(spoilers)
We saw the second episode of the new TV series Elementary on Thursday, October 4, 2012 at 10 p.m. We missed the first episode and we’re not sure if we’ll watch the other episodes since it’s on so late between 10 p.m. and 11 p.m. on Thursdays. Elementary is a modern update of Sherlock Holmes that stars Jonny Lee Miller as Holmes and Lucy Liu as Dr. Joan Watson. It takes place in New York City, though Miller still plays an English Holmes. The premise is that Holmes is a recovering drug addict and Dr. Watson is a former surgeon now helping him keep sober and recover. Other characters include police detectives Gregson and Bell, both Americans. Holmes is still consulted by the police to help solve crimes.
I’m not sure which original case this episode was based off of. At the beginning Holmes explains his theory of not filling up his brain with useless facts and even commandeers a glass and some olive oil as visual aids. He has the quirky impulsive personality and also a strong sense of humor. Jonny Lee Miller really makes the character his own. I had only heard of him before as portraying the character Sick Boy in the mid-1990s film Trainspotting. He dresses a bit more shabbily than Benedict Cumberbatch’s present day Sherlock but still wears an English scarf causing one of the detectives to call him “Harry Potter.” The premise with Watson as drug addict handler actually works fairly well since they have much conflict as they learn to trust each other. Liu also does a good job as Watson. Her character seems to make more use of her medical expertise than we’ve seen from other Watsons on screen and in print.
The mystery was compelling and paced well enough to keep us watching. The beginning sequence involves a Rube Goldberg-like contraption involving a clear glass marble. The episode in one hour seemed a bit short to us, possibly because I’m comparing it to the 90-minute episodes of Sherlock. Holmes could still notice many clues that the others missed. He seemed to jump to more false conclusions than in the original Holmes stories, but I didn’t feel this detracted from the show. If anything I like Holmes better when he is even more less than perfect. Another difference from the stories and production is that Holmes is actually shown to be eating. There are many familiar references though, such as the violin. Officer Bell’s name may come from Dr. Bell who was an original inspiration for Sir Arthur Conan Doyle as a model for Holmes. Perhaps that’s reading too much into it.
It’s too bad that Elementary is broadcast so late. We heard that it is quite popular even with its first couple of episodes. We hope it has staying power and even gets moved to an earlier timeslot.
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