Randy Disher (Jason Gray-Stanford) completely changed midway throughMonk, and I still wish the original version of the character would have stuck around longer. Plenty of things changed over the course ofMonk:Sharona (Bitty Schram) left inMonkseason 3,Leland Stottlemeyer (Ted Levine) became friends with Adrian(Tony Shalhoub), and even theMonktheme song changed in season 2. It certainly took a while for the show to find its footing, but many of its changes ended up being for the best, andMonkis still popular even after two decades.
There are, however, someharsh realities of rewatchingMonkthat show that not every change made in the series was a positive. They range fromMonkbeing very formulaic to the movie,Mr. Monk’s Last Case, being a bit underwhelming. One of the biggest problems withMonk, however, concerns Randy Disher. In truth, the Randy we met at the beginning ofMonkdidn’t stick around long, and halfway through the show, he became a completely different person. I think the wayMonkchanged Randy was one of the few mistakes in the entire show.
Randy Essentially Became A Different Character Midway Through Monk
Randy Got Dumber With Each New Season Of Monk
Much like Captain Stottlemeyer, Randy Disher was very different in the first season ofMonkcompared to the rest of the show. InMonkseason 1, Randy was nasty to Adrian and very dorky around Sharona, and he was also a fairly competent police lieutenant, even if he couldn’t compare to Adrian.Sometime in the middle ofMonk, however, Randy changed completely: he started to idolize Adrian, he ended up starting a relationship with Sharona, and, most importantly, he got extremely stupid. He went from a stuck-up but fairly effective cop to a bumbling detective who could basically only follow Stottlemeyer’s orders.
Randy had some outlandish theories about how the crimes inMonkwere committed from the very beginning. In “Mr. Monk Meets Dale the Whale,” Randy suggested that Dale the Whale got liposuction, killed someone, and then had “reverse-liposuction” to create the perfect alibi. His theories only got worse from there, however.InMr. Monk’s Last Case, Randy suggested that Rick Eden built a device that could lower the height of a bridge via hydraulics to kill Griffin. He even built a scale model out of LEGOs. Randy went from not always thinking things through before blurting out theories to wholeheartedly believing physics-defying conspiracies.
Randy Did Get Nicer & More Confident As Monk Went On, But I Wish He Got Smarter, Too
Most of Randy’s idiotic antics were funny. He’s even responsible for some of thebest episodes ofMonk, like when Adrian has to convince him that he can solve a murder by himself.I like Randy a lot, and I’m glad he got nicer and more confident asMonkprogressed, but I still wish he would have gotten smarter.Flanderization is a trend originating withThe Simpsons, and it refers to the way a character will become almost a caricature of themselves as they get more and more ridiculous as the show continues. It’s not uncommon in the slightest, but I really hate that Randy was flanderized so much.
Randy Disher’s lack of intelligence was always good for a laugh in Monk, but it wasn’t very good for his character.
The worst part of Randy getting dumber over the course ofMonkis that he made so much progress elsewhere. As previously mentioned,Randy became friends with Adrian and started a relationship with Sharona, and by the end ofMonk, he became a police chief in New Jersey. Even after all those moments of personal growth, however, Randy was as dim-witted as ever. Randy Disher’s lack of intelligence was always good for a laugh inMonk, but it wasn’t very good for his character.
