Elementary Series Premiere Review

Director:

Michael Cuesta

Writer:

Rob Doherty

Cast:

Jonny Lee Miller as Sherlock Holmes

Lucy Liu as Dr. Joan Watson.

Aidan Quinn as Captain Tobias Gregson

Review:

Sherlock in modern times… Wait a minute.. Haven’t I already seen something like this?

Sherlock Holmes in modern times isn’t a new concept.. The great Steven Moffat and Mark Gatiss have already used it in their BBC series ‘Sherlock’. Two major differences in this is that, this is in America and Watson is a woman. I was apprehensive of changing the gender of Watson and thus destroying the essential Holmes/Watson Bromance that I look forward to in any Sherlock story. After sometime I was quite excited to see how Elementary actually is. How were they going to explain Sherlock in New York? What will happen between Holmes and Watson? These were few of the questions in my mind before. I really wanted them answered.

The episode started like any other crime and police procedural drama by showing us a woman being killed. Then we meet Joan played by Lucy Liu and Sherlock played by Johnny Lee Miller. She is his sober companion sent by his father. Sherlock being Sherlock figures out that she was a surgeon. Then we meet Captain Tobias Gregson, Elementary’s Lestrade (though he is a minor character in the Conan Doyle’s series). They get into the case and Sherlock uses his deduction skills to find out that something was missing from the house and found the body and found out that she allowed the killer into the house and gave him some water. He just goes on figuring out stuff in the episode and we just have to keep wondering who the killer is. When we think that this man is the killer, he goes and finds another man who might be the killer and then another and then we return to the first man who is that actual killer.

Frankly I wasn’t very impressed by this episode. This episode had no reference to the books or anything. The BBC Sherlock was filled with nods to Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s works. The story in this episode was quite weak. The chemistry between Holmes and Watson was different. I can’t explain what’s happening or what going to happen between them. As I mentioned before the essential Bromance is missing. Joan is a good companion (though one would have thought of her to be more of a firefly companion, but she is more like a Doctor Who companion), she gets into the business of being Holmes’ partner pretty fast and is an efficient one. She helps him and she also shows ger dedication to her job.

As I mentioned before the story was weak. For a pilot, which is quite important to make the show work and people to like it, it was disappointing. On the bright side, the acting was good. Johnny Lee Miller’s Sherlock is good but, it is no where near Benedict Cumberpatch’s or even Robert Downey’s. Lucy Liu’s Dr. Joan Watson is also pretty good, but I am missing the bromance. Aidan Quinn’s Gregson was amazing; his performance was one of the high points of the episode. There were some funny lines in this episode one of them was “My barrister was rubbish”. Elementary’s cast outclasses its script..

Though this episode isn’t as much of a disaster as I had initially expected it to be. It was fun to see Miller’s Holmes, Liu’s Watson and Quinn’s Gregson, but neither is it worth watching. In a world where Moffat’s Sherlock didn’t exist, this would have been better. But thank god we don’t live in such a world.

Nevertheless I will continue watching this series to see where it goes.

Final Verdict:

4/10

Book Review: The Sherlockian

“The Old centuries had, and have, powers of their own which mere modernity cannot kill”

                                                     – Bram Stoker ‘Dracula’

Author:

Graham Moore

Publishers:

Twelve Books

Published on:

November 21st 2011

Story:

In December 1893- Sherlock Holmes-adoring Londoners eagerly opened their Strand magazines, anticipating the detective’s next adventure, only to find the unthinkable: his creator, Arthur Conan Doyle, had killed their hero off. London spiraled into mourning — crowds sported black armbands in grief — and railed against Conan Doyle as his assassin.
Then in 1901, just as abruptly as Conan Doyle had “murdered” Holmes in “The Final Problem,” he resurrected him. Though the writer kept detailed diaries of his days and work, Conan Doyle never explained this sudden change of heart. After his death, one of his journals from the interim period was discovered to be missing, and in the decades since, has never been found.
In January 2010- When literary researcher Harold White is inducted into the preeminent Sherlock Holmes enthusiast society, The Baker Street Irregulars, he never imagines he’s about to be thrust onto the hunt for the holy grail of Holmes-ophiles: the missing diary. But when the world’s leading Doylean scholar is found murdered in his hotel room, it is Harold – using wisdom and methods gleaned from countless detective stories – who takes up the search, both for the diary and for the killer.

Review:

The Sherlockain, has parallel stories of Harold White and the famous and ever so AWESOME Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. The concept was interesting and the book had an engaging plot. This book is such a rare one. It’s one of those types where on reading the first line itself, you get to know how awesome it will be. The first lines of this book are so amazing and so awesome.

The first lines are-

‘ Arthur Conan Doyle curled his brow tightly and thought only of murder. 

“I’m going to kill him, ” Conan Doyle said…’

If my quoting didn’t convince you that this book is awesome, maybe my review would.

The author had developed such an amazing story with one of the greatest mystery writers. Two parallel mysteries take place in the book- one of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and the second of Harold White. Their reason for investigating is also closely related to Sherlock Holmes. Arthur being the creator of SH, would know more about detection. But Harold White, having read all of Sherlock’s mysteries and can quote every single line of it and id a proud member of The Sherlockian, thinks that he too can solve the case using the detective skills of his idol Sherlock Holmes. The story is wonderfully written and the plot is engaging. The story is such that, you’d not want to put the book down. It was hard for me to put the book down while reading it.

The author added a nice touch by giving quotes form the Sherlock books at the start of each chapter. My favorite form that was “Crime is common. Logic is rare.” The ending was stunning and the mystery it self is unique (I don’t want to reveal much of it in this review). The way Harold and Arthur solve their cases was awesome! This is a must read for those hard-core Sherlock Fans and also for those who love Mystery.

Final Verdict:

8/10