Elementary

What's the title? Elementary

Who created it? Robert Doherty

When did it air? 2012 - Present

What’s it rated? TV-14

Would I recommend it? I would. I typically avoid procedurals, but Elementary is the rare exception, mainly on account of its dynamic and fascinating main cast of characters and the compelling relationships between them.

What's it about?(non-spoilers) Joan Watson used to be a surgeon, but she’s recently switched careers to become a sober companion. Her most recent client is one Sherlock Holmes, a heroin addict just released from rehab and a consultant detective for the NYPD Major Crimes Division. Together Watson and Holmes grow together as people and partners all while gumshoeing the most labyrinth cases New York has to offer.

What did you think? (spoilers) Sherlock Holmes is one of the most recognizable and beloved characters ever, an intellectual property to which creators return to again and again, eager to put forth their own particular spin on the beloved detective. Consequently it’d be unfair to say the detective had a resurgence of popularity in the 21st century, seeing as how he’s always been popular, but in my lifetime I’ve witnessed House, a Holmes homage in medical dressing, Guy Ritchie’s Sherlock Holmes movies starring Robert Downey Jr just after he'd reached red-hot Hollywood status from his Iron Man comeback, and, of course, BBC’s Sherlock.

In 2010 Steven Moffat of New Who fame introduced a new, modern, technologically driven interpretation of Holmes and Watson, and the world instantly fell madly and rabidly in love. By the world, I mean predominately women in their teens & early twenties, but I don’t say that to mock either the show or its audience. After all, this is the same demographic that was responsible for Elvis, the Beatles, and Twilight reaching dizzying commercial success. If you want critical respect, court bespectacled men. If you want to be a phenomenon, you need the young ladies. And Sherlock had the young ladies. I should know, I was one of them.

I didn’t watch Sherlock when it first premiered. I binged the first two seasons during the interminable wait for the third. I saw what everyone else saw – the clever and memorable quips, the massive intellect of the main character, the exciting and cinematic camera work, Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman. I flew through the six episodes, and afterward, while waiting for the show to return, I looked up fanart and fan-postings, trying to satiate my desire for more. While I spiraled my way down fansites I found a few postings here and there stating that Sherlock was overrated, that the new show Elementary was by far the superior Holmes show. Waiting as I was for Sherlock to return, I decided to check out this other modern Holmes iteration. I was already a fan of Jonny Lee Miller (please see Emma) and liked the idea of Watson being a woman of color, so why not give it a try.

I watched the first couple of seasons and enjoyed them. It wasn’t as flashy a show as Sherlock, more subdued, more normal, but it was good and I liked it. However, it wasn’t easily accessible to me at the time and being a millennial I like my shows binged, so when I ran out of episodes I just stopped. I didn’t track down the premiere dates. I didn’t scour the Internet for free streaming sites. I just let it slip.

I did not let Sherlock slip. I watched season three and four and the Christmas special, checking and double checking that my DVR was set to record just in case I couldn’t be home on those nights. Problem is, something changed for me between season two and season three of the show. Suddenly the show didn’t seem quite as smart. It felt less like the show was taking risks and more like it had instead opted to go for pure fantasy. Where before there had been hubris and coldness there was sudden saccharine sentimentality – not emotional growth, just fan service. I watched the show, every episode all the way through, but I didn’t enjoy them, not really. I mean, Cumberbatch and Freeman were still crazy charismatic and talented, and the camera work was still way more inventive than the average TV show, but the story. The story and the characters paled over the new seasons.

Fast forward to this year, when what should I see while scrolling through Hulu’s TV offerings but Elementary. I remembered enjoying the show. I remembered enjoying Miller and Liu. I thought why not, and so I binged from the beginning.

Elementary doesn’t have the same camerawork that Sherlock has. There are no lines that are as memorable as “I'm a high functioning sociopath, do your research” nor any moments as gif-able as Watson’s “NO, IT’S NOT!” But if given the option of living in the world of Sherlock or living in the world of Elementary (which really, isn’t that what watching TV is? mentally trading your world for someone else’s for the length of an hour or so?), I choose Elementary.

Miller’s Holmes is brilliant, to be sure, but he’s not some unfeeling automaton or supernatural creature like Cumberbatch’s. Miller’s Holmes comes by his brilliance at a price. He may or may not be neurologically atypical (the show makes it a point not to diagnose its protagonist) but he definitely interacts with the world differently. He notices things others don’t because he is more sensitive than most. Sure this helps him solve crimes that otherwise would go unsolved, but it also leaves him susceptible to things like addiction to narcotics. Holmes may feel no compunction about transgressing social niceties which can help him say and do things to solve the crime, but this trait can also alienate him from friendships that he needs. Elementary’s Holmes may be an abnormal or atypical example of his species, but even he would admit that he is, after all, human. This makes his wins that more impressive and his losses that more tragic.

Beyond the fact that there are far too few Asian women headlining TV series, Lucy Liu’s Watson serves a breath of fresh air in the Holmes story. So often in adaptations, Watson comes across as a pet to Sherlock. Sherlock, the brilliant, supernatural genius adopts Watson as his emotional support human on account of him being trained in medicine, warfare, and possessing a sizable respect for Sherlock’s vastly superior intellect. However, in Elementary, both the show and Holmes treat Watson with respect and as an equal. Watson finds clues that the show makes clear Holmes would not have found on his own or, if he did, would have taken him considerably longer. And, yes, Watson respects Holmes and thinks what he does is amazing, but whenever he makes absurd demands of their relationship, she never subjugates her autonomy or caves on her boundaries, but instead puts him firmly in his place and tells him how ridiculous he’s being. They work well together, they support each other, and they both make compromises for the other while both still holding to their principles and core identity. They are partners. It’s lovely. Also, the show never makes Watson’s femininity a liability, which is very nice and much appreciated.

In addition to Holmes and Watson, Elementary’s main cast is rounded out with Aidan Quinn’s Captain Gregson, a character taken out of Conan Doyle’s canon, and Jon Michael Hill’s Detective Bell. Both characters are well-rounded and complex, and the show would be lesser without them. The relationships between all four of the main characters are touching, unique, and all of the characters and the relationships between them evolve over the length of the show. The events that happen on the show have consequences. Not all serial shows play such close attention to character development, so for a procedural, where fifty percent or more of each episode is dedicated to whodunit, to achieve such consistent and well-plotted character growth is impressive.

These characters feel real, and the world they live in feels equally real. Sure it helps that the show is actually shot in New York (most shows set in New York aren’t shot there and the difference is marked), but it goes beyond the camera settings. As the show goes on the world of the characters grows more. Be it Mason, Everyone, or any of the Irregulars (Holmes’s consultants), be it Holmes’s family (yes, Mycroft shows up and he’s great, but there’s also the Holmes patriarch), be it Moriarty/Irene (I said spoilers), or Midnight Ranger, or Clyde the Tortoise, this is a world that has texture and history. It’s a joy to watch that world grow with each new episode.

Speaking of episodes, yes, this is a mystery show so it seems appropriate to comment on the quality of the mysteries. They’re fine. I’m in no way a connoisseur of mystery fiction, so I can’t confidently comment on their skill, but I will say that in most mystery shows I can call the culprit within the first fifteen minutes. Frequently that’s case in Elementary, but not always. There are episodes where I’m genuinely surprised by the turn the cases take. Even when I do call the killer, I don’t mind. I’m not really watching for the cases. I’m watching for the little moments between Holmes and Captain Gregson or Watson and Detective Bell. I watch for the characters. If the mystery ends up being especially twisty or compelling, that’s just icing.

There are just a few last bobs and ends I want to mention before I wrap up. Firstly, is Moriarty. The twist of Irene being Moriarty is a proper move on its own, but the casting and writing of Moriarty are also worth lauding on their own. Natalie Dormer does a great job of playing a terrifying adversary to Holmes as well as a human woman with whom the audience could believably understand Holmes falling in love. Also, I find her cool, charming approach much more delicious than Andrew Scott’s histrionics in Sherlock. (I’m sorry, it’s not fair to Elementary or Sherlock for me to frame this review as a contrast & compare between the two, but I couldn’t help but do it here with Moriarty. I just don’t understand the popularity of Scott’s portrayal. He’s so beloved and yet every time he shows up with his alternating cooing and screaming and bulging eyes I just want to point to Dormer and say “Her, be like her”. Anyway, like I said, unfair and I’ll move on.)

Secondly, there’s Holmes’s addiction. In Elementary, his addiction is not relegated to being a quirk, a quick mention for the hardcore fans, or backstory for a very special episode. His addiction and his sobriety are present in every episode, it’s a weight he carries every day and will always carry. It can be boring and tedious and exhausting. Holmes can wish he’s above it all, but he’s not. Addiction doesn’t discriminate. It doesn’t bypass people on account of their intellect or their goodness or how hard they’ve worked. It is a disease and it’s a reality, always. I’ve never had to deal with addiction to narcotics , either in my own life or in the life of someone close to me, so I would never presume to speak for someone who has, but I feel the show’s depiction of addiction is both respectful and well done.

To finish, I would say that I am happy that I found my way back to Elementary. It is a good show and a good Sherlock Holmes adaptation. I look forward to getting back to these characters and this world when they return for the sixth season. I’ll be double checking that my DVR is set to catch all the new episodes.

Images: IMDb

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