Friday, October 12, 2012

Well, it's Sherlock Holmes!

I tried, but I couldn't stop myself from comparing it to BBC's Sherlock, which is such a brilliant show. Sure, there are many "similarities" to be found – I use quotes here because sometimes we just see what we wanna see – but I believe that they're completely different shows; not just because Watson is a woman.


The title sequence doesn't help, especially when Elementary's title is shown over a shot of New York, compared to Sherlock's shot over London. The modern day setting, in a metropolitan city, definitely draws more accusations of being a copycat, but I believe that is just a minor detail.

I've only watched one episode so far, so I can't really say how much this "Watson is a woman" thing is going to change anything. I don't think it should be that big a deal. I agree with what people say, that they'd hate it if the show made Sherlock and Watson to be love interests – strange, seeing how people seem to love the "sexual tension" between Sherlock's main characters – because that would be too lazy and cliched, and would probably ruin the chemistry between them. I believe the show creators assured us that it wouldn't be a problem, and I do trust that they're not *that* stupid.

We can't really compare the two shows from Sherlock Holmes himself, since he's based from Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's character. The personality and quirks and all the things we love/hate about him was all there, just given some twist by each show creator and actor. Although, I would say, that Benedict Cumberbatch's portrayal is as close to perfect as I have seen (can't/won't compare him to Robert Downey, Jr.'s portrayal in the Sherlock Holmes movies) and I absolutely adore both him and Martin Freeman's John Watson. I will give Jonny Lee Miller and Lucy Liu a few episodes before I'm gonna say anything about their Sherlock/Watson combo.

To be honest, I didn't find Elementary's pilot episode to be as intense and/or captivating as the BBC show. The case seems to be weaker – not as smart – as I pretty much guessed who did it and how he did it halfway through the episode. I didn't get all the details, of course, but I expected more from a Sherlock Holmes show. As long as they keep Sherlock's intelligence (and ignorance) and make the cases interesting, I would stick with the show. What I did find interesting is Sherlock's dad. He's mentioned a few times as the person who sent Joan to be Sherlock's "companion" (a term I always associate to either Doctor Who or Firefly). From what I remember of the Conan Doyle stories, we don't really hear about Sherlock's parents. But, seeing that both Sherlock and Mycroft are genii (geniuses?), the Holmes parents must be brilliant as well. I would love to get to know them a little bit more. Joan's past is definitely another talking point. If BBC's Sherlock follows very closely to Doyle's books, it seems that Elementary is taking more creative liberties on the characters' past.

The show garnered an unfair amount of hate, especially from Sherlock fans, for being a copycat and only doing this following the BBC show's success. But I believe that it has the potential to be a good show. The pilot episode wasn't bad, and hopefully it gets better. Sure, Sherlock grabbed me right from the first episode and Elementary hasn't, but I'm willing to give it a few episodes before making a judgment. It is Sherlock Holmes, after all. As long as they show what a brilliant ass he is, I'm gonna be watching!


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