Watson

I prefer to watch an entire season before giving a review but as I won't be watching any more of this, I figured I'd just go ahead and fire away.

I'm not exactly sure what happened in the pilot but I'm sure I didn't like it. I'm a Sherlock Holmes maniac, which is largely irrelevant here because if the premise and execution of this show has anything to do with Holmes then I missed it.

There are a lot of problems here; not the least of which is that it's not a Sherlock Holmes detective show. It's a medical show that borrows heavily from, as I'm sure you've read from all the other reviews, House.

It's incredibly disappointing. The idea of the solid, discreet companion that is Watson having his own show is intriguing, to say the least. Too bad it's not that Watson. It's an arrogant, overbearing, rude, and cruel Watson. Almost every character trait the antithesis of the stories and novels. Sigh.

They throw in a nod to Sherlock Holmes here and there with deductive reasoning, at which Watson was never very good in the original stories and novels.

Let me talk about the other characters. They sure are pretty. Do I believe any one of them as top physicians in their fields? Not for a second. There is just no way. My immersion is gone every time one of the models opens her or his mouth to fast talk medical terms.

Fast talking. Oh boy, if you like fast talking, this is your show. It's rapid fire big medical terms from everyone. I'm not a doctor but I'm reasonably intelligent, and I could not keep up. I lost the thread mid-sentence multiple times.

The sets. Over The Top. That medical facility looks like something from a James Bond evil villain hideout.

The costumes. Over The Top. The Gucci lab coats. The scoop tops showing off impressive decolletage, not that I'm complaining mind you.

Then there is the exposition. Lots of it. How did you figure that out? I did things off screen.

Watson's sidekick? Maybe that was explained at some point, but I sure missed it. Who is he? Why is he? What is he?

Finally, the ending. Sigh. No build-up, no foreshadowing, just, hey, look who's here.

I'm incredibly disappointed in this mess. What a shame with what is clearly a big budget.

Oh well.

I love, love, love Morris Chestnut but this show is overly dramatic and boring. I'm not sure who this show is for. As a medical professional it's just a silly show trying to be smart. Watson is a halfway interesting character, but the rest of his physician crew are stereotypical smarties with bad attitudes. I really wish they had made the series more like Bones. With smart people really wanting to find the answer to a medical problem to benefit normal people or to help people who don't have access to such care.

Of course, at the conclusion they had to throw in their overarching mystery. By that time, I didn't care.

On one hand, this isn't bad. But, on the other hand, I'm not necessarily impressed. I only gave it four stars because although it is a good show, it is only average, hence five stars. Since it isn't really breaking new ground, it loses a star, down to four. So much of this show was ripped straight from House that if I didn't know any better, I'd think I was watching an actual reboot or a some sort of sequel to House. The only thing this show has to do with Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, wait, I mean Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson are the names of the main character and his best friend. They could've just as well have called this Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde and named the characters as such without it changing much the plot or the storyline. There is one of two reasons why they title the show and the characters as they did. One, this is from the same producers as House and they didn't want to have an actual reboot. Don't want to risk following House with a mediocre reboot. Or, two, they couldn't get the green light for a House reboot so they simply changed the name of the show and the main character and hope that no one will notice.

CBS's "Watson" feels like it was created by an algorithm that watched "House, M. D." and "Rosewood" but failed to understand what made those shows compelling. Following Dr. John Watson (Morris Chestnut) after his partnership with Sherlock Holmes, the series attempts to blend medical mysteries with detective work, but the result is a tepid, by-the-numbers procedural that lacks both shows' distinctive charms.

Where "House" thrived on Hugh Laurie's caustic wit and brilliant characterization, and "Rosewood" succeeded through Morris Chestnut's charismatic portrayal of an optimistic pathologist, "Watson" provides neither. Despite Chestnut's proven talent, his Watson feels constrained by flat writing and predictable storylines. The show seems afraid to let him be either abrasive like House or charming like Rosewood, leaving the character in a bland middle ground.

The medical mysteries themselves lack the intellectual complexity that made "House" engaging or the local flavor that gave "Rosewood" its Miami pulse. Each case follows such a formulaic pattern that you can practically set your watch by when the first wrong diagnosis will occur or when the obligatory personal connection to the patient will be revealed.

While Morris Chestnut remains as charismatic as ever, both his Watson and the supporting cast just aren't clicking. The ensemble lacks the spark that made shows like "Rosewood" so engaging, and it's particularly frustrating knowing that the entire "Rosewood" cast is currently available - making one wish CBS had opted to revive that superior show instead. The show tries to create tension through Watson's past connection to Holmes, but these references feel more like name-dropping than substantial plot elements. The chemistry between characters is virtually non-existent, making their interactions feel forced and professional to a fault.

Production values are adequate but uninspired. The hospital setting looks like every other medical show's set, and the visual style lacks distinction. Even the music seems pulled from a stock "tense medical moment" library.

The biggest disappointment is how "Watson" wastes its unique premise. The idea of exploring Holmes's former partner as a medical professional could have been fascinating, but instead of diving deep into Watson's psychology or how his time with Holmes shaped his medical approach, we get surface-level procedural fare.

In trying to appeal to fans of both "House" and "Rosewood," "Watson" ends up satisfying neither. It's not unwatchable, but in today's crowded TV landscape, being merely adequate isn't enough. This is especially frustrating given Morris Chestnut's proven ability to carry a medical show, as demonstrated in "Rosewood."

If you're craving medical mysteries, you're better off rewatching "House." If you want Morris Chestnut solving cases with style, return to "Rosewood." "Watson" proves that sometimes, the best elements of two successful shows don't add up to a compelling new one.

It was called Rosewood. Minus the beauty woman detective and the badass classic car. Only other difference is he's working with live people instead of working with the dead. Both shows he goes against what everyone else thinks. He physically and mentally has issues that he doesn't want others to know about. And he's surrounded by young people whom he sees potentially in but wants them to dig deeper. As far as the Sherlock Holmes theme goes we will have to see how that unfolds. If it wasn't for the ending of the first episode I probably wouldn't continue watching but it has me a little bit curious.