Question:Why, why, why is the Monk season so short?!? The new season has only just begun, and they're already having their season finale! My mother and I are both big fans and we watch it every week, but this is such a frustrating aspect about watching this show — the seasons are so short! You just start to get into it, and then it's over for months and months! This season will only have 10 episodes — the shortest to date (first season was 12 eps, second season was 16 eps). Do they give any reason for this? — Rebecca G.

Matt:As you probably know, Monk, like other USA Network series, splits its season in two, with some originals airing in the summer and others appearing in the winter or spring. This is done so original episodes don't compete with the juggernaut of fall network premieres. But as time goes on and the lines between network and cable continue to blur (especially where relative quality is concerned), there may come a time when shows like Monk will air its full season in an uninterrupted block, regardless of what the networks are up to (more often than not airing shows far inferior to Monk). The other reality of the situation, though, is that USA Network's programming budget is far less than the big broadcast networks, so you shouldn't expect the episode order per series to increase noticeably.