By LR Simon
Because Elementary has not used any of the Sir Arthur Conan
Doyle stories, there really is no need for the characters to be named Holmes
and Watson. The only real connection to the source material beyond the
characters’ names is a few pieces of dialogue (e.g., Holmes’s attic theory of
the mind). It will be interesting to see if and how they try to use other
characters (Moriarty, Irene Adler) or some of the more popular stories.
Because it features the Conan Doyle characters in a modern
setting, Elementary invites comparison to the superior BBC show Sherlock.
Sherlock has advantages—90 minutes of screen time per episode, four weeks to
shoot an episode, three episodes per series; Elementary has less than 45
minutes of screen time per episode, a little over a week to shoot an episode,
and it looks like 22 episodes per season.
Still, it is an above average CBS procedural. Jonny Lee
Miller, Lucy Liu, and Aiden Quinn are good in their roles and work well
together; Miller in particular has had some nice scenes, especially in the
10/25 episode when Sherlock talks to Gregson (Quinn) about his past and the
truth of his relationship with Watson. It looks like this series is going to
spend a fair amount of time developing characters and relationships, giving the
actors more to do than just solve crimes.
Look for our upcoming series on film and television
portrayals of Holmes and Watson, with special emphasis on The Hound of the
Baskervilles.
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