# Bitty Schram (Sherona) leaves Monk



## Henry (Sep 1, 2004)

NNNNNNOOOOO!!!

_Oh, cruel fate! Must you take even THIS from me, after Firefly, Wonderfalls, Buffy, and Angel???_




			
				Yahoo TV News said:
			
		

> _Monk_ has excommunicated Sharona Fleming
> 
> Bitty Schram, who plays Adrian Monk's care-giving sidekick, won't be helping the detective handle his obsessive-compulsive behavior any more.
> 
> ...




Call me skeptical - it sounds like things may head south for an excellent TV show - Schram absolutely carried half of that show.

Oh, well...


----------



## Ashwyn (Sep 1, 2004)

Aw, man. The two characters relationship was great.


----------



## Hand of Evil (Sep 1, 2004)

I read this Tuesday and was beside myself in my "oh crap".  While I think the show can be just as entertaining without her, she was a great character, her interaction with not just Monk but everyone was enjoyable.


----------



## Mark (Sep 1, 2004)

My feeling is that there is a good four-person, ensemble cast that includes Bitty Schram who will be very hard, if not impossible, to replace without damaging the show or changing it so much that it loses the magic.  I think shows like _Law and Order_ and _NYPD Blue_ get away with the revolving door cast style because the audience expects the changes and is therefore prepared for change.  Even the loss of David Caruso was weathered despite his leaving unexpectedly and on bad terms with the producers.

Being left with unanswered questioned puts the audience in a tougher position in regards to moving on as the show continues.  I think covering up the details does more harm than good because the audience needs someone to blame before it can move on and accept the change, if the audience is going to move on at all and despite the fact that the audience might blame the producers of the show.


----------



## takyris (Sep 1, 2004)

Dangit.


----------



## Richards (Sep 1, 2004)

Aw........crap.

Johnathan


----------



## WizarDru (Sep 1, 2004)

Mark said:
			
		

> My feeling is that there is a good four-person, ensemble cast that includes Bitty Schram who will be very hard, if not impossible, to replace without damaging the show or changing it so much that it loses the magic. I think shows like _Law and Order_ and _NYPD Blue_ get away with the revolving door cast style because the audience expects the changes and is therefore prepared for change. Even the loss of David Caruso was weathered despite his leaving unexpectedly and on bad terms with the producers.



_Law and Order_ and _NYPD Blue_ are ensemble cast shows, so the losses are always much less.  L&O, for example, never has much time for character development, per se, since it's all about the procedural.  NYPD Blue might have stumbled and fallen, had David Caruso been the only thing holding it up....but Dennis Franz is the true foundation of that show.  If they lost him, it'd all come crashing down.  Mind you, L&O without Jerry Orbach will probably feel the same way. 

 Bitty Schram, though, is a central part of Monk, isn't she?  I mean, yeah, Tony Shaloub is the main character, but she's almost as critical to the show as he is.  Good writing may pull it off, but I dunno.  It's a pity, either way.


----------



## Sarigar (Sep 1, 2004)

She was good in the show, yet my fiance and I would always be looking for the scenes where we would go, "she looks cute there" or "from that angle she's attractive".  Her attitude and looks played into her part, but at the same time it detracted away from the story.  I'll miss her, but I won't, ya know?


----------



## KnowTheToe (Sep 1, 2004)

Look guys the change does not need to be bad.  We could start a write in campaign to replace her with a really hot youg chick who wears really really low cut shirts and short skirts.  How could that be bad?  I mean even women like to look at attractive women


----------



## Silver Moon (Sep 2, 2004)

Can you say "Jump the Shark".


----------



## ssampier (Sep 2, 2004)

I'm sure the replacement is a competent actress, but the show won't feel the same without "Sherona". I have my fingers crossed, but I have my doubts :\


----------



## mojo1701 (Sep 2, 2004)

I guess we'll have to wait and see what comes from this.


----------



## WayneLigon (Sep 2, 2004)

Dang. I saw the frist episode on DVD and was instantly hooked. Been waiting for the second season on DVD. Man, I'll miss her.


----------



## JediSoth (Sep 2, 2004)

As long as they don't replace her with Monk's annoying upstairs neighbor (what was that guy's name?) or that other nurse from Sherona's creative writing class ("My eyes are up here!"), I think it's possible that the show could go on. 

 If the show tanks after this, well, on the bright side, collecting the entire series on DVD won't require ritual sacrifice to come up with the money for it *COUGH*Star Trek*COUGH*. 

 JediSoth


----------



## ShadowX (Sep 3, 2004)

His name is Kevin, and I like him, the lottery episode was one of the funniest I have seen.  Of course he can not replace Bitty, and I doubt anyone can.  What they need is a new charcter not a copy of Sherona.


----------



## Henry (Sep 3, 2004)

The thing that made Sherona so special was that the character was the diametric opposite from Trudy - Trudy was from all depictions sweet, unassuming, no trace of accent, deeply caring for Adrian, upscale dresser, a lover of poetry, etc. Sherona is tough, brassy (Brooklyn as all heck), and a scrapper. Both women were headstrong, and both cared for Adrian - Sherona in a different way, but she was what Monk needed right after the accident. Someone who was shyer and more overtly compassionate would not have gotten him to even so much as crawl out of bed after Trudy died.

One line of the opening show of Season 3 really kicked in with me - when Stottlemeyer said, "When that bomb blew, it killed my best friend's wife - _and it killed him, too_." Monk without Sherona will be interesting to see if they can make it work, and be believable personality-wise.


----------



## Mark (Sep 4, 2004)

I think one way they might manage it is by giving him back his detective's shield.  Get him back on the force.  Without some sort of significant lifestyle change to realistically explain why she shouldn't be around, I think they'll have a hard time retaining some of the audience (and I agree that a simple replacement of her is unlikely to work).  I guess they could move him to another location/city, but that might be too much and too drastic of a change and I think that such a move would require Sherona to still be along for the ride.


----------



## mojo1701 (Sep 4, 2004)

Mark said:
			
		

> I think one way they might manage it is by giving him back his detective's shield.  Get him back on the force.  Without some sort of significant lifestyle change to realistically explain why she shouldn't be around, I think they'll have a hard time retaining some of the audience (and I agree that a simple replacement of her is unlikely to work).  I guess they could move him to another location/city, but that might be too much and too drastic of a change and I think that such a move would require Sherona to still be along for the ride.




Maybe they'll be something huge (maybe connected to Trudy's death somehow) that'll make him move somewhere.


----------



## Lord Pendragon (Sep 4, 2004)

Mark said:
			
		

> Even the loss of David Caruso was weathered despite his leaving unexpectedly and on bad terms with the producers.



Well, I think one can only hope for a scenario like this, since I personally found Caruso's replacement far better than Caruso himself.  Sure, it may seem like the show's in trouble now, but you never know.  There are a lot of incredibly talented actresses out there.


----------



## takyris (Sep 4, 2004)

Henry said:
			
		

> One line of the opening show of Season 3 really kicked in with me - when Stottlemeyer said, "When that bomb blew, it killed my best friend's wife - _and it killed him, too_." Monk without Sherona will be interesting to see if they can make it work, and be believable personality-wise.




Yes. completely, to everything you said.

I've really been impressed with the growth they've allowed Stottlemeyer this year -- letting him really become Monk's friend.  Watching him call the other cops over to pop bubbles a few episodes back was understated and touching.


----------



## Villano (Sep 4, 2004)

Mark said:
			
		

> I guess they could move him to another location/city, but that might be too much and too drastic of a change and I think that such a move would require Sherona to still be along for the ride.




But that would mean losing Stottlemeyer and the other cop (I can't think of his name offhand).

BTW, I don't think anyone's mentioned it, but this probably means that the kid who plays her son is out of work now, too.  Unless they have Monk adopt him...at which point the show *will* have jumped the shark.


----------



## mojo1701 (Sep 4, 2004)

Villano said:
			
		

> But that would mean losing Stottlemeyer and the other cop (I can't think of his name offhand).




Lt. Randy Disher.



> _BTW, I don't think anyone's mentioned it, but this probably means that the kid who plays her son is out of work now, too.  Unless they have Monk adopt him...at which point the show *will* have jumped the shark._




Maybe he'll be the reason why Sharona leaves in the first place.


----------



## Mark (Sep 4, 2004)

Maybe they'll just ashcan the series at the end of the next season.  It's a real shame they couldn't come to some arrangement and keep her on the show.


----------



## Mark (Sep 6, 2004)

New News - http://filmforce.ign.com/articles/544/544054p1.html


----------



## mojo1701 (Sep 7, 2004)

Mark said:
			
		

> New News - http://filmforce.ign.com/articles/544/544054p1.html




I like that last set of lines about being a man...


----------

