The television series Mr Monk stands out from other productions in the genre in that is consistently combines comedy with the rather sobering genre of  homicide detective story.

The question of how this is done is is quite enlightening, it does merit a rather lengthy analysis. So I will consider it from a higher level focusing on advantages and disadvantages.

Some Challanges of Comedy Writing

Comedy like any other genre has its established rules and conventions and even sub genres, which screenwriters needs to master if they choose this specialization. Most teachers will warn budding screenwriters away from comedy. This is usually explained by the old knack routine. "Unless you have the rare knack for comic writing you should avoid it like the plague".

A major part of what it realy boils down to is technical in that comic writing will automaticaly introduce twenty additional concerns to those encountered in normal screenwriting. These include when to use a comic point of view,  the more structural issues of where to add comic action and dialogue routines; the correct comic timing which alows these to work and the use of comic dialog. These new concerns must not only satisfied but also harmonized with exisiting needs. This jugeling act must be done in the same space as a regular screenplay and ususaly in  less.

Asuming the technical aspects are masters the other difficulty in writing comedy is the big question "does it work?". This encapulates the unusual requirement of eliciting the same shared emotion in most of the viewers at each comic moment. Otherwise "it isn't working," the audience does not get it and so it just is not funny. Another issue with most improvised comedies is that getting  in too many of these comidic moments can quickly undermine the integrity of the story if they get in the way of advancing the plot.

One last challange in writing comedy is not being offensive. This can be a limiting parameter which paradoxicaly increases creativity. One of Monk's more comic phobia is germs. This precludes contact and intimacy. He is also phobic of nudity and the human body. These type of limitations means we will be laughing at Monk and less about more offesive subjects.

The Payoffs of Comic Writing

Up front, comedy provides pure entertainment value to any story. A  screenwriter's ability to introduce any level of comic elements will raise his work to greater heights. Yey the use of comedy can add value in other less expected places. This is because the comic point of view need not be synonymous with entertainment.

The rest of this discussion is centered about use of comic elements in screenwriting and less about the genre. I consider it similar to using romance in a story which may share the techniques used in the romance genre but is not a romance story.

Mr Monk

A typical episode of Mr Monk will usualy start with an inciting incident placing the viewer in supertior position with the knowledge that a murder took place. In the first turning point Monk will appear on he scene and rule out accident or suicide and state that it is a murder. This leves three important issues that will come up.

1. Who committed the crime - with the famous cue "She/He's the guy"
2. How it was pulled off "I don't know how he did it - but he did". These more elaborate these turn out to be the more the episode will be about detective work and less about other subjects.  
3. The mistake that not only allows Monk to prove the atagonist's guilt but also induce a villain to return to the scene of the crime or to commit further murders.

Since item #3 is based on material evidence it will introduce a ticking clock with a race to locate the missing evidence of guilt.

Monk does his magic by being observant and objective. Comedy is ussualy created using an aproch that is called comic distance. This uses our ability to see humor in a situation which would be tragic if it happened to us. It is esentialy reversing empathy.

While comedy as a genre is a very difficult subject to master with it rules and limitations, it is not what I am considering here. I am referring to the an writer who can shift from a serious point of view to a comic one. These transitions can start with either objective - a narrator or subjective - a personal point of view but what is achieved can be a transient reinterpretation of the what is real. This occurs in any comic scene, but in Mr. Monk these transition are more acute and therefore easier to view and analysis.

So how is comedy used to realize more serious ambitions. It can be used to quickly release tensions. This is called a tension release technique. It can be used to turn suspense into something different.  do more Some uses of comedy beyond straight

In episode 7 from the 5th season called "Mr Monk Gets A New Shrink", monks mirror character resumes his rivalry with monk for being Dr Kruger's favorite patient. This is a long standing thread in the series which works all the better since Monk takes him seriously and responds in form. Monk and Harold J. Krenshaw. And yet even this apparently entertaining device is used in unusually subtle ways. We learn that Monk actually understands how much he is like Harold

Later when Monk and Kruger are kidnapped Harold how has been stalking them calls the police and even intervenes to help them. So the long standing argument is not only fully integrated into the story line - it get a life of its own and becomes a turning point. In fact it is a multistage turning point where action is turned on comedy.

The introduction of comedy usually implies that the funny times have arrived. People will get injured - but won't bleed; shots fired will not kill anyone. But as Dr Kruger and Mr Monk ambivalently discuss their imminent murder the humorous overtones do not subvert the darker subtext of the conversation. The humor accentuates the hidden message.

1. Harold enters the warehouse behind the gangsters - serious
2. Monk and Kruger see him dodging behind them - comic
3. Harold grabs the gun - serious.
4. To Monk's and Kruger's dismay Harold puts the  gun away giving in  to his compulsion to re-organize the warehouse.
5. The antagonist see him and a gun fight starts - serious
6. At the climax Kruger is shot at but Harold in a daring move jumps to take the bullet - tragic and dead serious.
7. Harold close to death breaks the tension by baiting Monk that he has gained greater kudos from Kruger - tragic and comic