2905 replies to this topic

[AimingforYoko]

So have you heard of this brand-new, never-been-done-before, never-even-thought-of idea? Sherlock Holmes...in modern times! Huh, huh? And did I tell you it's brand new? And another brand new twist: a female Watson! Lots of UST without any of that yucky Hoyay. Let's see the Brits top this! What's that? Oh, I see. Oh well, at least we're doing more than three eps a year.
Coming this fall, from CBS:

In a modern-day take on Sherlock Holmes, the iconic detective is taking on New York. Just out of rehab, he's been assigned to live with his worst nightmare-sober coach, Dr. Joan Watson. Holmes's unsurpassed skills of deduction and Watson's medical expertise come together to create a dream team for solving the NYPD's most impossible cases.

Ironically, taking The Mentalist's time slot.

Edited by AimingforYoko, May 16, 2012 @ 5:02 PM.

[redshirtx]

Arg. The only reasons I'd watch this are Lucy Liu and Aidan Quinn...and it's still a tough sell. It really does look like The Mentalist with accents and tats.

On the other hand...if there's a Holmes, there has to be a Moriarty (if the series lasts long enough). That might be interesting. Maybe.

[lolishoop]

http://www.youtube.c...player_embedded

Don't know what to think yet.

[Freckles101]

I've never been a fan of Sherlock Holmes stories in any media (whether books, movies, TV shows or whatnot) but the fact that this adaptation made Watson a woman is the hook that's actually got me interested in it. From the preview, it looks pretty good so far, and I'm definitely going to check out at least the first few episodes.

[Cress]

So have you heard of this brand-new, never-been-done-before, never-even-thought-of idea?

I don't think they ever claimed that it's never been thought of before. Even Moffat & Gatiss knew that it was done before, since they talked about the Rathbone movies moving Holmes into the present. It's been done before with a cryogenically frozen Holmes, and it's been done like in the movie Zero Effect, just with different character names. It was also done by Josh Friedman, who had an earlier script in 2000 also called Elementary, that never made it. As Sherlock Holmes says in A Study in Scarlet, "There is nothing new under the sun. It has all been done before."

Anyway, here's a far longer description that I got from Deadline:

ELEMENTARY stars Jonny Lee Miller as detective Sherlock Holmes and Lucy Liu as Dr. Joan Watson in a modern-day drama about a crime-solving duo that cracks the NYPD’s most impossible cases. Following his fall from grace in London and a stint in rehab, eccentric Sherlock escapes to Manhattan where his wealthy father forces him to live with his worst nightmare – a sober companion, Dr. Watson. A successful surgeon until she lost a patient and her license three years ago, Watson views her current job as another opportunity to help people, as well as paying a penance. However, the restless Sherlock is nothing like her previous clients. He informs her that none of her expertise as an addiction specialist applies to him and he’s devised his own post-rehab regimen – resuming his work as a police consultant in New York City. Watson has no choice but to accompany her irascible new charge on his jobs. But Sherlock finds her medical background helpful, and Watson realizes she has a knack for playing investigator. Sherlock’s police contact, Capt. Tobias “Toby” Gregson (Aidan Quinn), knows from previous experience working with Scotland Yard that Sherlock is brilliant at closing cases, and welcomes him as part of the team. With the mischievous Sherlock Holmes now running free in New York solving crimes, it’s simple deduction that he’s going to need someone to keep him grounded, and it’s elementary that it’s a job for Watson. Rob Doherty, Sarah Timberman, Carl Beverly and Michael Cuesta, who directed the pilot, are executive producers for CBS Television Studios.

Edited by Cress, May 17, 2012 @ 1:10 AM.

[these1000hills]

Jonny Lee Miller takes his acting roles very seriously and since he found this worth his time I am going to join him for the ride. p.s. Holmes with Tattoos, even!

Edited by these1000hills, May 17, 2012 @ 12:59 PM.

[Cress]

Yeah I was so surprised by his tattoo and chest hair! So maybe he'll do some fighting like RDJ does in the Guy Ritchie movies. I hope Watson joins in the ass-kicking. We'll see.

I sorta don't like "sober companion" as a job title for Watson, so I hope she drops it soon and just becomes his colleague or friend. And that she'll try to get her license back. I do like the fact that in the trailer, Holmes apologizes to Watson about the car sincerely, and she asks to be let in on the full investigation. So she'll assert herself sometimes, and I hope be an equal partner.

[TheSporkWielder]

I love me some JLM (though not so much Lucy Liu), so I'll probably check this out. It seems like they're going for a different feel than "Sherlock," both with the way the show is done and the characters' personalities (Sherlock doesn't seem quite so sociopathic in this version). I hope they just go the friendship route with Holmes and Watson because I think TV is long overdue for an awesome guy/girl friendship with no sexual tension whatsoever (Like Veronica/Wallace). I'll be interested to see how this goes.

[Cress]

Yes I would love Holmes to have a moral compass in this and not be a sociopath. He can still be arrogant and insensitive to people, without misunderstanding their puny emotions.

[Peace_47]

I thought the trailer looked like many other a well-produced CBS procedural with a quirky lead. I am a little sad that Lucy Liu couldn't have been cast as Sherlock (an idea proffered in the Sherlock - BBC thread awhile back when casting news for this show was making the rounds). I think Lucy Liu is *great* at portraying hard-edged characters and would have liked to see what she could have done with it.

Not sure how I feel about a British Sherlock being transplanted to America. I mean, if you're going to "modernize" because you are setting it in present-day NYC, why retain Sherlock's British-ness at all? And how did he get a work visa? ;-) Special cliffhanger: Sherlock is in danger of being deported!

I hope they just go the friendship route with Holmes and Watson because I think TV is long overdue for an awesome guy/girl friendship with no sexual tension whatsoever (Like Veronica/Wallace). I'll be interested to see how this goes.

One thing I adore about the BBC version is the portrayal of the Holmes/ Watson relationship--a friendship that is a kind of a love story because even though they are very different characters, they are soulmates in all the important ways, and the show takes pains to show how much they need (not just like) each other. It is very nuanced and very touching. Would be game to see that here, but it's a tall order.

After falling madly in love with the BBC version a few months ago, I just started reading the actual stories this week, so I'm far enough down the rabbit hole that I will still definitely check this out.

[Alexandria Bay]

I was really looking forward to this but I loathe Lucy Lui. I expect I'll still watch, since I still watch the Moffat Sherlock. Any version of Sherlock Holmes interests me even after it stops being enjoyable.

[Princess Lucky]

I've watched my share of Sherlock adaptations over the years (including the BBC version) but I'm not a huge fan to be honest, I enjoy it all but I am not invested in the concept emotionally. Basically I'll treat this as another House/The Mentalist procedural, meaning I'll watch it on occasion and I'll drop it when I start finding the protagonist insufferable. With House it took me about 5 seasons, The Mentalist just started getting on my nerves this season, so I guess I can stick around for a while if this is good.

JLM is a dependable lead (though he doesn't wow me) and I adore Lucy Liu, plus I'm glad there's a woman of colour in such a big role. I'm curious to see the dynamic.

I don't know, I think this could be fun but it could also turn out to be too "quirky" and gimmicky which will get old fast. It could go either way. I have very low expectations for the dialogue or the cases of the week, so the performances will make of break it for me. I mean, as same-y and uneventful as The Mentalist often is, Simon Baker always has a certain charm and Lisbon is very unique to me. If this show can offer something like that, I'll give it a shot.

[Actionmage]

I'm just glad it's actually on tape/film. I've crushed on JLM since Hackers and Lucy Liu since X-Files. They look good together, so I'm okay with the leads. I love Aiden Quinn and glad he found a new place to land after Prime Suspect.

As long as the writing's tight, I willing to give it a chance. I just saw Sherlock's 'The Hound of the Baskervilles' and enjoyed that update.

I'm just glad that folks are aiming to make smart tv.

[crowsworks]

Might be good. Maybe they could get Hugh Laurie to play Mycroft. Everyone gets to use their right accents. I love JLM. He's thinned down and he has great eyes.

[hlisy]

I'm glad there is some sanity here and not the "Moffat version is the best ever". While I like the BBC version I'm open to new interpretations especially if they keep the duo as just friends, which only a few shows have managed. Though the NY shtick has run its course-crimes are committed in other cities-I'll watch if only for JLM.

Speaking of other Holmes adaptations, anyone remember a show back in the 1980s where Watsons granddaughter finds a cryogenic frozen Holmes and brings him back to America to help solve crimes? I think she was a lawyer and was named Joan. Diidn't last long but I liked it back in childhood.

Edited by hlisy, May 17, 2012 @ 7:16 PM.

[AimingforYoko]

Jane, actually. It was a MFTVM called The Return of Sherlock Holmes.
Margaret Colin played Jane.

[Trini Girl]

I thought the trailer looked like many other a well-produced CBS procedural with a quirky lead. I am a little sad that Lucy Liu couldn't have been cast as Sherlock (an idea proffered in the Sherlock - BBC thread awhile back when casting news for this show was making the rounds). I think Lucy Liu is *great* at portraying hard-edged characters and would have liked to see what she could have done with it.

Yes; I would be much more interested in this if the actors were reversed and Liu was Sherlock. As it is, I'm pretty much over modern adaptations of Sherlock Holmes.

[hlisy]

Jane, actually. It was a MFTVM called The Return of Sherlock Holmes.
Margaret Colin played Jane.

Thank you!

[halo_pub]

Love Margaret Colin and I think she's actually based in the area if they ever want to cast her for something. She'd be great and it'd be a be a nice shout out to Jane too.

I wasn't wowed by the program sneak peak, which unfortunately felt ho hum to me after all the Sherlock-inspired characters and procedurals of the last decade. (I still miss Gil Grissom on CSI). But I'm not exactly in CBS's typical audience demo anyway. They won't miss me. I do agree, though, that the show would have been really intriguing if the roles had been reversed. Lucy could have been a kickass Sherlock.

Maybe they could get Hugh Laurie to play Mycroft.

Hugh proclaimed last year that he's done with TV acting. And he's been playing his own take on a contemporary Sherlock Holmes for the last 8 years. I suspect he'll want to take a break.

Edited to ask: Does anyone know if the show takes place in Astoria or if the pilot was just filmed there? I thought the show was supposed to be set in Brooklyn, not Queens.

Edited by halo_pub, May 17, 2012 @ 10:26 PM.

[Cress]

I loved the Margaret Colin movie. I wish it had become a TV series.

I've no idea where the pilot was filmed, or where it's set. I did wonder, though, why we don't see much of Aidan Quinn as Captain Gregson in the preview trailer.

[Alexandria Bay]

A few years after the Margaret Colin TV movie, there was another one. I think Deborah Farentino was the modern woman...Checking IMDB, it was called Sherlock Holmes Returns. 1993.

There was a Holmes media revival in the late80s/early90s, although I suppose it really started in the 70s with 7% Solution. There was the movie with Christopher Plummer & James Mason. A TV movie with Roger Moore. Another one with John Hillerman. Moriarty on ST:TBG. The great BBC series with Jeremy Brett. And Young Sherlock Holmes. I think my favorite is still Without a Clue. "Beaten with a blunt ecrement" still sends me into giggles.

More pertinent to this thread and to the Moffat series, there was The Zero Effect, which updated the character (and renamed him) rather than having Holmes a Victorian man thrust into modern times.

[hlisy]

Thanks to YouTube I watched the whole movie last nite. Not bad for the 1980s and no love story between them.

I wonder why they've never made Sherlock a woman? I'd love to see a female twist on Holmes. I know there was that Mary King book series but those books seem like the Mary Sue fanfic genre complete with Holmes falling in love with her.

Have thought about a story based on Mrs. Hudson. Poor dear had bullet holes in her walls. Chemistry experiments, all sort of persons coming into her home and cleaning up after the duo. I think she secretly liked it and was the envy of her friends with all the excitement.

Edited by hlisy, May 18, 2012 @ 6:51 AM.

[Alexandria Bay]

Aside from the thousands of books written in traditional pastiche style--with Holmes as protagonist--and the Laurie R. King books (I do call the character Mary Sue Russell), there's a series with Irene Adler by Carole Nelson Douglas*, a short series of books with Mrs. Hudson as the protagonist, another with Lestrade, another with Moriarty, another with Mycroft, and of course Nero Wolfe.

*Hello, poster Nell Huxleigh!

.

Edited by Alexandria Bay, May 18, 2012 @ 7:57 AM.

[caseylane]

I don't think a US Sherlock Holmes could be anywhere else but New York. Holmes was in London so I can't picture him in a smaller city, and the whole "California scene" would be just totally out of place. Maybe DC, with the political tie in, but NYC just seems a natural.

My only real fear for this version is the will-they-won't-they crap. I'm so tired of that on TV. Someone mentioned they would like Watson to be a lesbian (and someone else mentioned her being promiscuous) and I would love that to pieces. Let Lucy sleep her way around with everyone but Sherlock.

[Trini Girl]

I wonder why they've never made Sherlock a woman?

I swear sometime in the 90s there was a animated series with a girl called Shirley Holmes--I think. That's the only female Holmes I've heard of.

[moose135]

I've never gotten into the Sherlock Holmes thing, and probably wouldn't otherwise give this one a second look, but after watching Lucy Liu in Southland this past season, I'll check this one out. I was always somewhat indifferent to her; I don't know that I've seen much of anything else she had been in, but she really impressed me in SL, so I'll give this a try. And I'll agree that a female Holmes, with LL in the role, would have been intriguing.

Edited by moose135, May 18, 2012 @ 12:27 PM.

[hertolo]

Reading the description on page one of this thread and viewing the preview video, it's still not clear to me what the unique catch is for this show? How is it different from the Mentalist, Castle, Monk, even House or any other of the crime solving shows on TV?

It's got a quirky, mentally unstable (?) male 30-50 years old main character, as do all from the list above.
He will probably (the "I'm sorry about your car" scene above seems to be from prison?) often "bend" the law, but will get away with it, as he's rich ("your dad tasked me to take care of you").
It's set in New York, like Castle, CSI:NY and countless other crime shows.
It's probably got the "will they, won't they" schtick. I'm so tired of that one.
It seems to be a procedural. So there will be 22 more murders in New York this year. Can we please move on to something else than murder?

It's not the comparison with the brilliant Sherlock by BBC I'm dreading here, it's the comparison with any other procedural... I just don't see the unique draw that makes this show interesting. But that's probably not their intent anyways, so I will be watching the pilot I guess and then forget about this series again ;)

Btw. did anyone else find it funny that Lucy Liu in the trailer says something like "I like that they are pushing the envelope, a little". How's it pushing the envelope if you only do it a little? So they only go halfway to somewhere interesting? They "try something creative and daring", but not too far, as the people need the conventional stuff or else they will not tune in? Does everything need to be edgy or to be marketed as edgy even if it really isn't?

And I do agree as well, it would have been much more interesting if LL was Sherlock Holmes.

[Trini Girl]

... what the unique catch is for this show? How is it different from the Mentalist, Castle, Monk, even House or any other of the crime solving shows on TV?

It's a CBS procedural, so it probably isn't.

[FrogsRule]

Yes; I would be much more interested in this if the actors were reversed and Liu was Sherlock. As it is, I'm pretty much over modern adaptations of Sherlock Holmes.

Trini Girl, that was my initial reaction too! A female Watson on network TV is a step in the right direction, but still lagging behind reality.

[hlisy]

I've never gotten into the Sherlock Holmes thing, and probably wouldn't otherwise give this one a second look, but after watching Lucy Liu in Southland this past season, I'll check this one out. I was always somewhat indifferent to her; I don't know that I've seen much of anything else she had been in, but she really impressed me in SL, so I'll give this a try. And I'll agree that a female Holmes, with LL in the role, would have been intriguing.

That would be so awesome I'm thinking the closest I've seen is the female detective on Frobrydelsen, the Norwegian crime drama. Very closed off emotionally.something tells me it would be too radical for CBS.

If nothing else, this will go the way of the Prime Suspect remake. Now that was a truly awful remake of a show that was about its time. Having a female chief detective is not radical anymore and they tried to make Jane Tennyson tough by her quirky clothes and ability to kick a$$. Sigh. Another Aiden Quinn project. But if I get to see JLM shirtless before its cancelled so much the better.