Mr. Monk and the Candidate

"**Mr. Monk and the Candidate**"
"Mr. Monk and the Candidate"
Monk episodes
	After the death of his wife, Adrian Monk developed obsessive–compulsive disorder and multiple phobias. Monk's fear of heights allows Ian Sykes (left), the shooter, to slip past him on a ladder while escaping from the police.
Episode nos.	Season 1; Episodes 1 & 2
Directed by	Dean Parisot
Written by	Andy Breckman
Production code	#T-1100
Original air date	July 12, 2002
Running time	79 minutes
Guest appearances
	Michael Hogan as Warren St. Claire; Michelle Addison as Nicole Vasquez; Ben Bass as Gavin Lloyd; Fred Ewanuick as Jake; Vincent Gale as Jesse Goodman; Dion Johnstone as Lt. Gitomer; Stanley Kamel as Charles Kroger; Rob LaBelle as Sheldon Burger; Gail O'Grady as Miranda St. Claire; Shawn Reis as Ian Sykes; Kane Ritchotte as Benjy Fleming; Stellina Rusich as Trudy Monk; John Sampson as Jason Rondstadt; Chris Shyer as Carl;

"Mr. Monk and the Candidate" is the two-part pilot episode of the American comedy drama detective television series Monk. It introduces the character of Adrian Monk (Tony Shalhoub), a private detective with obsessive–compulsive disorder and multiple phobias, and his assistant Sharona Fleming (Bitty Schram), as well as police officers Leland Stottlemeyer (Ted Levine) and Randy Disher (Jason Gray-Stanford). In this episode, Monk investigates an assassination attempt on a mayoral candidate.

First envisioned in 1998, Monk went through development hell due to difficulties to find an actor for the main role. After casting Shalhoub, the series' first episode was shot in Vancouver, British Columbia in 2001. "Mr. Monk and the Candidate" was written by Andy Breckman and directed by Dean Parisot. When the episode first aired in the United States on the USA Network on July 12, 2002, it was watched by 4.8 million viewers. The episode was generally well received by critics, with most of the praise regarding Shalhoub's performance as the title character.