This Was Television On December 4
2009: Monk’s final case
Monk, the lighthearted detective show starring Tony Shalhoub as a private investigator with obsessive-compulsive disorder, wrapped up an eight-season, 125-episode run. The series debuted in 2002 on USA Network and set the template for that channel’s brand identity shift in the subsequent decade, which favored quirky characters in seriocomic procedurals. As Adrian Monk, Shalhoub won three Emmys for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy. -A.D.
Today’s Birthdays: Fred Armisen, SNLer (46); Tyra Banks, model maestro (39); Skip Bayless, shouting head (61); Dena Dietrich, Mother Nature (84); Victor French, Westerner (d. 1989); Wink Martindale, game show emcee (78); Patricia Wettig, yuppie (61).
This Was Television 
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