i have see most of monk episode and although i do not begin to watch until sometime after it begin . i believe i have now see nearly all of the early episode via rerun and but for some reason have never see this initial episode before . this be my favorite program on current tv and and with the plethora of mindless reality show and silliness such a deal or no deal and 1 vs. 100 and other game effort and it be truly the proverbial breath of fresh air . i like see gail ogrady anytime and in anything and the story here be a good one with which to begin . the really good show seem to improve with age and even where they begin strongly and and it be true of monk . i and for one and be extremely grateful that they do not use the close up film a they do here and a distracting element detract rather than add to the presentation . i also like the way they have fine tune the character and their interaction in the ensue year and and while enjoy bitty schram and i personally prefer traylor howard . but the best indication of the real quality of this series be that and despite the many improvement make in the successive season and this initial effort be good than 99 % plus of anything else on the tube and then or now .