“Mr. Monk and the Blackout” · Season 3, Episode 3
In this episode: Adrian Monk (8), Lt. Randall Disher (5), Captain Leland Stottlemeyer (4), Sharona Fleming (3), Benjy Fleming (1)
[During a blackout]
[groans]
Benjy, hold his hand.
Ow! He's squeezing it!
Let him squeeze it.
When will it be over?
Adrian, calm down, they're working on it now, it won't be long.
When will it be over?
I'm telling you, I don't know, they're working on it.
When will it be over?!
Make him stop!
[The lights come back on]
See? I told you.
I didn't know when it would be over.
So I heard.
[Monk and Sharona are talking to Michelle Rivas at the power plant. Michelle hears a noise, looks up, and sees Gene Edelson coming down the ladder]
Gene, what are you doing up there?
What am I doing? I am checking the auxillary generator.
Well there's a reporter looking for you.
Well you're the company mouth. You talk to them. It's not my job. [spots Monk tapping one of the gauges on an instrument panel] Excuse me! Uh, do you see the sign? [Monk notices the "DO NOT TOUCH" sign over the gauge]
Ah, no problem. I got it. [He straightens it a few centimeters. Michelle chuckles]
I've been dying to do that for six months. [Stottlemeyer and Disher return]
Hey Monk, we've got the prelim on the explosives. [Monk joins them to examine the remnants of the bomb] We think... four to five pounds of a high density plastique with a magnesium charge. It was detonated with an egg timer.
You mentioned the letters. Is that the letter?
Yeah, three pages, taped to the back door outside. [Monk looks over Randy's shoulder to see the note]
Yeah it's a basic environmental laundry list: solar power, fossil fuels, Saudi Arabia, "it's the only planet we have."
[reading] "We are free men... unshacked by your barborous laws." I know that phrase. I've heard that before. "Unshackled." "Barborous laws." [He thinks for a few seconds] Ten years ago, that exact same phrase was in a letter, written by a guy named Winston... No yes, Winston Brenner. Trudy wrote an article about him.
I remember that guy. He was a serious radicalist in Boston. He blew up a recruiting station; a couple of soldiers got killed.
Looks like he just came out of retirement.
Let's check him out.
[Stottlemeyer walks into his office when Disher calls to him]
Captain! [Stottlemeyer walks back out to Randy's desk] Monk was right. And you're right too sir, about Monk being right. Check this out. Good work.
What have you got, Randy?
[hands a file to Stottlemeyer] Winston Brenner. He was an activist in the 90s. He was indicted in a series of bombings in Boston. Pretty angry individual. [grabs evidence bags with two different notes; he holds up the left one first] Here, look at this. This is the note from the power plant. [holds up the one in his right hand] This one is from 11 years ago. He uses a lot of the same phrases: "The blood I shed today."/"The blood I shed today." "The price of absolute freedom."/"The price of absolute freedom." And check this out. [rotates his desk lamp to show the comparison in the writing sample, also shining the light right into Stottlemeyer's face] The handwriting is identical. This is definitely the guy. The only thing is, is that back then, Brenner didn't really care about the environment. Anti-military was his thing.
Did you read the rest of the file, Randy? [Randy produces surveillance photos]
We've got some pictures too. They're blurry, but good.
Read the rest of the file, Randy.
Which part?
The part here where it says that he died: "Deceased, 1995." Blew himself up before the trial.
He's dead.
[Monk, Sharona, Stottlemeyer and Disher arrive at a construction site to talk to tree-hugger Alby Drake]
No I'm not being reasonable, I'm sick and tired of being reasonable. I'm not coming down until you agree to build your stupid condos somewhere else!
[Monk and Sharona arrive]
Did you call Michelle?
No.
Did you think about it?
No.
Did you think about thinking about it?
Sharona, I'm a married man.
Captain, Lieutenant.
Sharona, Monk.
What's going on?
Tree hugger.
His name is Alby Drake. He was Winston Brenner's oldest friend; they were roommates at MIT.
How long has he been up there?
Ten days. He'll be down soon. The judge will be ordering an eviction notice by tomorrow morning.
The FBI, in their infinite wisdom, now agrees that Winston Brenner may have faked his own death back in 1995. If Brenner is still alive, [points a bullhorn up at Drake] that scruffy bird up there might still be in contact with him.
How does he go to the bathroom? [Almost immediately, everyone except for Randy steps back]
[Monk has a date with Michelle Rivas]
Are you excited?
Yes... if by excited, you mean petrified and full of regret.
"Petrified and full of regret". Welcome to the world of dating.
[They walk around the remains of Alby Drake's tree to meet Stottlemeyer, who climbs over one of the fallen branches to meet them]
Captain!
Monk. Sharona. I'm sure you've noticed by now that there used to be a big tree standing right over there.
What time?
4:35 AM. A security guard heard somebody start up the bulldozer. Moments later, ch-ch-ch, "Timber!" Drake was dead on impact.
He made a phone call though at around midnight.
To a payphone, right?
You guessed it: Palo Alto.
Oh, well it had to be to Brenner. He's the guy.
So not only is Winston Brenner alive and well, he's making sure that his old pals don't rat him out.
That's right. The FBI's calling at Palo Alto tonight. They want to compare notes; synchronize watches.
Ouch, whoa-whoa, I-I can't make it.
He has a date.
[Monk is on the phone with Michelle Rivas]
That used to be my nickname, Mr. Punctuality.
In college?
Kindergarten.
[Monk, Michelle and a pregnant woman are trapped in an elevator due to Winston Brenner's second blackout]
[pushing the Emergency Call button] Lobby, lobby, lobby, lobby, lobby...
Sir, the power is out. That means you can't reach them.
...Yeah, you're probably right. [resumes pushing button] Lobby, lobby, lobby...
[during yet another blackout]
[stumbles and hits something] I cannot find my night-vision goggles. There is a fatal flaw in the night-vision goggle plan!
[Stottlemeyer and Disher burst in and point their guns at Winston Brenner]
Lieutenant, these are night-vision goggles! Turn the lights back off, I'll have the advantage! Turn them off!
Yeah, we could do that... or we could just arrest him.
These quotes come from Wikiquote's Monk pages and are available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License.
