# Anyone still watching Elementary? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [October 22, 2018, 11:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-still-watching-elementary/823365 "2018-10-22T23:54:40Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Typo\_Negative](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/typo_negative/32/484_2.png) [@Typo\_Negative](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Typo_Negative)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2018, 11:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-still-watching-elementary/823365/1 "2018-10-22T23:54:40Z")
Season 6 just dropped on Hulu and I am catching up. But the writing seems to have taken a turn for the worse. Every episode seems far less believable and more focused on the personal lives of Holmes and Watson. Or am I just getting grouchy in my old age? ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2018, 1:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-still-watching-elementary/823365/2 "2018-10-23T01:25:04Z")
The sixth season aired on CBS from April until September of this year. At first, I thought CBS had cancelled the show and was burning off the episodes, because why else would they run a big series like that in the summer. But then CBS OK’ed a seventh season. And since you haven’t finished the sixth season, I’ll avoid spoiling it, except to say that changes are afoot. ---
**Author:** ![Sunny\_Daze](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunny_daze/32/438_2.png) [@Sunny\_Daze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunny_Daze)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2018, 3:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-still-watching-elementary/823365/3 "2018-10-23T03:17:34Z")
The season picks up, and, yes, changes are afoot. I’m looking forward to season 7. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2018, 4:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-still-watching-elementary/823365/4 "2018-10-23T04:29:12Z")
Even though they mixed it up a bit with more personal stories, I didn’t find them distracting or overwhelming, or to ultimately go nowhere (sometimes they introduce a character that clearly was intended to recur and matter, but we barely ever see them again or their story fizzles out). I just enjoy the writing and performances. It’s ridiculous sometimes, but that’s CBS for you (whatever you do, avoid the new FBI show, it will make you angry), and as intimated, this season ended on a tidy-ish conclusion that, now they were renewed after all, will take things in a fresh direction. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2018, 5:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-still-watching-elementary/823365/5 "2018-10-23T05:39:00Z")
Hell yes, I’m still watching. Love _Elementary_. ---
**Author:** ![harmonicamoon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/65b543/32.png) [@harmonicamoon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/harmonicamoon)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2018, 5:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-still-watching-elementary/823365/6 "2018-10-23T05:59:46Z")
Netflix stopped after season five. Bummer! ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2018, 6:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-still-watching-elementary/823365/7 "2018-10-23T06:44:52Z")
I wanted to start this thread, but I thought probably no one cared. I actually disliked the direction the season ender went. Not enough to quit watching, but I wasn’t happy. The ease at which everyone is convinced Joan murdered the guy, and now she can’t come back to the US was annoying. It reminded me of the later Burn Notice, where the show run off the rails after Michael outright murdered his old boss. Everybody had to act stupid for the story arc to continue. When you as a writer do that, maybe it should be a sign it isn’t a good arc. Still, there’s no reason S7 _has_ to be bad. I’m just worried. ---
**Author:** ![muldoonthief](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muldoonthief/32/3188_2.png) [@muldoonthief](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/muldoonthief)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2018, 12:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-still-watching-elementary/823365/8 "2018-10-23T12:12:27Z")
> [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](#): > > I wanted to start this thread, but I thought probably no one cared. > > I actually disliked the direction the season ender went. Not enough to quit watching, but I wasn’t happy. The ease at which everyone is convinced Joan murdered the guy, and now she can’t come back to the US was annoying. > > It reminded me of the later Burn Notice, where the show run off the rails after Michael outright murdered his old boss. Everybody had to act stupid for the story arc to continue. When you as a writer do that, maybe it should be a sign it isn’t a good arc. > > Still, there’s no reason S7 _has_ to be bad. I’m just worried. That isn’t what happened. [spoiler]The FBI is convinced Joan murdered Michael. But Sherlock confessed to it on record, but is being protected by MI6, so _he_ can’t come back to the USA. Joan chose to move to 221A Baker St, but is free to travel back to the USA whenever she likes. And in case it wasn’t obvious - that episode was written to serve as a series finale since it wasn’t known at the time if they’d be renewed. The show runner has said that if he knew there would be another season, he would have handled the Michael situation very differently. And now they’ve got a few dilemmas for next season - how to move the show back to NYC, what’s the relationship going to be between Sherlock/Joan & Capt. Gregson, since they’ve now all conspired to protect a murderer, who is going to replace Marcus, etc.[/spoiler] ---
**Author:** ![Andy\_L](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c67d28/32.png) [@Andy\_L](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Andy_L)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2018, 12:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-still-watching-elementary/823365/9 "2018-10-23T12:45:46Z")
I’m still watching Elementary. I like the way Sherlock is characterized: fiercely loyal to his friends, disgusted by criminals, sometimes rude in pursuit of justice, but aware (and somewhat regretful) that he’s being so. This seems to be a closer match to Doyle’s Holmes than “Sherlock” (the BBC program) manages. ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2018, 2:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-still-watching-elementary/823365/10 "2018-10-23T14:19:10Z")
I’m still watching! I watched the latest season already. I love the show and the characters. One thing that seemed annoying this season is that they would have several twists and turns in an episode, with very interesting schemes that could have led to murder. But ultimately the answer is not related to any of the 7 interesting, quirky leads they followed and sometimes even feels like an afterthought! “Yeah we caught the murderer he’s being interrogated offscreen.” Kind of like they had a bunch of cool ideas for how murders could happen still left in their notebooks, and they rushed to get them all into the show before it ended. I dunno, the mysteries are leaving me a bit cold. Good thing I dig the characters. ---
**Author:** ![Dinsdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/97f17d/32.png) [@Dinsdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2018, 3:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-still-watching-elementary/823365/11 "2018-10-23T15:24:45Z")
I thought I’d posted about this before, but can’t readily find it. Elementary is one of 3 or so drama we record and watch. This past season my wife and I repeatedly commented on our perception that the writing/directing had changed for the worse. One of the eps we thought especially lousy was directed by Lucy Liu, but I did not check to see if I thought her responsible for all of them. An increasing number of eps had the plot developed - not by action - but instead through extended dialogue. Basically, one character would explain what was going on. Sorry I lack the vocabulary to better explain, and cannot cite to specific eps. Joan’s sudden urge to have a kid did not bode well. And yeah - the rush to suspect her of murder was pretty extreme. Add in crazy stuff like the one detective being solicited by the Marshalls’, and the now-regular reliance on the Everyone deus ex machina, and week-to-week we were discussing whether or not we wanted to continue watching. ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2018, 4:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-still-watching-elementary/823365/12 "2018-10-23T16:17:21Z")
> [@muldoonthief](#): > > That isn’t what happened. OK, half right. Joan doesn’t have to stay away, but the FBI still thinks she actually committed the murder, and Sherlock simply took the heat. Not much of an improvement. And ham-handed writing, because only by the weirdest coincidences could she even be suspected. If she’d been seen doing anything at all, she’d have been cleared. And making Gregson’s daughter the actual killer is just assassinating a different character. Two, actually, because gregson lets her get away with it. They’re all corrupt. ---
**Author:** ![Dinsdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/97f17d/32.png) [@Dinsdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2018, 5:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-still-watching-elementary/823365/13 "2018-10-23T17:10:46Z")
> [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](#): > > … Not much of an improvement. And ham-handed writing, because only by the weirdest coincidences could she even be suspected. If she’d been seen doing anything at all, she’d have been cleared. And making Gregson’s daughter the actual killer is just assassinating a different character. Two, actually, because gregson lets her get away with it. They’re all corrupt. Yeah - given their repeated use of digital traces to locate someone or establish their presence, combined with their near constant texting of each other, I found it especially tough to accept that she hadn’t used a traceable electronic device the entire tome. And what the finale says about the Capt is unpalatable. ---
**Author:** ![peedin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peedin/32/14095_2.png) [@peedin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/peedin)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2018, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-still-watching-elementary/823365/14 "2018-10-23T18:21:12Z")
I’m still watching. I kinda forgot it was on since the season was so wonky. Thank goodness for On Demand. I look forward to season 7. ---
**Author:** ![Typo\_Negative](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/typo_negative/32/484_2.png) [@Typo\_Negative](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Typo_Negative)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2018, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-still-watching-elementary/823365/15 "2018-10-23T19:16:28Z")
> [@harmonicamoon](#): > > Netflix stopped after season five. Bummer! Netflix? It’s on Netflix??? ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2018, 8:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-still-watching-elementary/823365/16 "2018-10-23T20:24:40Z")
> [@Dinsdale](#): > > And what the finale says about the Capt is unpalatable. Especially after his confrontation with Sherlock after he almost murdered who he thought was Moriarty. He wasn’t even willing to cut Holmes any slack on that. Plus, that infamous punch to the gut “welcome back!” he gave him. But now, when it’s your own daughter, well, that’s different! ---
**Author:** ![Typo\_Negative](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/typo_negative/32/484_2.png) [@Typo\_Negative](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Typo_Negative)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2018, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-still-watching-elementary/823365/17 "2018-10-26T16:26:40Z")
> [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](#): > > Especially after his confrontation with Sherlock after he almost murdered who he thought was Moriarty. He wasn’t even willing to cut Holmes any slack on that. Plus, that infamous punch to the gut “welcome back!” he gave him. > > But now, when it’s your own daughter, well, that’s different! Just watched that episode. THAT was stupid. It was shown earlier that Hannah was ‘middling’. Meaning she was capable police office but not bright enough to be a detective. She wasn’t smart enough to catch a guy that the entire NYPD and FBI and Sherlock were searching for. And the FBI would think that Watson could hunt down and murder a guy after being released from the hospital with a concussion and 2 broken ribs? And the beatdown that Michael gave her? Watson was way too alert to be snuck up on and way to adept in hand to hand combat to be put down so easily. ---
**Author:** ![Snooooopy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ee7513/32.png) [@Snooooopy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snooooopy)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2018, 7:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-still-watching-elementary/823365/18 "2018-10-30T07:04:49Z")
I still look forward to it. Admittedly, this season was probably the weakest as far as the longer arcs – I found Sherlock’s health issues to be fairly watchable, but Joan’s interest in becoming a mother was kind of annoying and I positively could not give a living shit about Michael. But that’s not a big deal. I watch the show because I like seeing how they solve each week’s case, and they continue to serve up some pretty fun stuff on that front. ---
**Author:** ![Mk\_VII](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Mk\_VII](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mk_VII)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2018, 9:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-still-watching-elementary/823365/19 "2018-10-30T21:58:51Z")
The last episode had a valedictory feel to it (and they reverted to using some fragments of Conan Doyle’s dialog, which seems to have mostly vanished from recent seasons) but it’s hard to credit that even the stupidest FBI agent would believe Joan-with-broken-ribs was the murderer. ---
**Author:** ![Patx2](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/73ab20/32.png) [@Patx2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Patx2)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2018, 12:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-still-watching-elementary/823365/20 "2018-10-31T00:08:50Z")
Yes, still watch, still enjoy, although I could do without the baby thing, but it doesn’t ruin it for me. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-still-watching-elementary/823365.md?page=2)