Mr. Monk and the Man Who Shot Santa Claus

The series follows Adrian Monk (Tony Shalhoub), a private detective with obsessive–compulsive disorder and multiple phobias, and his assistant Natalie Teeger (Traylor Howard).

In this episode, Monk is labeled by media as a social pariah as he is accused of shooting a man dressed in Santa Claus apparel, and must prove his innocence.

Natalie Teeger (Traylor Howard) is fighting traffic to get Adrian Monk (Tony Shalhoub) to his appointment with his psychiatrist, Dr. Kroger (Stanley Kamel).

Natalie confides to her daughter Julie (Emmy Clarke) that Monk's wife, Trudy, died in December ten years ago.

They come to a dead stop when retired parole officer, Michael Kenworthy (Randle Mell), in a Santa Claus outfit, showers toys on the street from a roof.

In another part of the city, reporter Brandy Barber (Gina Philips) dubs Monk as "The Man Who Shot Santa Claus" in a broadcast, and he and Natalie start to get harassed everywhere they go.

"Mr. Monk and the Man Who Shot Santa Claus" was co-written by Dan Schofield and Ben Gruber, and directed by Randall Zisk.

Additionally, it would feature a wide shot of the entire cast and crew who had been involved in the six seasons of the series, as well as network and studio executives, former guest stars and directors, and the theme's singer Randy Newman.

[1][10] According to Nielsen Media Research, the episode was viewed by an estimated 4.546 million viewers, making it the tenth most watched program on cable television that week.

[14] Michael Storey of the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette called it "a hoot and well worth your time",[15] while United Feature Syndicate's Kevin McDonough deemed it "exceptional".

"[2] James Chamberlin of IGN was "excited to see the show return" for a Christmas special but was disappointed in the underutilization of Miller's character, and the lack of any further clues to the mystery surrounding the death of Adrian Monk's wife, Trudy, despite several mentions of the event during the episode.

[7] Ted Cox of the Chicago-area Daily Herald stated that the episode was "not even as good as last year's Christmas special" ("Mr. Monk Meets His Dad"), and also laments mention of Trudy's unsolved murder without the "element of lost love" that "made the early 'Monks' great".