I've seen a few episodes of Sherlock, tolerated Robert Downey Jr in the avatar, even fewer Jeremy Brait episodes, a single, as far as I remember, Jonathan Pryce acted adaptation, a few films with Basil Rathbone as the private investigator and the only with Ian McCellan donning the coat of the detective as he ages while losing memory simultaneously but when I watched Elementary with Jonny Lee Miller leading, it then and there eclipsed the others.
There had always been attempts to revise legendary detectives according to era maybe to satisfy the need of the generations. But is also maybe the case if the actual period is difficult to portray as often we have to conceptualize a period by imagination based on documented facts. This might be a bit difficult and error prone as living in an age and showcasing it is one thing but portraying an entirely different era is another. Though I am very much conservative in this respect and would have otherwise shown a scornful attitude to Holmes using electronic gadgets, but a few episodes of Elementary educated me otherwise. Actually, I realized once again that when the fundamentals remain the same, the ornamentations are just trivial.
So, if Sherlock Holmes uses cell phones, carrys the laptop between rooms, searches the cyber space for intelligence, hooks to various channels for information, installs a host of surveillance cameras for securing premises, all is acceptable as the intellectual in the character is never compromised.
Well, Holmes is here shown as a polymath, and sometimes he seems to be a superman of sorts in knowledge as well as skills, but given the legend status of the character, this excess may be forgiven for the series.
Coming to his character evolution, Morland Holmes, the very rich father of Mycroft, the older and Sherlock, appoints a sober companion for the younger sibling as he recovers from his addiction to drugs while consulting NYPD at the same time. Here comes the very interesting twist for the avid Holmes readers. The sober companion is revealed to be Dr Joan Watson. Yes, you read it right, it is Joan and not John. But this simple gender flip gives the Holmes Watson dynamics an entirely new dimension. The female companion turned apprentice turned detective in Watson actually reveals a newer side of Holmes himself. But considering the character itself, it really shows a more natural Watson than what had been our general conceptions till now. Being from the medical profession and being a practitioner, Watson ought to have some training on investigations, be it for diagnosing diseases. Thus, if the mentor in Holmes could have channelized the skill to detection of crime, Watson ought to have picked that up gradually. This is a direction that the original creator might not have considered. But Robert Doherty does and this allows Watson to flourish in her own intellect, distinctly different yet satisfyingly complimentary to that of Holmes. But this adds another feather to the cap of Holmes, who is found to be a sharp observer of talent and possesses the ability of mentoring that. True, it is never mentioned that Watson shows signs of investigative ability due to her previous qualifications but seems to have that skill inherent to her. Thus it becomes a show as much for Holmes as much it is for Watson. The one time consultant to Scotland Yard, offers his skill to NYPD and promotes his one time companion to a standalone colleague simultaneously. Lucy Liu excels in the role and her Joan Watson portraiture is sure to be remembered for ages to come. Never before the apparent sidekick character had been so gracefully competitive with the super sleuth. Maintaining her own individuality yet accompanying her one time subject turned colleague, the character is the much needed wise, less boisterous, naive, polite, soothing counterbalance to the wiser, outspoken, less friendly, apparently rude, informal partner. The bond that is shared and the relation that is developed will remain as the very interesting yet enjoyable parallel story of the series. The bond is so natural, yet so sublime, that it could only remain beautifully undefined till some climactic future.
Once again coming to the character of Holmes himself, he can be termed as simply outstanding! Intellect personified, his uncompromising stance in uncovering the truth makes him distinctly uncommon yet he remains surprisingly common in several aspects. Exhibiting the natural social introvert in him, his love-hate relationship with his supposedly dear ones keeps him not so distinct from others. As his life of the apparent social hermit threatens to a culmination due to Watson entering his routine, he remains terribly disappointed yet tries to derive the best in the situation thus presented. His passions are his neural faculties and this is revealed to be the primary cause of his accepting rehabilitation attempts from his addictions, which is surprisingly uncommon to the natural irrationality of the emotional human but the same rational person has his sentiments turn blind as he encounters Sebastian Moran, the henchman to his nemesis Moriarty and also as 'the woman', Irene Adler, is met during the beginning of his youth. Humanity prevails in other instances too, when the crime solver in Holmes demystifies the dangerous crimes but comes to terms with the perception of law as he overlooks perpetrators when the victims seemed dangerous still. Knowing the truth and hiding it seems less risky when his near ones are at bay. This is portrayed in one classic case where incriminating yet false evidence puts Watson in dire straits while the truth uncovered by Holmes threatens to unmask a vigilante whose justified revenge eliminates a crooked killer. How he deals with the situation remains both a twist in the series and reveals the soul ready to sacrifice anything for the person he befriends. He is both unmercifully direct when confronting evils as he defines them but is hesitantly apologetic when he is humbled at rare instances.
Thus Elementary is not only the adventures of Holmes and Watson as we expect it but it defines life as a deliberation between the wisest and Watson like lesser yet significant mortals.
Jonny Lee Miller outshines as Sherlock Holmes in the electronic age avatar and maintains the true essence of the legend in the major aspects but is more liberal in the personal traits.
Of the recurring characters, notable mention must be made of Detective Marcus Bell, who is coupled to Holmes Watson in their cases assisting NYPD. Possessing the skill of a true detective, Bell is initially reluctant of taking the help of the duo but finally turns to be their most trusted acquaintance. Helping each other in trying and life threatening circumstances, their bond develops deeper as the series matures. Besides his detective acumen helping the cases, he also supervises over Holmes and Watson to ensure their tendencies of bending the rule to collect evidences remain within limits. Their interactions, especially the ones between Bell and Holmes give some of the most enjoyably emotional moments of the series. Jon Michael Hill is natural in the role and is both the strict policeman as well as the understanding friend.
The next notable character will be none other than Captain Thomas Gregson of the 11th Precinct of the NYPD. Aidan Quinn flawlessly portrays the character of the supremely responsible supervising authority, the loving father and the firm interrogator and will be my personal favourite while choosing the supporting roles. His voice, his attitude and his impeccable style of handling persons of various statures keep him distinctly revered but for a slip in his character at a later stage in his career. But this seems to be balanced by the immense risk he takes while single handedly attempting to follow a lead towards some committed league of assassins.
Then comes the soberly charismatic Morland Holmes whose presence in the screen sometimes, though not often enough, justifiably overshadows Holmes himself. Filthily rich, as felt by Sherlock, his relation with his younger son remained a bitter sweet tale of fight and forgiveness. Apparently ruthlessly careless about the ill consequences of his trade, Morland is selflessly sacrificial when it comes to the son who had never been terribly dear. No other actor could've been more properly casted than John Noble whose magnanimity in appearance and magnificence in performance gives the coldly cruel touch that this character demands for its complexity to be maintained throughout.
Balancing this, is the soothing mother daughter relation of Joan with Mary Watson, which, albeit less complicated, yet remains practical and resolved. Extremely free willed, she tries to dominate over Joan initially. But as she begins to appreciate logic, through her gradually failing memory, their relation maintains mutual respect. Freda Feh Shen seemed again the correct choice for the character whose firm and frank simplicity mirrors in her daughter but yet individuality prevails by the varied proportion of the traits in the dominating elder.
The list of prominent characters won't be complete without mentioning Kitty Winters, whose tragic past and chance meeting with Holmes started her apprenticeship on detection by the teacher in Holmes who also taught her defensive martial tactics for her safety and security. She also became good at espionage and was once tried on Watson herself. With a traumatized past but with a determined heart, her vengeance drove her to commit offense but Holmes, sharing her mutual trust and his own understanding of justice helped her in her escape. Ophelia Lovibond connects with this character so well as to become synonymous with her and will be my personal favourite with her portraiture of determined, intelligent, arrogantly beautiful, fiercely stubborn yet unquestionably loyal Kitty Winters, a protegee that reflected her master in his several youthful impulsive aspects.
The elder in age and in wisdom, Mycroft Holmes was introduced as a master chef and a restaurateur but before long he becomes central in interest as well as activities. Starting on the wrong foot, early from their youthful days, the siblings were bitterly critical yet overly protective of each other. Secrecy prevails with Mycroft as is predictable and remains the forte of this character till its completion. Rhys Ifans plays this enigmatic character to perfection with a charisma that adds to the magic while posing a finer check to a host of traits in his maturing brother.
Before going any further on its better side, let me tell about the flip side of the series too. Personally speaking, I was disappointed on a couple of instances. The primary may be due to my addiction to the series that seemed a bit too hasty in its finale that was dramatic yet seemed lacking some vigour. But the other disappointment was regarding the character of Alfredo Llamosa who seemed to be hurriedly scripted out of the series. It is quite true that both the character and the series didn't leave any previous questions unanswered but both their quickened pace of closure raised a few.
Returning again towards its praiseworthy novelties, the series introduced some interesting transformations that fascinated me. Not only was Watson, Gregson, Mycroft redefined but some more characters and events themselves were each metamorphosed in such a novel way as to add a sudden element of surprise to something so essentially predictive in traditional Sherlock Holmes adventures. Chief among them is obviously Moriarty, Irene Adler having awesome character tweaks to say the least but characters like Hudson, Lestrade also features with similar essence to preserve the heritage. Infact the use of the letter M in naming characters with subtle hints of being Moriarty seems to be designed rather than accidental. Thus, new viewers, if there is anybody left, may genuinely be wary in the episodes any of them features. Well, the best in naming seemed to be the infamous Reichenbach Falls and this particular title features in obviously a most significant episode leading to the finale. Never before these words had held a simpler yet climactic meaning.
Elementary also gets its fair share of humour laced dialogues and events and thus investigations that would have otherwise turned to a monotony of analytical reasoning gets a respite with these comic refreshing instances.
Opening score by Sean Callery is another attraction of the series with its intense rhythm and signature notes that seems to resonate in style with the genre.
Highly recommended for the Holmes fans, Elementary unfolds the analytical genius with attitude who stands apart amidst the ordinary with his more than ordinary intellect, acute observational skills, a mind with unwavering focus, with an avid interest in apiculture, a bartistu specialist, having a keen insight in human psychology, a good man, a good friend, evolved in the electronic age, a mentor to the gifted, the greatest grandest master of deductions!
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