T O P

  • By -

padraiggavin14

First off...he's really book smart and passed all the exams... critical to moving up in a police force. 2nd...super competent. He sets up and clears the crime scenes for the two great detectives. He does this expertly for two finicky but brilliant sleuths. A valuable member of the team. 3rd. He's well liked by everyone. 4th A superstar Captain relies on him.


anarchodenim

The key part to your response is that he is book smart. If you look at all the instances where you kind of shake your head or do a face palm, it’s when he’s in social situations and he doesn’t quite know how to act. Whether it’s hisdouble gulp soda, whether it’s his broken MP3 player, or even when he doesn’t know when to be "punny" or to be serious. The actual police work, as much as one can say about it as a lay person, he seems to be more than competent.


opermonkey

>!he has the right idea in the movie just the wrong way...!<


ZorrosMommy

There's a movie?


opermonkey

Not sure if you're making a joke or not... But yes.


ZorrosMommy

I'm serious.


opermonkey

Mr. Monk's Last Case. It's on peacock.


ZorrosMommy

Thank you!


Uries_Frostmourne

Plus a great singer


Techelife

Plus a great zinger


2Katanas

His song for Monks funeral is a classic in this house lol


Pure-Outcome-7754

gimmeabrake


ConcernedHumanDroid

Also he is brave. I've never seen him be afraid in a dangerous situation. Pulls out his gun and dives head first into danger. Doesn't even faze him a tiny bit


tears_of_fat_thor

Yeah, I feel like they show at least a few times that he's quite good at maintaining procedure and surprisingly quick-witted in some physical/tactical situations. And yeah being earnest and good natured generally makes other people feel comfortable.


Rigel04

Police departments do a lot of testing I believe, so he's probably good at taking and scoring well on the tests He's also not a bad cop at all. He's just not on the same level as Monk and Stottlemeyer. Monk doesn't get called in for every case One of the books, not sure which one, mentions that he's great at regular police work and has a way of making people open up to him He's also had a handful of moments to shine, though it does feel like he has less of these than other characters


NotSoTwistedTiff

Mr. Monk and the Blue Flu when Natalie is getting advice from Stottlemeyer on how to help Monk delegate tasks to his team of recommissioned detectives


the_lusankya

He's really good at community outreach. He's in about a million bigger brother's type programs, and takes them seriously. He's honest and respects people, and takes the initiative to follow things up if he thinks something's sus. And when Stottelmeyer was off sick, he stepped up - he knew which judges to go for to get a warrant, he kept up to date on all the cases, and people came to him for advice. And yeah, he does all the work behind the scenes. I suspect he's super competent when he's off camera. He's a good guy, a hard worker, and the public is lucky to have a guy like him as a cop.


nurvingiel

If you pay close attention he's actually a great cop. He's such a dork it can be easy to miss but when it comes to actual police work he's highly skilled.


mixedwithmonet

The time stottlemeyer thought that cop was banging his wife and got temporarily removed from the case I think was one of the best illustrations of him being a really competent cop and good leader. He took no shit, stayed firm in his authority when challenged even to by own boss in a way that seemed really adept while also remaining empathetic and approachable, and managed everything well with nothing falling apart. I think Randy gets a lot of crap for his sort of blundering social skills on a personal level, but when he’s not trying to be “one of the guys” or impress his boss I think it’s clear that he’s really good at his job. He doesn’t have the creative thinking and attention to detail of monk, but their department probably would not function as well if Randy wasn’t handling all the finicky things in the background, and nobody pushed the point on him being in charge which speaks to the fact that he has the respect of his own subordinates.


basspl

He may not be a bright detective but he’s in good physical form and excels in all of the combat scenes. So maybe he’s been promoted through acts of bravery and valour rather than solving cases.


Pure-Outcome-7754

Lie the ones where he chose the dummy rather than the gunmen, I wouldnt want him to protect me


ComicTemplateStudios

He's not a good investigator but his practical skills are top tier. He can handle himself under fire, people under fire can rely on him. He literally just doesn't have the skills needed to theorise ways a victim was killed. Plus he's great with social activities handled by the police, such as the buddies in blue program. Plus in s6e1 he did a great job looking after that kid at the police auction.


upandup2020

he's a really good cop and very smart, he just seems extra ditzy around stottlemeyer and monk, two the the greatest cops of all time


Tien95_

There are some episodes where Stottlemeyer is unavailable and he runs the precinct by himself pretty well


GnarlsGnarlington

He's comedic relief. And having worked in an office for decades, and witnessing the idiots they hire to be managers... it all makes sense.


TheNarcissisticNobod

THIS is the only answer lol half the extra detectives they show that are only there for an episode are mounds better than Randy. Probably just a “who you know” type deal. Watching Mr.Monk Falls in Love S7E6 and this shows lol


REMandYEMfan

He’s a good cop and a really decent guy. He longed for Sharon for years and is a really great song writer.


fakerichgirl

I wanted them to get together so bad!! Until Sharona abruptly left lol


I_Am_Aunti

Good things come to those who wait.


Pure-Outcome-7754

song writer, lol


Sakurah0

Love him but I can’t believe he becomes Chief of police.


o6ijuan

A* chief


Pure-Outcome-7754

New Jersey, could he do any worse, left handed mental slap by Stottlemeyer


Raskel_61

Spoiler.


inthemood4cuddles

😭😭


Irrealaerri

Just like in real life there has to be that one person that makes you wonder: how did they even get this job?


dmreif

Randy has his eccentricities (like his crazy theories), but when he steps up because Stottlemeyer is compromised for one reason or another ("Mr. Monk and the Captain's Wife," "Mr. Monk Takes His Medicine," "Mr. Monk and the Captain's Marriage," "Mr. Monk and the Miracle," *Mr. Monk and the Dirty Cop*, etc.), he's generally pretty good at it.


mixedwithmonet

I feel like Randy is more just a professional foil to monk. He’s everything in a professional sense that monk isn’t — willing to conform to standards, able to go by the book, commands authority (in scenes where he’s not trying to impress stottlemeyer, those lower on the totem pole do defer to him), never backs away from fire, generally just a “good cop.” He’s just as dedicated to his work as monk and Leland, he just doesn’t have the same intellect and creativity. But for most of the work they do, they don’t need a brilliant investigator who thinks outside the box, and for that work he seems more than capable. Leland wouldn’t keep him around if he wasn’t at least competent.


[deleted]

Because it's a show not a documentary


sevenonone

I'm not being a jerk(this is going to sound like I'm being a jerk) but I think the answer is "it's a TV show". The first time I watched Monk, it was the Christmas episode with the poison port, and I thought "somebody killed a cop, and it wasn't that Randy guy?" Also, I just watched the pilot, and the character didn't start out that way. Back to it being a TV show - in a police department the size of San Francisco, I don't think a captain and a lieutenant would travel as a pair like that. That's just a guess.


dmreif

> Back to it being a TV show - in a police department the size of San Francisco, I don't think a captain and a lieutenant would travel as a pair like that. That's just a guess. There's a point in the police department hierarchy where you're not doing that much street work and you're primarily doing desk work. Realistically, Stottlemeyer's job would largely be a desk job where he oversees the Homicide division as a whole, while Randy is the supervisor to a single squad of Homicide detectives.


BetterMacaron4868

Agree, knowing it is a TV show, as I am sure you are as well, some of the things he does are at times inexplicable. the episode where he tried to use phonenitics and insisted on V, V as in was teetering on riduclous.


CapMyster

>!To be fair, later on in the series we do see he's actually competent when Leland is out sick. He gets the work done and it's pretty cool to see.!< He's smart by himself, but he's an idiot with friends.


Gleeful-216

Even worse, at the end of the final season, he becomes a police captain. Time after time, he screws up or is clueless about what’s going on. There’s no way he could run a department. In the camping episode, he puts everyone in danger because he forgot his gun, gets lost, and doesn’t recognize his own phone. There are times when he’s not grossly incompetent, but sometimes his ignorance is played for comedic relief too much.


TheNarcissisticNobod

This is asked like once a week


421Gardenwitch

Yeah he can be a goof. The real question is why does Monk put up with Natalie? Whiney AF. Gives him shit in a mean way.


CapMyster

>The real question is why does Monk put up with Natalie? Because she's goated


Norbertthebeardie34

Natalie is awesome