Additional Facts
- During the scene where Natalie is trying to keep Monk's hopes up at his apartment, she mentions that there have been a lot of blind people who have done amazing things. To prove her point, Natalie mentions Mr. Magoo, an animated cartoon character, and an amazing blind inventor, who appeared in a series of short films. She also makes a mention to American musician Ray Charles, who was blind by the time he was seven years old due to glaucoma. Ray Charles died in 2004, two years before "Mr. Monk Can't See a Thing" was produced.
- When Monk is getting soot on his hands while searching Stefanie Preston's house, Stottlemeyer asks him if he wants some gloves, but Monk declines, saying, "No, don't need them. Out of sight, out of mind." By coincidence, "Out of Sight, Out of Mind" was an episode of the TV series M*A*S*H in which Hawkeye Pierce was temporarily blinded. The plots of both "Mr. Monk Can't See a Thing" and "Out of Sight, Out of Mind" are very similar. In both, the main character is initially despondent at the chance that their loss of eyesight might be permanent, and in both, the protagonist becomes fascinated with his other senses due to sensory deprivation. And in both, the sense of smell to find clues proves to be crucial. There are, however, a number of differences (Hawkeye loses his eyesight when a malfunctioning stove explodes, whereas Monk loses his when he is attacked during a robbery).
- The alarm at Fire Company 53 (two short tones followed by a buzzer) is the same alarm that is used at LACFD Fire Company 51 in Emergency!.
- The original version of "Mr. Monk Can't See a Thing" had scenes in which actor Ron Roggé would have portrayed a welder. His scenes were deleted from the final version.
- When Monk, Natalie, Stottlemeyer, and Disher are in the alleyway where Jake Colbert said he found the fireman's coat stolen from Fire Company 53, a prostitute can be seen standing in the background behind Monk (not that she is bothering Monk, because he can't see her, nor can he see the cockroaches and dead cat in the alley).
- At least two characters in "Mr. Monk Can't See a Thing" got their names from actual people on the production staff for Monk. The teacher from the School for the Blind is named Shana, and is portrayed by Shana Stein, and fire victim Stefanie Preston gets her name from a person of the same name on the production staff.
Read more about this topic: Mr. Monk Goes To The Firehouse
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