What I’m Watching: Monk

Monk: Season 8, Episode 7 “Mr. Monk and the Voodoo Curse” (B)

It looks like the writers of USA’s two Friday-night comedies aren’t really communicating very well. This episode’s replica of the famous scene from “The Exorcist” under the street light was done exactly the same way in the episode of “Psych” from three weeks ago. That kind of supernatural episode is something far more likely to be found on the other show, and therefore seeing it as the central plotline on this show was pretty surprising. More so, it’s a sign that the resolution will be something far simpler than what’s originally suggested, like the UFO episode several weeks back. I also tend to worry about voodoo-centric episodes because, while it works on “The X-Files,” the result is usually both creepy and underwhelming. Fortunately, that’s not the case here, and the ultimate revelation of the culprit really enhances the episode. Monk’s theory, as always, makes immense sense, and it’s a cool way of connecting all the cases. The presence of the voodoo-vending reverend provided a nice foil to Monk, and the two of them riding together behind the ambulance was fun. The reorganizing of the desks at the police station is an amusing gimmick that recognizes Monk’s particular tics, but it does give the sense that this show really isn’t in a rush to get anywhere fast. This show’s never been about speed, but this episode really drives home the fact that “Monk” is ending this year, and they’ll be here right up until the first week of December when the show goes off the air. It’s still a good episode, but normal homicides are clever enough to sustain each week, and grounding the crimes in the real world might allow this show more opportunity to use all of its characters well, like in last week’s episode, without an unnecessarily outlandish introduction.