Tony Shalhoub, who stars as the OCD detective Adrian Monk on USA Network's Friday night comedy, Monk, tells me he has been enjoying his final season and though he understands fans will miss the show — "I wonder if fans really know how devoted to them we are," he says — he believes it's time. "The key to success of a lot of TV shows is timing," he says, and it's true for departures, too. Shalhoub says he wanted Monk to go out while the quality of the show is still at its best. "It's hard to time it; to know when people feel you have stayed too long."  The last episodes — a two-parter — will air in December so we still have two months of Mr. Monk's eccentricities and guest stars such as Meat Loaf, who appears tonight. I'm eager to see the Meat Loaf episode because the musician/actor told me his performance is so "over the top" and "crazy" he's been afraid to view it himself, though he's been TiVoing all Monk episodes this season so he doesn't miss it.

I did get Shalhoub, who has won two Emmys for playing this character, to part with a little scoop on what's upcoming.  He says Bitty Shram, who played Monk's nurse for three seasons and is still remembered fondly by fans, will return and cross paths — or is it swords? — with Natalie, Monk's assistant played by Traylor Howard. And he expects that the murder of Monk's wife, Trudy, will be solved.