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shadowkatI'm not completely certain you can compare Elementary and Sherlock - since the intent behind the two series is quite different.
The BBC's series, Sherlock (at least I think it's the BBC's...it's on PBS (public broadcasting system) here) is really just a quick character study or taste. It has no more then 3-6 episodes each season, and often huge gaps between seasons. It feels more like a "mini-series" or a series of made for television specials. Yet highly serialized. You'd be a bit lost if you watched this season, without watching the prior seasons. The characters feel a wee bit more exaggerated and archetypal yet modernized versions of Conan Doyle's originals. And there's almost a romanticism attached to them. The series slants towards the comical or humorous,and Sherlock is described as a talented sociopath, although he doesn't quite fit the clinical description of one. If anything he strikes me more as ausperger's syndrome or autistic...in his inability to quite deal with others. And the focus is on the relationship between Sherlock and Watson. Sherlock's addictions are not touched on, yet he's a bit frenetic, talking a mile a minute, jumping about, as if he were on some sort of drug.
Watson in direct contrast..is a bit mild-mannered, soft-spoken, bumbling, and careful. He's compassionate, and emotional. Sherlock struggles with emotion and can't quite handle it.
It bewilders him. He tends to wall it off.
Also on the BBC series - the cases are flung at us. Sometimes more than one. And at a frantic pace. Technology is a big deal, and Sherlock's mind feels at times as if we are inside a computer. In fact the writers and Cumberbatch appear to play Sherlock as if he were a robot, a highly functioning robot. Calculating and deducting as a robot would, without taking into consideration the human element.
In stark contrast, the CBS series Elementary - which takes place in New York as opposed to Sherlock's London, and features a female Watson, who is also a surgeon, is less frentic in its pacing and plot structure. Sherlock Holmes, played by Johnny Lee Miller, doesn't speak at a rapid pace, he's speaks slower and more precisely, biting off each syllable. He's covered in tattoos and is rather muscular, while Cumberbatch's Sherlock is younger, has no tattoos (is this an American thing?) and less muscular. One works out, the other does not. And he's a recovering addict. He met Joan Watson, because he was an addict, and she'd been hired to assist in his recovery. So he's more subdued than the BBC's version, quieter, more contained, less frantic.
The series also focuses more on the supporting characters, which the BBC version doesn't quite have time for. And develops the female characters far better - in part because they've made both Watson and Moriarity female, while the BBC went the traditional/conventional route and portrayed both as men. Inspector Gregson...is actually fairly bright in this version and capable, he's not the comical doofus. At his friendship with Sherlock is pre-established.
There's more time to tell the story here - the pacing is slower. It's not a mini-series, it's an episodic series, which you can jump in and out of at any time without getting lost.
There's a new episode each week. And already, even though it premiered a year or so after Sherlock did, it has more episodes under its belt. This is because it is a television series not a mini-series or series of serialized made for television specials, which Sherlock appears to be. There are 22 episodes of Elementary a year - opposed to Sherlock's 3-6 episodes.
While Sherlock does a new twist on Conan Doyle's previous stories - each episode is based one of Doyle's short stories, Elementary creates new cases. The focus in both is on the Watson/Sherlock relationship, but the change in gender does effect the focus slightly, also in Elementary, Watson is allowed to use deductive reasoning, he is training her. She is not purely his side-kick. Nor is Elementary's Sherlock described as high functioning and talented sociopath. He's a bit of a jerk, but not quite as outlandish or as comical a one as Cumberbatch's.
I'm not sure which I prefer. There's bits and pieces that prefer in each. They both frustrate and entertain, but in different ways. Elementary tends to be slower and at times harder to focus on and get into, due to it's procedural structure - which I'm admittedly not a fan of. And Sherlock is so fast-paced and mile a minute with its convoluted plots that you can get a bit lost, not helped by the fact that the actors speak a mile a minute. I had to use close-captioning and rewind quite a bit. In both, Sherlock is not good with people - he's brilliant, but rather anti-social and reminds me a bit of Sheldon in The Big Bang Theory. I also find myself half in love with him...he's weirdly adorable.
Same is true with the two Watson's...Joan Watson is as much if not more of a puzzle than Sherlock. She's quiet and has had a series of traumas in her life. Amongst them... a death that she believes she caused. Like Sherlock...she's a bit of an outsider, and not quite comfortable with her life or her own skin. But she's more compassionate than he is, and better at handling people. John Watson - is similar in some respects, he too has suffered a series of traumas in his life. And is not quite comfortable in his skin or with himself.
And like Sherlock, fears he's an outsider. Sherlock in both cases - heals the Watson's, he provides them with self-confidence and a sense of purpose, which they lacked prior to meeting him. And as arrogant as he is, Sherlock beats himself up a bit, surprised that either Watson has stuck by him.
I don't know how much of that is true to the original Doyle stories - it's been far too long since I read them (over 30 years, I suspect, and time does erode memory). But considering both writers went there - it's more than likely Doyle did as well.
Add to this mix, how the two stories handle Sherlock's family life and upbringing. In the BBC version - his parents are rather ordinary, not too wealthy, and hardly much to sneeze at. While in the CBS version, Elementary, the father is a mysterious and wealthy entity that we never see and Sherlock is clearly estranged from and disparaging of. His mother is never mentioned. We know Sherlock was shipped off to boarding school at an early age, and beaten by the other kids - for being well Sherlock. (ie. Brilliant and worse, knowing he's the most intelligent person in the room.) Mycroft is in some respects more interesting in Elementary and more layered, in the BBC's Sherlock - he feels at times like a cartoon. OR an exaggeration. Which granted may be necessary, considering the brevity of the stories. We've seen more of Mycroft, so far, in the BBC version. And Mycroft comes across as a talented sociopath...with little to no concern for anyone really but his own patriotic agenda. Of the two, Mycroft makes Sherlock look rather easy-going and compassionate in comparison. On the CBS version - Mycroft is rather charming, brilliant, yes, but not quite as brilliant as Sherlock, and he seems to be less, anti-social. Although I've only seen one episode with him to date so that may change.
There's also, finally, Irene Adler and how both series dealt with her. BBC's Sherlock - has Sherlock save her. She's his equal. A diabolical con artist, who got in over her head with Moriarity. In CBS' Elementary - Sherlock believes she is dead and he's the reason that Moriarity killed her. He's half right...ie, he is the reason Moriarity killed her, but she is Moriarity and she isn't dead. When she pops up again, and Sherlock discovers it, his mind explodes (metaphorically speaking). It sort of turns his life upside down, and at the same time, sets everything right. He's no longer overwhelmed with guilt. And instead of killing Moriarity or Moriarity killing himself - which is what happened in the BBC version or for that matter Sherlock faking his own death - Moriarty is simply put into prison.
Two different takes on the same series. Both enjoyable for different reasons. Hard to determine which if either is better.
The BBC's series, Sherlock (at least I think it's the BBC's...it's on PBS (public broadcasting system) here) is really just a quick character study or taste. It has no more then 3-6 episodes each season, and often huge gaps between seasons. It feels more like a "mini-series" or a series of made for television specials. Yet highly serialized. You'd be a bit lost if you watched this season, without watching the prior seasons. The characters feel a wee bit more exaggerated and archetypal yet modernized versions of Conan Doyle's originals. And there's almost a romanticism attached to them. The series slants towards the comical or humorous,and Sherlock is described as a talented sociopath, although he doesn't quite fit the clinical description of one. If anything he strikes me more as ausperger's syndrome or autistic...in his inability to quite deal with others. And the focus is on the relationship between Sherlock and Watson. Sherlock's addictions are not touched on, yet he's a bit frenetic, talking a mile a minute, jumping about, as if he were on some sort of drug.
Watson in direct contrast..is a bit mild-mannered, soft-spoken, bumbling, and careful. He's compassionate, and emotional. Sherlock struggles with emotion and can't quite handle it.
It bewilders him. He tends to wall it off.
Also on the BBC series - the cases are flung at us. Sometimes more than one. And at a frantic pace. Technology is a big deal, and Sherlock's mind feels at times as if we are inside a computer. In fact the writers and Cumberbatch appear to play Sherlock as if he were a robot, a highly functioning robot. Calculating and deducting as a robot would, without taking into consideration the human element.
In stark contrast, the CBS series Elementary - which takes place in New York as opposed to Sherlock's London, and features a female Watson, who is also a surgeon, is less frentic in its pacing and plot structure. Sherlock Holmes, played by Johnny Lee Miller, doesn't speak at a rapid pace, he's speaks slower and more precisely, biting off each syllable. He's covered in tattoos and is rather muscular, while Cumberbatch's Sherlock is younger, has no tattoos (is this an American thing?) and less muscular. One works out, the other does not. And he's a recovering addict. He met Joan Watson, because he was an addict, and she'd been hired to assist in his recovery. So he's more subdued than the BBC's version, quieter, more contained, less frantic.
The series also focuses more on the supporting characters, which the BBC version doesn't quite have time for. And develops the female characters far better - in part because they've made both Watson and Moriarity female, while the BBC went the traditional/conventional route and portrayed both as men. Inspector Gregson...is actually fairly bright in this version and capable, he's not the comical doofus. At his friendship with Sherlock is pre-established.
There's more time to tell the story here - the pacing is slower. It's not a mini-series, it's an episodic series, which you can jump in and out of at any time without getting lost.
There's a new episode each week. And already, even though it premiered a year or so after Sherlock did, it has more episodes under its belt. This is because it is a television series not a mini-series or series of serialized made for television specials, which Sherlock appears to be. There are 22 episodes of Elementary a year - opposed to Sherlock's 3-6 episodes.
While Sherlock does a new twist on Conan Doyle's previous stories - each episode is based one of Doyle's short stories, Elementary creates new cases. The focus in both is on the Watson/Sherlock relationship, but the change in gender does effect the focus slightly, also in Elementary, Watson is allowed to use deductive reasoning, he is training her. She is not purely his side-kick. Nor is Elementary's Sherlock described as high functioning and talented sociopath. He's a bit of a jerk, but not quite as outlandish or as comical a one as Cumberbatch's.
I'm not sure which I prefer. There's bits and pieces that prefer in each. They both frustrate and entertain, but in different ways. Elementary tends to be slower and at times harder to focus on and get into, due to it's procedural structure - which I'm admittedly not a fan of. And Sherlock is so fast-paced and mile a minute with its convoluted plots that you can get a bit lost, not helped by the fact that the actors speak a mile a minute. I had to use close-captioning and rewind quite a bit. In both, Sherlock is not good with people - he's brilliant, but rather anti-social and reminds me a bit of Sheldon in The Big Bang Theory. I also find myself half in love with him...he's weirdly adorable.
Same is true with the two Watson's...Joan Watson is as much if not more of a puzzle than Sherlock. She's quiet and has had a series of traumas in her life. Amongst them... a death that she believes she caused. Like Sherlock...she's a bit of an outsider, and not quite comfortable with her life or her own skin. But she's more compassionate than he is, and better at handling people. John Watson - is similar in some respects, he too has suffered a series of traumas in his life. And is not quite comfortable in his skin or with himself.
And like Sherlock, fears he's an outsider. Sherlock in both cases - heals the Watson's, he provides them with self-confidence and a sense of purpose, which they lacked prior to meeting him. And as arrogant as he is, Sherlock beats himself up a bit, surprised that either Watson has stuck by him.
I don't know how much of that is true to the original Doyle stories - it's been far too long since I read them (over 30 years, I suspect, and time does erode memory). But considering both writers went there - it's more than likely Doyle did as well.
Add to this mix, how the two stories handle Sherlock's family life and upbringing. In the BBC version - his parents are rather ordinary, not too wealthy, and hardly much to sneeze at. While in the CBS version, Elementary, the father is a mysterious and wealthy entity that we never see and Sherlock is clearly estranged from and disparaging of. His mother is never mentioned. We know Sherlock was shipped off to boarding school at an early age, and beaten by the other kids - for being well Sherlock. (ie. Brilliant and worse, knowing he's the most intelligent person in the room.) Mycroft is in some respects more interesting in Elementary and more layered, in the BBC's Sherlock - he feels at times like a cartoon. OR an exaggeration. Which granted may be necessary, considering the brevity of the stories. We've seen more of Mycroft, so far, in the BBC version. And Mycroft comes across as a talented sociopath...with little to no concern for anyone really but his own patriotic agenda. Of the two, Mycroft makes Sherlock look rather easy-going and compassionate in comparison. On the CBS version - Mycroft is rather charming, brilliant, yes, but not quite as brilliant as Sherlock, and he seems to be less, anti-social. Although I've only seen one episode with him to date so that may change.
There's also, finally, Irene Adler and how both series dealt with her. BBC's Sherlock - has Sherlock save her. She's his equal. A diabolical con artist, who got in over her head with Moriarity. In CBS' Elementary - Sherlock believes she is dead and he's the reason that Moriarity killed her. He's half right...ie, he is the reason Moriarity killed her, but she is Moriarity and she isn't dead. When she pops up again, and Sherlock discovers it, his mind explodes (metaphorically speaking). It sort of turns his life upside down, and at the same time, sets everything right. He's no longer overwhelmed with guilt. And instead of killing Moriarity or Moriarity killing himself - which is what happened in the BBC version or for that matter Sherlock faking his own death - Moriarty is simply put into prison.
Two different takes on the same series. Both enjoyable for different reasons. Hard to determine which if either is better.
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Date: 2014-02-06 09:04 am (UTC)The showrunner emphasizes that his Holmes isn't a Vulcan with no emotions – he's simply decided that things like sex and jokes would interfere with his deduction. "It's the decision of a monk, not an affliction," Moffat says. "It's an achievable superpower."
Read more: http://www.rollingstone.com/movies/news/how-sherlock-made-holmes-sexy-again-20140124#ixzz2sWulg51N