Re: Elementary pilot
Here's the thing. Elementary is all right for what it is: a crime procedural. But it's not Sherlock Holmes.
I don't say this because of Lucy Liu. She's the best part about the show. Anyone who thinks she can't play a badass investigator needs to pull their head out of their ass. I say this because the characters who in this show are called Holmes and Watson are almost entirely unlike the original Holmes and Watson. That's not to say that adaptations can't change things about characters, including race, gender, and characterization. But there are some fundamentals that should not be changed.
First off, Watson is an army doctor, not a failed surgeon! Surgeons can't get fired because one patient dies on the operating table. Not all surgery is successful and unless the surgeon shows gross negligence they won't get fired. But more importantly, it changes Watson's characterization entirely. Watson is confident in his skills as a doctor. He served his country as an army doctor and he was damn good at it. Furthermore, he misses the action of the front lines. This is subtext in ACD canon, but it's there. You have to be a bit mad to run with Sherlock Holmes, and that's Watson's madness. He craves excitement and danger. I don't see why that should change if Watson is a woman of color. How much more badass would it have been if Lucy Liu's Watson were an invalided army doctor? American women are allowed to serve as army doctors. This would be great backstory, much better than the one we got in Elementary.
The other thing we lose with the setup of Elementary - Watson working as Holmes' minder because she lost her job as a surgeon - is that Holmes chose Watson. He met Watson at Bart's, deduced him, and was intrigued enough by him to ask if he wanted to live at Baker Street. Instead, Watson was forced on Holmes. In Elementary he comes around to Watson, but I much prefer that they come together by choice than by circumstance.
So there are flaws in Watson's backstory, but Lucy Liu does a good job bringing her to life as the character that she is. Jonny Lee Miller, though, is a substandard actor and his characterization as Holmes is just bad.
All the stuff about him sleeping with random women because of his ~history~ with a woman back in England was just bleh to me. As far as I'm concerned, Holmes is asexual. More importantly, even if he had some kind of history with a woman who broke his heart and blah blah blah, I can't see Holmes using one night stands as a coping mechanism. He would probably just forswear all the trouble of romance and sexuality and move on. In canon, Holmes really doesn't have time for people who aren't Watson.
Another irritating point of characterization: Jonny Lee Miller's Holmes doesn't take the proper macabre joy in investigating crimes. When he finds the dead woman in the safe room, he says, "Sometimes I hate it when I'm right." The Holmes I know would say, "Fascinating!" and immediately start inspecting the corpse. Worse, Watson gave a little gasp and looked away. Watson has seen gore and death before. Watson is still dismayed to see dead bodies in canon, but he isn't afraid of them. He examines them as a good army doctor can be expected to do. And Sherlock Holmes, of all people, should see dead bodies as evidence above all, not a gory mess that once used to live and breathe.
All of the characterization concerns aside, Elementary is just fine as a standard TV crime procedural. I can imagine coming home after a long day of work, lounging around with a friend in the living room and drinking beer with this playing on the TV. The back-and-forth between Miller and Liu is entertaining enough.
Elementary fans are right: Sherlock has lots of problems with race, gender, and class. I mean, seriously, when a 21st century adaptation doesn't improve on the Orientalism of a Victorian-era story, you know there's a problem. But it's much better written, and more importantly, it portrays Holmes and Watson in the true spirit of how Arthur Conan Doyle wrote them, while still making them fresh for the 21st century.
I don't say this because of Lucy Liu. She's the best part about the show. Anyone who thinks she can't play a badass investigator needs to pull their head out of their ass. I say this because the characters who in this show are called Holmes and Watson are almost entirely unlike the original Holmes and Watson. That's not to say that adaptations can't change things about characters, including race, gender, and characterization. But there are some fundamentals that should not be changed.
First off, Watson is an army doctor, not a failed surgeon! Surgeons can't get fired because one patient dies on the operating table. Not all surgery is successful and unless the surgeon shows gross negligence they won't get fired. But more importantly, it changes Watson's characterization entirely. Watson is confident in his skills as a doctor. He served his country as an army doctor and he was damn good at it. Furthermore, he misses the action of the front lines. This is subtext in ACD canon, but it's there. You have to be a bit mad to run with Sherlock Holmes, and that's Watson's madness. He craves excitement and danger. I don't see why that should change if Watson is a woman of color. How much more badass would it have been if Lucy Liu's Watson were an invalided army doctor? American women are allowed to serve as army doctors. This would be great backstory, much better than the one we got in Elementary.
The other thing we lose with the setup of Elementary - Watson working as Holmes' minder because she lost her job as a surgeon - is that Holmes chose Watson. He met Watson at Bart's, deduced him, and was intrigued enough by him to ask if he wanted to live at Baker Street. Instead, Watson was forced on Holmes. In Elementary he comes around to Watson, but I much prefer that they come together by choice than by circumstance.
So there are flaws in Watson's backstory, but Lucy Liu does a good job bringing her to life as the character that she is. Jonny Lee Miller, though, is a substandard actor and his characterization as Holmes is just bad.
All the stuff about him sleeping with random women because of his ~history~ with a woman back in England was just bleh to me. As far as I'm concerned, Holmes is asexual. More importantly, even if he had some kind of history with a woman who broke his heart and blah blah blah, I can't see Holmes using one night stands as a coping mechanism. He would probably just forswear all the trouble of romance and sexuality and move on. In canon, Holmes really doesn't have time for people who aren't Watson.
Another irritating point of characterization: Jonny Lee Miller's Holmes doesn't take the proper macabre joy in investigating crimes. When he finds the dead woman in the safe room, he says, "Sometimes I hate it when I'm right." The Holmes I know would say, "Fascinating!" and immediately start inspecting the corpse. Worse, Watson gave a little gasp and looked away. Watson has seen gore and death before. Watson is still dismayed to see dead bodies in canon, but he isn't afraid of them. He examines them as a good army doctor can be expected to do. And Sherlock Holmes, of all people, should see dead bodies as evidence above all, not a gory mess that once used to live and breathe.
All of the characterization concerns aside, Elementary is just fine as a standard TV crime procedural. I can imagine coming home after a long day of work, lounging around with a friend in the living room and drinking beer with this playing on the TV. The back-and-forth between Miller and Liu is entertaining enough.
Elementary fans are right: Sherlock has lots of problems with race, gender, and class. I mean, seriously, when a 21st century adaptation doesn't improve on the Orientalism of a Victorian-era story, you know there's a problem. But it's much better written, and more importantly, it portrays Holmes and Watson in the true spirit of how Arthur Conan Doyle wrote them, while still making them fresh for the 21st century.