Mr. Monk and the Candidate

"Mr. Monk and the Candidate"
Monk episode
After the death of his wife, Adrian Monk developed obsessive–compulsive disorder and multiple phobias. Monk's fear of heights allows Ian Sykes (left), the shooter, to slip past him on a ladder while escaping from the police.
Episode no.	Season 1 Episode 1–2
Directed by	Dean Parisot
Written by	Andy Breckman
Production code	#T-1100
Original air date	July 12, 2002
Running time	79 minutes
Guest appearance(s)
Michael Hogan as Warren St. Claire Michelle Addison as Nicole Vasquez Ben Bass as Gavin Lloyd Fred Ewanuick as Jake Vincent Gale as Jesse Goodman Dion Johnstone as Lt. Gitomer Stanley Kamel as Charles Kroger Rob LaBelle as Sheldon Burger Gail O'Grady as Miranda St. Claire Shawn Reis as Ian Sykes Kane Ritchotte as Benjy Fleming Stellina Rusich as Trudy Monk John Sampson as Jason Rondstadt Chris Shyer as Carl
Episode chronology
← Previous — Next → "Mr. Monk and the Psychic"
Monk (season 1) List of Monk episodes

Michael Hogan as Warren St. Claire
Michelle Addison as Nicole Vasquez
Ben Bass as Gavin Lloyd
Fred Ewanuick as Jake
Vincent Gale as Jesse Goodman
Dion Johnstone as Lt. Gitomer
Stanley Kamel as Charles Kroger
Rob LaBelle as Sheldon Burger
Gail O'Grady as Miranda St. Claire
Shawn Reis as Ian Sykes
Kane Ritchotte as Benjy Fleming
Stellina Rusich as Trudy Monk
John Sampson as Jason Rondstadt
Chris Shyer as Carl

"Mr. Monk and the Candidate" is the two-part pilot episode of the American comedy-drama detective television series Monk. It introduces the character of Adrian Monk (Tony Shalhoub), a private detective with obsessive–compulsive disorder and multiple phobias, and his assistant Sharona Fleming (Bitty Schram), as well as police officers Leland Stottlemeyer (Ted Levine) and Randy Disher (Jason Gray-Stanford). In this episode, Monk investigates an assassination attempt on a mayoral candidate.

First envisioned in 1998, Monk went through development hell due to difficulties to find an actor to the main role. After successfully casting Shalhoub, the series' first episode was shot in Vancouver, British Columbia in 2001. "Mr. Monk and the Candidate" was written by Andy Breckman and directed by Dean Parisot. When the episode first aired in the United States on the USA Network on July 12, 2002, it was watched by 4.8 million viewers. The episode was generally well received by critics, with most of the praise regarding Shalhoub's performance as the title character.