Elementary

"It's Elementary, my dear Watson."

It's Elementary indeed. Now, we've all heard the name and a majority of us have probably read the stories but not enough of us have had the opportunity to give this show a chance. Returning for its second season this week, Elementary comes back to a television near you. 

Sure, Sherlock has been done before: with Robert Downey Jr., Benedict Cumberbatch, Arthur Wontner, Basil Rathbone and too many more to list. Yet, Jonny Lee Miller brings a whole new level to Holmes that I've yet to see properly developed in any other version before. 

The Story

Elementary puts a new twist on the classic story, in more ways than one. Sherlock is a recovering cocaine addict who has just gotten out of rehab (having already left his infamous job across the pond with Scotland Yard) and is being monitored by a sober companion (hired by his father) who comes to life in one Dr. Joan Watson. Yes, I said Joan.

CBS sets the bar, introducing their version of Holmes's prototypical companion in a very non-traditional way. At first glance, I was immediately put off. I thought, "Watson as a woman? What?" But, I've never been more satisfied to eat my own words.

Joan is every bit a Watson as the many predecessors before her. And in this story, she is someone who falls into the crazy antics that follow Sherlock Holmes while trying keep her job together. It's old meets new, in the borough of Manhattan as Sherlock and Watson strive to work out their differences and maybe solve a few crimes along the way.

The Relationship

I could not be anymore happy with the executive producers (Doherty, Timberman, Beverly, and Coles) and their take on the relationship between Watson and Holmes. For once, someone understands that you can have two different gendered leads, without having any romantic tension between them. 

In all honesty, romance is lazy writing. You want a sappy love story about a guy and a girl, go google it. You'll get thousands of options that will more than likely fill every kink and need in your little black book. 

Romance is such an easy way out, especially for a story with a male and female lead. I'm not saying romance can't be done and shouldn't be done, but if your idea can be googled with over one-thousand search results you need to spice it up. 

Love is a singularity in the grand scheme of events that happen in a person's life. People weep, they laugh, they shout, and they do a lot more than just fall in love. And that's what I love about Elementary (or what I love about what they don't do). They don't take the easy route and pair up their characters, they give them separate yet intertwining plots that develop them as people.

And they respect each other. When Watson tells Sherlock to do something, instead of being pompous and depreciative, he does it. She knows when he's getting out of hand and instead of coming off as the pushy, bossy female, she deals with it with as much grace as she knows. She understand how he works so she understands how to handle him. Likewise, he understands that she is her own individual with her own skill set that deserves to be accepted. She also respects that while he maybe him, he does understand a little bit about humanity. He can see her potential even when she refuses to belief it herself.

And they provide each other with a very interesting balance. No one becomes sub-plot. They are a partnership not a couple.

The Characters

In a show that could have so easily belittled its female lead and forced her into a submissive role, Elementary's Watson comes out guns-a-blazing. She goes toe-to-toe with Sherlock and the fantastic thing is that he recognizes and acknowledges that. He takes her for what she is, an equal who has just as much talent as he does in her own right. 

And where she could've come off as a very two-dimensional prop to boost Sherlock's own woes and sympathies, she explodes into this wonderful character who's snarky, smart, and more than capable of handling herself. She can embrace being a woman without being called out on it. And in no way, does her womanhood become the punchline of any joke. She makes a very blunt and very powerful point to establish that. All the hats off to the writing team for finally having a period joke without it being a period joke. She's not afraid to tell Sherlock he's being a jerk, and he's not too full of himself to ignore that he is being one. It not only calls out the ingrained misogyny of our society but makes for actual good-written humor.

Coming from being a huge fan of the BBC's own version of Sherlock, I had very strong opinions on who Sherlock was and how he acted. And Elementary not only punched that in the gut, but shoved it off a building. Sherlock was not a cold-shouldered, intellectual with no social graces. He was human. And boy is that refreshing to see. In a name so household, Sherlock was always this divine, god-like genius to me.

But that was never realistic. I always thought, a man is a man no matter how much fame is put to his name. So why couldn't Sherlock be what he was? 

Here, we see a man who is not only talented and intellectual but a man who has demons and emotions like us. He's not perfect and he certainly doesn't notice everything. Where BBC had Sherlock come off as a more highbrow outsider, CBS brings him as close to mankind as he could get. He's just the right balance of Downey's eccentric and Cumberbatch's aloofness. 

He's the most relatable Sherlock in the generations of screen adaptions that I've come across. He's lonely, he's quirky, he's eccentric, he's human. And he understands that. He knows what social norms are, and while he may choose to disregard them, he has a very endearing affinity towards humanity and falling into those if that means it will help someone. Yet, he doesn't understand everything and he doesn't have this superhuman power for deducing clues.

Sometimes, he builds a dinosaur out of molecules and falls asleep on the floor. So Watson has to pick up the pieces and continue where Sherlock leaves off. Watson deduces because Watson is just as much as a detective as Sherlock is.

They're two people who've managed to find a friend who makes them whole without taking anything away from their character.

Even the side-characters are strong players in their own ways. You've got the NYPD, who for once are not your brainless, can't solve a thing without Holmes, bumbling bunch of fools. With Captain Gregson and Detective Bell, you've got two characters that not only offer their own respects to Holmes (and Watson's) prowess, but get it in return. They provide such a powerful insight into the workings of Holmes: that he once again acknowledges that he does not know everything and sometimes needs others to point out what he cannot see.

The Writing

Jonny Lee Miller and Lucy Liu take the characters and give them more essence than I've seen done. They click and play off each other in such a powerful way that if the plot doesn't keep you coming back, their banter will.

The story is one of the most organically written things I've had the pleasure to watch in quite a while. My biggest fear when I had finally buckled down and threw myself into this world, was that it would fall into all the cliched stereotypes of modern-day television.

But it doesn't.

Even though the episodes can be slow-paced, the dialogue is incredible: giving us small things, like Sherlock's ringtone for Watson, that speak volumes of words. It's a nice mix of comedy, drama, and sass. It has a sort of wit that is refreshing amongst the slap-stick comedy of our generation. It's realistic and definitive of who these characters are, and what they've become.

Even on the more serious topics, the writing exceeds expectations. We don't really ever forget about Joan's troubled past, nor do we forget Sherlock's. His drug addiction is never put to the side (as it wouldn't in real life). It comes back to him at the worst moments and it haunts him at his best. It's something that brings him crashing down to earth and keeps him grounded.

Even Watson gets her own story, to herself, that deals with the very real side effects of being in a position where someone's life is on the line. She shows us that good people can mess up, but it doesn't make them bad. Wherever you stand, Watson has her own ghosts that creep up in the most unexpected places. Yet, through the help of each other they deal with it. Their words, their actions, their unmitigated respect for each other pulls them through.

The Look

Artistically, Elementary is a visual banquet. From the clothing department to the dusty old apartments, I have to give a shout-out to everyone who has put their all into creating this entrancing world. It really pulls us into this universe and takes us along with this iconic duo as they try and make their way through a very complicated life.

Even the camerawork on this show is not something to be overlooked. It really adds character to the scenes and puts us right into the moments of action. It's one of my favorite television openings because it's so simple yet it takes notes from other title sequences, and puts its together in something that really sets the mood of the entire series.

It really drives home the point of the show and the legacy of its characters: that it's about a crime-solving duo out to navigate a complicated and complex world full of many twists and turns.

The Diversity

It has a wonderful cast of individuals (Watson, Detective Bell, Ms. Hudson), that represent so many forms and tropes of life and really set the stage that the world is (not surprisingly) diverse. Where you can have an Asian woman, an African-American detective, even a transgendered woman without any of that defining their characters or their arcs.

You could argue that the show is trying "too hard" to be inclusive with its characters and its plots, but then I'd like to see your definition of the world. It is not full of one person: there are powerful woman, vulnerable men, people of color, people of different identities, people who are addicted, people who kill, and people who try their best to prevent that.

If your main complaint with Elementary is that it's not the Sherlock you've grown up with, then go watch the one you've grown up with. This doesn't owe you any semblance of familiarity or orthodox. It sets a new standard, one that I hope future producers and studios will pick up on.

My Point

If there was any show that I'd wholeheartedly encourage you to catch up on, and jump into, it's this one. It'll make you laugh, think, and surprise you in the most unexpected ways. Even without its iconic foundation, Elementary is a strong example of ingenuity in a seemingly endless ocean of stereotypical and flat television.