Elementary My Dear Watson

I struggled this week, coming up with something witty and interesting to write about, I'll be honest.

I suppose I'll start with, I began looking at Sherlock how we did Romeo & Juliet. What do we keep and what do we leave out to create a story based on Sherlock.

The primary things I've noticed now, after watching the episode of Elementary this week, is that the story is much more Sherlock when some form of abuse is included. Which I suppose makes Sherlock a big PG-13, but every version of Sherlock we've seen to date incorporates an element of substance abuse. Another thing is that Sherlock must be an abrasive arse for him to come across as himself. If he's not abrasive, it doesn't seem to work as well. It's self-explanatory that there must be a mystery to solve, and every great Sherlock must have a Watson of some sort.

Then I started thinking about which of these are fanfictions, which are parodies, and which are interpretations. I personally feel like every Sherlock we've watched or talked about has come off quite a lot like a fanfiction. Every story takes elements that the director or writer wants, and adds it in. Elementary is a cross between a fanfiction and an interpretation, and Robert Downey Jr.'s Sherlock movies are pretty much a straight fanfiction to me. BBC's Sherlock, though, has me debating. It's definitely part fanfiction, it deviates enough to have its own identity, but maintains the stories, which I suppose makes it an interpretation. I find that it leaves me with a bit of a sour taste in my mouth after an episode, though.

Now I'm wondering what else to think about, what else to talk about.

In London, when these stories were being published, I think I would have been one of the people walking about with a black armband after Sherlock was "killed". If his adventures were my form of stress relief, to have that taken away so abruptly would be a pretty big mood-killer. I empathize with them, as not only was Sherlock entertainment, but he was relatable, and an idol to most of his readers.

As we just watched Elementary though...

I LOVE this Watson. She is smart, and easily a good role model for girls. She has heart, a career, and she has flaws. Plenty of stories never go into the flaws, but we are only watching the second episode and we find out she left her career as a successful surgeon after a mishap with a patient. Dun dun dun... I honestly am considering getting the rest of the seasons to binge watch because I enjoyed it so much.

Elementary Indeed.

First, let me begin this post by stating how awesome this series is. I think this show does a very good job at illustrating Holmes’s personality. In fact, I find that in this episode, the directors portray Holmes as a canny, and immature individual. For instance, when Dr. Watson wanted to encourage him to play the violin, he had a smart remark, but when she answered the phone, he immediately grabbed the instrument. With that being said, Holmes’s display of character leads me to believe that he might have some jealousy.

            One thing that I always remember is that jealousy is very dangerous. In fact, when it gets out of hand, it can give root to pride. Once someone has pride, it is difficult for them to reason with other individuals. Based on this episode, I believe that Holmes has a lot of pride. For some reason, it seems as though he is always searching for inconsistencies in someone’s’ claim or finding. You guys are probably wondering, well isn’t that what a detective is supposed to do? Well yes, but no. For instance in the hospital scene. He had a hard time believing that the girl was in a coma. In fact, he was screaming in her face as a test. But I guess he was onto something if he was right about the fake coma! However, I will say that Holmes has a very good sense of humor and is not afraid to do anything. I think my favorite scene was when Dr. Watson’s “date” showed up and Holmes said “Hey nice to meet you, I have heard so little about you.” That was a pretty bold move, and he did it with such wit and confidence. On the other hand, it is kind of displeasing to view how his temper can go from 0-100.Or maybe he has a dominant personality.

            His character was very annoying during the drug addict scene because it is a serious social issue but he was basically making a mockery and lacked sympathy. (A.K.A a common symptom of a sociopath.) Although he has a strange character, he is very good at figuring things out. I think that he just needs to be able to handle his emotions and obey conducts and ethical laws that investigators are required to follow. However, I need to remember that this is just a show and Holmes is a fictional character. Even though his personality is “odd”, if his role was removed, it would not be the same. Dear Holmes, you may be a pain, but I cannot hate you. Thanks for being entertaining!

The New World Sherlock

From looking at the assignment, I didn’t think that I was going to like the show. I thought it was going to be just like the book, boring. Overall, I felt that Elementary was very enjoyable and kept the watcher engaged. I think that the show accurately captured the essence of who Sherlock Holmes was with a few added things that were not needed. I think that reading the Sherlock Holmes stories weren’t as interesting, but watching the show made everything come for circle, at least for me. I don’t see myself personally reading the Holmes stories, but the show is so intriguing that I would watch it on my own time. Watching is a lot easier to understand Sherlock then reading.

The actor playing Sherlock portrayed him so well that I think they hit all of the major points needed except one. Holmes was a drug addict who used well reasoning and deduction to solve crimes, and who can throw away things that he’s learned in a moment’s notice however, I felt that the Snarky comments that were in the stories from Holmes were none existent in the show. His addict past made him seem more human instead of a superhero crime fighting invincible badass. His addiction made him more relatable.

No adaptation of a story is supposed to be exactly the same, so I liked that Holmes’ sidekick best friend was a girl. This was made for modern day viewers so, you can’t expect everything to stay the same. However, Holmes only had a sidekick because she was forced to be around. Because the show wasn’t from her point of view on Holmes it made the story better.

Holmes is supposed to be on his own and be self-reliant, but instead it as though he is on the police force working side by side as a police detective. To me, he might as well be a police officer. What didn’t make sense to me was, why would the police force enlist a drug addict to work with them? Do the not do background checks? Holmes was way to easily accepted. In society, I think that drug addicts are the outcasts or pariahs. But one thing that doesn’t make sense about all the Holmes stories period is that drugs destroy brain chemicals that you can never get back. So why would a drug addict be so good at solving crimes?

Sherlock Elementary

     I think Elementary is a pretty neat show based off the episodes I was watching. I really liked how they tried to change it up a little bit from the original Sherlock Holmes stories like having Dr. Watson being a woman (which was questionable to me at first) and how Holmes is a recovering addict. I honestly think the Watson character in Elementary brings more to the table than Dr. Watson in the Original stories. I think she is brilliant and helps Sherlock more than in the book. I really like the thought of Sherlock not being so perfect. It's cool to know that he has a dark past behind him that might change his way of doing or figuring out things. Although Sherlock Holmes being more mysterious and unknown in the books, it is much more enjoyable of an experience having some source of background information on him than not knowing too much at all in the books.

     Something from Elementary that brought me back to the books was the thrill I had watching Sherlock solve these insane mysteries. While reading the books, I would usually be bored to death until Holmes would explain how he solved his mystery but watching the show I felt truly engaged to every mystery the entire time. I could honestly see myself watching this show regularly since it's so exciting.

It's Elementary My Dear Watson

I wasn't sure how I would feel about this show but I was pleasantly surprised. I really enjoyed this episode and would love to actually watch the rest of the show. I really enjoyed that they kept Holmes' character very close to how he was in the stories. In the beginning of the episode he pretty much quoted the part about not taking in knowledge that is unnecessary, the episode also included his ability to play violin. His character still pretty much acts like an ass, but its only because people don't follow how his mind works and think they know more than him when they really don't.

It was also very interesting to see Watson played by a woman. I really enjoyed it and think that it is a good adaptation. Although, Watson's character was not the same as in the stories. Instead of being a sidekick, Watson is his "companion" because Holmes is in rehab from his addiction. The show is also building up to create more of a backstory for Watson. In the stories, Watson does not have all that much of a backstory.

In a way, Holmes being a recovering addict puts him in a bad light. It almost takes away from his brilliance because the idea of his addiction and need to be in rehab makes him seem incapable and untrustworthy. He seems to jump to conclusions and does not take as much time to think through his plans. Especially when he runs up and begins accusing the sister and actually ends up being wrong about it at first. I guess it was done this way to keep anticipation. If Holmes just solved it right away and then created a plan to catch the villain like in the stories, the viewers may get bored. Instead they create scenarios where Holmes’ first guess is incorrect and then once he finds more evidence, then he solves the crime and catches the villain.

Another issue that I have with the show is that in class we discussed how the original audience loved the stories because Holmes was a nobody who was self-taught and created his reputation on his own. In the episode of Elementary that we watched, he works for/assist the police. I know Holmes did this in a few of his stories but the way the show was filmed I felt like it portrayed him as being more involved with the police department, since they called him to help with the case. It is like every other crime solving television show. They could have made it a more unique show if they stuck to the original stories a little closer.

The appeal to Sherlock Homes

Before this class, I had some experience with Sherlock Homes. I never read the books before this class, but I have heard of Sherlock Homes and seen an animated movie based on Sherlock Homes theme. That movie is called Basil of Barker Street. Now looking back, I do notice a lot of similarities between this movie and what I have read so far. Baker Street is the same resistance of Sherlock Homes and had talents for science of investigation and disguise. The characters were all mice except for villains which were a bat (Fidget /Rattigan’s agent) and the rat (Professor Rattigan/ Professor Moriarty). Sherlock Homes character of the movie was Basil and his new friend Dr. Dawson who in this case is like Watson. It was one of my favorite movies as a kid.

As I grew up I experienced similar mystery movies like the Scooby-Doo cartoon movies, TV series Sleepy Hollow and Grimm, which is a mystery and supernatural themed. In all three, it involved a group of individuals rather than just two partners, the goal was the same, to find solve the mystery of the unknown truth. I guess that is what make any good mystery story appealing to the audience, including me. On a funny note, there was very similar aspects of Sherlock Homes in a comedy and adventure movie called Shanghai Knights with Jackie Chan and Owen Wilson. I think you’ll find this video clip both funny and interesting. I couldn't find it on the search to post it here, but if you like to see it, it is called Shanghai Knights - A Tribute to Sherlock Holmes on youtube. 

After reading the Sherlock Homes stories, I have a new appreciation of the imagination that goes into creating mystery story/movie. The whole point of a mystery is to keep the audience guessing is to what is the truth behind the secret or mystery until the end. All the Sherlock Homes stories I read in this class did keep me guess. It really made me think how is Sherlock Homes going to achieve success in his cases and who is the guilty one and why. The one story that was my favorite of the Sherlock Homes reading, was A Scandal in Bohemia. Mostly because even after going through all that trouble to finding out where Irene Norton was keeping the photo of the King of Bohemia, she found out what Sherlock Homes was up to. It is one of those situations when Sherlock Homes is in a way out smarted, which is little hard to believe, give how smart and clever he is. But, it goes to show, you should never underestimate anyone and in this case, and equally smart woman. 

Feelings? What are those?

I enjoyed watching this episode of Elementary. It always helps me to watch something than to only have the chance to read about it. I also find it to be a lot more entertaining. The humor was much easier for me to pick up as well, which is always helpful and makes the experience more enjoyable. 

I like that the show stayed true to Holmes’ character for the most part. In the show, he still doesn’t take others feelings into account, although I don’t think he does it on purpose, I think that’s just the way he is. It was funny how when Watson asked him to get her a bag of chips and he ends up eating it instead. I don’t think he did it to be mean, he probably just got bored waiting for her to get back. Also, when he accused Rebecca of putting on a disguise to look like her sister to put the blame for the murders on her, I thought it was really insensitive considering all Rebecca had just gone through, but for Holmes, he was just trying to figure out who the murderer was no matter what it took.

I also like how they inserted some of the smaller details from the Holmes stories into the show. I liked how at the beginning they kept in the part where Holmes talks about there only being a finite of space in everyone’s brain. Again, it helped to keep Holmes’ character true.

I’m not sure how to feel about the fact that the show is essentially a police procedural. While I enjoy shows like that, I feel that it doesn’t really feel true to the original stories, even perhaps taking something away from it. In the original stories, Holmes and Watson were more like the “police” that people went to. As a team, they were more like independent detectives who had their own crime solving business.

I like Watson’s character more in the show than the stories. She seems to be a lot more involved in this version, offering input that helps Holmes and/or keeps him in check. The characters isn’t as much a bystander who is just there to support Holmes by following whatever Holmes tells him to do.

I think making Holmes’ a recovering addict is perhaps an attempt to explain why Holmes’ acts the way he does. During this episode, he seemed really irrational at times like when he insisted that he could smell the deodorant on the chair and therefore the second killer had to be a woman, only to find out that the person he suspected was in a coma. For those who are unfamiliar with the Holmes’ stories, who are going into the show with absolutely no knowledge, I think it makes the audience have to work harder to figure out what’s going on. Does Holmes really know what he’s doing, or is he just an irrational addict?