In the opening moments of the USA Network original series Monk, we find a group of detectives, photographers and forensic investigators standing completely still, waiting for Adrian Monk (Tony Shalhoub) to offer his diagnosis on the scene of a crime. Positioned at the opposite end of the apartment, Monk carefully walks alongside the chalk-outlined body, sternly announces, "The stove," and from out of nowhere confesses his fear that he may have left his on. At this point, all eyes look on in bewilderment as a hilarious argument ensues between Monk and his nurse, Sharona (A League of Their Own's Bitty Schram), who does her best to reassure him that the stove is, in fact, turned off.

"The show is rooted in drama and the stakes are high because murder's involved, but it has a really good comic vibe," explains Shalhoub, a veteran character actor who gained popularity in the early '90s as Italian cabbie Antonio Scarpacci on Wings. "We let these two things co-exist without having one undercut the other." Drawing a line between the hyper-realism of NYPD Blue and the bungling heroics of an Inspector Clouseau, writer Andy Breckman, who also serves as executive producer along with David Hoberman, has given Monk the off-kilter comic spin he's become known for in Hollywood. "I've paid the rent writing comedy," admits Breckman, whose screenwriting credits include Rat Race, Sgt. Bilko and the Richard Pryor vehicle Moving. "But I've always been a fan of mystery, and until I met Mr. Hoberman, nobody would pay me to write one!"

In Monk, Breckman has taken Hoberman's idea and created a brilliant, obsessive-compulsive detective who spends his free days in therapy and his nights piecing his life back together. "This is a man who always has to overcome his disabilities in order to solve the crime," reminds Hoberman. "Part of the overall objective of Monk's character is that he is trying to get himself back onto the police force," adds Shalhoub. "He was a detective on the force for a long time - very good at what he did - but because of one incident in particular, the mysterious murder of his own wife, all of his symptoms have just come to the surface and rendered him basically dysfunctional in his job." With symptoms that include an abnormal fear of germs, heights, crowds and virtually everything else, including milk, most people may wonder how he even manages to leave his house. "There's a vulnerability to this guy. He's not really of this world," describes Shalhoub. "He's not equipped to handle everyday things, yet he operates on another level when it comes to his job" - a job he doesn't go to these days without the aid of his aforementioned nurse, Sharona, a woman who lovingly describes her employment with Monk as both "the worst job I ever had and the best job I ever had."

"They have an interesting relationship; in some ways she mothers him, in other ways she has very little patience for him and his problems," says Shalhoub. "She's a Dr. Watson to his Sherlock Holmes."

Since finishing the Vancouver shoot of Monk's pilot late in 2001, Shalhoub has kept busy. "I was just in Toronto doing a film with Meg Ryan and Omar Epps called Against the Ropes," notes the 48-year-old actor, who confirms that, yes, he's back as alien pawnbroker Jeebs in Men in Black 2, which opens this month. "I'll also be hitting the film festival circuits this summer for Made-Up," says Shalhoub about his directorial debut, an independent family venture written by sister-in-law Lynne Adams and starring wife Brooke Adams. Regarding Monk, Shalhoub is eager to point out his favorite of his character's quirks: "He wears one outfit on Monday, Wednesday, Friday and another for the rest of the week. There's a great scene in the opening credits when Monk is spacing his clothes out - you'll notice there are two subtly different shirts in there."

- Ron Andryshak Monk premieres July 12 on USA Network.