Sherlock v Elementary

In the past, I have posted reviews of the BBC show Sherlock and the CBS american Sherlock Holmes adaptation, Elementary, all based on Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's original works. Recently we have been re-watching (mainlining one episode a night of) Sherlock with our daughter (who I think is a Benedict Cumberbatch fan) and the differences between the two versions of the Sherlock Holmes/Watson stories have been interesting to note. Therefore, I give you this set of ramblings about what makes the two shows so intriguingly different.

For those who don't know, Sherlock, starts with Dr. John Watson dealing with his experiences as a doctor in military service when he decides to share a flat with Sherlock Holmes. Watson is then pulled into Sherlock's job as the world's only consulting detective. The show is presented in three ~90 minute episodes per season. Elementary, on the other hand, begins with Dr. Joan Watson becoming the live-in sobriety companion for Sherlock Holmes, a brilliant recovering addict, who consults with the NYC police department. Elementary is presented in the standard american police procedural/crime drama format of 22 episodes a season each ~44 minutes in length.

To get the easy comparisons out of the way, Dr. Watson, is obviously different in each adaptation due to the gender chosen, but their differences go much deeper. In Sherlock, John is a man with a military past and is solid, dependable and able to deal with the physical aspects of being Sherlock Holmes' partner in crime-solving. John is also more of a chronicler of Sherlock's cases through his blog whereas Joan is more of a cerebral partner to Sherlock in the American version. Joan, over the course of the series begins to train almost as Sherlock's protege, becoming a bit of a detective in her own right. That isn't to say that John doesn't also show insight and deductive skills, but his relationship with Sherlock is more as a suffering friend, conscience and chronicler than companion and trainee.

Sherlock himself is also different in many ways. The BBC Sherlock Holmes seems to be a younger Holmes. He is still making his name and beginning to deal with the notoriety that comes from his skill and capabilities. The CBS Sherlock seems older, weathered, he has a past and demons that he is dealing with. We are told but very rarely shown that the CBS Sherlock we find is after his days supporting Scotland Yard and Detective Inspector Lestrade. Both Sherlocks have keen deductive minds and we see both training their minds and bodies on numerous topics. Both have minds that store in numerous facts that they can access as needed. Another interesting difference is how that capability is shown in the two shows. For the BBC Sherlock, we get to see how his mind operates through the use of on-screen text and cutting edits in the video helping us "see" what he is picking up from his observations. The CBS version does similar things but less overtly. Given the longer format of the BBC episodes you are also given more explanation in some instances on how Sherlock comes to his conclusions.

Both shows also have different takes on the other classic characters of the show such as Holmes' brother Mycroft, Irene Adler and, of course, Moriarty. My wife and I both think that the CBS version's take on Adler and Moriarty is more novel and possibly more interesting, however, Andrew Scott's portrayal of the uber-villian is outstanding. Even Detective Inspector Lestrade is quite different between the shows and interesting in both cases. Finally, there is the format of the show itself. By having longer run episodes, Steven Moffat and Mark Gatiss and team are able to craft more dense and intricate stories for the BBC show than you see with the American one. However, you may get slightly less on-screen evolution of the characters. The CBS show seems to be more linear in its timeline with less gaps than are seen on BBC.

If you like crime dramas or layered mysteries or a good police procedural, you can't go wrong with either show. The BBC show is available on-demand through Netflix and is fantastic story-telling. The CBS show is about to return for its third season and we have already purchased our season pass off iTunes to ensure it is available to us (without commercials) the day after it airs. Same characters, same pairing of Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson, very different takes and characterization. Watch both and enjoy.

Sherlock Series 3 Review

I am a fan of Sherlock Holmes. I haven't read many of the Sir Arthur Conan Doyle books and stories, but I really enjoy seeing Holmes and Watson on TV. This year we have been doubly blessed at our house with Elementary season 2 and Series 3 of the BBC's Sherlock. Having just seen all 3 episodes via the PBS app on my Apple TV, I thought it would be a good idea to bring the show to your attention (if you didn't already know about it) so that you can catch it before it drops off the on-demand viewing from PBS.

Sherlock, a wildly popular show, began before Elementary started in the US. While both shows depict detective Sherlock Holmes and partner Dr. Watson helping the police to solve crimes, they couldn't be more different in their approach. In Sherlock series 1, we find Sherlock Holmes living at 221B Baker Street in London and in the first episode he meets former Army doctor, John Watson, who is suffering from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. Together they form a partner ship and use their talents to solve crimes and cases for the police and their clients. Holmes is played superbly by Benedict Cumberbatch as an energetic, enigmatic and incredibly observant/intelligent detective. Dr. Watson (Martin Freeman), who while playing more of an every man to Holmes' brilliance, holds his own with the detective without having the same memory and observation skills. The two work well on screen and make a believable pair.

Unlike Elementary, most of the episodes of Sherlock is directly and/or loosely based on one of the original Sherlock Holmes stories. For example in Series 2 (my review here) we get adaptations of The Hound of the Baskervilles and The Final Problem. Sherlock is aired as 3 episodes each series, each one approximately 90 minutes long. The result is more time to present stories that are more complicated, often with two or three plot lines, seemingly disjointed, that intersect or collide in complex ways. I also really enjoy the way we get to see things from Holmes' perspective with text floating into view of the insights he gathers from just looking at a room.

Series 3 consists of the stories The Empty Hearse, The Sign of Three and His Last Vow. Throughout the show, Holmes describes himself as a functioning Sociopath and we get to explore this in these episodes. Holmes thinks nothing of using people and manipulating situations into the position he needs to overcome the obstacles in front of him. It is interesting that as we are introduced to Mary (future Mrs. Watson played by Amanda Abbington) who is able to hold her own with Holmes and Watson. Often in Sherlock Holmes productions Mrs. Watson is a background character or suffers the boys to go off to play together at detective work. Here we have a woman who seems to know that the two need and are good for each other. Other favorite characters from Series 1 and 2 are back as well with Mycroft Holmes (who seems to be the smarter brother), Molly Hooper, Mrs. Hudson and DI Lestrade all involved. Plus we get to explore Holmes' mind palace quite a bit (his memory technique).

Some viewers thought that Series 3 catered to fans a little heavily with shout-outs and references to fan theories. While some of that is there, it doesn't detract from the stories and lessen the show. I found episodes 2 and 3 to be especially good. Particularly His Last Vow, which modernizes and interweaves a couple of the original Holmes stories into a believable and timely story that will make you think they took the story direct from headlines today.

If you like complicated mysteries and are okay with strange camera angles and disjointed storytelling, then this show is fantastic and a must see. It is the best Sherlock Holmes going, which is saying a lot because Elementary is very good. However, Sherlock is more of a movie event except we get 3 movies each series. The show will be back for at least a Series 4, which is great for fans. You can find Series 1 and 2 on-demand through Netflix (and probably others) and Series 3 is available for a limited time through PBS here in the US. Set aside 13.5 hours over a weekend and mainline these shows right into your brain. The only downside will be having to wait for more episodes. Sherlock (and series 3) gets 5 Mick Happies. The game is on (afoot).