Adrian Monk

Written By. Kathryn Stanland

Adrienne Monk, of the TV series Monk[1], qualifies as a Genius Hero. Within the television series, Monk works in assisting the local L.A Police Department in the solving of cases and in catching murderers using his extreme intelligence and abilities in detecting details. Previously Monk was an official member of the police team, but the murder of his wife caused him to be scarred mentally and emotionally and he was released from the force. After several years the police realize what an asset Monk is and begin bringing him in to assist with cases again.

An affect that occurs in Monk after his wife’s death is the emergence of extreme OCD. As a result of his OCD, Monk must have everything that he can control a certain way and becomes extremely agitated if any detail around him is out of place in any way. Rather than this condition hindering his abilities and intelligence however, this quality helps Monk to become an even greater asset to the police. Because of his OCD, Monk notices every detail around him and becomes almost instantly alerted to any disturbance in the environment around him. This proves to be a unique ability that makes him extremely useful around crime scenes, as he instantly knows what is wrong with the area around him. By noticing details about the scene that do not match up with the assumed story of how the crime happened or in paying attention to the smallest details, Monk often allows the police force to follow up on overlooked elements of the crime scene that wind up being extremely helpful to the solving of the case.


[1] Monk. Created by Andy Breckman. USA: Mandeville Films, 2002-2009.