About a week ago I set the DVR to record last night's premier episode of Elementary... and then I forgot about it. There's been a lot of fuss over this show and some concerns with BBC's Sherlock. So naturally, I had to watch it. I enjoyed it with my morning cup of tea.
So. I am in no way an expert on Sherlockian fandom. I enjoy the Robert Downey Jr. movies and the BBC show (and now you can add Elementary to that list), but that's it. I did attempt to read A Study in Scarlet sometime back but things got in the way and my attention span was very short so ... I only got about a chapter in (I'll try again sometime in the future). Anyway, I feel the need to bring this up because I did begin to compare this show with the BBC's Sherlock only because they are both recent shows in which Sherlock Holmes is portrayed in a modern setting. The shows, however, are different enough that there's definitely room for both. No need to pick favorites here. I know personally I intend to enjoy both.
Johnny Lee Miller's take on Sherlock is a lot more human and seems capable of experiencing human emotion, though he tries not to and tries to be a harder man than he is. The few times he lets his anger get the better of him... the fact that he apologizes to Joan, etc. Which is pretty different from the cold and calculating basically human machine that is Benedict Cumberbatch's Sherlock. Joan Watson. From the little I saw around the internet there were quite a few concerns about the gender swap. While I still wonder about the reasoning of removing Watsons's military background and the in-show malpractice suit that resulted in the loss of a medical license... I love Lucy Liu and she's great as Joan Watson. She's strong and determined and she's going to make a perfect opposing force and partner to the Holmes throughout the season. There's a rawness to their relationship mostly in due to Holmes being very a recent recovering addict. No epic bromance in this series, but that doesn't mean that there can't still be a fantastic friendship.
There is but a small issue I have with the show (when don't I? Seriously, I annoy even myself sometimes). Those great Sherlock deductions weren't really all that Sherlockian (is that even a word? It really should be). There were a few times where I found myself thinking "Well if the detectives only did their jobs!" The second bottom of the broken glass beneath the fridge and the size 11 foot print which clearly did not match the husbands... well that's just bad police work. Sherlock Holmes is supposed to be impressive enough that one should not have to make the NYC Police force bad at there jobs in order to make him look better. Fingers crossed that either that's going to be an on-going theme or that I'll enjoy the show enough that I wont care much anymore.
Final thoughts?
It's a great show and its different enough from the other current adaptations that there's more than enough room for all to co-exist peacefully. Seriously, all sorts of potential for this show and the Homes/Watson friendship is setting up to be what it needs to be. Finally, if your a fan of BBC's Sherlock I'd seriously suggest giving this show a chance. If anything else its a great way to kill time between the epic-ly long waits between seasons (and like I said earlier there's enough room in your heart for both shows).
So. I am in no way an expert on Sherlockian fandom. I enjoy the Robert Downey Jr. movies and the BBC show (and now you can add Elementary to that list), but that's it. I did attempt to read A Study in Scarlet sometime back but things got in the way and my attention span was very short so ... I only got about a chapter in (I'll try again sometime in the future). Anyway, I feel the need to bring this up because I did begin to compare this show with the BBC's Sherlock only because they are both recent shows in which Sherlock Holmes is portrayed in a modern setting. The shows, however, are different enough that there's definitely room for both. No need to pick favorites here. I know personally I intend to enjoy both.
Johnny Lee Miller's take on Sherlock is a lot more human and seems capable of experiencing human emotion, though he tries not to and tries to be a harder man than he is. The few times he lets his anger get the better of him... the fact that he apologizes to Joan, etc. Which is pretty different from the cold and calculating basically human machine that is Benedict Cumberbatch's Sherlock. Joan Watson. From the little I saw around the internet there were quite a few concerns about the gender swap. While I still wonder about the reasoning of removing Watsons's military background and the in-show malpractice suit that resulted in the loss of a medical license... I love Lucy Liu and she's great as Joan Watson. She's strong and determined and she's going to make a perfect opposing force and partner to the Holmes throughout the season. There's a rawness to their relationship mostly in due to Holmes being very a recent recovering addict. No epic bromance in this series, but that doesn't mean that there can't still be a fantastic friendship.
There is but a small issue I have with the show (when don't I? Seriously, I annoy even myself sometimes). Those great Sherlock deductions weren't really all that Sherlockian (is that even a word? It really should be). There were a few times where I found myself thinking "Well if the detectives only did their jobs!" The second bottom of the broken glass beneath the fridge and the size 11 foot print which clearly did not match the husbands... well that's just bad police work. Sherlock Holmes is supposed to be impressive enough that one should not have to make the NYC Police force bad at there jobs in order to make him look better. Fingers crossed that either that's going to be an on-going theme or that I'll enjoy the show enough that I wont care much anymore.
Final thoughts?
It's a great show and its different enough from the other current adaptations that there's more than enough room for all to co-exist peacefully. Seriously, all sorts of potential for this show and the Homes/Watson friendship is setting up to be what it needs to be. Finally, if your a fan of BBC's Sherlock I'd seriously suggest giving this show a chance. If anything else its a great way to kill time between the epic-ly long waits between seasons (and like I said earlier there's enough room in your heart for both shows).
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