I’d like to start things off with a DVD review. As I never fail to mention, my Netflix subscription was canceled and I’m forced to watch movies borrowed from the local library: This is extremely risky because you just never know where a library video has been. About one-third of the movies my people bring home are rejected because I saw the same one two weeks ago, and they can’t seem to remember that I don’t need repeats when I’m building my resume as a reviewer. Another third are rejected due to sticky substances either covering the box or slathered all over the disc. Unacceptable. Several others are discounted due to the absence of car chases and fight scenes, and instead featuring smarmy costume dramas involving kissing and other unsanitary behavior. I mean, really.
Aside from my expertise in the vast canon of classic black and white movies from the early 1930’s to the late 1940’s, I have begun to specialize in a few modern genres, mostly series that come in multiple sets from the public library. An important consideration for me when becoming an acknowledged expert in a new area is that there are multiple discs in the package. Another is that the color scheme of the packaging should be pleasing to the eye.
Both of these criteria are easily met with the Monk series Eight, which I have just recently completed viewing. Two things attracted me to this set: the color scheme and the name of the protagonist. Monk turns out to be an acceptable character with many redeeming features, a character who seems to be surrounded by people without a clue. His many commendable qualities include reasonably good posture, hydrophobia, a sense of neatness and order, and the ability to communicate tersely with people. We share some of these qualities.
The plot lines are usually about people with stuffing for brains doing stupid things to each other, and then Monk is interrupted from his important routine of keeping his world in order, and is required to explain to the Captain of the San Francisco Police Department what happened. The last episode in the series has a terrifying scene with mounting tension where Monk has to stand in the rain for several minutes. The thought of dampness sends a cold chill up and down my seams. At least there is a car chase.
I recommend that you check this set out of your library, not mine.
Ask Earl... 