Monk is one of the few TV shows I enjoy. Admittedly, the later shows don’t seem to have the charm of the first ones. It can’t be easy coming up with new good ideas. The fact that the writers are pulling in family members is a warning sign to me. Monk’s brother, Monk’s wife’s parents, Sharona’s ex. When Monk or Sharona have a baby, that will definitely be the signal that the show is dead. I am thankful that the shows didn’t take the path I expected, with Monk’s neuroses becoming more and more fantastic and ridiculous.
Now I haven’t seen people running around with wipes and constantly using them yet. What I do see is an enhanced fastidiousness about bathroom etiquette at work. There’s all the anti-germ cleaning products. And then there’s all the advice about washing and not touching in order to not spread colds and flu. (The last I heard that advice was based on a small study with children which could not duplicate on grown-ups, and there was no statistical evidence that any of the advice actually reduced the spread of colds. But I’m not up to date on that.) Anyways, it just seems sometimes like we’re all walking down that path toward a world full of Monks, at least as far as germs and icky and cooties go.