CBS's "Elementary"

[Carol the Dabbler]

I'm not surprised -- corporate lawyers insist that copyrights be consistently enforced, because otherwise they might eventually be forfeited. But the broadcast premiere (here in the US, anyhow) is just over a week away, Thursday the 27th on CBS.

[aely]

The vid being up was no bad thing - I will definitely be watching it when they get round to showing it on UK tv which I might not have done!

[Carterofmars]

Did anyone here actually get to watch it?

[Carol the Dabbler]

aely, you did, right? Anybody else? (I didn't even try, due to our dial-up connection.)

 

 

... I will definitely be watching it when they get round to showing it on UK tv ....

Any idea when that might be?

Edited September 19, 2012 by Carol the Dabbler

[Carol the Dabbler]

You know how Cumberbatch's Sherlock does his scarf (folded in half, looped around his neck, then loose ends pulled through the fold)? I've never seen anyone else do that with a scarf -- until tonight, when I saw a magazine ad for Elementary.

 

Is that simply the current style, and I hadn't noticed? Or is it a pinch of grist for Moffat's lawsuit?

 

Oh, while we're here -- does anyone know for sure how to parse Jonny Lee Miller's name? Is it (Jonny Lee) Miller, like a Texan, or Jonny (Lee Miller), like the Englishman that he actually is? It could certainly be the latter, since IMDb says one grandfather is Bernard Lee (James Bond's original M), and his father is a stage actor named Alan Miller.

Edited September 20, 2012 by Carol the Dabbler

[aely]

I think it's possibly just a British way of doing your scarf - I sometimes use the same method (depending on the scarf) and have done for years, even before Sherlock.

 

As for Jonny's name - it's probably the latter way, but I tend to put the same emphasis on all three names so when I say it he's got this really long name of JonnyLeeMiller. Funnily enough, Gareth David Lloyd and Ben Loyd Holmes (who played a minor character in Torchwood which is probably why he came to mind) get the same treatment.

[Carterofmars]

You know how Cumberbatch's Sherlock does his scarf (folded in half, looped around his neck, then loose ends pulled through the fold)? I've never seen anyone else do that with a scarf

 

I do that.

[Carol the Dabbler]

Thanks, guys!

 

OK, so the scarf thing isn't just Sherlock, nor even just British. I tried it just now with the scarves from our coat closet. Hubby's muffler is too short to do a proper job of it, but it works fine with mine. I like the way it covers the little triangle that a coat collar doesn't, and it seems like it would stay in place better than a spiral wrap. It just takes a reasonably long scarf -- too bad Tom Baker never thought of it!

[chironsgirl]

Once again I have to admit my age. Sigh. Years ago there was a made for tv (American) movie with a female Watson. The premise being : Dr. John Watson had , at his friend Sherlock's urging,found a way to place the detective in a cryogenic state of suspension. Dr. Watson then moved everything from England to America. He then left a will stating that the house and it's contents were to be given to whoever was his clesest descendant 100 years later. Enter the female Dr. Watson , who mysteriously inherits an out of the way cottage from a relative she didn't know. And then she finds something wild in the basement. She of course thaws out Sherlock, and together they go on to fight crime and solve mysteries.

 

So yes, a female Watson has been done before. And yes, us Torchwood fans know what happens when American tv gets a hold of a popular British show.

 

I am willing to give Elementary a chance. I am not expecting breathtaking tv, but it could be alright. Ya never know.

[Carol the Dabbler]

You're very good with emoticons, chironsgirl!

 

That tv movie sounds familiar, like someone has mentioned it here already -- but I can't seem to find it. Actually, it sounds kind of cool (pun strictly unintentional). I love time-travel stories (which that sort of is) and fish-out-of-water stories (which that sounds like it could be). Did you enjoy it? Oh, is this it -- The Return of Sherlock Holmes (from 1987)?

 

The tough part about watching Elementary will be resisting the temptation to compare it to Sherlock -- which would be unfair, because it isn't. (Hot-fudge sundaes aren't Sherlock either, but most of them are pretty good.) OK, it's on this Thursday (almost today as I write this) at 10 pm Eastern time on CBS.

[Carol the Dabbler]

OK, the pilot of Elementary airs tonight (10 pm Eastern on CBS). Those busy folks at Sherlockology have already seen it, and have posted a lengthy and interesting (but spoiler-free) review.

[Carol the Dabbler]

* * * * THE FOLLOWING COMMENTS ARE SPOILER-FREE * * * *

* * * * * * * (No guarantees for future posts, though!!) * * * * * * * *

 

I like it. I find it fun and quirky and intelligent. The plot held together nicely (for my first viewing, at least). The takes on Holmes and Watson are interesting, and I'm curious to see what use future scripts will make of their backgrounds. There are enough ties to canon that I will consider anyone who criticizes the show on those grounds to be churlishly obsessive.

 

I like the way Holmes dances around Watson's feelings, first trying a lie, then admitting it and telling the truth. But is it the truth? And was it a lie? (And how did he know that her patient was a man?) I like it that Watson is impressed by Holmes's deductive prowess, yet helps to solve the crime with her medical knowledge (something I would definitely like to see more of on Sherlock!).

 

Other than that parenthetical remark, I refuse to compare Elementary to Sherlock. I don't think it's trying to be Sherlock, and it doesn't need to.

 

But that's just my opinion. OK, the rest of you who've seen it -- what do you think?

[chironsgirl]

Yes that's the movie! I was able to pull in Elementary on my little laptop.We don't have tv right now. I was very happy to see Aiden Quinn as Gregson. Yup, I think he is a hotty. And if "Joan" can avoid sticking a fork into Sherlock's eye, they might just have a good runner here. It's not the same kind of work as the BBC series, but it isn't aweful. By the way, have you got more sundaes?

[Carol the Dabbler]

... It's not the same kind of work as the BBC series, but it isn't awful.

 

Certainly not the same, no. (But then Sherlock isn't Elementary, either -- well, it isn't! -- which means we now have two tv adaptations to watch.) I am amazed by how much plot they packed into 45 minutes of program time, while maintaining a comfortable pace. I love Holmes's inspection technique -- almost like he's sniffing the evidence (and perhaps he is). And I don't believe I've ever seen that sort of "murder weapon" used before! (Which is about all I can say without lapsing into spoilers.)

 

... By the way, have you got more sundaes?

 

???

[Carol the Dabbler]

We watched the second episode last night, and I'm still mulling it over. What did y'all think of it?

 

I said I wouldn't compare Elementary and Sherlock, and I probably won't. But I am wondering about some specific similarities. Are they lawsuit fodder? Or are they clearly adapted from ACD (not really my area)?

 

1. I believe JW addressed SH as "Sherlock" once last night. A logical bit of updating, so I'm guessing that's safe.

 

2. SH forgets things on purpose, in order not to overfill his "attic." Canon, anyone?

 

3. JW dislikes looking at murder victims' bodies, despite having a medical background. Canon?

 

4. SH identified someone by the scent of their deodorant. I am amazed to see that Mum was invented in 1888. Comments?

 

By the way, it'll be two weeks till the third episode. (Next Thursday is the televised debate between the two vice-presidential candidates.)

Edited October 5, 2012 by Carol the Dabbler

[Undead Medic]

From his appearance at the Cheltenham Literature Festival, Radio Times sets the record straight about what Benedict Cumberbatch did and didn't say about Elementary:

Revealed: What Sherlock star Benedict Cumberbatch really thinks of Elementary

 

“Under no circumstances would I want Jonny to have anything but a rip-roaring success because, first and foremost, he is my friend, and we’re both actors and while it’s very gratifying to be told that you are such-and-such a Sherlock Holmes, this is one role, this is one incarnation – and I know it’s why we’re all here tonight – but you can’t take possession of it. He’s the 72nd, I’m the 71^st, the 70th was Robert Downey Jr.

“I made a joke, which I shouldn’t have done. I made a joke, which never translates – humour, generally, out of context doesn’t translate well, that’s one of the lessons I’ve learnt this summer whilst doing lots of talking (I did it talking about Parade’s End).

“I have to be careful about mentioning anything which could be vaguely misinterpreted, but that doesn’t take away from the absolute truth of what I’m saying which is that I’ve seen [Elementary] and it's absolutely fantastic – and the bit where you find out that the killer is, in fact… – it’s really good you should all watch it.

 

[SherLOCKED221]

Oh god! Being Human UK is way better than its US counterpart!

 

I have yet to watch Elemetary, but yet I find myself cringing at it.

A woman as Watson??? Very Strange (Not to mention Asian!)

UK shows are the best, and yet they seem to meet quick ends. Not to say american shows don't ever get the block however, the strange and brillant BBC shows (such as the brillant Wire in the Blood and Strange) seem to met there end vey quickly. Touching Evil, staring Robsen Green (also in Being Human UK) was also remade, quite badly as well. And the show "Strange" only ran for 6 episodes than finished open ended.

So I find myself cringing at another poorly thoughtout remake of Sir Arther's Sherlock Holmes...

[aely]

I have no problem with an Asian woman being Watson - if they were going to reinvent Watson as female at least they've used someone I like!

It's not Sherlock, but then it's not *trying* to be Sherlock either. They've essentially taken a Holmes-like character and stuck him in a fairly normal crime drama, while making sure he's a very different sort of Holmes (besides the Englishness) to any we've seen before.

 

I rather like it. I also like the fact that they've written Jonny Lee Miller's tattoos into the show as part of his character - it must make a nice change for him not to have to cover them up!

 

Elementary officially starts tonight in the UK at 9pm on Sky Living - I will be watching, even though I've seen it already.

[Carol the Dabbler]

Thanks for the heads-up regarding tonight's UK airing, aely!

 

I've been enjoying the show. So far, I've found the first and third plots the most satisfyingly well-crafted, but Hubby thought the second was one of the best -- so I guess there's something there for everybody. Didn't realize that the tattoos came with the territory. Yes, good of them to write them in.

 

I've been playing with the idea of swapping Holmeses & Watsons between the two shows, and it just does not work at all! You'd end up with either two fairly laid-back characters (Elementary's Holmes & Sherlock's Watson) or two fairly hyper characters (Sherlock's Holmes & Elementary's Watson). Putting the two Holmeses together might be an interesting dynamic (though some might say we've thereby created a monster ).

[aely]

Well, the actors have worked together before onstage (In Frankenstein) and were, quite frankly, pretty damn amazing together. Could be interesting.

[chironsgirl]

I find myself liking Elementary. It isn't trying to completely mimic BBC Sherlock; there are enough differences to just let them escape the ful force of the BBC lawyers. Johnny's Sherlock is just clinging to sanity and sobriety. He very much needs his Watson's help even though he would be the last to say so. BBC Sherlock has been cocaine free for some time. His partnership with John brings a lot to both partners; John finally has a chance to be a soldier again. Sherlock has an inquisitive mind to bounce his cases around with.

 

By the way, did anyone catch the addition of the character named Bell? That made me smile.

[Carol the Dabbler]

... did anyone catch the addition of the character named Bell? That made me smile.

 

 

Is that a canon reference? I don't even remember the character -- that whole thing must have gone right over my head!

[SherLOCKED221]

A bit late to the party, yet I need to clarify, I have no problem with Watson being a woman, my agitation lies with the choice of remaking it again, trying to be different.

By being so differnt they may miss the point. Americans have a tendancy to overlook the most basic in their TV: Good, plausable plot, good actors, to devise a plan for the series and the ability to follow the set course and avoid the endless series. Sometimes it is better to kill a series with a good rounded ending than let it run on forever...

[Carol the Dabbler]

Did you watch the first episode, SherLOCKED221? I'll be interested to hear what you think of it.

[SherLOCKED221]

Oh I missed it, I had something else planned, shoot well then I may just have to watch at a later date. I do intend to watch, hopefully I will be wrong about it.

I did like Jonny Lee Millar as "Eli Stone" and his Jordan Chase in "Dexter", so I think it may be interesting, but I'll have to find out.