Rex Resolution 43: Tod eines Schulers

A revision of 'To Sir with Love'. Female teacher, young male student. Add in a healthy dose of blackmail from a fellow student and you get a totally unhealthy outcome. When the blackmailer tries and fails to get the teacher into bed himself, it's only the beginning of a downturn in his day. Leaving the scene, he gets stabbed to death. That solves the blackmail issue, right?

When the student lover tries to retrieve incriminating photos from the dead student's room, he arouses the suspicions of the boy's mother who calls in Moser. With the couple under interrogation, the student confesses to the murder in the mistaken belief that his lover killed the blackmailer.

When the student cannot demonstrate how he killed the blackmailer, his innocence becomes clear. When Moser reads a message left for the student by the teacher, he realises that she is intent on commiting suicide, believing herself in the boy's guilt. With Rex on the trail, Moser turns up just in time to save her from throwing herself off a very tall building and making a very big mess.

With nowhere to go, Moser returns to Dr. Graf to review evidence and notices an oddity on the photos of the corpse, indicating the killer had a missing finger. Bingo! It's off to arrest sports teacher Eckhart, who also had been putting moves on the teacher.

Other players include Sebastian Stroebel, above, as Tom Friedmann, Torben Liebrecht , above, as Stefan Dorner, Heinz-Josef Braun, above, not credited with IMDB for this episode, and Herta Schell, not credited for this episode in IMDB.

Recycled Rexers Nina Franoszek, above, here as Claudia Martin, earlier in 'Toedliche Teddys' (1995) as Diana Neuwirth and Hermann Schmid, not credited for this episode but appearing later in 'In letzter Sekunde' (2001) as Kurt Schweiger.

Rex Resolution 6:Toedliche Teddys

This episode is enough to give any Paddington Bear or Winnie the Pooh lover nightmares. Exploding teddy bears.

Interesting how the word 'teddy bears' in the context of Rex immediately draws my mind to another episode Telefonterror from 2000 where toy seller Kurt Baudisch flogs his 'schoene alte Teddybears'. Quite creepy. Anyway, back to this plot.

Moser is inexplicably in bed with a broken leg. Anyone have any idea why this is? In true Inspector Rex style, no explanation is given. Did Moser trip over a pile of Wurstsemmel perhaps? Frustrating as it is, it does give Moser fans ample chest viewing opportunity. After that, who cares about exploding teddies?

Moser doesn't seem to care that much either once he meets the attractive owner of the teddy bear factory. Of course, it's pretty handy that they happen to meet at his bedside and are soon chucking down the tequilla. Can't say Moser's a slow mover. In true Rex fashion, all comes good, when seemingly about to get sucked in and Rex growls one time too many, Moser finally catches on....

Other players in this episode include Tony Slama as Paul Steger and Pepi Griesser (seen above) as Gerhard Boeck.

More Recycled Rexers in Nina Franoszek, temptress Diana Neuwirth in this episode and teacher Claudia Martin in Toed eines Schuelers (1998), Elizabeth Osterberger, here as Gerda Schuetz and later in Das Maedchen und der Moerder (2001) as Birgit Taschner and Ernst Josef Lauscher, here as crime scene tech. and also in the same role in Ein feines Haus - a sneaky late addition as he wasn't mentioned in the credits for the latter episode.