Watson

**"Watson" is a show that seems to have a bit of an identity crisis**. It doesn't seem to know if it wants to be a "House" clone, a Sherlock Holmes reimagining, or its own thing. If you are a fan of medical procedural dramas you may want to check this show out, but if you're looking for something with more of a Sherlock Holmes theme, you might want to wait and see if it finds its footing.

Watched first ep with a lot of curiosity, especially with the Sherlock Holmes connection, and while it wasn't exactly what I expected, there were some things to appreciate.

First off, if you're tuning in expecting a classic Holmesian mystery, you might be surprised. It definitely takes a turn towards a medical procedural, with more than a few echoes of "House M. D." - the show is trying to be "House" with a bit of a Sherlock Holmes theme thrown in.

The pilot episode was a bit of a mixed bag, I have to say. **Some of the dialogue felt a little clunky and unnatural, like something out of a soap opera parody**.

The acting was okay. Morris Chestnut's delivery-his voice is low, and he speaks fast, making some of his lines a little hard to understand. The cast overall had a unique set of backgrounds, which was a nice touch. The cinematography was also nicely done, which helped with the overall viewing experience.

For a show that's got Sherlock Holmes in its DNA, it felt a little bit formulaic at times, almost like it was checking boxes rather than trying to deliver something unique. One of the more interesting bits was the character of Moriarty.

**The cases themselves were engaging enough, and I thought that the medical issues were actually quite interesting.**

Show was a bit flat, and maybe didn't really pull me in initially as much as it should have. Some parts, felt dull.

The attempts at a deep, dark mythology felt a bit convoluted and didn't quite land. The show is quite heavy and brooding, which might be off-putting if you're looking for something light-hearted or fun.

It seems like they were trying to go for a dark, gritty vibe, but without the humour of "House," it didn't quite resonate as it could have.

Some of the premise was promising. It's possible that as a procedural, this show might work. Or not!

. . . . . . . . . .

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.

I like it better the first time when it was called House M. D. I mean it's not that it has some resemblance, it is an outright copy. It's as if someone decided he wanted to make a 2020 version of House, and when he couldn't get permission to do it he figured he could do it without anyone noticing by making it a conglomerated kludge by taking on the Sherlock Holmes mystique. Well, you ain't fooling anybody. As every moment passes while I write this (on my IPad, a tedious job that it is) I see more and more moments of House. I even expect they'll start using old scripts from that show.

It's a good thing you're not ripping off Harlan Ellison - you'd be in a heap of trouble (just ask James Cameron about The Terminator). Wait - come to think about it he passed away a while back. Never mind. Oh, and talk about plagiarism, I did shamelessly ripped off David Spade's schtick. I'm sure he doesn't mind.

The ending, though, does offer some intrigue about the future. And that guy - wasn't he the one who played the FBI Agent in the MCU?

Many have mentioned that this is a clone of House M. D. But but it's not. House was a d!ck... Watson is more of a caring and less blunt type person.

But yes, this is very formulaic and how they proceed to diagnose and investigate does give you House vides, along with another half dozen doctor shows over the years, including Trapper John, MD, Dr. Kildaire, Diagnosis Murder, and of course the king of this genre, Quincy MD.

The supporting casts are ok characters, but again, formulaic. Nothing stands out, nothing original.

It's an ok show, I'm a fan of Chestnut, but this show is just not doing anything different. Maybe that in of itself something many may like.... familiarity.

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.