History Recap / MonkS7E7MrMonksHundredthCase

* ADeadlyAffair: Novak strangled Kate Kindel for this reason. Kate threatening to tell his wife provided the motive for the murder. It turns out that Novak's wife already knew because he came home late and had lipstick in his pocket.

* EveryoneHasStandards: Mr. Gleckson breaks his character as a vampire when he learns that two of his former employees were murdered by a serial killer. It turns out he was a RedHerring and had nothing to do with the deaths.

* LoopholeAbuse: At the end Monk considers retiring from detective work because he solved his hundredth case. Natalie gets him to change his mind by stating that because he actually solved a second case that night, his actual record total is 10'''1'''.

* NoodleIncident: How did Ralph Roberts, the former cult leader from "[[Recap/MonkS6E11MrMonkJoinsACult Mr. Monk Joins a Cult]]," end up in prison? While it isn't hard to imagine how a personality like him landed there, it's never explained; the last we saw of him, he was exposed as a fraud in front of several of his followers, but no details are given on his having faced criminal charges for that or anything else.

** Stottlemeyer switching channels to a basketball game at commercial breaks, and getting reprimanded by Natalie.

* ChekhovsGun: The ''In Focus'' episode itself, as Monk suspects something is amiss after watching it back. When the police first raid Douglas Thurman's photo lab, the camera sweeps past a table of developed rolls of film, all lying on their sides, yet when it pans back to it a moment later, one of them is standing upright; said roll, with Kate Kindel's photos, had just been planted there. Later, at the crime scene at Kate's house, Monk asks for someone to turn on a light and James Novak, standing by the wall switches, flips on the table lamp next to him. Novak had five light switches to choose from, but turned on the exact right switch (number four) on the first try, showing that he was already familiar with the place because he'd been there before.

** Also, even taking in account the later, Monk has solved way more than 100 cases. [[JustifiedTrope Justified]] in that they're counting from when he was discharged from the police.

* ChekhovsGun: ''In Focus'' itself. Monk suspects something is amiss as, at Douglas Thurman's photo lab, he discovers a film roll standing up when a minute ago they were all shown lying on their side (the one up had pictures of the fourth victim, Kate Kindel) and that, when asked by Monk to turn on the light at the crime scene, James Novak had five light switches next to him, but correctly turned on number four, for the the table lamp next to Monk (that's because he had already been there).

** In-universe, Monk uses the "[[BuffySpeak picture freezer]]" on clips from the ''In Focus'' episode to prove that Nowak had planted evidence at Thurman's photo lab to frame him for Kate Kindel's murder.

* ChekhovsGun: ''In Focus'' itself. Monk suspects something is amiss as, at Douglas Thurman's photo lab, he discovers a film roll standing up when they were supposed to be all lying down (the one up had pictures of the fourth victim, Kate Kindel) and that, when asked by Monk to turn on the light at the crime scene, James Novak had five light switches next to him, but correctly turned on number four (that's because he had already been there).

* FreezeFrameBonus: ''In Focus'' is produced by David Hoberman, who in real life is an executive producer on ''Monk'', including this episode. There are other names on the ''In Focus'' end credits, but Stottlemeyer changes the channel to a basketball game.

* GenericCopBadges: Early on in the ''In Focus'' episode, Novak says that Monk's psychological condition was so bad he had to surrender his badge. We see Badge 8396 on the screen very briefly. While it does look like an authentic SFPD badge, there's nothing to indicate that it was ever Monk's actual badge, nor is it necessarily the badge that a cop like Monk would have had in real life back then.

** Jimmy Belmont from "[[Recap/MonkS5E14MrMonkVisitsAFarm Mr. Monk Visits a Farm]]" talks as though Monk solved the case when Randy seemed to solve it (and did find the definitive evidence all on his own). It's possible that by interacting with other killers Monk put away, he pieced together that Monk is really the one who figured things out.

** ''[[Recap/MonkS5E3MrMonkAndTheBigGame Mr. Monk and the Big Game]]'' stated he has already solved well over 100 cases. This may have been counting cases when he was on the police department, while this special may be focusing on him solving cases as a consultant.
** They state that Jack Monk was a linen salesman, but ''[[Recap/MonkS5E9MrMonkMeetsHisDad Mr. Monk Meets His Dad]]'' stated he was a School Book Writer.
** Marcy is shown to still be Monk's biggest fan, but in ''[[Recap/MonkS6E1MrMonkAndHisBiggestFan Mr. Monk and His Biggest Fan]]'' she completely lost interest in him at the end.
** Joey Krenshaw from ''[[Recap/MonkS6E7MrMonkAndTheDaredevil Mr. Monk and the Daredevil]]'' calls Monk's summation of his crime "the longest four minutes of my life". However, he was knocked out when Monk gave the summation to Harold and Natalie.
** Jimmy Belmont from ''[[Recap/MonkS5E14MrMonkVisitsAFarm Mr. Monk Visits a Farm]]'' talks as though Monk solved the case when Randy seemed to solve it (and did find the definitive evidence all on his own). It's possible that by interacting with other killers Monk put away, he pieced together that Monk is really the one who figured things out.

** During this episode Monk has already solved his 100th case and is celebrating said milestone by having a party where they watch the ''In Focus'' coverage of it. But, as Natalie points out by the end of the episode, he actually solved ''101'' cases - the 101st being the Kate Kindel one, which was actually solved during the episode, and which was separate from albeit related to the SerialKiller one featured in ''In Focus''.

* WomanScorned: Melissa Novak hands over the evidence that proves her husband was a murderer.

* RightInFrontOfMe: James Novak is flirting with Randy's new girlfriend Jillian right in front of the latter and in the same room as the former's wife, Melissa. To rub it in, James also disses at Randy right in front of the latter. Even worse: Jillian has visibly got taken by James and even accepts a kiss in her mouth when he went to compliment her for her ability to play dying women. Also, she was the only one visibly shocked when James Novak is revealed to be Kate Kindel's murderer.

* ADeadlyAffair: Novak strangled Kate Kindel for this reason. Kate threatening to tell his wife provided the motive for the murder. It turns out that Novak's wife already knew because he came home late and had lipstick in his purse.

* EntertaininglyWrong: When Melissa found lipstick in her husband's purse after he came home at night, she assumed it was part of the affair. She goes IKnewThereWasSomethingAboutYou when Monk reveals that James stole the lipstick to frame the serial killer and fetches it.

* ProperlyParanoid: Melissa found the lipstick in James's purse, and kept it. It pays off big-time when she can prove her husband murdered Kate Kindel.

** Stottlemeyer switching channels to a basketball game, and getting reprimanded by Natalie.

** Previously Monk had not spoken to his brother Ambrose for years because the latter hadn't called him after Trudy's murder (and that was because the latter felt guilty). Now, Monk went to his childhood home (which was where Ambrose lived where they got back together) and sat in a chair right after the murder.

* AdultFear:
** Downplayed. Melissa is really annoyed and hurt that her husband is flirting with women in front of her.
** Monk starts to tear up when he recalls Trudy's death, and each death of a young murdered woman brings back those memories.

* ContinuityNod: All over the place with the ShowWithinAShow, hitting its peak when Novak interviews Ralph Roberts from ''[[Recap/MonkS6E11MrMonkJoinsACult Mr. Monk Joins a Cult]]'', and the perps from ''[[Recap/MonkS6E3MrMonkAndTheNakedMan Mr. Monk And The Naked Man]]'', ''Mr. Monk Visits A Farm'', ''[[Recap/MonkS5E11MrMonkMakesAFriend Mr. Monk Makes A Friend]]'', and ''[[Recap/MonkS6E7MrMonkAndTheDaredevil Mr. Monk And The Daredevil]]'', where they all shoot the breeze about how they were caught, including congratulating each other on their {{Evil Plan}}s.

** ''[[Recap/MonkS5E3MrMonkAndTheBigGame Mr. Monk and the Big Game]]'' stated he has already solved well over 100 cases.

Monk's 100th homicide investigation, about a notorious serial killer, is covered by the TV newsmagazine ''In Focus''. However, as the gang is gathered for a watch party at host James Novak's house, Monk realizes he missed something...
!! Tropes for this episode include:

* OverlyLongGag: The documentary shows Natalie, Randy and Stottlemeyer [[TheLongList listing]] "some" of Monk's phobias. Obviously, they only scratched the surface...

* BrickJoke: Jillian's ability to play dying or murdered women. In the climax, she does this when Novak's gun fires, out of habit. When Randy realizes that she isn't hurt, he compliments her performance.
* BullyingADragon: In desperation, Novak tries to pull a gun on everyone when his wife busts him as the murderer, in a party that includes two professional cops and one ex-cop. Stottlemeyer easily disarms him when Randy distracts Novak.

* ContinuityNod: All over the place with the ShowWithinAShow, hitting its peak when Novak interviews the culprits of ''[[Recap/MonkS6E11MrMonkJoinsACult Mr. Monk Joins a Cult]]'', ''[[Recap/MonkS6E3MrMonkAndTheNakedMan Mr. Monk And The Naked Man]]'', ''Mr. Monk Visits A Farm'', ''[[Recap/MonkS5E11MrMonkMakesAFriend Mr. Monk Makes A Friend]]'', and ''[[Recap/MonkS6E7MrMonkAndTheDaredevil Mr. Monk And The Daredevil]]'', where they all shoot the breeze about how they were caught, including congratulating each other on their {{Evil Plan}}s.

* EveryoneHasStandards: Mr. Gleckson breaks his character as a blood-hungry vampire when he learns that two of his former employees were murdered by a serial killer. It turns out he was a RedHerring and had nothing to do with the deaths.

* FriendlyEnemy: The culprits Monk caught don't really have a bad opinion of him when they were being interviewed.

** In Universe, Randy is credited as a sergeant rather than a lieutenant.

* FramingTheGuiltyParty; James Novak's attempts to cover up his murder of Kate Kindel by framing the serial killer for it. This is made easier thanks to Novak, as host of the show, having full access to Thurman's MO and other information the SFPD kept out of the public eye.

* RunningGag: Throughout the documentary, Disher attempts to coin a nickname for the serial killer. Ideas include "Lipstick Killer", "Lipstick Assassin", "Cosmetic Assassin" and "Mr. Lipstick".

* NoodleIncident: Ralph Roberts, the former cult leader from "[[Recap/MonkS6E11MrMonkJoinsACult Mr. Monk Joins a Cult]]," is seen being interviewed from a prison. It's not difficult to imagine how a personality like him landed there (the last we saw of him, he was exposed as a fraud in front of several of his followers), but it's never explained in either episode.

** Joey Krenshaw from ''[[Recap/MonkS6E6MrMonkAndTheDaredevil Mr. Monk and the Daredevil]]'' calls Monk's summation of his crime "the longest four minutes of my life". However, he was knocked out when Monk gave the summation to Harold and Natalie.

** Joey Krenshaw from ''[[Recap/MonkS6E6MrMonkAndTheDareDevil]]'' calls Monk's summation of his crime "the longest four minutes of my life". However, he was knocked out when Monk gave the summation to Harold and Natalie.
** Jimmy Belmont from ''[[Recap/MonkS5E14MrMonkVisitsAFarm]]'' acts as though Monk solved the case when Randy seemed to solve it (and did find the definitive evidence all on his own). It's possible that by interacting with other killers Monk put away, he pieced together that Monk is really the one who figured things out.

** They state that Jack Monk was a linin salesman, but ''[[Recap/MonkS5E9MrMonkMeetsHisDad Mr. Monk Meets His Dad]]'' stated he was a School Book Writer.

* ChekhovsGun: ''In Focus'' itself. Monk suspects something is amiss as, at Douglas Thurman's photo lab, he discovers a film roll standing up when they were supposed to be all lying down (the one up had pictures of the fourth victim, Kate Kindel) and that, when asked by Monk to turn on the light at the crime scene, James Novak had five light switches next to him, but correctly turned on number four (that's because he had already been there before).

* ContinuitySnarl: ''[[Recap/MonkS5E3MrMonkAndTheBigGame Mr. Monk and the Big Game]]'' stated he has already solved well over 100 cases.

* ContinuitySnarl: ''[[MonkS5E3MrMonkAndTheBigGame Mr. Monk and the Big Game]]'' stated he has already solved well over 100 cases.