CBS Pilot Review: Elementary

In honor of last night’s Elementary premiere, I have put together a little musical tribute. Enjoy.

Can you hear the fandoms scream?
Expressing their hatred with angry memes.
They feel that since it was done in England,
It can not be done again.
– set to the tune of “Can you hear the people sing?”

Going into the show, pretty much all you heard was “It’s not as good as the BBC version. I can’t believe John Watson is a girl. I mean really Lucy Liu is Watson? What are they thinking? Sherlock Holmes lives in London, not New York! This show is obviously going to suck. I can’t believe people will even watch this shit.”  [Editor’s Note: Yeah, that was mostly me]

Well, there were enough people that didn’t think it would suck, or were just curious because Elementary premiered to some rather good numbers. I, obviously, watched it as well, and rather enjoyed it.

Was it as good as the BBC version? Well, I don’t know that we can even compare them like that. While Sherlock is a mini-movie, Elementary is a typical procedural- we see a murder, cut to title sequence, meet the cops, find a bad guy, it’s the wrong bad guy, sit around with pensive looks, have a EUREKA! moment, find new bad guy, and of course it’s the right bad guy. [Editor’s Note: My point…] If it’s a good procedural, there is enough storyline between the main characters that keep us coming back each week. I don’t know about anyone else, but I watch NCIS more for the relationship between Gibbs’ team than the actual murders they solve.

Johnny Lee Miller is a believable incarnation of Sherlock Holmes. He’s quirky, witty, quick, and intelligent. And he’s got enough of asshole in him that makes it entertaining. He’s not intentionally an ass, as shown by his attempt to not pour salt into Watson’s wounds, but it’s there, just waiting. As he begins his post “junkie jail”/rehab life, his father has hired Liu as Joan Watson to be his sober companion. Blame it on my sheltered life, I had no idea that such a job existed. He has also decided that instead of just sitting around, he is going to return to a job he did with Scotland Yard- police consultant, this time with the NYPD. We all know what Sherlock Holmes is like, and Miller does it well.

Call me nuts, but I like Joan Watson. I don’t know that the leap from surgeon to sober companion is all that believable, but they did a good job at setting it up. I loved Sherlock’s assessment of how much she likes her job though. Can’t say I’ve ever considered the number of alarms set as an indicator of how much one likes their job, but hey, it was fun. Watching her step into the investigator role was rather ingenious. I was afraid it would be forced but it really wasn’t. And can we discuss the fact that Joan Watson is a baseball fan? I love when a woman is a baseball fan. I do want to ask her opinion on pink uniforms, I’m sure we would both agree on that topic.

If there was no other reason for me to watch this show- it would be this man. I would watch Aidan Quinn do anything. ANYTHING! I’m just hoping he has a longer stint as police captain than he did as a police lieutenant in Prime Suspect.

So- the big question is, would I watch it again? I would. Pilots are always a bit messy. They have a lot of back story to fit into a little bit of time and it makes for, at times, an awkward flow. I thought Elementary was successful in navigating those waters. The murder/investigation story vs. the relationship between Sherlock and Watson was pretty balanced. Both Miller and Liu were believable as the characters. I’m looking forward to seeing if/when Mycroft is introduced as he is one of my favorite characters. I’m the oldest child of some crazy siblings, so I can relate to his pain.  What I’m really hoping is that Sherlock will start introducing Watson by a variety of titles, a’la Sean Spencer.

Because there is potential and I’m excited to see how things develop, I’m going to give the pilot episode a 4 grizzly rating.

That wraps up this review- we’ll meet up next week and see what our favorite detective and his sober companion are up to then!

[Editor’s Note – I (Doc) am at a bit of a loss here. I have to disagree with my colleague. I thought the relationship was forced, the characters were boring, and the NYC setting was akin to moving Batman out of Gotham. 2/5 for me. They felt as natural together on-screen as they look in this picture:]

Benedict Cumberbatch’s Reaction to CBS’s ‘Elementary’

As you may recall, back at the start of the year we reported that CBS announced that it was to make a modern-day telling of Sherlock Holmes (after the BBC refused them the right to make a version of their show, Sherlock) to be called Elementary. It is to star Johnny Lee Miller as Holmes and Lucy Liu as Watson (!) and be set in New York – because the thing Sherlock Holmes stories always lacked was a female Watson and American accents…

Well now star of Sherlock, Benedict Cumberbatch, has had his say in an interview with Short List Magazine (via Uproxx):

What do you make of the new US modern Sherlock Holmes adaptation, Elementary?

Jonny [Lee Miller] asked me if I was all right with him doing it. I said, “What are the similarities?” And he went, “Well it’s modern…” I went, “Oh.” Then he said, “Lucy Liu’s going to play Joan Watson…” And I went, “Oh.” I got hold of the pilot script just to check it out. I don’t know, we’ll see. I think there’s room for us both to coexist. I don’t feel threatened by it and I wish him the best, which is as diplomatic as I can be.

It’s a strange position to be in…

It’s very odd. I did say, “Well, I’d prefer you didn’t do it but you’ve got a kid to feed, a nice house in LA and a wife to keep in good clothes.” When you get used to a certain standard of living and they waft a pay cheque at you, what are you going to do? I think Jonny was like, “Mate, I’ve got the f*cking mountain to climb here [to reach the acclaim of Sherlock], you’ve got nothing to fear.” I wish him the best of luck, but I’m a bit cynical about why they’ve chosen to do it and why they cast him.

And that is a polite way of saying that it’s a really bad idea and they’re all just doing it for the money.

This can only be a colossal bad idea. It’s just going to be another dumb TV detective show – which we need like we need syphilis. So, we can now only wait for this inevitable train wreck to happen and hope that it’s death is swift and painless.

CBS Orders New ‘Sherlock Holmes’ Pilot…Terrible.

So the bane of my existence America’s #1 Network – CBS is planning a new modern-day ‘Sherlock Holmes’ show called Elementary. This announcement comes after they approached the BBC and Sherlock show runners about remaking the British masterpiece, and being denied. This has led to their announcement ruffling the feathers of the Brits a bit, as I’m sure they don’t want to see their show bastardized, which CBS would surely do.

These statements came from Sherlock executive producer Sue Vertue‘s Twitter:

Exec. Producers Sue Vertue and her husband (Dr. Who scribe) Steven Moffat.

We understand that CBS are doing their own version of an updated Sherlock Holmes. It’s interesting, as they approached us a while back about remaking our show.

At the time, they made great assurances about their integrity, so we have to assume that their modernised Sherlock Holmes doesn’t resemble ours in any way, as that would be extremely worrying.

We are very proud of our show and like any proud parent, will protect the interest and wellbeing of our offspring.

BBC’s SHERLOCK: Season 2, Episode 2 – “The Hounds of Baskerville”

I’ve made clear my admiration for the BBC show Sherlock. It’s well written and acted, its interesting, and all around better than at least 90% of the other TV shows. That said, I thought the latest episode might’ve been their weakest. I recognize that following up the premiere, which I feel to be the best episode to date, was no easy task. It’s like doing stand-up for the first time and going on stage after Eddie Murphy…

Anyhow, that’s not to say it was terrible either. One thing that this episode actually did quite well was attempt to humanize Sherlock some more. In A Scandal in Belgravia it showed Sherlock to be less asexual than previous, as it was clear how he felt for Irene Adler. In The Hounds of Baskerville however, the focus is more on John Watson and their friendship – the only one Sherlock has.

Grizzly Review – Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle is the mastermind behind the original “Sherlock Holmes” novels, a series of gripping mysteries led by one of the most famous characters in literary history. The books are witty, suspenseful, well-plotted, and the character of Holmes, as well as his sidekick Dr. John Watson, are two of the smartest and slickest protagonists to ever hit the page. Their ability to transform the most miniscule detail into the one that cracks the case was so invigorating that readers couldn’t help but just keep going.

Trailer and Posters for “Sherlock Holmes 2: A Game of Shadows”

On December 16 of this year, Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows will release in theaters everywhere. In this, the second of the new series of Holmes movies, Sherlock Holmes (Downey) meets his match. Sherlock crosses paths with a criminal mastermind by the name of Professor Moriarty (Jared Harris). The Professor is not only smart… he is Sherlock Holmes smart! To pair with his extreme intelligence, Professor Moriarty also lacks a conscience, so he can be pure evil with a complete lack of sympathy.

In the movie, the Crown Prince of Austria is found dead. Inspector Lestrade (Eddie Marsan) deems his death a suicide. However, Holmes does not agree, and is of the opinion that the death was a murder facilitated by Professor Moriarty. During Sherlock Holmes’ investigation, he meets a gypsy at a  gentlemen’s club. She sees that he is very involved in the situation regarding the Prince’s death, and agrees to help him.

This movie looks like an action-packed good time! It seems like every post from fans in online forums is about what a great pick Jared Harris is for the evil Professor. I would absolutely agree. His popularity from Mad Men will help to promote the movie, and I loved him in Mr. Deeds. I will be seeing this movie! There are a ton of new movie posters for this one, so here are some very lovely ones and a video!

Mmmm… those eyes!

BBC’s ‘Sherlock’ Season 2 – Irene Adler, Reichenbach Falls, and the Hounds.

Last year the BBC released an updated, modern take on the Sherlock Holmes stories. And it was excellent. The entire season consisted of only 3 episodes, and though they were 90 minutes a piece, they definitely left the audience wanting more. Here is a quick look at season 1 for those who missed it.