Sherlock’s success: It’s Elementary?

Sherlock’s third series debuted on New Year’s Day to tremendous hype. After two years of being off-air, fans were hoping that it would match their high expectations. Now that the dust has settled on the last of the three episodes, what was the final verdict? As with anything, it depends who you ask. Sherlock seems to inspire mass hysteria in its fans: IMDB gives it a rating of 9.3/10 from its users and critical opinion, making it apparently better than The Shawshank Redemption (9.2), The Godfather (9.2), and Casablanca (8.6). Unless I’m living in an alternate universe and watching a vastly different show to everyone else, I don’t think it’s so controversial to posit that Sherlock might – just might – be a tad overhyped.

The three episodes of the latest series met with generally favourable reviews from critics, but divided opinions among fans. The Guardian described the final episode as ‘perfect’, but some viewers felt that the show’s writers were trying too hard to please the hardcore fans of tumblr and the like - the second episode was more reminiscent of some kind of bizarre fanfiction than a detective show - while more casual viewers were left baffled at what the point to the ninety minute episode had been.

Then there was a third opinion offered up: Sherlock might have lost its touch because, in its long two year hiatus, a better successor had come along. There have been no shortage of adaptations of Sherlock Holmes since Arthur Conan Doyle published his novels: in the past five years alone, we’ve had the films starring Robert Downey Jr. and Jude Law, BBC’s Sherlock, and now Elementary. Sherlock was novel in that it transported the crime-solving detective to the present day. Elementary takes things one step further, with an alcoholic Sherlock Holmes, played by Jonny Lee Miller, up and moving to New York, where Lucy Liu is Joan Watson, his sober - and female - companion. When Holmes decides that the best way to spend his recovery is to assist NYPD with solving crimes, Watson reluctantly accompanies him to provide support for the recovering addict. The initial casting of Watson as a woman was met with controversy, not least of which came from angry Sherlock fans. Steven Moffat himself, writer and producer of the BBC show, said he was ‘annoyed’ and worried about it ‘debasing’ the brand - presumably choosing to ignore the many, many adaptations that had gone before his, including a 1986 Disney film in which Holmes was portrayed by a mouse. This provoked retaliation from those who felt that Sherlock had lost its touch, or indeed had always been overrated, with the result that before the first episode of Elementary had even aired, it already had both a loyal fanbase and dedicated haters.

So who was right? At the risk of pissing off the legions of Sherlock fans, I’m inclined to say that Elementary has the edge over its predecessor. It’s by no means a perfect show, but is, in my opinion, far better than the try-hard, self-indulgent mess that thinks it’s cleverer than it is, which is what Sherlock has become in recent years.

One of the big differences between the two shows is the character of Sherlock Holmes himself. The oft-repeated ‘high-functioning sociopath’ of the BBC adaptation is callous, cruel, and seemingly incapable of forming a meaningful relationship with anyone except John Watson - who, even then, he still treats with a disturbing lack of disregard. The partnership between Holmes and Watson in Elementary is far more equal, with Joan Watson’s compassion and resilience providing a balance to the thornier personality of Holmes, who demonstrates repeatedly that he can learn from others and is even occasionally – shockingly – nice. While this may be hard to imagine for anyone familiar with Cumberbatch’s portrayal, it actually bears far closer resemblance to the Holmes of the Doyle’s original novels who, although dispassionate and sometimes arrogant, is still capable of sympathising with his clients and treating Watson with the care and respect of a friend.

Elementary’s main weakness lies in its format: Owing to it being a crime procedural, episodes can seem at times formulaic, with each following a fairly standard ‘crime of the week’ storyline. This is somewhat offset by the way that the victims are very rarely faceless bodies, and the help of a strong supporting cast.

Another initial concern with the show was that the decision to have Watson played by a woman was made to facilitate a romantic relationship between her and Holmes. Thankfully, the show’s creators have already said outright that a romance between the pair is not on the cards and never will be. Joan Watson is a well-rounded, sympathetic character, in sharp contrast to virtually all of Sherlock’s female characters, who are defined entirely by their relationships to the two main (male) characters. Steven Moffat has been criticised for his writing of women on several occasions, both in Sherlock and the new Doctor Who. Sherlock’s Irene Adler was a often-naked lesbian dominatrix who inexplicably falls in love with sloth-faced Benedict Cumberbatch, culminating in her being rescued by him at the end of her storyline. Elementary’s Irene Adler, played by the brilliantly cast Game of Thrones’ Natalie Dormer, is, without giving anything away, an ingenious take on the character.

I realise that there are those who’ll remain unconvinced, not least big fans of Benedict Cumberbatch; I’m prepared to admit that Elementary isn’t for everyone. (Although, incidentally, both Holmes actors - Benedict Cumberbatch and Jonny Lee Miller - starred together in a recent theatre adaptation of Frankenstein in which the actors alternated between playing the doctor and his monster on different nights, so they have more common ground than you might at first realise.) However, for those others who found themselves watching Sherlock and wondering if they were maybe missing something, it might be worth a try.