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Mr. Monk Makes a Friend is the eleventh episode of the fifth season of Monk.
Synopsis[]
A fun-loving everyman named Hal bumps into Monk, and the two become fast friends. For the first time in his life, Monk appears to have a buddy. But is Hal up to something?
Plot[]
In her apartment, Gail Segalis is unpacking from an overseas trip while her new boyfriend is showering. She asks her boyfriend if he can stay long enough to have a drink, and proposes to open up a bottle of Santorini wine that he purchased. The boyfriend tells her not to, but she overrides his objection. He gets out of the shower, puts on a bathrobe, reprimands her for opening the bottle, and proceeds to fatally strangle her with a hand towel.
Monk has his grocery shopping done, but another shopper, Hal Tucker, collides with him outside the store. They hit it off immediately, and promise to meet again soon.
Police investigate Gail Segalis' murder. Monk finds a wet candle in the bathroom and discovers that the towels on the rack are still wet. He concludes that the attacker was in the shower when Gail said or did something that upset him. He got out of the shower, not bothering to turn off the water. He grabbed a towel off the rack, then killed her with it. Monk, Stottlemeyer, and Disher know Gail: she's a former police dispatcher. Monk remembers that he carpooled with her when he was on the force, and that she told him a lot about vacations she was planning, promising to send him a picture if she ever got to the Parthenon. They find photos of her and a boyfriend that were taken in Athens and a wine box with a price tag in Euros, but no wine bottle. While they're looking over the scene, Natalie receives a phone call from Hal. Everyone is incredulous that Monk has a friend, but Monk couldn't be happier.
The following day at Monk's apartment, Hal arrives to pick up Monk for a Sharks hockey game. Natalie and Julie are there, and they find Hal to be charming and friendly, making Natalie suspicious. Monk and Hal get along at the hockey game like a couple of old pals. During a break in the game, Hal runs into another friend of his, Eddie Lawson, who tactlessly mentions Hal having done time in prison. Hal admits that he did a year in prison for receiving stolen property, namely some antique coins, and says he planned to tell Monk but was hesitant because of his being a former policeman. Monk has his first doubts, but finds he is willing to look past his friend's past indiscretion.
The next day, Stottlemeyer and Disher interrogate Tim Hayden, the man in the photographs found at Gail's apartment. He insists that he was at his restaurant all day on the day of the murder, and his employees will back him up. He admits that he took Gail to Greece, but he returned early because she dumped him for another man she met at their hotel. Tim doesn't know the other guy's name, only that he had a beard and a lot of money since he bought her an expensive bottle of Santorini wine. He says he'd recognize the man's face if he saw him again. After the interrogation, Stottlemeyer and Disher join Monk and Natalie in the observation room. Stottlemeyer is suspicious of Hal and privately warns Monk that Hal could be a con artist who takes money from people by "softening the mark". Monk finds this an absurd suspicion because he is not even mildly wealthy.
Back at Monk's apartment, Monk and Hal watch an old Sonny Chow movie - interrupted by the arrival of Monk's mail, which Hal eagerly picks up.
That night, Tim Hayden is working late in his restaurant, doing inventory, when Hal knocks on the kitchen door. saying that he wants to make a reservation, Hal tricks Tim into letting him into the kitchen. Tim notices that Hal has shaved his beard, which Hal admits is because Gail didn't like it. Hal's real reason for coming over is because the police are looking for Gail's killer, and he wants to know if Tim told them who he was. When Tim admits they don't know who he is, Hal draws a revolver to silence Tim. Tim knocks the revolver out of Hal's hand. After a struggle, Hal grabs the revolver, and whips Tim to death. He then wipes his prints off the revolver, samples the fare, and leaves.
The next day, after a session with Dr. Kroger where Kroger expresses his strong approval of Monk's friendship with Hal, Monk decides to ask Hal to be his best friend. Hal tags along when Monk is called to the murder scene at Tim Hayden's restaurant. While Monk looks around, Hal notices a pair of sunglasses he dropped during the fight and surreptitiously retrieves them. Monk concludes that the crime is not the work of a random mugger or junkie, since they would have emptied his pockets. When Randy shows Stottlemeyer the revolver, Hal points to the cracked handle and asks if it was cracked from bludgeoning the victim, which Randy affirms.
Stottlemeyer, Natalie, and Disher take Hal aside and accuse him of scamming Monk. Hal defends himself, and in turn accusing them of exploiting Monk as an investigating tool and someone to poke fun at while showing no interest in spending time with him otherwise, obviously passing on complaints that Monk has been making about them. Hal storms off, leaving Stottlemeyer, Natalie, and Disher in an ashamed silence.
Back at Monk's apartment, Hal once again checks the mail, and this time, he finds a letter from Gail Segalis which contains the promised photo of her at the Parthenon, posing with Hal. Hal pockets the incriminating letter. Having gotten what he wanted, Hal excuses himself. Monk asks him to be best friends, and Hal agrees before hurrying off. Monk is ecstatic.
Days pass without hearing from Hal, and Monk becomes a wreck. Natalie convinces him to go to Hal's place and talk to him.
Stottlemeyer gets a lab report on the revolver used to kill Tim Hayden. The weapon didn't fire because the firing pin had worn out. Stottlemeyer thinks Monk's input is needed, but Randy says Monk is having problems with Hal. Stottlemeyer looks down at the gun and realizes Hal would not have assumed that the killer used it as a blunt instrument unless he was present at the murder and knew that the victim was not shot.
Meanwhile, Monk arrives outside of Hal's apartment. Monk sees Hal with a man who came from lunch; their discussion makes it obvious that the man is a fence, but Monk assumes he is another friend of Hal's. Hal tries to give Monk the brush off, saying they have too little in common, but Monk refuses to let go of their friendship, showing he has tickets to Disney on Ice, women's volleyball, and Pearl Jam - whichever Hal prefers. He seizes the Santorini wine bottle Hal is carrying and realizes it is heavier than it should be. Monk's aggressiveness leads Hal's fence to excuse himself. Recognizing that the wine bottle has triggered Monk's suspicions, Hal claims he was only being aloof with Monk for his "friend"'s benefit, and invites Monk upstairs.
Monk is impressed by the interiors. As Hal closes the blinds, he hums a song which Monk recognizes as the one played by the music box in Gail's apartment. He notices photos on the wall of Hal, with a beard, in a Greek market. Hal produces a pistol and trains it on him. Monk asks if Hal's only reason for befriending Monk was so that he could get the postcard that Gail had sent him. Hal wholeheartedly affirms this.
Through a distraction, Monk grabs the pistol, trains it on Hal, and orders him to open the wine bottle. It is carrying an antique figurine. Monk puts it all together: Hal is an antiques smuggler. He has a criminal record, so he knew his things would be searched at the airport. He seduced Gail to get the bottle past US Customs. Hal says that he was just teasing, and that the gun isn't even loaded, and tells Monk to give to over. He wins Monk over, then trains the gun on Monk. Before Hal can shoot him, Stottlemeyer and Disher burst in and arrest him.
His friendship with Hal now over, Monk gives away all the tickets he bought: Disher claims the Pearl Jam tickets, and Stottlemeyer claims the women's volleyball tickets, leaving the Disney on Ice tickets for Natalie. Having learned a lesson from Hal's earlier recriminations, she invites Monk to go with her. He accepts.
Background[]
- This is one of a handful of episodes with no "Here's what happened" summation.
- Hal and Monk watch a Sonny Chow movie together. Sonny Chow was "The Cobra" in "Mr. Monk vs. the Cobra".
"What are you doing?"[]
In every episode of Monk and the Monk Movie, at least once, some variation of the question, "What are you doing?" is asked.
| Time | Quote | From | To | RE |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0:00 | What are you doing? | Hal | Gail | Gail opening a wine bottle. |
| 0:11 | What are you doing? | Monk | Natalie | Natalie sweeping up some crumbs. "No, I don't want it too clean!" |
| 0:37 | What are you doing? | Monk | Hal | Hal closing the blinds. |