an open letter to USA
Dear USA Networks,
I have battled with myself over what to think of you as a network. I admit, I began thinking you were a crappy version of TNT, focused on the creation of mini-series that featured D-list actors who ran in tight clothes away from things that explode. But then, you took me by surprise. You created Monk, one of, if not the, smartest comedy on television with one of the greatest character actors that ever breathed, Tony Shalhoub. Suddenly, I had respect for you, Big Guy. I could deal with the self-indulgent promos for The Dead Zone because I knew Monk would deliver quality entertainment. I continued to watch through a lukewarm summer season. (The Monkey did it? Right.) I rooted for you all through the Emmy season, and when it paid off, I rejoiced.
I have lost respect for you again. Your decision to get rid of the character of Sharona Fleming (played excellently by actress Bitty Schram) is utterly ridiculous. You cannot make a Sherlock Holmes show without a Watson. You cannot have your main character be so OC without a nurse. He does not need an assistant (what paperwork does this man do?); he needs a medically trained professional that has the chutzpah to smack him around when he gets... well, the way we know he gets.
This is not to bash Traylor Howard. I was a fan of Boston Common and Two Guys and a Girl. I rather liked her. But she does not belong on the show, and certainly not as a bad replacement for Sharona. A blonde former bartender and single mom? Sharona was a blonde former "dancer" and single mom. But she became a nurse and a Lois Lane/Watson to Adrian Monk. She had great chemistry with all of the cast members, especially Shalhoub and Jason Gray-Standford (aka Lt. Disher).
Bring back Sharona, USA. Because if you do not, you will not only have lost my respect, you will have lost my viewership.
I have battled with myself over what to think of you as a network. I admit, I began thinking you were a crappy version of TNT, focused on the creation of mini-series that featured D-list actors who ran in tight clothes away from things that explode. But then, you took me by surprise. You created Monk, one of, if not the, smartest comedy on television with one of the greatest character actors that ever breathed, Tony Shalhoub. Suddenly, I had respect for you, Big Guy. I could deal with the self-indulgent promos for The Dead Zone because I knew Monk would deliver quality entertainment. I continued to watch through a lukewarm summer season. (The Monkey did it? Right.) I rooted for you all through the Emmy season, and when it paid off, I rejoiced.
I have lost respect for you again. Your decision to get rid of the character of Sharona Fleming (played excellently by actress Bitty Schram) is utterly ridiculous. You cannot make a Sherlock Holmes show without a Watson. You cannot have your main character be so OC without a nurse. He does not need an assistant (what paperwork does this man do?); he needs a medically trained professional that has the chutzpah to smack him around when he gets... well, the way we know he gets.
This is not to bash Traylor Howard. I was a fan of Boston Common and Two Guys and a Girl. I rather liked her. But she does not belong on the show, and certainly not as a bad replacement for Sharona. A blonde former bartender and single mom? Sharona was a blonde former "dancer" and single mom. But she became a nurse and a Lois Lane/Watson to Adrian Monk. She had great chemistry with all of the cast members, especially Shalhoub and Jason Gray-Standford (aka Lt. Disher).
Bring back Sharona, USA. Because if you do not, you will not only have lost my respect, you will have lost my viewership.
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