It was the long-awaited first episode of the new series. I hope that BBC2 do not do their usual trick and start showing the episodes when they feel like. A show as good as Monk deserves for the whole series to be shown at the same time on the same day each week.
osprey I agree but don't hold your breath. I predict that it will randomly appear, vanish for a few weeks, be at different times when it does actually manage to get consecutive airings, and eventually seem to tail off with the impression that the series never actually ended. In short, the BBC schedulers will treat this great show with their usual disrespectful cack-handedness.