REASON TO WATCH: Beginning of the end of one of the most successful shows in cable TV history.

CATCHING UP: For you non-�Monk-aholics,� this is the eighth and final season, concluding in early December with a two-parter that will probably resolve the one case that pretty much launched the whole series � the murder of Monk�s beloved wife, Trudy.
Tony Shalhoub, as Adrian Monk � the detective who both suffers and thrives from his obsessive-compulsive disorder � became a three-time Emmy winner (and he�s up for another best-actor-in-a-comedy statue this year). Bitty Schram, who played Monk�s loyal assistant, Sharona Fleming, before leaving the cast in 2004, returns for a late-season cameo.
WHAT TONIGHT�S ABOUT: Did you know, oh loyal and loving �Monk� fan, that Mr. Monk has a favorite show? A surprise, yes, because the detective really doesn�t watch much TV, though he remembers every detail, every line of dialogue from that show, even 35 years later. It was called �The Cooper Clan,� and resemblances to �The Brady Bunch� are purely intentional. It starred �Christine Rapp� (Elizabeth Perkins), who years later has written a tell-all book � and resemblances to Maureen McCormick are probably intentional as well. Monk hasn�t read the book yet but stalwart pal Natalie Teeger (Traylor Howard) has. It�s a shocker, filled with the lurid details of Christine�s many (ummm) adventures, earning her enemies and death threats. Rapp�s assistant (Rena Sofer) hires Monk as her bodyguard. He�s thrilled, at first.
BOTTOM LINE: Watching this episode, it occurred to me that USA without �Monk� will be like losing the �U� in its name. This show made USA. Other faves like �Psych� and �Burn Notice� will remain, but the fact is, �Monk�s� departure will be a loss for TV, period. This is one of the tube�s most reliable and familiar franchises. Its Randy Newman theme song (� ... it�s a jungle out there ... �) is a TV jingle for the ages.
The formula is, and remains, ironclad. Fans know this show and its comfortable rhythms as intimately as Mr. Monk knows his �Cooper Clan�; some may even feel the loss he feels Friday night just as keenly. Welcome to the bittersweet final season.