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.

I'm not even old but you all made me feel old.

So, I've always been really into game shows, and I'm not just talking about "Jeopardy" or the "Price is Right" (though I do still love watching those). I mean all the game shows. I grew up watching them. I would go to my grandmas when I was little and get really excited to watch and play "Shop Till You Drop." When I was home sick from school, I was always watching Game Show Network--"Card Sharks," "Press Your Luck," "$100,000 Pyramid," "Password" and more. I absolutely love them. I guess I'm an old lady at heart. So, yesterday, when people seemed confused about the activity, all I could think was, "This is just 'To Tell the Truth'," but nobody even knew about it. From wikipedia, I've gotten so basic info--most important being that the show has been airing since 1956, and that "the show is one of two game shows in the United States to have aired at least one new episode in at least seven consecutive decades." I've included an old episode below, with an all time favorite--Dick Van Dyke.

So, you can see, the activity that we participated in yesterday was basically the same thing. We used the same investigative tools that the celebrity panel uses.

But I didn't want to make this post just to point out the game show. That would give us nothing to even talk about when it comes to this class. So I just want to talk about game shows in general. Every game requires a certain amount of knowledge, a certain amount of investigation, and a certain amount of strategy. "Jeopardy" requires trivia knowledge, "Password" requires vocabulary knowledge, "The Price is Right" requires product knowledge, and "Card Sharks" requires knowledge of probability. No one goes into these games unprepared, sometimes, even the audience is included in this statement.  

Like Sherlock Holmes, game shows were created with the express purpose of entertainment after the day to day drudge. Like Sherlock Holmes, the reader/viewer has the opportunity to participate. When Sherlock is compiling information about the human anatomy, contestants on "The Price is Right"are compiling information about the prices of every day items. Sherlock must observe small details at crime scenes, while contestants need to observe the prices of items that they might not even be buying. The contestants start to use reason to understand why some things cost more than other, and more. I know it's hard to think of the overly-excited contestants on "The Price is Right" or other game shows as Sherlock-like characters, but in many ways they are.

RIP Holmes....jk

Similar to many of my classmates, I have not read any Sherlock Homes stories until now. I really enjoyed the first two stories we read, which I was pleasantly surprised about. Then, I read “The Speckled Band”, and loved it, even though the ending was somewhat anticlimactic for me; anyone agree?

Next, I read “The Final Problem”… and he DIED? What? I was definitely not expecting that to happen. I never expected that, and assumed if I had a problem accepting this after only reading four stories, other people must have been pissed when the story came out. I did some researching to see… turns out they were in fact pissed. Apparently a lot of people even canceled their subscriptions to The Strand, the magazine that published the stories. So I bet The Strand was also pretty pissed at Conan Doyle.

Furthermore, he did not really die. In the afterword we read that he “foiled Moriarty” by faking his death. Spoiler if you want to read the story “The Empty House”, sorry. I suppose if anyone could successfully pull of faking their own death, it would be Sherlock Holmes. I would be interested in reading “The Empty House” if it explains how Holmes pulled that off. I have to wonder if Conan Doyle always planned on bringing Holmes back. I think he did, because he added the detail that “recovering the bodies was absolutely hopeless”. If he did not plan on continuing the story of Homes why include the detail of never recovering his body.

            Next I read “The Dancing Men”, which I found just as interesting. I enjoyed the plot line of this one. The reader really got to see all the skills Homes has, other than observing. He deciphers what seems like an impossible code.

really who makes a code made out of stick figures, that’s just plain dumb

He also catches where a third bullet was shot, a fact that the authorities missed. Who needs the cops when Holmes is around?

            Lastly, I attempted to read “Charles Augustus Milverton”. This story I found confusing, so I am hoping someone can comment and explain it to me. I understand that there was a man threatening Lady Eva with letters, but why was he bothering her? Did they have history or is he just a jackass? Also Homes kinda gets engaged? What? Then, Watson and him witness a murder… later recognize who the shooter was… and did NOTHING? Help please!!