Sherlock a junkie? Sir Arthur Conan Doyle must be rolling in his grave. Not really.
In the original stories of Sherlock Holmes, Sir Conan Doyle indicated that Sherlock occasionally used drugs. So there is basis on the updated treatment of CBS, titled 'Elementary' which premiered September 2012 featuring Johnny Lee Miller (Trainspotting 1996 Polygram UK) as Holmes and Lucy Liu (Charlie's Angel trilogy starting 2000 Columbia) as Watson.
Wait...Watson a girl and Chinese? She definitely is not Filipino and delineating Watson as a female is old hat, already done in The Return of Sherlock Holmes in 1987.
What is new is a fast talking, unsuave, unkempt, recovering junkie Sherlock in the age of Google working as an unpaid consultant for the New York police department with an ex-surgeon, sobriety companion in tow. Sherlock's father is rich and owns the brownstone he lives in so there's no Mrs. Hudson, the foil to the bohemian lifestyle of the detective. Mycroft, Sherlock's older brother is also absent in the series as well as Moriarty his perennial nemesis. In place of the Conan Doyle characters are Captain Gregson played by Aidan Quinn (Blink 1994 New Line Cinema) who would be 'M' if this were Bond and Detective Marcus Bell (Jon Michael Hill Person of Interest premier 2011 Bad Robot Production) who would be Q.
In premise, Elementary resembles The Mentalist, another CBS program created by Bruno Keller, where both protagonists suffer from deep emotional wounds while working for the police as profilers, being masters at deductions and observations. Both characters rise above the milieu of their environment because of their wit but additionally with their costumes, one being under dressed while the other, GQ cover except for the shoes. They differ, of course, in pedigree where Sherlock is a classic.
While other police programs, Criminal Mind (Also CBS written by Jeff Davis and stars a favorite Joe Mantegna), CSI (Another CBS) among others, have their own brilliant profilers, they rely on studied procedures to derive conclusion, where Sherlock and Patrick Jane (Simon Baker) work on their intuitions and over developed deductive reasoning to crack open puzzling cases.
The few episodes of the first season of Elementary showed plots of mixed ingenue, with some that really stretches the imagination and then, those worthy of Conan Doyle. Solutions to crimes come by bits of obscure data only Sherlock would pay any attention. As an example, the pilot involved a murder committed by a lunatic on steroids manipulated by the husband of the victim. A bag of rice opens and closes the case. Now it strains to breaking point the elasticity of suspended logic to believe the premise of the most elaborate preparation for a crime: a) the mastermind, a doctor and husband of the victim, has to find a sick perpetrator of an assault which victim resembles his wife b) convince the perpetrator to come to him for consultation and lastly, c) get his wife to agree on several cosmetic procedures and hair color alteration to hue more closely to the first victim. That is completely preposterous my dear chap, I could hear Conan Doyle admonishing Robert Doherty (Producer, writer of pilot) from his grave.
Now the episode titled 'The Leviathan' is more believable and ingenious where four in a jury panel gets the idea to replicate a crime they have tried, written by Corrine Brinkerhoff and Craig Sweeney, directed by Peter Werner.
The action portion is definitely wanting. It's police drama, somewhere along the way there should be some running, parkour, chase over the skyline, car chases and shooting involving perhaps Sherlock and I don't mean Sherlock being tased (as in Rat Race episode written by Craig Sweeney and directed by Rosemarie Rodriguez).
Johnny Lee Miller as Holmes is both annoying and engaging. There is the brit accent in formula one speed which is often hard pressed to decipher. For audiences to appreciate the show, they have to be in on what he is seeing and because the plots unravel in the most bizarre way, it is positively required that we understand his explanation. He is a recovering junkie and most recovering junkie friends I have would have this slow sometimes slurred speech pattern, why not try that one. Now in true Conan Doyle fashion, there is very little known about Holmes which is a problem in terms of audience identifying with him. However, running alongside each new episode is the continuing search of Watson for the real Sherlock and the reason for his addiction, which could turn into understanding, leading to empathy for the character.
On the plus side, Miller was great in Trainspotting and Eli Stone (ABC 2008-July 2009). It is a residual idea that works for the series. We think it's great because Eli Stone is playing Sherlock.
Lucy Liu was most effective and engaging in Ally McBeal (20th Century TV 1987-2002) . Was it the character or the actor? Imagine Liu playing the character of Loretta Divine (Waiting to Exhale 1995 20th Century Fox) in Eli Stone and migrating Divine to Ally McBeal, would they still fit? "That's why they have casting directors dummy" somebody shouted at the back. Oh Yeah.
But what happens if Liu played a bit of Ling Woo crossed with nurse Mildred Ratched (One Flew over the Cuckoo's Nest 1975 United Artist) into Watson then develop a would they or wouldn't they thingy like in Moonlighting (ABC 1985-89) or Remington Steele (NBC 1982-87). By the way what's Stephanie up to?
Elementary is already engaging as it is supported by the fact that it has been nominated the People's Choice Awards for Favorite New TV Drama.
Watch it on DVD.
You could develop a hyper deductive reasoning or a hyper british accent.
While other police programs, Criminal Mind (Also CBS written by Jeff Davis and stars a favorite Joe Mantegna), CSI (Another CBS) among others, have their own brilliant profilers, they rely on studied procedures to derive conclusion, where Sherlock and Patrick Jane (Simon Baker) work on their intuitions and over developed deductive reasoning to crack open puzzling cases.
The few episodes of the first season of Elementary showed plots of mixed ingenue, with some that really stretches the imagination and then, those worthy of Conan Doyle. Solutions to crimes come by bits of obscure data only Sherlock would pay any attention. As an example, the pilot involved a murder committed by a lunatic on steroids manipulated by the husband of the victim. A bag of rice opens and closes the case. Now it strains to breaking point the elasticity of suspended logic to believe the premise of the most elaborate preparation for a crime: a) the mastermind, a doctor and husband of the victim, has to find a sick perpetrator of an assault which victim resembles his wife b) convince the perpetrator to come to him for consultation and lastly, c) get his wife to agree on several cosmetic procedures and hair color alteration to hue more closely to the first victim. That is completely preposterous my dear chap, I could hear Conan Doyle admonishing Robert Doherty (Producer, writer of pilot) from his grave.
Now the episode titled 'The Leviathan' is more believable and ingenious where four in a jury panel gets the idea to replicate a crime they have tried, written by Corrine Brinkerhoff and Craig Sweeney, directed by Peter Werner.
The action portion is definitely wanting. It's police drama, somewhere along the way there should be some running, parkour, chase over the skyline, car chases and shooting involving perhaps Sherlock and I don't mean Sherlock being tased (as in Rat Race episode written by Craig Sweeney and directed by Rosemarie Rodriguez).
On the plus side, Miller was great in Trainspotting and Eli Stone (ABC 2008-July 2009). It is a residual idea that works for the series. We think it's great because Eli Stone is playing Sherlock.
Lucy Liu was most effective and engaging in Ally McBeal (20th Century TV 1987-2002) . Was it the character or the actor? Imagine Liu playing the character of Loretta Divine (Waiting to Exhale 1995 20th Century Fox) in Eli Stone and migrating Divine to Ally McBeal, would they still fit? "That's why they have casting directors dummy" somebody shouted at the back. Oh Yeah.
But what happens if Liu played a bit of Ling Woo crossed with nurse Mildred Ratched (One Flew over the Cuckoo's Nest 1975 United Artist) into Watson then develop a would they or wouldn't they thingy like in Moonlighting (ABC 1985-89) or Remington Steele (NBC 1982-87). By the way what's Stephanie up to?
Elementary is already engaging as it is supported by the fact that it has been nominated the People's Choice Awards for Favorite New TV Drama.
Watch it on DVD.
You could develop a hyper deductive reasoning or a hyper british accent.
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