Watson

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.

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?

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.

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.

It is impossible not to compare to House since it is basically same story, only with less interesting characters and a Sherlock premise that quickly becomes irrelevant to the series.

I readily admit i only watched to half way of 1st episode, and normally i would say at least watch 2-3 episodes before jumping to conclusions, however half an episode in my case at least was enough to know i am not going to be interested in the characters,the storylines, or any half baked Sherlock references they may dream up.

If house had never existed as a series am pretty sure i would give this one 2-3 episodes, or may even have stuckk with it a series or more, but fact is House series does exist, and the same premise of super smart diagnostic medicine solving problems that should never in reality exist within the lifetime of one person let alone weekly, assisted by teenesque helpers who find clues same way Houses team used to, is not going to be interesting enough to keep me interested when have already watched all series of House doing it much better and with more interesting characters and plots. (I would guess some of the plots will be identical to House ones, there are only so many rare symptoms and deseases after all) Make up your own minds of course,but if liked House, i would be surprised if decided to watch a worse version of it with more boring characters.