Monk, Law & Order bring A-game

Hopefully you have been able to find some good television these past couple weeks during the Olympics. Many of the shows I have been talking about this summer were still airing new episodes this past week, and two of them really brought their best stuff to the table.

This past Friday's episode of Monk, "Mr. Monk Goes Underwater," may have been one of the best of series. Adrian is asked to investigate the death of a Navy midshipman. On the surface, all signs point suicide, but a fellow sailor refuses to believe it, and inquires for Monk's help. When Monk comes on the submarine to see the scene, the ship is called into a mock battle. Monk finds himself trapped on the sub, and his OCD leads to some very funny situations. Monk imagines that his therapist is on board to ease himself. When he starts "talking" to Dr. Bell, everyone thinks he's nuts! Eventually Monk finds out that the boat's Captain is responsible. The sailor was going to rat out the Captain for a mishap in which driving the ship into a mountain caused one of the crew to be hospitalized and eventually die. When the Captain figures out Monk is onto him, he tries to kill him before they get back to shore. However, Monk is saved by the sailor who originally inquired his help. This episode contained good writing, high drama, and was very funny. Monk continues to be one of the best shows on tv, let alone basic cable.

Chris Noth has been portraying Detective Mike Logan on and off for the last two decades on different versions of the show Law & Order. Last night, on Law & Order: Criminal Intent Noth turned in a dazzling performance in what is reported to be his final episode in the series. After hearing a startling confession, a priest looks up Detective Logan and tells him that the wrong man has been serving prison time for a triple murder, but because of his oaths, he cannot give him any details. For the rest of the episode, Logan and Wheeler try to put together the pieces of the puzzle to solve a case from 16 years ago. As it turned out, the ADA put together a sham of a prosecution to convict a black man with no alibi. Even when Logan can put together the story and prove that it was in fact the brother-in-law of one of the victims who committed the murder, the former ADA, now running for Attorney General, tries to squash it because of the damage it would cause to her reputation. Logan fights on, even though he knows he is risking his job. Noth may be best known for his role as "Big" on Sex and the City, but his performance as Mike Logan really puts him in the top tier of television acting. Logan is a very emotional cop, and you can really feel the anger, hurt, and satisfaction that Det. Logan feels every step of the way. Sure, Vince D'Onofrio is the star of Criminal Intent, but I think time will show that Noth's character will be sorely missed.

Some other recommended shows that are still putting out new episodes are Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations, 30 Days, Psych, and Mad Men.

What's On?
Tonight at 10/9c on the Travel Channel, Tony is going to Spain on a new episode of Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations.