Monk once referenced this fan favorite Brady Bunch episode

Did you catch the TV detective's nod to Jan Brady's imaginary boyfriend?

About five minutes into the Monk episode "Mr. Monk and the Employee of the Month," lieutenant Randy Disher tells Monk’s assistant Sharona that he’s tired because he was up late with his new girlfriend.

"Yeah, well, those imaginary girlfriends can be pretty wild," Sharona jokes.

Defensively, Randy insists his girlfriend is not imaginary, so Sharona asks for her name.

"Crystal," Randy responds curtly, but behind him is a box labeled "Crystal Glassware."

Sharona smirks and retorts, "What’s her last name, Glassware?"

For true fans of classic TV, there’s a hidden layer of humor in this exchange.

Crystal Glassware references one of the most iconic jokes from The Brady Bunch.

In an episode called "The Not-So-Ugly Duckling," Jan Brady becomes devastated when her very first crush falls for Marcia instead of her. So, she does what any heartsick girl would do. She invents an imaginary boyfriend.

In the classic scene, Mike and Carol attempt to comfort Jan while she lays in bed pouting. When they tell her not to feel bad that she doesn’t have a boyfriend, she sits up.

"But I do have a boyfriend," she says, revealing he’s "one of the nicest boys in the school."

"That’s wonderful, Jan!" Carol says. "What’s his name?"

"His name… is George," Jan declares.

"George what?" Carol asks.

Jan’s eyes search the room and land on her nightstand where a drinking glass sits empty.

"George, uh, George … Glass!" Jan says, making the name up on the spot.

In the Brady Bunch episode, Jan’s secret comes out when Carol and Mike attempt to find George Glass to invite him to a party. During this detective mission, they discover he doesn’t exist, and they also realize that the boys in Jan’s class consider her "one of the guys" because she dresses like a tomboy.

The episode concludes with Jan showing up to the party in a cute dress and her first crush gaining new interest in her.

On Monk, Randy was known for coming up with ridiculous theories, but if you watch this scene between Randy and Sharona and sense some chemistry between the characters, you’ll be pleased to know the show did end up pulling that offbeat couple together in the end.

But the end of "Mr. Monk and the Employee of the Month" twisted away from The Brady Bunch by having Randy’s "imaginary girlfriend" Crystal actually be real.

At the conclusion of the episode, Randy shouts for the whole office to look out the window where Crystal is waving goodbye from a cab.

But it’s too hard to see her clearly, so, unlike Jan whose fib is believed until she’s proven to be lying, no one believes Randy, even when he provides proof that Crystal really does exist.

This wasn’t the only time Monk referenced The Brady Bunch, though.

In the eighth season premiere, "Mr. Monk’s Favorite Show," Monk serves as bodyguard to a child star from his favorite show The Cooper Clan, obviously spoofing The Brady Bunch.

The episode references Brady Bunch episodes like "Confessions, Confessions," which solves the mystery of who broke Carol’s vase, as well as "Her Sister’s Shadow," which features Jan’s famous line "Marcia, Marcia, Marcia!"

On Monk, this line, of course, becomes "Adrian, Adrian, Adrian!"

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27 Comments

Sally 28 months ago
Interesting side note...the girl who played Randy's girlfriend in that episode is Jill Wagner. She's made a bunch of Hallmark movies. She's the star of the Murder 101 mystery movies. :)
Runeshaper 28 months ago
I remember that episode of Monk! Poor Randy LOL
denny 28 months ago
Monk, a top 10 show of all time.
LoveMETV22 28 months ago
The cross reference of one show to another has been done on other shows occasionally. They could have done a story on that.
bagandwallyfan52 28 months ago
On HAPPY DAYS BAG ZOMBROSKI talked about going
On a date with Mary Ann McCarthy in the Happy Days
Episode called CRUISING.
The question is did Bag Zombroski really have a date
with Mary Ann McCarthy or
Was Mary Ann McCarthy an
IMAGINARY GIRLFRIEND or a
PHAMTOM GIRLFRIEND because
Mary Ann McCarthy was never
Seen in that episode Crusing.
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bagandwallyfan52 Jeffrey 28 months ago
You are Right .I did forget
ED and Trixie and Fred and
Wilma and Barney and Betty and The Odd Couple
Felix and Oscar.
I wonder if I forgot any other couples.
lynngdance Jeffrey 28 months ago
Felix and Oscar 😆😝😂🤣
texasluva lynngdance 28 months ago
If you like to stop by to say hello take a guess or two and conversation. You are more then welcome.

!!Wanted!! but preferred Alive
Those that wish to participate in the Weekly Movie Quiz.
Reward:
Conversation as to what this movie might be
Winners name in MeTV Lights
Just plain ole fun
Let's Do it at: Can you match these Thanksgiving dinners to the right shows?
Friday @ 10:00 P.M CT
The Show Must Go On-Another knock down quizorama and entertainment.
#2 Bonus movie The Blob 😯
lynngdance texasluva 28 months ago
Thank you very much for the invitation! 😁 but I have like a hundred things I have to do later today so I may not have time, but if I do I’ll be sure to drop in. 😄
Moody 28 months ago
Dump Monk & replace it with real classic tv like Mannix, Kojak, Cannon or something like those. C'mon MeTV wake up & listen to your fans for a change!
LoveMETV22 Moody 28 months ago
Or at least move it to the overnight with Mannix, Cannon and Barnaby Jones. As it stands now or rephrased "Monk stands alone" in the Sunday night block they touted so much. Question is and they most likely won't (but who knows), what could they replace it with?
texasluva Moody 28 months ago
Tuesday special showing of The Sandlot (1993). As we know on MeTV stories that Art LaFleur has passed on. I thought it would be nice to show this awesome movie. He played The Great Bambino, King of Swat. We know him as Babe Ruth. This movie is fun for young and old alike.

The Sandlot (1993) 1 hr 41 min-Comedy-Drama-Family
Director:
David Mickey Evans
Cast:
Tom Guiry
Mike Vitar
Art LaFleur
Patrick Renna
James Earl Jones
In the summer of 1962, a new kid in town is taken under the wing of a young baseball prodigy and his rowdy team, resulting in many adventures.
.

https://archive.org/details/The_Sandlot/The+Sandlot+1993+1080p.mp4
Moody texasluva 28 months ago
Good movie. I liked the 2nd one too. That dog was a monster! 😮
texasluva Moody 28 months ago
One of those movies you don't get tired of watching once a year or two. Before today I did not have it. Did a search and found 1 but the sound was awful. Another search I came up with one that had great picture quality. Last thing I'd do as a kid is steal my dads signed baseball by The Babe. Then use it and lose it to a giant dog 😐. Even if they got it back it was a gnawed up 😣. They got a good replacement for it though.
DZee 28 months ago
Who cares? Monk sucks and shouldn't even be on MeTV.....it's not classic tv.
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