Best line of the show: "I remember when you started this sentence."

Worst line of the show: "C'mon Officer, this is Adrian Monk!" (in context)

Worst Scene: The Hardware Store

Best Scene: Monk confronts the Psychic during Sharona's 'Reading'

In the second installment of USA's Monk madness, the psychotically neat-freak detective investigates the death of a police commissioner's wife. As I mentioned last week in my review of the premier, it is impossible to not draw parallels with the old 'Columbo' series. Tonight, in "Monk and the Psychic", the how and whodunit is revealed in the opening scene, with only the police left out of the preview loop.

A psychic with a shady background finds the body in an improbably remote location, all signs leading to a spin-off-the-road cause of death. You will again see dirt, untidiness, and deception through the killer's idea of smoke and mirrors. Microscopic details about life no one except the terminally obsessed would notice return as well ("Did you see that? She moved her car seat forward before she got in!").

Shalhoub's mentally bubble-boy'd, weaponless cop, along with life-assistant Sharona Flemming (Bitty Schram), facilitated with some reluctance by Capt. Stottlemeyer (Ted Levine), piece the clues together one dirty glass at a time. Once again, 'Shalhoub Does Dichotomy' makes regular appearances. Sorry - what I meant was, he slips out of his sterilization phase into investigator a lot, and you know, he does it very well.

Had you taped the premier and this episode, then run them back-to-back, there is one thing you'd applaud even if you don't like the show: The producers remain seamlessly true to the premise. It's rare that studios/networks pour X amount of dollars and effort into a program debut, then don't take half of it back for the regular series. USA seems committed to this one, and hat's off to them for not short-changing the regular episodes.

Shalhoub demonstrates again that he deserves his own show. Though his nuances since his regular stints on "Wings" haven't changed a while lot, he is still a better lead than a supporting actor. There are two performances, to date, that make this show worth watching - Shalhoub's, and Levine's. Schram is good, but writers, please, for all that is televiosionary, give her some better scenes, and more identifiable traits. There is much potential for her as Monk's helper-meet, yet she continues in this episode to be portrayed as Shalhoub's straight-woman, and little more.

As for Levine, he just keeps it coming in a steady, unflinching manner that defies the typical caricature so prevalent in these crime-ady formats. Schram, Levine, and Shalhoub are a good combination, and hey - put on your white gloves, dust the remote, and tune in for some interesting laughs. Just don't expect them to come in non-stop waves.

Monk airs Friday nights at 10:00 pm EST, on USA.

Comments? scott@coronaproductions.com