Mr. Monk Goes Back to School

The English teacher Beth Landow is the secret lover of the Science teacher Derek Philby and is pressing him to end his marriage with his wife. He schedules a meeting with Beth on the next morning to tell her about his discussion with his wife. On the next morning, Derek is giving a test to his students, and Beth apparently commits suicide falling from the clock tower of the school on Derek's car that activates the alarm. The principal Arleen Cassady was Trudy's best friend and asks Monk and Sharona to investigate the case. Monk accepts the case without any charge since it is Trudy's high school, and the place gives recollections to him. He questions the school janitor, but the man tells him that he did not see anything strange on that morning. Monk investigates the crime scene and finds that Derek's car was opened and alarmed. Then he interviews the teachers and concludes Derek is the murderer of Beth. But the police found a badly written suicide note and believes Beth committed suicide and the case is closed. Monk accepts to be substitute teacher to investigate Derek further and looks for a failure in his alibi.

"Mr. Monk Goes Back to School" is a good episode of "Monk", since the viewer (and Monk) knows who the killer is, but his alibi is too strong. But the weird character brilliantly resolves the case again. There are funny scenes, but the best one is certainly when Monk blends the coffee jars to make them be in the same level of liquid. The theme song of the Second Season is capable to be worse than the one played in the First Season. My vote is eight.

Title (Brazil): "Monk na Escola" ("Monk in School")

I dislike the new theme song so much, I actually give thanks I live in a world with technology that I can fast forward without hearing it before watching the show. Yet even knowing it's still there and part of the show is nauseating to me somehow.

This probably has much more to do with the fact that the singers voice makes my ears bleed and as a, well let's say 'person', to be polite, totally creeps me out.

I say give him an award or two for having crawled out from whatever rock/s that was and showing such bravery in the midst of stupidity.

And they did. Well done, to all involved. Once again proving almost anyone can make it, even make it big in the entertainment industry with the right connections, and flavourful controversy of the day.

Andrew McCarthy, who is not only a Brat Pack alumnus but also an acclaimed travel writer, appears as a philandering chemistry teacher in this episode. David Rasche plays a David Raschesque gym teacher who is an all-brawn type. Rosalind Chao, who played Klinger's wife in M*A*S*H appears as the principal of the school where Trudy was an alumnus. A nice episode which keeps the memory of Trudy alive in this season 2 opener. It's hard to imagine this episode screened three years before the invention of Twitter!

English teacher Beth Landow tells her married lover, science teacher Derek Kilby, that he must tell his wife about them and leave her or she will tell her. The next morning - Saturday - Kilby is proctoring the SAT when the body of Beth Landow hits Kilby's car from the observation tower and the car alarm goes off. The students get up from their desks and look out the window. Kilby doesn't make a move. Monk is asked to investigate the case by someone who works at the school, which just happens to be the same private high school that his late wife attended. To further investigate, Monk becomes a temporary English teacher, taking the place of the recently deceased Beth Landow.

You already know the "who" in this case, but what you don't know is the "how" - How did Kilby manage to kill Beth while he was proctoring the SAT across campus at the same time. This is what Monk has to figure out, and if you have seen enough murder mystery movies where the victim dies in tower such as the one shown in this episode, the clues are there. What makes it worthwhile is the comedy, such as Monk introducing himself to his new English class the first day and taking about half of that first class to write his name "Mr. Monk" when you consider his own exacting standards.

'Monk' has always been one of my most watched shows when needing comfort, to relax after a hard day, a good laugh or a way to spend a lazy weekend.

After a very good Season 1, where the weakest episode "Mr Monk and the Earthquake" was still above decent, Season 2 gets off to a great start with "Mr Monk Goes Back to School", one of the season's best episodes. 'Monk' was always a show that was remarkably well-established and settled early on, and with "Mr Monk Goes Back to School" one sees noticeable changes that work immediately rather than taking time to get used to.

One of the best things about 'Monk' has always been the acting of Tony Shalhoub in the title role. It was essential for him to work and be the glue of the show, and Shalhoub not only is that but also at his very best he IS the show. Have always loved the balance of the humour, which is often hilarious, and pathos, which is sincere and touching. It is remarkable here that right from the first episode to when the show ended that one likes him straight away, even with his quirks and deficiencies that could easily have been overplayed, and also that he is better developed than most titular characters of other shows at this particular stage. Who can't help love Monk's brilliant mind too?

He is very well supported by a sharp and no-nonsense but also sympathetic Bitty Schram, whose Sharona makes for a worthy and entertaining partner for Monk's sleuthing and somebody with a maternal side. There is always a debate at who's better between Sharona and Natalie, personally like both in their own way and consider them both attractive though as of now leaning towards Natalie as the better acted and more attentive of the two. The two are so enjoyable together and the best detective duo of any show in recent years from personal opinion.

Also by a very amusing, and sometimes even funnier than that, Ted Levine, what a difference from his Buffalo Bill in 'The Silence of the Lambs', the loyalty, friendship and annoyance towards Monk coming across wonderfully. Jason Gray-Stanford is growing in confidence and comic timing with each episode, as is the chemistry with the other three leads. Andrew McCarthy plays his role with wry wit and unpredictability.

It's not just the cast though. Another star is the writing, which is also essential to whether the show would be successful or not and succeed it does here. The mix of hilarious wry humour, lovable quirkiness and tender easy-to-relate-to drama is delicately done but extremely deft, of which some of the funniest writing of the whole show is in this episode. The character moments are such a joy with the principal cast are always.

Actually found the Trudy stuff very nice touches, while the Sharona telling off the kid for his treatment of Monk, all of Monk's classroom antics (never less than very funny), Derek's battle of wits law of physics boast and Monk's moment with the coffee are great moments. Oh and the murder is one of the cleverest of the whole show and the solution is one, despite being sure of who the perpetrator is, that is a genuine surprise.

Visually, the episode is shot in a slick and stylish way, and the music is both understated and quirky. While there is a preference for the theme music for Season 1, Randy Newman's "It's a Jungle Out There" has grown on me overtime, found it annoying at first but appreciate its meaning and what it's trying to say much more now.

In summary, wonderful and one of the season's and show's best. 10/10 Bethany Cox