# Elementary: New CBS Sherlock Series \[Season 1 thread\] **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [June 20, 2012, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/elementary-new-cbs-sherlock-series-season-1-thread/625762 "2012-06-20T16:37:05Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![mage-girl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/cc9497/32.png) [@mage-girl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mage-girl)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2012, 2:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/elementary-new-cbs-sherlock-series-season-1-thread/625762/41 "2012-09-28T14:55:58Z")
I got kind of a “House” vibe from it. But then, I believe House was based (loosely) on Sherlock Holmes, so… I do wish the two actors had better chemistry. Not sexual, just–more. It’s kind of pivotal to the overall Sherlock Holmes concept. Maybe it’ll develop with time? Whoever is doing Lucy’s make-up needs to be hit repeatedly with something. She’s an attractive woman, and the make-up seems to be making her look uglier. Maybe that’s the goal? Jonny Lee Miller is not quite my flavor of eye candy. Sigh. He’s not a bad-looking guy, either. He is rather amusing though. ---
**Author:** ![bup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/6bbea6/32.png) [@bup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bup)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2012, 3:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/elementary-new-cbs-sherlock-series-season-1-thread/625762/42 "2012-09-28T15:31:18Z")
I liked it. I haven’t seen the BBC series, which I understand is excellent, so I wasn’t comparing it. The mystery itself wasn’t perfect (neither were Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s, but that’s no excuse), but I like the leads, and the mysteries can improve. ---
**Author:** ![DMark](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@DMark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DMark)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2012, 3:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/elementary-new-cbs-sherlock-series-season-1-thread/625762/43 "2012-09-28T15:56:54Z")
I was one who was skeptical (and even started a thread about it when I first heard of this show way back when) and wasn’t thrilled with the idea of a female Dr. Watson. However, this show has little to do with the (much better) Sherlock series from BBC, and nothing at all to do with the (also much better) Robert Downey Jr.'s film versions. It is more of a “very loosely based upon” concept of Sherlock Holmes. Kind of a Castle/Mentalist/Psych/Monk morph that works OK on its own. I did read a review that claimed they made it abundantly clear in the first episode that there would be no love interest between Holmes and Watson - I didn’t see that. (I assumed Dr. Watson would be an open Lesbian or something.) I hope it is true that they won’t play any love angle between the two of them - that would ruin the story - but so far there is no chemistry between the two of them, so I guess we don’t have to worry about that happening anytime soon at least. I didn’t hate the first episode as I thought I might, and will probably continue to watch. Still, I don’t know why they felt the need to make Dr. Watson a woman. Don’t get me wrong - I really like Lucy Liu - but as long as there is no sexual chemistry between them anyway, what was the point of making Dr. Watson a woman this time? ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2012, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/elementary-new-cbs-sherlock-series-season-1-thread/625762/44 "2012-09-28T16:25:43Z")
> [@DMark](#): > > I didn’t hate the first episode as I thought I might, and will probably continue to watch. Still, I don’t know why they felt the need to make Dr. Watson a woman. Don’t get me wrong - I really like Lucy Liu - but as long as there is no sexual chemistry between them anyway, what was the point of making Dr. Watson a woman this time? Why not? ---
**Author:** ![bup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/6bbea6/32.png) [@bup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bup)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2012, 4:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/elementary-new-cbs-sherlock-series-season-1-thread/625762/45 "2012-09-28T16:31:56Z")
Watson has been a woman in at least one movie before. Maybe they did it to get buzz, or maybe they did it to jumpstart the writers’ brains. ---
**Author:** ![joyfool](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/df788c/32.png) [@joyfool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/joyfool)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2012, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/elementary-new-cbs-sherlock-series-season-1-thread/625762/46 "2012-09-28T16:41:48Z")
I agree that Lucy needs a better makeup job. Sheesh. But overall, I really liked the vibe Johnny Lee Miller pulled off and the concept was interesting. I’ll definitely keep watching. At least until they cancel it. ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2012, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/elementary-new-cbs-sherlock-series-season-1-thread/625762/47 "2012-09-28T16:55:28Z")
> [@faithfool](#): > > I agree that Lucy needs a better makeup job. Sheesh. But overall, I really liked the vibe Johnny Lee Miller pulled off and the concept was interesting. I’ll definitely keep watching. At least until they cancel it. I don’t think they will. They’ve obviously been promoting the hell out of the show, and unlike _Revolution_ – another much-hyped show – it doesn’t blow. It’s got IMHO a different vibe from the BBC series, which in many ways is more tied to canon, albeit in an often-winking way. This has a much looser connection (“I googled it – not everything is deducible”) and clearly they’re not taking the plots directly from Conan Doyle. So, yeah, people who love the BBC series to the exclusion of all other versions are not gonna like it – but for the rest of us, it’s entertaining. And I _do_ think there’s chemistry between the two leads – not sexual chemistry, thank god, but certainly a connection. The scene when Holmes got the woman all pissed off and Watson made him leave, then came out with the info they needed … liked it. Liked it a lot. Not the traditional Holmes-Watson dynamic, but a good basis for some story-telling. ---
**Author:** ![well\_he\_s\_back](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/3ab097/32.png) [@well\_he\_s\_back](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/well_he_s_back)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2012, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/elementary-new-cbs-sherlock-series-season-1-thread/625762/48 "2012-09-28T17:17:14Z")
I’m pleasantly surprised by how well Jonny Lee Miller is in this show. He is a fun actor to watch. ---
**Author:** ![DMark](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@DMark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DMark)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2012, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/elementary-new-cbs-sherlock-series-season-1-thread/625762/49 "2012-09-28T17:17:33Z")
> [@twickster](#): > > Why not? OK, you make your point that there is no reason Watson cannot be a woman, or no reason that Sherlock could not be a black, blind guy with one leg and have a Russian accent. But if you are going to play switcheroo with iconic characters, you would think there might be some compelling reason to do so. Again, I really do like Lucy Liu and have no problems with women being lead characters - really - but I just wonder if there was a reason to do so other than, “…just because…”. ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2012, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/elementary-new-cbs-sherlock-series-season-1-thread/625762/50 "2012-09-28T17:37:18Z")
> [@DMark](#): > > But if you are going to play switcheroo with iconic characters, you would think there might be some compelling reason to do so. As I was trying to indicate, I think it’s part of the “we’re doing a nontraditional version of this” vibe of the whole show. ---
**Author:** ![Missy2U](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/3bc359/32.png) [@Missy2U](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Missy2U)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2012, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/elementary-new-cbs-sherlock-series-season-1-thread/625762/51 "2012-09-28T17:38:32Z")
I really liked it. My Thursday nights are shaping up QUITE nicely! ---
**Author:** ![Infovore](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/infovore/32/420_2.png) [@Infovore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Infovore)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2012, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/elementary-new-cbs-sherlock-series-season-1-thread/625762/52 "2012-09-28T19:46:49Z")
I did not expect to like it, and was pleasantly surprised. I will be watching this one regularly. The only thing I didn’t like was the scene at the beginning when Watson first encountered Holmes. I’m having a little trouble accepting a Sherlock Holmes with that many tattoos (no problems with tattooed folk in general, and I think they look great on some people–just not on Sherlock Holmes), and even more trouble accepting one with saggy pants and his boxers sticking out the top. Once he got dressed, though, I was fine. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![zoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zoid/32/336_2.png) [@zoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zoid)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2012, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/elementary-new-cbs-sherlock-series-season-1-thread/625762/53 "2012-09-28T20:04:47Z")
Sorry, didn’t care for it. I was like house but with crappy acting and, if can be belived, even more contrived plot. ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_R.Mortiss](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tim_r.mortiss/32/142_2.png) [@Tim\_R.Mortiss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_R.Mortiss)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2012, 12:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/elementary-new-cbs-sherlock-series-season-1-thread/625762/54 "2012-09-29T00:31:36Z")
I was not impressed. It was like \*The Finder \*without the likeable characters, or \*Psych \*without the hilarity. In other words, not noticeably better than _The Mentalist_. As for why Watson was made a woman, there’s always the oldest reason in the world: to attract men’s eyeballs. ---
**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:** [September 29, 2012, 1:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/elementary-new-cbs-sherlock-series-season-1-thread/625762/55 "2012-09-29T01:29:45Z")
I liked it enough to give it another go. ---
**Author:** ![LVBoPeep](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/858c86/32.png) [@LVBoPeep](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LVBoPeep)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2012, 3:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/elementary-new-cbs-sherlock-series-season-1-thread/625762/56 "2012-09-29T03:09:19Z")
> [@Typo\_Negative](#): > > I liked it enough to give it another go. Same here although I thought Lucy Liu was a bit flat. ---
**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:** [September 29, 2012, 4:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/elementary-new-cbs-sherlock-series-season-1-thread/625762/57 "2012-09-29T04:30:30Z")
Something about it didn’t quite work for me. It didn’t zing. It didn’t snap. It didn’t **insert unhelpful buzzword here**. I’ll give it a few episodes, as it seems to be a standard procedural in format, and I like those well enough, so it should come together. I really liked _Perception_ from episode 1, but disliked both _Haven_ and _Grimm_ from episode 1, so I am nothing if not inconsistent. ---
**Author:** ![TonySinclair](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/49beb7/32.png) [@TonySinclair](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TonySinclair)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2012, 5:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/elementary-new-cbs-sherlock-series-season-1-thread/625762/58 "2012-09-29T05:09:30Z")
I liked it, but as I was watching I couldn’t stop comparing it to _The Mentalist_. And I can’t help but wonder if, like _The Mentalist_, it will start out with strong shows that have a lot of clever deductions based on minute observations, but as they start having to write more episodes in less time, it will evolve into him just smugly watching the police bumble around for 50 minutes, then he’ll pull something completely out of the blue to solve the case at the end of the show. Also, I thought the premise was unnecessarily stupid. A beautiful young woman agrees to live with a drug addict she’s never even met? Surely they could have gotten them together some other way. Wasn’t that same actress in a movie where she just happened to live down the hall from a guy, and got involved in all his strange adventures? Even that would have been less distracting. I spent half my time wondering what world these people were from. I haven’t watched either _The Finder_ or _Perception_. Are those comparable/better? ---
**Author:** ![TonySinclair](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/49beb7/32.png) [@TonySinclair](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TonySinclair)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2012, 5:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/elementary-new-cbs-sherlock-series-season-1-thread/625762/59 "2012-09-29T05:50:02Z")
> [@TonySinclair](#): > > Wasn’t that same actress in a movie where she just happened to live down the hall from a guy, and got involved in all his strange adventures? I looked her up in IMDB, and the movie I was thinking of was _Lucky Number Slevin_. It was pretty good. I would have sworn I saw it several years earlier than 2006, though. ---
**Author:** ![Edward\_The\_Head](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ce73a5/32.png) [@Edward\_The\_Head](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Edward_The_Head)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2012, 12:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/elementary-new-cbs-sherlock-series-season-1-thread/625762/60 "2012-09-29T12:27:37Z")
I was only meh, about it. It was ok, but it didn’t really feel like Sherlock to me, just some random guy. I’ll watch a few more times to see if it picks up, but I’m not sure how long I’ll stick with it if it continues the same way. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/elementary-new-cbs-sherlock-series-season-1-thread/625762.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/elementary-new-cbs-sherlock-series-season-1-thread/625762.md?page=4)