Frankly, it is ridiculous. Why they ever thought this latest 'trick' was a good idea heaven only knows! Such a shame because, you know, JLM is actually a fanbloodytastic actor!

Well, I'm now all caught up on Elementary, and in the end I found it not so bad. The pilot gave me a really bad impression, I found it really boring, compared to the fireworks of emotions that Sherlock gave me : thrill, fear, laughter, foreboding, etc etc, Elementary really fell flat compared to that and JLM felt like an actor playing Sherlock, not like Sherlock.
But as the episodes went on, I became more attached to the characters, I like Gregson and Bell, and really enjoyed Moran. Watson's career change and the way she evolves is also something I found interesting. Sherlock himself, I got used to, and didn't find him sounding too fake anymore like I did at the beginning. Of course I like Sherlock much better, but while waiting, I found Elementary quite entertaining. There were even moments that made me laugh out loud.

I have a friend who says he's good at anticipating the way shows will go, and he says Mycroft will turn out to be Sherlock's father in Elementary.

I finally got around to watching some episodes of Elementary.  I will fully admit my bias here, because it's difficult not to compare the two- and "Sherlock" is one of my favorite shows still running.  Purely on its own, Elementary is a decent-good police procedural.  It's very much like other shows of its genre (CSI, NCIS, Law & Order, etc)- and I don't really see much about Sherlock Holmes himself that makes the show stand out from those other shows.  I like Watson fine as a woman, but to be honest, I'm not sure why she stays with Holmes- after knowing him one or two days, he purposely crashes her car as part of a temper tantrum.  It feels like she's babysitting him more than her being his assistant.  Which brings me to Holmes himself...I don't like how his character is portrayed.  His character is too immature, crazy and co-dependent for my tastes (even for a recovering drug-addict).  And it's not just because he's Holmes...if he name were "Bill", I will still think all of the above.  He's portrayed as the "eccentric genius" by tattoos, drugs and the way he acts...which reminded me too much of Abby Sciuto in NCIS.

I would like to qualify all of this by saying that I have absolutely no problem with re-inventing Holmes, putting him an America, or even making Watson a woman.  I guess I was disappointed that he himself was such an uninteresting character, and I couldn't find myself liking him at all.  But if you like the show, that's great- my mom likes it, and I've never tried to convince her not to.  I did show her the BBC version, and she liked it, too.  So I think there is room for both.  I just wish I had liked it so as to have something to pass the time with.

Last edited by sj4iy (June 20, 2013 1:05 pm)

Davina wrote:

I think they kept the tattoos because otherwise JLM would have had to have had them covered up in some way for every episode (which is a bit of a pain).

Oh, I understand why they did it...I guess I just wanted to like his version of Sherlock, and I really haven't found myself doing so up to this point.  He just doesn't look, feel or act like what I expected ^^
 

ancientsgate wrote:

sj4iy wrote:

.I guess I just wanted to like his version of Sherlock, and I really haven't found myself doing so up to this point.  He just doesn't look, feel or act like what I expected ^^

I don't think one of the premises of the show is for him to be likable or someone we're supposed to sympathize with. He's supposed to be prickly, off-putting, and (to put a fine spin on it) just plain weird. In that, the actor did a fine job. I don't think he's attractive or anyone I would care to know in real life. And I agree with whoever said earlier that they wondered why Joan puts up with him (except that she has to because, again, that's what the show calls for). Any real life Joan would have told him to go f himself, and she'd have been long gone by now.

I think it was me who was wondering why she puts up with him a few posts back XD

I guess my thing is this- my dad was an alcoholic, and he never got his life together before he died at the age of 54.  He was always dependent on others to keep him out of trouble, but he was an amazingly talented singer, songwriter, guitarist and poet.  He let that all go to waste because he couldn't get control of his alcoholism, and then died of withdrawal in a halfway house when I was 22.  When I watch Sherlock Holmes, I'm not expecting to deal with someone like that.  It makes it really hard to root for a protagonist like that when I've dealt with it on my own.

Last edited by sj4iy (June 20, 2013 9:57 pm)

sj4iy wrote:

I guess my thing is this- my dad was an alcoholic, and he never got his life together before he died at the age of 54.  He was always dependent on others to keep him out of trouble, but he was an amazingly talented singer, songwriter, guitarist and poet.  He let that all go to waste because he couldn't get control of his alcoholism, and then died of withdrawal in a halfway house when I was 22.  When I watch Sherlock Holmes, I'm not expecting to deal with someone like that.  It makes it really hard to root for a protagonist like that when I've dealt with it on my own.

It strikes too close to home for you, literally. I'm surprised you can watch! Some things are just plain not entertaining, IMO, and sometimes I go diving for the power button on my TV remote for that reason. Either they strike too close to home, or they feel too much like I've lain down with the dogs on pupose and am now catching their fleas, or just ugh in some way. Maybe we all need to "vote" with our power buttons more often!

 

I watched the 4.5 min trailer for it yesterday and was left feeling rather meh. I mean, it didn't feel like Sherlock Holmes up-dated in any shape or form, aside from the names. I mean why did they make John a woman? Can Americans not cope with a partnership devoid of potential hot sex? (steady now Johnlockers).

Hello!

I finished watching the first season of Elementary last week because it airs a couple months behind in South America and I didn't care enough to dowload it. I liked it overall. I think the second half of the season was better (meaning more fun) than the first half but the last two episodes ("The Woman" and "Heroine") were CRAP. I hated the way they used the whole Irene/Moriarty story. Terrible.

I think that the main problem in Elementary is the awful writing. It's unfair to compare a 3-episodes-every-2-years series with one that has to deliver 24 episodes a year but Elementary's stories are bad even compared with other procedural shows like Criminal Minds or The Mentalist. I can solve most of the cases so I can't imagine why it takes Sherlock so long to figure out who is the killer/criminal.

Also, for me, the Sherlock Holmes in Elementary is not "the" Sherlock Holmes. I mean, he might be a character inspired in Sherlock Holmes but he certainly isn't ACD's Holmes. Not even an updated version. I don't know if it's the right word but I think JLM's Sherlock is too likable to be the "real" Sherlock Holmes. Besides BC's incarnation I think the closest modern day version of Holmes I can think of is House MD's Gregory House. You may like him on TV but you wouldn't live with him. Not in a million years. 

Despite everything said before, I do like JLM's character (even if he isn't the "real" Sherlock Holmes) and Lucy Liu's Watson. Thumbs up to the show runners for not writing a romantic interest between them. I totally believe their relationship to be purely platonic. Some people think that there is no chemistry between JLM and LL but I disagree. I think there is a lot of chemistry between them (in fact that chemestry is what makes the show watchable) but there isn't sexual tension. 

What I find quite interesting is that loads of Sherlock fans would love to see Sherlock and John romantically involved while every time I read something about Elementary most of the people who post comments don't want a romance between Sherlock and Joan. What do you think?

I only remember a few plot twists in elementary. But honestly, somehow every episode resembles the next. There's a crime, JLM's Holmes has a theory and is certain about that, the police is going to arrest the accused, then Holmes acknowledges he was wrong and comes up with the right solution. At least this was the case in 50% of all episodes in the first series.

josabby wrote:

Swanpride wrote:

I honestly think that there are better shows to occupy me between the seasons of Sherlock. And I honestly would rather rewatch Sherlock or hunt for references in the stories than wasting one minute of my time with Elementary. Currently, I'm rewatching the Basil Rathbone movies for research purposes, and then I'll move on to every acclaimed adaptation I can get my hands on.

Yep. Especially for people who love the BBC show for the character intereaction and chemistry of the entire cast, there are great shows where DVDs can be checked out from libraries or put in Netflix
  Dr. Who (especially David Tennant)
People can add Bones and House are characters loosely Based on Sherlock Holmes with great ensemble casts, Heck the Character of Bones is a Sherlock like woman who goes on logic and pulls of the "nicer" version of the normally cold Sherlock better than Elementary.
I recommend Angel, especially the second season if you like the character interaction on Sherlock.  There's Angel, the brooding vampire with a soul, seekinf redemption, and he's also kind of a dork.  There's the nerdy/uptight Wesley.  The cheerleader/shop girl Cordelia, and the street smart Gunn.  Watching those four interact and react to one another makes for some great comedy and compelling drama.  And they form a strong friendship.
 

Matt Smith is absolutely awesome, too, and series 5 is a great place to if someone doesn't want to go all the way back.  Honestly, I thought series 1 and 2 were awful with a couple of good episodes.  Series 3 and 4 were much better, and Series 5 was easily the best of NuWho.  Series 6 and 7 depend on having watched 5.

Last edited by sj4iy (August 8, 2013 10:12 pm)