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Mr. Monk Shelters In Place was a special 4 and a half minute short released on May 11, 2020 on the online streaming service Peacock as part of their At-Home Variety Show. Tony Shalhoub, Traylor Howard, Jason Gray-Stanford and Ted Levine all reprise their roles from the series. The short sees Adrian Monk attempting to deal with the COVID-19 pandemic. Series creator Andy Breckman wrote the script, and Shalhoub's wife (and frequent Monk guest star) Brooke Adams directed.

Plot[]

Forced to isolate at home during the coronavirus pandemic, Monk's obsessive-compulsive disorder flares up as he tries to get through his day. He washes his hands while singing "100 Bottles of Beer On The Wall," only to restart every time he spots a smudge on his mirror; he puts his socks on using gloves, over gloves on his feet; his cleans all his fruit in the dishwasher before eating any; he opens packages using a very long stick to stay far away; and he microwaves all of his mail before reading them.

Natalie, Captain Stottlemeyer, and Randy call Monk via Zoom to make sure he is doing okay, although Monk stands six feet away from his computer to social distance, despite them explaining he does not need to. Monk spots some dirt on his suit and instinctively asks Natalie for a wipe, despite her pointing out she's not with him. Monk asks if they have hand sanitizer: Randy accusses him of hoarding, only for Monk to explain he bought it all 20 years ago. He then asks if they have money, as he is running short from burning his suits every day. Stottlemeyer remarks he is living a dream, only it's a dream Stephen King once had; Natalie explains that she had the virus the month before but recovered, and has been donating her blood since it has the antibodies; Randy has been donating sperm, because he misread the article. Randy confirms he is still Chief of Police in Summit, NJ, and that they have had a problem of false-arrests because people are wearing masks. Randy then sneezes into his computer, scaring Monk who promptly decides to end the call despite their exasperated reminder that Randy is not actually there.

Trivia[]

  • Although this sketch exists in a status of dubious canonicity, it offers some updates on the Monk characters ten years later: Natalie apparently no longer works with Monk directly and Randy still lives in Summit, NJ as Chief of Police. These elements were later made mostly canon for Mr. Monk's Last Case: A Monk Movie.
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