“Elementary, my dear Watson.”
A famous quote from the well-known Sherlock Holmes book series – the series covered a time period of 1880 to 1914 and was renowned for its extremely observant detective Sherlock Holmes and his partner Dr. John H. Watson. Recently, in 2013 it became the inspiration for a contemporary spin-off produced by CBS network as “Elementary” and is now in its second season. This relatively new TV series is both intriguing and mysterious with every case it takes on.
Holmes, similar to the original, does work with a partner. Moreover, his partner is a Dr. Watson played by Lucy Liu who collaborates with Holmes. Most likely the biggest difference between the original and modern versions is the character Dr. Watson because in the original, John Watson is a man, whereas Joan Watson is a woman. This character change reflects the show’s contemporary manner and how the role of women has evolved from being stuck at home to being out in the world working what used to be considered a “man’s job.” Unlike most current shows, Watson and Sherlock do not have a romantic relationship whatsoever. This difference makes the show more similar to the original, since Watson and Sherlock are simply partners there as well.
Also, prior to being a detective, Joan Watson worked as a doctor and as the sponsor for Holmes, which is how she meets him and becomes a detective. Together, they act as the original Holmes and Watson did, working hand in hand through deductive reasoning and solving mysteries. Together, Holmes and Watson were able to solve the most difficult crimes through deductive reasoning, which Holmes learned as an undergraduate. Holmes describes deductive reasoning as starting “from a drop of water” or small amount of information, he can conclude more facts and thus, conclude the answer to the mystery. The modern-day Sherlock uses the same process to solve New York crimes.
“Elementary”’s main characters stay true to the original for the most part. Sherlock Holmes(Johnny Lee Miller) suffers from a cocaine drug addiction as did the original detective, but rather than remaining at Scotland Yard, this Holmes moves out to New York City where he assists the New York Police Department. There, he helps his friend, Captain Gregson(Aidan Quinn) solve crimes and works with Detective Belle(Jon Hill).
Captain Gregson and Detective Bell are not part of the original book series, but they create an average level of intelligence to highlight Holmes’ brilliance. Captain Gregson and Detective Belle become part of Holmes’ process for solving the cases. Gregson calls Holmes, and Belle provides input on the scene. However, Belle’s perspective usually provides the straightforward facts and foundation for the case, while Holmes and Watson are able to recreate the crime by looking at smaller details and can characterize the victims through their personal belongings. While both Gragson and Belle are important to the TV series, they are predictably outwitted by Holmes and Watson’s impressive cunning.
As well as new characters, the new setting of New York City in comparison to London, England further adds to the contemporary feel of the TV series. This modern twist, like the rest, creates a uniqueness in the series that helps to create a fresh face for the old books. So far, every change from the original to the contemporary Sherlock Holmes has been a natural extension of what made the original successful.
In each episode, in addition to the crimes and mystery, Sherlock and Watson’s relationship evolves. At first, they are not close at all and Sherlock does not trust Watson. He even follows her and checks her phone in order to confirm her intentions of helping him. However, they quickly become close as Watson learns more about how Sherlock works.
As Sherlock’s sober companion, Watson is scheduled to spend five weeks with him without being apart for more than two hours. Sherlock pretends that Watson is his assistant in deduction while he is working cases, but in episode four of season one, “The Rat Race,” Watson has to tell Captain Gregson the truth. In this case, an overdose of cocaine — Holmes’ previous drug of choice — kills an executive, and Watson fears Holmes has relapsed. Watson’s seemingly fatal move for Holmes’ career turns out to be entirely harmless when Captain Gregson admits to already knowing and also to knowing that Holmes is not ready to talk about it. Early on in the first season, “Elementary” creates a huge and totally unexpected plot twist with Holmes actually being kidnapped by the killer and further unravels the effects of Holmes’ past addiction in his life.
Already in its second season, “Elementary” has continued to intertwine complex episodic plots, Holmes’ season-long struggles, and Holmes’ personal life. However, its first episode, “Step nine” introduces new characters that eventually unveil yet another plot that — even this far in the season — hasn’t been fully developed. The most important character to this new plot is Mycroft, Holmes’ brother, whom nobody had ever heard of — not even Watson. While appearing to try to better his relationship with Holmes, Mycroft ends the episode, “The Hound Of The Cancer Cells,” with a highly suspicious line that insinuates a conspiracy against Holmes.
However, Watson’s act becomes a reality when Watson decides she wants to become a detective and officially begins to work alongside Sherlock to learn about deduction. Although Watson began on a different career path than the original Dr. Watson, over two seasons of Elementary, she has filled the position at Sherlock’s side.
Since its beginning in 2013, “Elementary” has been a great success on CBS. Its modern twist on the renowned Sherlock Holmes book series captured the public’s attention once, and now this show has done it again as it continues its captivating second season, despite its expectations to be a poor rendition.
