Posted on 08/31/2004 2:26:31 PM PDT by JellyJam
NEW YORK - The hit USA Network series Monk is losing Bitty Schram, the Golden Globe-nominated sidekick to series star Tony Shalhoub.
Schram will not return as Sharona, nurse and assistant to Shalhoubs obsessive-compulsive detective, when the show resumes the second half of its third season in January.
Monk has decided to go in a different creative direction with some of its characters, a USA spokesman said. Bitty will not continue with the cast and we thank her for her notable contributions and wish her the very best.
(Excerpt) Read more at msnbc.msn.com ...
she will be missed.....
great show...
I didn't like that one, either.
So were all the supporting characters on Seinfeld. Unfortunately, once they split up none of them could sustain their own series.
Anyway, I have really enjoyed "Monk," but IMHO the series seems to have descended from what we used to call a "dramady" to a somewhat cartoonish charicature that highlights a different psychotic Monk episode every program. Definitely on a downhill slide. Schram's departure may be the final stake in the heart.
Regards,
Lenny
LOL There is a Monk marathon 9-5-04
07:00 AM MONK MR. MONK TAKES MANHATTAN
08:00 AM MONK MR. MONK & THE PANIC ROOM
09:00 AM MONK MR. MONK & THE GODFATHER
10:00 AM MONK MR. MONK GETS FIRED
11:00 AM MONK MR. MONK & THE BLACKOUT
12:00 PM MONK MR. MONK & THE GIRL WHO CRIES WOLF
01:00 PM MONK MR. MONK AND THE EMPLOYEE OF THE MONTH
02:00 PM MONK MR. MONK AND THE GAME SHOW
03:00 PM MONK MR. MONK TAKES HIS MEDICINE
04:00 PM MONK MR. MONK AND THE EMPLOYEE OF THE MONTH
05:00 PM MONK MR. MONK & THE GIRL WHO CRIES WOLF
That will be 8 days to go>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Loved Sharona and love the show ... wish it wouldn't go quite so over the top. Tony is great.
noticed her absence during a couple of episodes and wondered about it.
Agree with all that she adds a lot! Liked her with her son also.
I loved her in the move A league Of Their Own. Remember the line "there is no crying in baseball"
I tend to agree that the show has made a pretty radical change from the first season until now (I think I've seen every episode), and I think the real change came this season--a shift from him trying to solve the murder of his wife to what you aptly described, Monk just acting neurotic.
Regardless, it's an entertaining show that I enjoy to watch. They've been able to move it in a dramatically new direction this season without losing a lot of its entertainment value, so maybe this will work, too.
As someone mentioned, this could just be CSI-type leverage. Remember, CSI fired and re-hired two of its supporting actors in a contract dispute. Maybe this is USA taking a cue from CBS. In fact, aren't both of them owned by Viacom? Oh well...
This is the most disappointing news about a TV show I like since someone ruined the wholesome dramedy That's Life by turning the good-girl main character into a girl who got sick of saving it for the right guy.
Speaking of which, did they replace the son with a different actor in the middle of the third season? He seemed to look different to me, but I've never really been able to tell.
I bought the first season on DVD recently and noticed that the son had longer hair then. Maybe that's the difference.
I don't know how long the whole concept of Monk could work, anyway. The whole premise of the show is that he was thrust into full-blown OCD because of the trauma of his wife's murder. But as the seasons progress, he can't help growing as a person, at least a little - especially each time they bring his wife into the plot. They have no choice but to let him advance through his greiving process. But if they stay consistent with the original premise of the show, then he should get more functional in society over time.
Eventually, all we'll be left with are the, um, airtight-yet-believable murder plots. :-)
I suspected as much. She was not in the second to the last show of the summer season. His neighbor from upstairs went to L.A. with him to solve a case for his father-in-law. The guy was a creep.
Eh, maybe. But I loved Stottlemeyer in that episode too.
I think losing such a good supporting actress as Bitty Schram has gotta hurt worse.
p.s. Didja notice the chimp was played by Mowgli?
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