Monk (9am, Sleuth) - There's a "Monk" marathon on the Sleuth Channel today from 9am until 2am.

Man, Woman, Wild (9pm, Discovery) - Myke and Ruth turn on up the shores of Aitutaki, a rat-infested desert island amid the Cook Islands in the South Pacific Ocean.

2010 Essence Music Festival (9pm, TV One) - In case you missed it last weekend, TV One repeats it tonight. Janet Jackson, Alicia Keys, Mary J. Blige, and Gladys Knight.

Flashpoint (10pm, CBS) - The SRU team members encounter gun runners, one of whom is Ed's brother, when they investigate shots fired in an upscale neighborhood.

Wild Caught: The Life and Struggles of an American Fishing Town (10pm, UNC-TV) - Greensboro filmmaker Matt Barr's documentary on the struggles of small-time fishermen in the North Carolina village of Snead's Ferry.

How Do They Do It? (10pm, Science) - How do they make decaffeinated coffee? Water-powered ships? Smoked fish?

Whew. That was a close one.

Last night's "Monk" finale gave fans of the show exactly what they wanted: justice for Trudy's murder and closure for Mr. Monk.

And they did it all without giving me a heart attack.

The first part of the series finale, which aired last week, made a nice case for killing off the Monk character and reuniting him in the afterlife with his beloved Trudy. The more I thought about it over the past week, the more sense it made -- and the more anxious I became. But thankfully, the "Monk" writers had a much more artful ending in mind.

BIG SPOILERS BELOW:

Ghost Whisperer (8pm, CBS) - Melinda helps the ghost of a boy who says he was murdered by a police officer.

Ugly Betty (9pm, ABC) - Shakira and Christie Brinkley guest start as Mode goes on a location shoot to the Bahamas, where the Betty-Matt-Amanda love triangle explodes.

Monk (9pm, USA) - In the finale to the show's eight amazing seasons, Monk and Stottlemeyer close in on Trudy's killer. The larger issue may be Monk's fate. Will he survive last week's ricin attack?

White Collar (10pm, USA) - In the mid-season finale, Neal becomes a suspect in a clever jewelry heist, and Peter must decide if he's innocent, or pulling another con.

20/20 (10pm, ABC) - Chris Brown talks to Robin Roberts about Rihanna's recent ABC interviews. 

As if I weren't upset enough about the series finale of "Monk" airing tonight, and the possibility that USA is doing something dastardly with the show's beloved main character, Randy Newman has gone and written a new song for the show that nearly sends me to blubbering every time I hear it.

Newman wrote and performs the current "Monk" theme song ("It's a Jungle Out There"), which for me is the greatest TV theme song of all time. It's funny and upbeat, and fits Monk's personality perfectly. For the finale, Newman penned a somber tune in which he laments, "Though many hearts are broken, we must somehow carry on. I think you're gonna miss me when I'm gone."

Damn you, Randy Newman and your mournful singing voice! I'm still hoping that by "gone" they only mean "new episodes gone from my TV set," but it's not looking good (read the recap of part one of the "Monk" finale). I like closure, "Monk" writers, but not like that.

In advance of the "Monk" series finale Friday night, USA is showing a "Monk" marathon starting tomorrow morning, featuring episodes dealing with Monk's previous efforts to solve his wife Trudy's murder.

The "Trudy Mythology" marathon begins at 6am with "Mr. Monk Meets Dale the Whale" and ends with parts 1 and 2 of the series finale.

Part 1 of the finale repeats at 8pm (read our recap of the first part of the finale, but only if you're okay with spoilers). The final installment of "Monk" airs at 9pm and again at midnight, and promises to solve Trudy's murder and bring her killer to justice.

Here's a full list of the episodes in the "Trudy Mythology:"

Friday night was the first part of the "Monk" two-part series finale, a finale in which USA has promised fans closure in the way of solving the murder of Monk's beloved wife Trudy.

The finale opened with a flashback to the day Trudy died 12 years ago, and it's obvious to viewers, who have only seen rare glimpses of Trudy through the years, that something is wrong with her. Monk (Tony Shalhoub) senses it too, but he's so deliriously happy that he shrugs it off, giving fans an even rarer glimpse of a happy, carefree Monk. It's delightful.

But the happy mood of the show doesn't last. The flashback ends with Trudy being chased through a parking deck and blown up in her car, and Monk hearing the news from Capt. Stottlemeyer (Ted Levine). You can practically hear Monk's world crashing to pieces in that instant. Then, back in the present, Trudy appears to Monk (in a dream? hallucination?) and ominously comforts him by telling him, "It won't be much longer." Wait. What?

WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD.

To help us celebrate/mourn/process this coming Friday's series finale of "Monk," USA Network is having an all day Viewer's Choice marathon beginning first thing Sunday morning. (Read about part one of Monk's two-part finale).

Some of the classic episodes include Mr. Monk and the Rapper (with Snoop Dogg), Mr. Monk and the Three Pies (with John Turturro), Mr. Monk and the Naked Man (with Alfred Molina), and Mr. Monk Goes to Mexico.

The marathon begins at 9am and runs till 11pm. So fire up the DVR, get your box of wipes and some Sierra Springs bottled water and settle in for the day. And remember, if you miss something, it's "picture go back" and when you get to commercials, it's "picture go fast."  

You'll thank me later.

Monk (9pm, USA) - Tonight is part one of a two-part series finale for "Monk," a WarmTV favorite. At least Mr. Monk will go out with some closure, since the final two episodes will be devoted to solving Trudy's murder. In the first part, Monk goes back to the place where he first learned of Trudy's death and begins an investigation of great significance.

Ugly Betty (9pm, NBC) - When Daniel gives Bennett and The Community of the Phoenix open access to Mode, Betty hatches a plan to shock him back to reality. Meanwhile, Wilhelmena uncharacteristically stops caring about her appearance, prompting Marc to investigate Nico.

White Collar (10pm, USA) - Neal and Peter work a case in Chinatown and run up against organized crime, shady Interpol agents, and a game of Pai Gow. 

Here's a lovely way to spend the night before Thanksgiving.

Tune into HBO2 and watch "The Jazz Baroness," a documentary about the relationship between NC native and jazz legend Thelonious Monk and Pannonica 'Nica' Rothschild, a wealthy Jewish woman. It airs at 8.

If you're somewhat familiar with jazz lore, you might know of Rothschild; she's the woman in whose NY home Charlie Parker died.

Law & Order (8pm, NBC) - An elderly man is forced to defend his store from an armed robber, but Lupo and Bernard suspect an ulterior motive.

Ghost Whisperer (8pm, CBS) - Melinda worries about Aiden when he's befriended by the ghost of a little girl who died with leukemia.

Monk (9pm, USA) - Monk is finally reinstated to the San Francisco police force, and his first case, tracking down a serial killer, is more challenging than he anticipated. We see the return of Trudy tonight (Brooke Adams) and the show has promised us resolution on her murder, so expect developments on that. After this, only two episodes left. 

20/20 (10pm, ABC) - Another day, another Sarah Palin interview.