I love Monk on the USA Network.  For one thing, Adrian Monk, the obsessive-compulsive, but lovable, detective played to Emmy-winning perfection by Tony Shaloub, reminds me of some of my own obsessive-compulsive, but lovable, family.  For another thing, I’m fascinated by the thought processes that allow Monk to solve San Francisco’s most puzzling crimes.

I loved the series even more when his nurse-assistant was Sharona Fleming, played to perfection, if not Emmy-acknowledged, by Bitty Schram.  Beginning in the second half of Season Three, Monk’s sidekick became Natalie Teeger, well-limned by Traylor Howard.  The chemistry between Shaloub’s Monk and Howard’s Teeger is very good.  The chemistry between Shaloub and Schram was Brangelina great.

In announcing Schram’s departure in the Summer of 2004, USA claimed producers were looking to take the series in a different direction. But rumor was Schram believed that she wasn’t getting enough screen time.  I hope the rumor was untrue.  With 99% of the Screen Actors Guild living below the national poverty line, mental cruelty, illness, family emergencies, and better roles, should be the only reasons for an actor to quit a hit, award-winning gig.  As for screen time, how much has Bitty Schram grabbed in the two years since leaving the goose that laid her golden, award-winning egg?