h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Surely there can be no greater police show!

ah what a great idea a bizarre looking tramp like guy with a squint but he always knew who'd done it from the start.

it was great watching him hound someone until he arrested them.

"Oh, just one more thing ..."

"Monk" is pretty good to, with Tony Shaloub playing an investigator with obsessive-compulsive disorder (I think). The first time I've heard a murder scene described as a "Feng-Shui nightmare" ...

Monk would be good if the producers and writers actually had any idea of how mental illness, and specifically OCD, works.

From the episodes I've seen, it's pretty much all "Ha ha. Monk's afraid of touching people/getting dirty/heights/children/germs/small peruvian monkeys that masturbate in public. That is TEH FUNNAY! Look, nobody believes him, because he's TEH CRAZAH MAN!"

There is the potential for abuse, but the NAMI (National Assoc. for Mental Illness, I think) sees it like this:

QUOTE

Monk is the show's protagonist. His portrayal of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is realistic and respectful. One NAMI member reported: "My son has been struggling with OCD for over 10 years and he found it funny. He got to see someone struggling with some of the same symptoms and somehow it helped to see that it was okay. It also showed the kindness of other people when dealing with a disorder and that this detective was still able to do a good job."

END QUOTE

That's nice, but having a friend with OCD and speaking with them (my friend), I think their (the show's) portrayal comes across as hackneyed, overdone and trite.

wouldn't columbo have fallen more into the detective genre? i could be wrong, i think i've only ever seen one episode.

I don't remember if Columbo was a private investigator or not, but I vaguely recall he was a cop. Monk is sort of a consultant who used to be a cop and now has a sort of love/hate relationship with them. The cops would like to think they don't need him, but of course they do ... and so the chief keeps "inflicting" him on the investigation.

I cant agree. How can the portrayal be hackneyed, when (to the best of my knowledge) OCD has not been portrayed in main stream TV before?
I think the producers of Monk are treading a fine line between reality and losing their audience. Remember this program is about a detective who has some problems, not about a person with OCD. As such they have usually managed to present the character as a real person, and to include a little humor. Monk is an individual, dealing with an issue.

Columbo was a Lieutenant with the LAPD or something, wasn't he? Either way, he was definitely a cop, albeit a crumpled, battered one (much like his car, in fact!).

He was also unique in not having a sidekick (you know, Morse/Lewis Taggart/Jardine etc. etc.) to listen to his musings and advance the story. Instead, he used to think aloud to the murderer. A neat way of keeping the regular cast down, if nothing else!

Accompanied by wonderfully cheesy seventies/eighties 'detective show' music in the background. Brilliant.

Columbo *Still is* a Lieutenant with the LAPD.
he made the latest show this year and another is about to be made

It was decided that he should have a younger side kick in the show, with a bit of aurguing he finaly got one, but Peter Falk picked the side kick, ( Thats when he got the dog )

manda