Monk (Season 3) DVD Review

One of the more clever television creations of the new millennium, Monk combines the high-grade suspense of a traditional TV drama with the quirky humor of a big screen comedy. Originally developed for ABC, the show became an instant prime-time lynchpin for the USA network, proving itself one of the more successful shows on cable TV…

In Monk, Tony Shalhoub stars in the title role of Adrian Monk, a former San Francisco detective placed on psychiatric leave. A true legend in the community, Monk solves unsolvable crimes via his towering intellect, photographic memory, and meticulous observations. But the one case that alludes Monk is the 1997 murder of his wife Trudy, which forever altered Monk’s capacity to perform his job. Suffering from severe obsessive-compulsive disorder and a number of odd phobias, Monk requires a personal assistant, Sharona Fleming (Bitty Schram), for even his most basic daily activities.

Yet Monk remains a police consultant on difficult cases, and he hopes to persuade Capt. Leland Stottlemeyer (Ted Levine) to give him his old job back. But Stottlemeyer and colleague Lt. Randall Disher (Jason Gray-Stanford), harbor doubts about Monk’s mental faculties. As Monk solves cases though, those doubts dissipate and Stottlemeyer and Disher learn to appreciate Monk’s special talents – despite his inability to cope with the day-to-day activities of a normal detective… Nevertheless, he remains a de facto investigator as he and Sharona aid the San Francisco police department in solving numerous high profile cases…

The Monk (Season 3) DVD features a number of hilarious episodes including the season premiere “Mr. Monk Takes Manhattan” in which Monk and company take a trip to New York City to investigate a lead on Trudy’s murder given to Monk in the previous year’s season finale. But while settling into their hotel, a riot breaks out in the lobby, and three people are killed, including the Latvian ambassador (who was just standing next to Monk). With Monk’s identification of the killer’s left ear being the only eye witness description of the perpetrator, the NYPD must rely on Monk’s unique skills in order to solve the crime… Other notable episodes from Season 3 include “Mr. Monk Meets the Godfather” in which Monk is pressured by a local mafia boss to help solve the murder of five of his henchmen, and “Mr. Monk Gets Cabin Fever” in which Monk witnesses a Chinese gangland murder, prompting the FBI to place him in the witness protection program – harboring him in a cabin out in the middle of nowhere…

Below is a list of episodes included on the Monk (Season 3) DVD:

Episode 30 (Mr. Monk Takes Manhattan) Air Date: 06-18-2004
Episode 31 (Mr. Monk and the Panic Room) Air Date: 06-25-2004
Episode 32 (Mr. Monk and the Blackout) Air Date: 07-09-2004
Episode 33 (Mr. Monk Gets Fired) Air Date: 07-16-2004
Episode 34 (Mr. Monk Meets the Godfather) Air Date: 07-23-2004
Episode 35 (Mr. Monk and the Girl Who Cried Wolf) Air Date: 07-30-2004
Episode 36 (Mr. Monk and the Employee of the Month) Air Date: 08-06-2004
Episode 37 (Mr. Monk and the Game Show) Air Date: 08-13-2004
Episode 38 (Mr. Monk Takes His Medicine) Air Date: 08-20-2004
Episode 39 (Mr. Monk and the Red Herring) Air Date: 01-21-2005
Episode 40 (Mr. Monk vs. the Cobra) Air Date: 01-28-2005
Episode 41 (Mr. Monk Gets Cabin Fever) Air Date: 02-04-2005
Episode 42 (Mr. Monk Gets Stuck in Traffic) Air Date: 02-11-2005
Episode 43 (Mr. Monk Goes to Vegas) Air Date: 02-18-2005
Episode 44 (Mr. Monk and the Election) Air Date: 02-25-2005
Episode 45 (Mr. Monk and the Kid) Air Date: 03-04-2005

About the Author

Britt Gillette is author of The DVD Report, a thedvdreport.blogspot.com movie review site where you can find more reviews like this one of the thedvdreport.blogspot.com/2006/02/monk-season-3-dvd.html Monk (Season 3) DVD Review.

Wet Day at the Beach

Rain dribbles on the glass like saliva down a baby’s chin. The ocean’s frying pan grey. No matter.

Renting a beach house for two weeks doesn’t guarantee sun every day. Besides, it’s an excuse for staying in my nightie, nestling into the sofa and sifting through piles of interior design magazines our landlords collect obsessively.

Not only do they treasure these Bibles of fashionable living, they fall victim to almost every fad. Glancing up from an article about the necessity of small, irregular shaped vases I notice similar small, irregular shaped vases on the table by my feet.

My husband’s a bit wistful about the old dinghy that has been sawn in half, painted white and turned into a “characterful shelving unit” complete with oars.

This piece of nautical kitch dominates the living area and stores next to nothing for the space it takes up – though I suppose the oars could be useful for biffing burglars.

He’s seen an article in one of the magazines explaining how to make one. It’s a lot of work, apparently. No way are we having a chopped up boat back home, not even in the new spare room earmarked to be his office.

Puffing in from his morning jog, he asks if I’d like a blanket which is so thoughtful he almost deserves a chopped up dinghy. But standing there in a glow of sweat and rain he makes me feel guilty.

Since arriving three days ago we’ve eaten and drunk ourselves into a stupor. He probably burned up half last night’s dinner while he was out thundering through the drizzle.

Sighing, I get dressed, tie my walking shoes and slide into a parka. Aspects of the Australian bush I’ve learned to love. Slashes of primary colour against grey leaves turn out to be parrots squawking like Aussie sheilas.

Half way down the tree-lined drive, I hear a fearsome growl – wild pig? It’s a koala the size of a five year old child snoring in the fork of a branch half way up a eucalypt tree.

Even after living in Australia nearly a decade, I’m surprised how available wildlife icons are. Here on Mornington Peninsula, an hour’s drive from Melbourne, yellow road signs feature silhouettes of kangaroos. A few years ago one of our school dads lost his life when his car collided with a jumping jack.

Out past the gate, a bearded dad trudges past holding an umbrella over a glum baby in his backpack.

Negotiating puddles, I take a wrong turn and wander through the camp grounds, which at this hour is like strolling through someone’s bedroom. Trying to avoid staring at men munching toast in their undies, I savour the aroma of bacon and eggs.

Life among the damp tents and caravans seems intimate and accepting, not unlike how Iron Age villages might have been. Half expecting to hear cries of women giving birth and men hammering tools inside their tents, I accelerate towards the beach.

Like acres of spilt salt, sand stretches to dishwater sea. It’s empty except for a few kids who signed up for Learn to Surf classes yesterday when it was sunny. They squeeze reluctantly into already sopping wet suits.

Watching a squall ride in with the waves and a scattering of seagulls, I hear the sofa calling.

Emancipate Yourselves From Mental Slavery

The revolution is here and it won’t be televised. These words are familiar to us all, but in some ways it is an abstract thought. Why, you might ask? Well, for one thing, with the recent events of September 11th, war as we know it has been revolutionized, from newspaper articles to radio announcements, and now it is televised. The war on terror, ladies and gentlemen, (some might say revolution) is up front and in our faces, televised!

But there has been a more quiet revolution brewing right under our noses, one that is not televised. It is a revolution to undo four-hundred years of slavery and colonial rule. This might not be your typical coup d’etat, South Africa, or a raging war in the streets of Somalia. No, this is the Jamaican soft revolution, a revolution of words.

As Ras Desmond Williams notes in the preface of Jabari Authentic Jamaican Dictionary of the Jamic Language, “word sound = power (W S=P).” And, if Ras Dennis Jabari Reynolds has his way, all Jamaicans will posses the power over the bastard words used to describe how his people talk. He notes, “As an independent [Jamaica] it should be made clear that we have a language of the people, for the people. We do not speak Broken English, Patois, or Creole…”

That is a significant statement when one considers the context and premise of Jabari’s aim. If word plus sound equals power, and Broken English, Patois, and Creole represent the word within the equation, of course, uttering these words represents the sound, which together as word and sound represents the manifestation of power within those words. To comprehend further, one must understand the root meaning of the word ‘broken’. According to the New Webster’s Concise Dictionary of the English Language, broken means, “shattered; fractured. Now working; out of order. Violated; disregarded: broken oaths. Not continuous; interrupted. Incomplete: a broken set. Disordered; disrupted. Rough or irregular. Crushed, as in spirit. Weakened; infirm. Tamed; trained. Imperfectly spoken: broken English.” Then it is safe to infer that, those who gave the name Broken English, Patois, and Creole to the way individuals speak hold the power over those individuals self-determination.

Coming out of the era of slavery and Colonial rule, this is a fair question to ask, are Jamaicans shattered, incomplete, tamed, trained, crushed, as in spirit or a broken set? It is highly doubtful that Jamaicans would see themselves in such a light. To prove this point further, Jamaican publisher, Wellesley Gayle, published “Interesting Facts on Jamaica” where he noted that…

1. Jamaica is the first Caribbean country to gain independence.

2. Jamaica stands strong in 3rd place on the list of countries to win the Miss World titles the most!

3. Jamaica was the first country to impose economic sanctions against the apartheid regime of South Africa.

With accomplishments like these, it would be incomprehensible to see Jamaicans as “infirm.”

With such a degrading word as ‘broken’, it is no wonder that Ras Jabari wishes to change the view of his people and give them power over those words by proposing the usage of the word ‘Jamic’ as apposed to Broken English, Patois, or Creole when referring to the way Jamaicans speak.

The Jabari Authentic Jamaican Dictionary of the Jamic Language is the first of its kind. It features a pronunciation guide, over three-thousand entries, idioms, variants, word usage, cross references, Iyaric (Rastafarian Argot), and a host of other features. With creations of this nature, Jamaicans are well on their way to freedom from mental slavery.

It was Robert (Bob) Marley who popularized the words “Emancipate yourselves from mental slavery; None but ourselves can free our minds.” To free oneself from mental slavery, first one must have self-determination by not allowing others to dictate how one speaks or behaves.

What Jabari seems to be implying in the Jabari Authentic Jamaican Dictionary of the Jamic Language is word sound = power, which demonstrates that words tend to be powerful enough when spoken to have a mental hold on an individual and if one has been called a fool long enough, then that person will eventually begin to act like one. To state the point more clearly, Cogito, Ergo Sum (I think, therefore I am). If one thinks his or her language is broken then those individuals who continue to accept such a terminology will become broken or behave like a ‘broken set.’

In conclusion, Jamaicans have too much to be proud of to be allowing others to refer to their language as broken. There is nothing broken about Jamaicans. So, the Jabari Authentic Jamaican Dictionary of the Jamic Language will be yet another praise for the country as the first Caribbean to effectively name their language, thus securing their self determination. This is a ground breaking moment for all Jamaicans and this dictionary should be in every household. Jamaicans be proud!

Works Cited


Williams, Ras Desmond. Preface. Jabari Authentic Jamaican Dictionary of the Jamic Language. Ed. Ras Dennis Jabari Reynolds. Waterbury: Around the Way Books 2006.

Reynolds, Ras Dennis Jabari. “Who seh wi chat patwa (patois)?” Around the Way Books. www.aroundthewaybooks.com/editorial.htm

Gayle, Wellesley. “Interesting Facts on Jamaica.” My-Island-Jamaica.com. www.my-island-jamaica.com/interesting_facts_on_jamaica.html

Marley, Bob. Redemption Song. Def Jam, 21 May 2002.

Bill Neil is a writer and lover of reading. He writes book reviews in his spare time. You may read more information about “Jabari Authentic Jamaican Dictionary of the Jamic Langauge” at aroundthewaybooks.com aroundthewaybooks.com