Elementary

Elementary was such a great show that it's actually underrated as far as cop shows go. This series follows Sherlock Holmes (Jonny Lee Miller) as he leaves London for New York after being in rehab. His father makes him live with a sober companion, Dr. Joan Watson (Lucy Lui). Watson is a former surgeon who quit after losing one of her patients. She now helps addicts stay sober and takes on Sherlock. The two of them then begin consulting with the NYPD solving their most difficult cases. This show was loved by both critics and audiences alike. It has a 95% on Rotten Tomatoes and a 8.0 here. It did well enough to go for 7 fantastic seasons. Just a fair warning, you'll be hooked once you start this series so give yourself enough time to binge through it.

While Elementary isn't the best police procedural I've ever seen, it's on my top 10 and that's saying something because there are a million police shows to choose from. On top of that there are a million different shows/movies involving Sherlock Holmes so a police procedural with Sherlock Holmes as the main character would really have to stick out for people to tune in and Elementary absolutely does. Jonny Lee Miller is absolutely brilliant as Sherlock and Lucy Lui is great as a female Watson. Jonny Lee Miller is right there with Benedict Cumberbatch and Robert Downey Jr. As the best Sherlock Holmes ever put on screen. The series works so well because of the chemistry between Miller and Lui. It's been off the air since 2019 but I still miss it.

Years ago, I remember reading the publicity for this show before it was released, and pouring scorn on the idea of a modern Sherlock Holmes, set in New York and with a female Watson. "How pathetic!", I sneered, "They must be really desperate for new ideas, to come up with this pile of rubbish!" And when it showed on British television, I only sat down to watch it so I could pull it to pieces.

I could never have guessed that years later I would be watching old episodes, while I impatiently wait for the fourth series to be broadcast. All the people involved have obviously worked very hard to create this intelligent and entertaining show, which has fun with the original stories and characters, while still showing respect (in my view) to the books and the author, Arthur Conan Doyle. Oh, and while I like Jonny Lee Miller as Sherlock, I think the actors who play Joan Watson, Captain Thomas Gregson and Detective Marcus Bell deserve a special mention, as they have the more restrained and therefore difficult roles to play, as his sidekicks.

Thank you for making and releasing "Elementary". And please hurry up with the next series!

I love this show. Its my go to. Jonny and Lucy have great chemistry and the cases are intricate and often keep you guessing. With real life issues and compassion, mixed with sherlock's rugged and laser focus on cases its almost never a smooth ride. The longer you stick with it the better it is, sherlock turning into a more humanly man, and Watson becoming a great detective in her own right. Only lucy liu could pull off a female Watson whose character begins to exhibit the traits and fashion of the great detectives around her. The subtle appreciations are very well done. The casting is great, with Natalie as moriarty, she should've been allowed one last major comeback. My only complaint is that it finished abruptly and quickly.

Like many people, I love BBC's Sherlock and overlooked Elementary for many reasons. I recently decided to give it a chance and was pleasantly surprised to say the least. First off, don't make the same mistake I did and dismiss it for some of the rather odd sounding changes, it's intended to be a different spin on the classic and does so very well.

Jonny Lee Miller plays a great Sherlock. He's more human and flawed, where the original Sherlock was almost cartoonishly strong at times, but he still has the same confident eccentric brilliance that makes Sherlock Holmes so interesting. He's a recovering addict aided by Sober Companion Watson, a modern politically correct spin on classic Holmes drug use that feels tacked on and out of place at times, but helps drive the character development of both Holmes and Watson.

The new Watson angle was a big factor in what made me pass on the show at first. In addition to the Sober Companion job, it sounded very generic Hollywoody to find an excuse to shoehorn in a pretty female co-star, but Lucy Liu is very good in her role. She doesn't play a shallow sexy distraction from the story, rather just a different sex portraying the same inquisitive, intelligent, adventurous companion that Watson should be. And (as far as I am in the series - fingers crossed) there's no pointless romantic subplots between her and Sherlock, just a straight played female Watson. Hats off to Lucy Liu for making a tough character change that I was prepared to dislike so likable and real.

The best part of the show however is the writing. Writing good mysteries is a fine line to walk. You can either give too little information and blindside the viewer, leaving them feeling shut out and just along for the ride, or too much information delivered too overtly and ruin the fun of following step in step with the details. The truth has to be there somewhere for you to see but not too soon. Elementary manages to walk that line very well. There have been times when something was too obvious or too unpredictable, but much more often the truth is cleverly masked until just the right time - a little before it's revealed, if you're sharp.

I went into this series with low expectations but very quickly fell in love with it. Whether you like the different spin on Arthur Conan Doyle's characters or not, Elementary does mystery right, and it's worth a watch based on that alone.