The Glade 4.0

Elementary is a modern retelling of Sherlock Holmes... wait, I've heard that before. As a fan of BBC's modern retelling, "Sherlock," I was initially skeptical...and rightly so. CBS's show lacks the superb polish of BBC's offering.

With that said, it actually seems to be a quality show. While Johnny Lee Miller is no Benedict Cumberbatch, he does a very good job. Lucy Liu brings an entirely different take to Watson in several ways (which takes nothing away from Martin Freeman's steller performance). Sherlock in America works well. Aidan Quinn stands out as the NYPD cop who calls him in. Honestly, once you put aside the direct comparisons, and just judge Elementary on its own merits, it's great. It just has the misfortune of being saddled with the baggage of Martin Freeman and Benedict Cumberbatch doing the same thing across the pond, and doing it better.

So why would someone watch this show instead of the BBC version?

Well, you shouldn't. But that doesn't mean that you should watch the BBC version exclusively, either.

There is an appeal to the american network format of having a regular show every week for almost half the year. BBC has thus far only given us six 90 minute episodes (for a total of 9 hours, in case you're mathematically deficient) in three years. I know, that's just how they do things, and I'll eagerly await the next three. CBS has given us twenty-four 43 minute episodes (17 hours, 12 minutes) in seven months. This becomes more than just an issue of quantity over quality. This format gives them far more time to develop characters and relationships, and therefore far more depth than the miniseries format can provide. While the quality and cast isn't quite as good, it's still very good, by no means second-rate. The question becomes, is there room in your TV watching schedule for another show about Sherlock Holmes?

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Well Ali Baba had them forty thieves, Scheherezade had a thousand tales
But master you in luck 'cause up your sleeves you got a brand of magic never fails...
...Mister Aladdin, sir, What will your pleasure be?
Let me take your order, Jot it down -You ain't never had a friend like me
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The shows are very different, but Elementary isn't outright worse. I actually like Zero Clue's portrayal of Sherlock's darker tendencies better, though Smauglock's dialogue is more snappily written and delivered at a delightful clip that makes his mind seem to race better.

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"Aaaah! Emotions are weird!" - Amdee
"... Mirrorshades prevent the forces of normalcy from realizing that one is crazed and possibly dangerous. They are the symbol of the sun-staring visionary, the biker, the rocker, the policeman, and similar outlaws." - Bruce Sterling, preface to Mirrorshades

Zero Cool, you mean? Or is there a reference I'm not getting?

Well, yes and no. It was a deliberate play on words tying the two roles together.

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"Aaaah! Emotions are weird!" - Amdee
"... Mirrorshades prevent the forces of normalcy from realizing that one is crazed and possibly dangerous. They are the symbol of the sun-staring visionary, the biker, the rocker, the policeman, and similar outlaws." - Bruce Sterling, preface to Mirrorshades

Ah, I thought it an errant autocorrect.

I watched the pilot and wasn't impressed...it was rather like watching the 2011 version of The Thing. It's not bad because what it's copying so succinctly is so great that a copy can at worst be OK. Miller was good (though Cumberbatch trounces him completely), but I didn't like Lucy Liu at. all. Quinn was good.

It felt to me for all the world like the McDonald's version of Sherlock; not offensive enough to consider it a travesty, but certainly little more than a pale imitation of a brilliant show. There's something to be said for the quantity, but every time I tried to watch it, I felt that hunger for more refined offerings.

Liu's Watson is definitely the weakest link in the show, but as the season continues, they give her character good development as she progresses through an arc. I think it would be unfair to judge her character from the pilot alone -- it's written to play to a longer format, and thus suffers unduly from such a comparison, I think.

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"Aaaah! Emotions are weird!" - Amdee
"... Mirrorshades prevent the forces of normalcy from realizing that one is crazed and possibly dangerous. They are the symbol of the sun-staring visionary, the biker, the rocker, the policeman, and similar outlaws." - Bruce Sterling, preface to Mirrorshades

It was her performance I found repellant, not necessarily the writing (though its weaknesses certainly didn't help). She acted as though she'd just received the script that morning and was constantly waiting for someone offstage to cue her line.

I'm not a fan of her in the first place, but there are occasions on which she's worked in a role. Not so here.

That's because she sucks. Atrociously.

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“The duty of a patriot is to protect his country from its government.” - Thomas Paine

I generally like her. She's not going to win any oscars, but her acting isn't bad.

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Well Ali Baba had them forty thieves, Scheherezade had a thousand tales
But master you in luck 'cause up your sleeves you got a brand of magic never fails...
...Mister Aladdin, sir, What will your pleasure be?
Let me take your order, Jot it down -You ain't never had a friend like me
█ ♣ █

Yep. I'd give Sherlock an 'A'. Elementary get a 'C+' or 'B-'. Like others, I like Jonny Lee Miller in the role but Lucy Liu as Watson is just jarring.

I don't mind Watson being female, of course (aside from that bit of American silliness that dictates dual protagonists must be opposite sexes in order to manufacture a potential romance), but Liu is just terrible. Get a better actress and we'll talk.

Could be worse. Could be Fran Drescher.


Actually, I'd probably watch that train wreck.

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 2

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Les Zombis et les Loups-Garous!

I think it would be hysterical with Fran Drescher as Watson. Numbuck, I think you've come up with a new sitcom.