The Daddy of Dysfunction

TV Squad reports that detective Adrian Monk (Tony Shalhoub), the outrageously phobic star of USA Network’s Monk, is about to welcome--more or less--his father back into his already difficult life. As the blog’s Adam Finley explains,

On November 17, a special holiday episode of the popular USA series will reunite the obsessive compulsive germaphobe crime fighter with his estranged father, a man Monk hasn’t seen in forty years. Monk’s long-lost father will be played by actor Dan Hedaya, a name you might not recognize, but you’ll probably recognize his face. He’s one of those “oh that guy” actors. Well, if you remember Nick Tortelli from Cheers, you know who I’m talking about. As if I even had to mention it, Monk’s father is mixed up in a crazy mystery and needs his son’s help. You know, otherwise it wouldn’t exactly be an episode of Monk, would it?

New weekly episodes of Monk are set to resume in January 2007.