Mr. Monk Goes to the Asylum

Season 1

Episode 6: Mr. Monk Goes to the Asylum

When Monk is found in Trudy's former home he is institutionalized temporarily. Whilst in in the asylum Monk is told about a murder that happened in the medical supplies room four years ago. Former patient Bill LaFrankie shot dead Dr. Conrad Gould whilst trying to steal morphine before killing himself with an overdose.  But this case had a lot of big holes in it including the murder weapon not being found and Bill LaFrankie being a devout Buddhist with a fear of needles. Can Monk solve the case and is Santa really visiting the asylum?

"He's the Guy":

Doctor Morris Lancaster, Monk's doctor at the asylum, is the villainous cad responsible for this week's murder.

"Here's what happened": 

Four years ago the villainous Dr. Lancaster was incredibly jealous of Dr. Gould and was desperate to get his job. He hid in the medical supplies room and waited for Dr. Gould before shooting him three times. After shooting Gould he stole some drugs and set up Bill LaFrankie by killing him with the drugs and dumping his body in the woods. Lancaster however and made a huge mistake having used a gun that was registered to him. Before the police arrived he was able to drop the gun down an unused chimney. Jump forward to today and the hospital is under construction and the gun will soon be found. How can Lancaster recover the gun without being seen? Well with the help of a Santa outfit and Manny the Santa obsessed patient. Manny is put in the room that faces the chimney that the gun was stashed in and Doctor Lancaster dresses as Santa so even if Manny sees him if he tells anyone people will never believe him.

In short:

This episode is a nice reminder of just how much Trudy meant to Monk. Monk's fellow patients also provide a lot of laughter and it's great seeing him interact with people who are a little crazier than he is. It's also good to see how strong the relationship between Sharona and Monk is as she doesn't doubt Monk and helps him prove Lancaster was the murderer.