Recap / Monk S6E1 "Mr. Monk and His Biggest Fan"

Marci Maven (Sarah Silverman) is accused of negligent homicide when a neighbor accuses her dog, Otto, of mauling his wife to death. The problem? Otto died himself before the killing took place.

This episode contains examples of the following tropes:

• Actor Allusion: Marci switches her affections from Monk to actor F. Murray Abraham - who played the uncle of Tony Shalhoub's character in Thir13en Ghosts.
• The Alibi: Marci's dog died before Mrs. Ringel was killed. Of course everyone thinks Marci killed her dog after the murder out of panic so she wouldn't get in trouble.
• Bachelor Auction: The police department is holding a bachelor auction for charity. Monk, not liking this event, gives money to Natalie so that she can "buy" him and free him from going on a date. Captain Stottlemeyer and Lieutenant Disher also participate. Randy gets a woman whose nine year old son apparently wants to be a cop, but turns out to have reconsidered later on. Stottlemeyer ends up with his girlfriend Linda Fusco, which turns out to be opportune for both of them because their previous dates had always been canceled by Stottlemeyer's work getting in the way. Natalie tries to bid for Monk, but is outbid by Monk's obsessed fan Marci Maven, who wants to hire Monk to clear her recently deceased dog of murder.
• Cannot Tell Fiction from Reality: Marci briefly confuses one of her "fanfiction" stories about Monk with real life, when he says he doesn't carry a gun.
• Chekhov's Skill: Randy spends a lot of the episode playing a copyright-friendly version of Jenga throughout the episode. When pinned by the killer at a lumber yard, he moves one of the pieces of lumber to hit him in the head on the other side. He even quips about when Stottlemeyer called it a "stupid game".
• The Cuckoolander Was Right: Monk finds clues that confirm Marci's dog was framed, which means that as much as he absolutely hates to admit it: "Maybe she's not crazy - well, she is crazy - but she might not be wrong."
• "Eureka!" Moment: Linda feeds Stottlemeyer a chocolate covered strawberry during their date. He looks at the bite he took out, and realizes the bite marks on Debbie's body were actually upside down.
• Foreshadowing: Linda buys Stottlemeyer at the police Bachelor Auction, joking, "what does a girl have to do to get your attention? Murder someone?"
• Leaning on the Fourth Wall: Marci names some previous episode titles. Monk is baffled—naturally, since those titles shouldn't exist In-Universe.
  Marci: You know, it's like "Mr. Monk and the Astronaut." Or "Mr. Monk Goes Back to School." Oh, remember that one?
  Monk: No! Where are you getting these names?
• Loony Fan: Marci Maven, first seen in "Mr. Monk And the TV Star". She was a big fan of Brad Terry, a TV star with a seemingly airtight alibi for the murder of his ex-wife, but after Monk cracked that case, Marci forgot about Brad Terry and became obsessed with Monk instead. In this episode, she becomes disillusioned with Monk, and transfers her fandom to F. Murray Abraham.
• Murder Is the Best Solution: The episode never really explains why John set out to murder his wife in the first place. We don't even get a phone call to a girlfriend like Kyle did in "Mr. Monk and the Class Reunion", just nothing.
• Noodle Incident: Monk and Natalie bring up some occasion in the past when Marci tried to kidnap Monk and drive him to Corpus Christi, with Marci's only explanation being that it was Thanksgiving.
• Stalker with a Crush: Marci has become so infatuated with Monk that she began stalking him. She took his personal belongings like his glass, his rug, and a pair of his pants; she has been keeping up with his cases and recreating his scenes with romantic scenes written in; and she had made several songs for him. She also takes pictures of Monk and Natalie and edits her face onto Natalie’s body and knows his routine to a tee as well as what kind of shampoo he uses. Her stalking got so bad Monk got a restraining order against her.
• Stalking Is Funny if It Is Female After Male: Played with. Monk is rightfully creeped out by Marci’s stalking of him to the point where he had a restraining order against her. However, the tone gives the impression some of her antics are seen as comical.
• This Bear Was Framed: John Ringel murders his wife with a pair of dog teeth on the ends of garden shears, using a mold made from the jaws and teeth of Marci Maven's dog Otto, who had previously attacked his wife. The plan hits a snag as he kills his wife after Otto has died.
• Too Dumb to Live: Marci decides to give up in the climax because she realizes how dangerous it is working with Monk. This gets her and Monk captured by the killer.