The show's guest roster has included a veritable who's who of character actors, such as Dan Hedaya, Sean Astin, Andy Richter, Charles Durning and John Turturro (who won an Emmy for his wonderful work as Monk's brother, Ambrose).
But, good as they all were, none was nearly as funny as Sarah Silverman, who, this week, reprises her role as Monk's biggest fan, Marci. Silverman debuted in the role several seasons ago, but her star has risen a bit since then, in the wake of her concert film "Jesus is Magic" and her Comedy Central sitcom "The Sarah Silverman Program." So, wisely, she's been given more to do this time around, and she attacks the role with glee. The result is one of the funniest episodes of "Monk" in a long time.
Loopy Marci is convinced that her neighbor is framing her dog for murder (it makes sense in the context of the episode). Nonplussed, she turns to Monk, who wants no part of her crazed adoration.However, he is fond of those monogrammed sanitary wipes she's made for him.
Shalhoub's prissiness clashes beautifully against Silverman's uninhibited nuttiness, and provides for many inspired moments. My favorite is when Marci plays the song she's penned for her beloved Monk (sample line: "He's no F. Murray Abraham/but I think he's a hunk").
Silverman is a pure pleasure from start to finish. Her schedule is probably a bit full these days, but let's hope she gets another chance to stop by "Monk" and make the good detective squirm.