With this week's series finale of "Monk," we said good-bye to one of the most beloved neurotic characters ever. After eight seasons, Tony Shalhoub has hung up his detective hat and his 312 phobias, including panic induced by harmonicas, ladybugs, mushrooms, and milk. We think this laundry list of fears, as well as his germophobia, anxiety disorder, and obsessive attention to detail have made Monk the most "decorated" crazy character in the history of television. But he certainly was not the first and won't be the last. So in honor of Adrian Monk, we give you our favorite neurotics on TV, past and present.
Felix Unger on "The Odd Couple"
Gregory House on "House M.D."
Curmudgeonly Dr. House, played by Hugh Laurie, is a classic antisocial misanthrope. He has no friends (except for Dr. James Wilson) and no interest in committed relationships (not since he broke up with Sela Ward after she went against his medical wishes, leaving him in chronic pain). His bedside manner is terrible, and some colleagues have gone so far as to say that he is so obsessed with diagnosing illnesses that he doesn't care at all about saving his patients.
Courteney Cox famously played Monica Geller, the obsessively clean, bossy mother hen of the '90s trendsetting sitcomers. "Friends" revolved around her anally spotless NYC apartment, where she first lived with Phoebe, who moved out for fear that Monica's compulsion with cleaning would ruin their friendship... and that was in the pilot episode. Her second roommate, Rachel, once offered to clean up after a get-together, and Monica replied, "Are you kidding? You had your party, now I'll have mine!" Monica dust-busted her vacuum, kept car cleaning supplies on hand in case a dirty vehicle was parked in front of her building, and described a trip to the dry cleaner as going to Disneyland. But it was Monica's third roommate and future husband, Chandler Bing, who discovered this neat freak's deep, dark secret: a closet stuffed, cartoon-style, with floor-to-ceiling clutter.
See the slide show here.
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