Midsomer Murders (TV Series) Schooled in Murder (2013) User Reviews

The Cheese Stands Alone

[roedyg · 9/10 · 14 December 2014]

This is one of my favourite episodes in the whole series old and new. But be warned, it is a self parody of the series. Midsomer murders are nearly always theatrical, but to my thinking, this set of murders would likely not all have succeeded, e.g. the opening bludgeoning with a block of, albeit hard, cheese. The episode revolves around the making of gourmet cheese.

There is also a subplot about Sykes the dog, who for some reason, is being treated for dog bites, even though it looks suspiciously as if he were never bitten. The cinematography used to reveal the mystery is brilliant. I howled.

Maggie Steed as Sylvia Mountford is a treat. I would go to anything she does for the same reason I would go see anything Maggie Smith does. She reminds me of Peter Sellers as Grand Duchess Gloriana XII in the Mouse that Roared. She is so regally disdainful in her role. She would be a natural cast for an Oscar Wilde revival.

Jesse Fox as Jake Yapley (the hooded lurker) is probably the handsomest male ever to appear on the series, old or new. He is only on screen for a total of a few minutes. So savour. He has much the effect on me that Rudolph Valentino had in his day on his fans. A glance from his eyes is like a jolt from a defibrillator. Unfortunately, there is no photo of him at IMDb yet. (hint hint). However, I doubt any photo could do him justice. I hope Acorn reuses him in future episodes with a bigger role.

Child actress Eloise Webb as Poppy Ordish seems to have walked straight out of Mary Poppins. She could play Jane Banks in a Many Poppins sequel. She is the quintessential polite British schoolchild, utterly charming with her perfect diction.

Con O'Neill is over the top as the obsessed cheese maker who reminds me a bit of Harry Dean Stanton or perhaps Norman Bates.

As usual, I kept thinking I knew the culprit, only to have them bumped off in the next scene.

The height of my trip to England was visiting the Wookey Hole caves, which too are used for ageing fine cheeses. This helped cement my affection for the episode.

Even though, at the end, the culprit(s) (no spoilers here), mysteriously confess without any motive or pressure, I was left still puzzled exactly who committed each murder and why. Perhaps another viewing...

A cheesy mystery

[Tweekums · 8/10 · 31 January 2013]

This mystery opens with dairy worker Debbie Moffett interrupting a meeting at the prep school her daughter was attending and making a scene. Not long afterwards she is brutally murdered in the caves where the famous 'Midsomer Blue' cheese was matured. The motive is unknown but it soon becomes apparent that her daughter was about to be expelled from the school because Debbie wasn't the sort of parent they wanted… she had been romantically linked to both the dairy owner and a local business man. It turns out that the dairy owner had upset quite a few people locally; first dealing with a large conglomerate rather than local milk producers then planning to increase the production of Midsomer Blue in a way that would mean giving up the traditional production methods. Soon further murders occur; each victim killed with something involved in the cheese business!

'Midsomer Murders' has often been a bit cheesy but never as literally as it was here! The story was fun with plenty of suspects, just as many motives and even more murders than usual. The killings nicely followed a 'cheese' theme and weren't too disturbing; although the site of a victim with his mouth full of maggots might but you off your supper! When the killer is revealed it makes sense although I admit it wasn't one of the people I'd been suspecting. As well as the murder there is a mildly amusing subplot involving Barnaby's dog Sykes; he claims it has been involved in a fight but there is no obvious sign of injury. Overall this was a decent conclusion to the all too short fifteenth series; no doubt there will be more though.

Perfect moment? Not for Martine.

[Sleepin_Dragon · 7/10 · 8 March 2020]

Schooled in Murder is something of an oddity, it's a very enjoyable, fun episode, but it is a little over the top. The crimes are all linked to an exclusive all Girl's school, and each crime has a cheesy link. They just about manage to stop this being somewhat of a send up, but only just.

It's an interesting storyline, with some good characters, and more than a usual amount of humour. It is an intriguing watch, you are left guessing until the end, the outcome isn't the biggest surprise of all time, but it's well delivered.

Two stars, first of all Maggie Steed, her third episode to date, and she's wonderful in all of them, she has so much charisma, she's conical and nasty all in one, she's particularly watchable. The second is Sykes, who is just delightful, wonderful facial expressions.

Lucy Liemann adds real quality, she's a terrific actress, Beatrix is a very good character. Kate Ashfield was a little underused.

I would say it comes from a spell where the writers seemed to care more about the method of killing than the plot, they certainly achieve some outrageous methods, but it's an enjoyable watch.

Poor Martine.

Entertaining and good fun, 7/10.

Awesome Range of Murders

[kall6695 · 8/10 · 2 May 2022]

Midsomer Murders has some of the most creative and unusual types of murders (see Hidden Depths). The murders in this episode aren't necessarily unusual as they all relate to the cheese industry, but they are plentiful. Murder by Huge block of Cheese, Cheese Needle, Murder by herd of cows x 2. Do cows really stomp on people if they are just herded and not scared? Great motive for killing people, but a bit Over the Top!! Let's all think back to grade school and kill off our enemies and headmistress. I don't even remember the names of anyone I knew in grade school. I can just look at the lame jobs they have on Facebook and feel superior without having to go murder anyone who picked on me. There are an awful lot of people in Midsomer County in need of counseling.

Anyway, great characters, apart from the actual whiney murderer. Why are so many murderers whiney, blaming everyone else for their problems?

"Not much of a cheese shop is it?"

[vitoscotti · 9/10 · 8 August 2022]

Mostly quite interesting throughout. Slightly draggy before the villain is revealed which was terrific. The Sykes subplot was a clever touch. Seems MM is really loading up on the beautiful actresses strategy. Shame to see Debbie (Martine McCutcheon) knocked off so early.. Beatrix Ordish (Lucy Liemann) first scene was a standout. Barnaby & Jones rapport is working well. Sylvia Mountford (Maggie Steed) was really a tough old bird to be on her feet after double poisonings. I came away very satisfied with this clever fun episode.

Cheesey Bochan

[briginsh · 6/10 · 30 April 2020]

Yeah well. Not MSM's finest hour. There are too many red herrings, and other items that become irrelevant to the ultimate solving of the crime. The revelation of the killer, when it comes, is not compelling - it doesn't make much sense, and yet still manages to be somehow unsurprising. The guest cast are OK, especially Maggie Steed as the headmistress, but lifting this material is beyond them. A pity this was Jason Hughes' swansong as DS Jones, he deserved a better send-off.

Am I blue

[blanche-2 · 7/10 · 17 September 2016]

Cheese, that is -- this episode is all about the making of the famous Midsomer Blue Cheese.

"Schooled in Murder" opens with a parent meeting at Midsomer Pastures School. A woman, Debbie Moffett (Martine McCutcheon) blasts in, threatening the other mothers due to a letter she received. She leaves and winds up dead in the diary.

Debbie had been having an affair with Oliver Ordish (Richard Dillane), whose wife Beatrix (Lucy Liemann) was chairman of the PTA. Oliver is killed, too. Beatrix comes under heavy suspicion.

The bodies pile up, and Barnaby and Jones learn that several suspects and victims were contemporaries, all attending Midsomer Pastures at the same time. Which one is responsible, and why?

The series has changed over the years. There used to be incest, homosexuality, etc. - often the murders had roots in the past, which they still do, but the plots were quirkier. Now it seems the writers just pile up as many bodies as they can.

This episode had a bit of humor within the Barnaby family when their dog allegedly is in a fight and has to wear a stiff collar and bandages. Barnaby insists on keeping the dog with him at all times, even at work. We find out at the end why. The writers are filling out Neil Dudgeon's character, and I think it helps.

Maggie Steed does a wonderful job as Sylvia Montford. She's a fine stage actress and always delightful.

We also, in the character of Jake Yapley (Jesse Fox) receive a lecture on the cruelty of dairy farming, which I feel people don't know enough about. I like the way it was put into the episode.

A cheesy episode

[coltras35 · 7/10 · 9 July 2022]

When dairy worker Debbie Moffett (played by Martine McCutcheon) is crushed to death by a giant round of cheese at the home of the world-famous Midsomer Blue, Barnaby and Jones are soon on the case. Pathologist Kate Wilding discovers the victim's daughter was being expelled from the local prep school and it emerges Debbie died just hours after an argument at a parents' council meeting. Her phone leads the detectives to Oliver Ordish, with whom she was having an affair.

Unusually Cheese-related murders stand out, making this one more enjoyable. A woman getting crushed by giant round of cheese says it all. MM is quite a quirky mystery series with eccentric characters, but this ones leans towards parody and more fun for that.

Murder by cheese

[TheLittleSongbird · 7/10 · 13 March 2017]

When in its prime (a vast majority of Seasons 1-9), 'Midsomer Murders' was a great show and one that is watched and re-watched frequently. Seasons 10-13 became more uneven, with three of the show's worst episodes coming from Seasons 11 and 13, but there were a few solid episodes and "Blood Wedding" and especially "Master Class" were gems.

After John Nettles retired and Neil Dudgeon and the new character of John Barnaby took over, 'Midsomer Murders' just hasn't been the same, if anybody's read my reviews for the Season 14 episodes the reasons are detailed in those. After a mostly disappointing Season 14, with three decent-and-more episodes out of eight ("The Oblong Murders" and "A Sacred Trust" faring best, while "The Night of the Stag" and "Echoes of the Dead" are especially bad), Season 15 started off promisingly, with "The Dark Rider" and "Murder of Innocence" being surprisingly good, before jumping the shark with "Written in the Stars". Unfortunately, "Death and the Divas" despite an inspired premise is little improvement and neither was "The Sicilian Defence".

"Schooled in Murder" however while not a 'Midsomer Murders' classic is one of Season 15's better episodes and the best since "Murder of Innocence. It is not without imperfections. Fiona Dolman and Tamsin Malleson do nothing with their characters, not helped that Sarah and Kate have always been not very well written, Kate being bland without much personality and Sarah being rather condescending and lacking warmth. Her chemistry with Dudgeon still doesn't convince, one doesn't even get the sense that they're in love let alone husband and wife.

The last murder does go way too far with the cheesiness, even for an episode with a cheese theme and with a deliberate over-the-top parody-like vibe. Con O'Neill overdoes it in his role.

However, as ever the production values in "Schooled in Murder" cannot be faulted as usual. It's beautifully and atmospherically shot with suitably picturesque scenery. The music fits perfectly, with some lush jauntiness and sometimes an ominous quality, and the haunting theme tune is one of the most memorable and instantly recognisable of the genre.

The writing is thoughtful and there is some welcome humour of the gentle and quirky kind, wisely not taking things too seriously despite the high body count and while things are over-the-top it nearly always is in an entertaining way and rarely in an uncomfortable one. The story is never simplistic, neither is it convoluted, with a surprising ending, an amusing subplot with scene stealing Sykes and two of the most inventive murders of the John Barnaby-era.

Neil Dudgeon and Jason Hughes acquit themselves well, and their chemistry is stronger and less demeaning than previously and their characters not written as smugly or idiotically. Of the supporting cast, Maggie Steed is particularly delightful.

Overall, good episode and one of the better ones of Season 15. 7/10 Bethany Cox

Not one of the best.

[sebastianmthomson · 2/10 · 23 June 2021]

I found this episode very difficult to understand. Not only did the murders not occur in a village called "Badger's Chuff" but there was no internationally renowned opera festival celebrating a world-famous local vole pie. Also there fewer than fourteen victims and none were killed by being force-fed gooseberry conserve by a member of the Women's Institute in a burlap hood. I feel that the producers really took their eye off the ball with this one.

Incomplete ending

[skipperkd · 7/10 · 18 August 2021]

Interesting story, difficult to predict who done it, despite multiple murders. Main quibble: I wanted to see the real villain - the master manipulator- get what's coming, with a confessional at the police station and public shame. In so many of these Midsomer episodes, the ending is not satisfying. We build up a disgust at the perpetrator but never see the circle of justice completed. For all we know, this particular devious manipulator is still at work.