "Mr. Monk Is Up All Night": realizing that the tissue he was given in Jacob Posner's coin store is actually a cocktail napkin from a place that he previous claimed to have never been,

* In "Mr Monk and the End (Part 1)", Stottlemeyer needs some info from a fixer to catch Monk's killer. He tries yelling, he tries pleading for his friend's life, but the fixer taunts him by asking if Stottlemeyer is going to hit him with a phone book.
-->'''Fixer:''' People don't use phone books anymore! They use computers!
-->'''Stottlemeyer:''' You're right.

-->'''Stottlemeyer''': [[OneLiner Your computer crashed]].

* In ''Mr. Monk and the Blue Flu'', Monk and Natalie are put in charge of the homicide division of the SFPD by the mayor. The mentally-impaired detectives he has all get some awesome moments, but especially Jack Wyatt, when he does a ShootTheHostage ploy on a serial killer captured in a SWAT raid.

-->'''Stottlemeyer: There is only one Adrian Monk.

* He also gets a couple of good moments when up against a shock jock. The episode deals with the insecurities Monk feels about his general lack of humour compared to the apparently hilarious DJ. He goes on the DJ's show and the DJ makes jokes about Trudy's death, prompting Monk to leap over the table and attack him. Then, at the end of the episode, when [[spoiler:Monk's finally figured out how the DJ killed his own wife and got him placed under arrest,]] he solemnly tells him "you're not laughing... now... are you?" Hudson says "No. I'm not" and Monk replies "Join the club".

* In the Season Four episode, "Mr. Monk and the Astronaut," Monk runs out onto a military airstrip and stands in front of an F-22 fighter to prevent the pilot from taking off to dispose of evidence.

* In Mr. "Monk and the Captain's Wife", Monk ''jumps into a GARBAGE truck'' to grab the incriminating evidence against Evan Coker.

* In "Mr. Monk And The Earthquake", Captain Stottlemeyer arrives [[BigDamnHeroes just in time]] to save Sharona from a knife-wielding murderer named [[spoiler:Darryl]]. He grabs the man's knife arm and twists it behind his back, causing Darryl to swear in response to the pain.
-->'''Stottlemeyer''': I'm surprised you can talk with a broken jaw.
-->[[spoiler:'''Darryl''']]: I don't have a broken jaw.
-->'''Stottlemeyer''': Not yet.
-->Stottlemeyer shoves [[spoiler:Darryl]] against the wall and punches him in the face.
* Natalie's [[EstablishingCharacterMoment first scene]] is her [[ImprovisedWeapon stabbing an intruder with a pair of scissors]].

* Randy saves the day in "Mr. Monk Gets Married," when the suspect has ''married his much older mother''. He finds the body of Padron's partner and arrives just in time (after Monk, Sharona, and assorted extras have been locked in a closet) to stop him from fleeing the scene and to heroically demand, "Where the hell is my mother, you son of a bitch?!"
* Moments where Captain Stottlemeyer demonstrates Monk's power of perception: realizing a napkin from the suspect's coin store came from the crime scene where he claimed to have never been, figuring out Monk's new PoisonousFriend is using him because he knew a victim was beaten with a gun instead of shot, and solving a murder in Las Vegas just by looking at the inconsistency of the victim's earrings in photographs... [[DrunkenMaster while drunk]].
* Randy stopping criminals while dressed in Captain America [=PJs=]. While drunk. With a garbage pan lid for a shield. The only reason it works is that the criminals are still trying to figure out how to react when the proper, non-drunk cops show up.
* In the span of a few seconds, Randy goes from being unarmed and sneaking up on a pair of killers to holding the gun in his hands and forcing them both to surrender. Moments like these we realize why he's still a cop...

-->'''Sharona''': Look, I know when a man's lying, okay? I was married for three and a half years.
-->'''Kyle''': I didn't do it.
-->'''Sharona''': I know that smirk. My husband had that same stupid smirk on his face when he got back from Bally's, where it turns out he spent the weekend with Betsy Bennett, his so-called "ex-girlfriend".
-->'''Kyle''': Bally's, lady? What are you talking about?
-->'''Sharona''': Is that chalk on your hand? Maybe I should call your parents.
-->'''Kyle''': You don't have to. My dad's a gym teacher here, and he's gonna be pissed!
-->'''Sharona''': I'm really scared.
-->'''Kyle''': You should be.

-->'''Kyle''': Ow! You're gonna get fired, lady!
-->'''Sharona''': Yeah? I don't work here, chum.

* At the end of ''Mr. Monk and His Biggest Fan'', Disher gets one. Throughout the episode, he had been wasting time playing a Jenga-like game, much to the annoyance of Stottlemeyer and the amusement of the others. When confronting the killer in a warehouse filled with large bundles of wood, Disher lifts out a long 4x4 piece of wood and shoves it back through the hole, hitting the killer on the other side and knocking him out. "Stupid game, huh?"

* Natalie and Sharona teaming up to beat the VillainOfTheWeek into submission.

* Fending off a bear in "Mr. Monk goes Camping"
* From the episode in which Monk gets his badge back is the confrontation with the murderer of a semi-corrupt cop. While Monk does fall for a HaveYouToldAnyoneElse moment, what happens afterward is all sorts of awesome - when said murderer tries to drop him from a scaffold by tilting and shaking it, Monk pulls himself up from the bottom, stabs said guy with his badge, and then throws away his gun before suspending him upside down from the scaffold, all while terrified by being a few stories from the ground.

* In Mr. "Monk and the Captain's Wife", Monk ''jumps into a GARBAGE truck'' to solve a crime that personally affected Capt. Stottlemeyer.
** This deserves elaboration. [[spoiler:Monk and co have finally tracked down the man who sniped a truck driver, which directly lead to Stottlemeyer's wife being critically injured when she collided with the truck. However, they are unable to find the evidence needed to arrest the killer, namely his handgun that he had killed the victim over, and the victim's shoes. (the killer was barefoot during the shooting, and stole the victim's shoes to cover his tracks) Monk then realizes that today is garbage day, and ''runs after the garbage truck, jumps on and flings the bags out of it''. Sure enough, both the killer's handgun and the victim's shoes are found in the bags.]]
* The finale: Monk waits outside the culprit's house and makes him dig up evidence at gunpoint. While near-death from poison.
---> '''Monk:''' Your garage was open. I borrowed a shovel.
* In "Mr. Monk and the Game Show", Monk realizes how a certain contestant has been cheating ([[spoiler: The host indicates the right answer by the corner he's holding the question card from]]) and makes it to the bonus round (to expose the murder) [[HoistByHisOwnPetard by defeating the champion with his own method]].

* In one episode, Mr. Monk is contracted to testify that a man is not, in fact, as legally dead as he appears. Given that his testimony is shaky (they met in a dimly lit bar), the head of proceedings decides to [[SchmuckBait test Mr. Monk's observation and memory]] and asks him to first turn around and then to describe his shirt. Adrian pauses and then asks him ''which'' shirt he's talking about. He then proceeds to reveal that the lawyer in question is having an affair with his stenographer, who is wearing his second shirt (the lawyer cut himself shaving and there's a spot of blood on her collar); the stenographer's shirt was torn by her dropped earring, and part of the fabric is sticking out of her bag. The lawyer [[{{Touche}} gracefully]] decides to accept his testimony.