Elementary 1x01-1x07

[oyceter]

Hey, I finally watched some TV! FWIW, the only Sherlock Holmes I have ever consumed is the first RDJ movie and The Great Mouse Detective. I.e. every thing I know about Sherlock Holmes I learned through fannish osmosis, and I'm not particularly invested in any reading or version of Holmes and Watson.

The show is a nice balance between the killer-of-the-week procedural mysteries and the ongoing mysteries of Holmes' and Watson's pasts. I am generally not one for mysteries, so the main draw of the show for me is the developing relationship between Holmes and Watson and how it is changing both of them. I rather like how much the show expects you to want to slap Holmes as much as admire him for his deductions, and I'm particularly fond of Lucy Liu's many facial expressions of "I am not impressed."

I'm not sure why Holmes and Watson works better for me than Tony Stark and Pepper Potts. Probably something about Watson not being under Holmes' pay, and the fact that she is clearly the costar of the show, even if she is a bit sidelined a la Scully with Mulder. And hey, Scully primed me very early to like emotionally contained women who raise their eyebrows at their male partners who are frequently behaving in odd ways. As previously mentioned, I want to smack Holmes most of the time, particularly in the episode in which he goes on about how Watson should simply sit there, a receptacle to his insight and wisdom. But so far, most of the times Holmes is a jerk, he is obviously being a jerk and sometimes even gets taken down a peg or two.

The mysteries themselves are good enough on a case-by-case basis, though I can clearly tell when twists (and usually a general direction of the twist) in the case are going to pop up by timing and by how well things are going. There have thankfully been not too many scenes of women being killed and tortured, which is my very low standard for anything involving crime and TV.

The show has also managed to pass the Bechdel test several times, and even between two women of color (!!), but I do wish it were a far more regular thing. I am also wondering how Detective Bell is going to do over the course of the show.

And on a completely random note, I love the opening sequence. (Mouse! Hello! You are almost like a rat!)

In conclusion: I heart Watson.

Comments

[cyprinella]

But so far, most of the times Holmes is a jerk, he is obviously being a jerk and sometimes even gets taken down a peg or two.

and then he apologizes! It's amazing!

[skygiants]

Every time I try to talk about this show I just end up going "BOUNDARIES!" and waving my hands about enthusiastically. Watson sets up boundaries and makes it clear when Holmes is crossing them! IT'S AMAZING.

(Normally I can't maintain interest in procedurals at all, something about them short-circuits my brain, so I don't know why this show is working for me but I'm not going to question it.)

[crossedwires]

Someone on tumblr posted gifs of the similarities between the credits of Elementary and The Great Mouse Detective. hee!

I hope Carrie, Joan's friend, becomes a recurring character! And that they continue to pass the bechdel test. I initially watched the show for Lucy Liu, and was pleasantly surprised that I didn't end up disliking Holmes! And I really like that his genius does not excuse his terrible behaviors. And I'm still amazed that Watson is written as a person and that so far the show hasn't been racist/orientalist towards her. I hope they don't have an orientalist chinatown episode like all procedurals seem obligated to make.

[glass_icarus]

Ooh, yay! I've been hearing many good things about Elementary so now all that's left is to, er, sit down and just watch it. >.>

Also: (Mouse! Hello! You are almost like a rat!) -- I find this entirely too amusing, hee! ♥

[sanguinity]

I'm not quite caught up (soon! soon-soon!) but I've been enjoying it lots, too. I got sucked into Sherlock Holmes fandom this last year via BBC Sherlock, and had very much worried about a female Watson, given the no-boundaries, codependentness of the original canon. ("Oh, but it is worth getting shot/poisoned to know that he cares about me!") I am delighted with what the writers and Liu have done instead. Boundaries are good! And she often calls him on shit that he got away with in canon! And then he looks abashed (eventually), and concedes that she is right! Hahahahaha!

I am also delighted that the writers and Miller have gone with a compassionate Sherlock, one who cares fiercely about the victims, as well as about moral justice. (Somebody is going to get hurt! You must let him stop it!) I swear, I most love the character when he is wigging out about that, and not trying all that hard to pretend that he isn't.

[holyschist]

I rather like how much the show expects you to want to slap Holmes as much as admire him for his deductions, and I'm particularly fond of Lucy Liu's many facial expressions of "I am not impressed."

THIS. And it is sadly rare in Holmes adaptations. I don't think Elementary is more faithful than other adaptations--I think most adaptations tend to pick the elements the creators find most interesting about ACD to build on and flatten out the rest. The Elementary creators happen to have picked the elements I find most interesting and (so far, at least), discarded the infuriating ones.

I also like how a) Sherlock apologizes for being a jerk, and b) sometimes it's sincere effort to change and sometimes it's him being a manipulative jerk, again.

I am hoping there will be some regular female characters down the line, but so far I've been pleasantly surprised by almost everything about the show.

[tigerlily]

Yes! I love how his being a jerk is always recognized as him being a jerk. Although I was annoyed at that part with the actor saying friendship was different in his case and how people didn't understand that. That's always how it is with these aloof jerk male characters, and not with female characters.

I have also never consumed anything but the beginning of Hound of the Baskervilles before this, so everything I know is from fandom. I appreciate the platonic relationship and the building mysteries of both characters. The cases are all right, sometimes more interesting than other times, but I'm not here for that. I'm here for the characters and the moment-by-moment enjoyment of each episode.

I too wish for more women and worry about Detective Bell.