But then, for a brief period in the '70s, there was a breed of detective shows that weren't about the Car Chase of the Week, but rather about the personal and emotional lives of their main characters. "The Rockford Files" and "Columbo" were the most famous, but there were also "Banacek" and "Eischeid" and "Toma" (along with their second cousin, "Kolchak the Night Stalker"). There were detective/cop stories in these shows, but the "action" was always secondary - the important thing was always spending time with the quirky, funny, smart leading men. Hell, Columbo even dared to throw out the "mystery" aspect entirely, and make the entire show about figuring out how Columbo was going to unmask the bad guy.

In the '80, the "quirky detective show" genre pretty much disappeared, sequeing (via the short-lived, lamented "Tenspeed and Brown Shoe") into the "silly romantic comedy detective show" as exemplified by "Moonlighting" and "Remington Steele." "Magnum:PI" was the last gasp, and it was a pretty weak imitation. (And meanwhile, there's always been room for the Quinn Martin wanna-bes, like "Hunter," "T.J. Hooker," and "Walker: Texas Ranger.") But I always missed the.quirky detective show, the kind that was all about the clever writing, and the fascination drawn by a strong central character.

Fortunately, now USA has brought it back, with "Monk."

Tony Shaloub is Adrian Monk, who was San Francisco's most brilliant police detective until the unsolved murder of his wife drove him off the deep end. Now he is possibly the most neurotic person in existence, suffering from a severe case of Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) in addition to being phobic of germs, the dark, heights, enclosed spaces, crowds - and milk. (But, as his nurse brightly states, "we're making real progress on the milk!") But he's still a brilliant detective, with the observational powers of Sherlock Holmes. 

In the pilot, Monk has been off the force on disability for several years, doing some private consulting work on the side. But by the end, he has been hired back by the SFPD thanks (naturally) to his brilliant solving of a case involving the attempted assassination of a mayoral candidate. So Monk's colleagues, and growly boss Ted Levine (who looks considerably more butch here than he did as Buffalo Bill in "Silence of the Lambs," though I suppose that isn't hard to do), will pretty much have no choice but to put up with his million hangups. Monk is also accompanied by his exasperated full-time nurse/ babysitter/ mother figure, Sharona (Bitty Schram), who in the 1940's would have been called a "wisecracking tootsie."

Tony Shaloub is a genius at physical comedy, and he's given more than enough to work with here. He brilliantly navigates through Shaloub's gauntlet of OCD tics and habits, without ever making it seem artificial. What's more, he's polite, apologetic, needy, and deeply pained - he knows he's driving everyone around him (almost certainly himself too) crazy with his behavior, but he can't help himself. There is also deep grief behind his eyes, and we are constantly aware that Monk continues to mourn his wife anew every moment. Shaloub also makes us aware of the flood of information that Monk must be processing at any given time - doesn't it stand to reason that an OCD sufferer would also have Sherlock Holmes' powers of observation? - and how painful it is for Monk that he just can't turn it off. Nobody could have pulled this off like Tony Shaloub, with his puppy dog eyes and his ability to look rumpled even in the most immaculately pressed suit. (Monk's suits are immaculate, of course - germ phobia - and all of them are identical. Which not only fits the character, but must make things quite easy for the continuity person.)

Shaloub has to carry the whole show on his back, and he does so brilliantly. But he's given lots of help from Levine (who, with his deep voice and big mustache, seems to be doing a Donald Sutherland imitation) and Schram. Levine is understandably sympathetic to Monk, and just as understandably driven nuts by him. Schram is a breath of fresh air as Monk's feisty nurse, who has to deal with a teenaged son and a nonexistent social life in addition to Monk's constant codependency - my one qualm about her character is that she doesn't come off much like a nurse. But Rob and I discussed it, and agreed that she was probably a lot more "nurselike" at the beginning of their professional association. I also want to mention Michael Hogan and Gail O'Grady as the mayoral candidate and his wife in the pilot - both made such a strong impresssion (as Monk helplessly embarrasses them at one photo op after another) that I hope they stay on as "the mayor and his wife."

Aside from the lead, the success of these shows hangs on the quality of the writing, and I think we're in good hands here. The head writer and co-executive producer is Andy Breckman, who was one of David Letterman's original writers in 1982, and has also written for "TV Funhouse" and "Saturday Night Live." He also wrote the screenplay for the underrated "Rat Race," and contributed to the Oscars that Steve Martin hosted. Another executive producer, Rob Thompson, was also a producer on "Northern Exposure." Altogether, a good pedigree. Based on the pilot, the writers will come up with colorful and funny characters each week for Monk to bounce off of, and enough red herrings and plot twists to keep the "Murder, She Wrote" crowd happy.

To sum up: "Monk" is just plain fun, and Tony Shaloub (who is always fascinating to watch) has finally gotten hold of a vehicle worthy of him. The mystery aspect of the show is good too, but it's beside the point. The point is that even though Monk would drive anybody insane in real life, he's a great character to spend an hour with every week - as he drives everybody else insane.

"Monk" airs Friday nights at 10pm ET/9pm CT on the USA cable network.