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Gaurav Venkatesh
Writing 39B
Prof Lynda Haas
17th August, 2014
Sherlockian Evolution
Analyzing the past we realize that everything follows a pattern, all the elements are linked to
each other one way or the other. During the birth of the detective genre in the Victorian Era we see a
stereotypical view in which works are presented. Robert Harris, a well-known writer, once claimed
that:
If one tries to think about history, it seems to me - it's like looking at a range of mountains.
And the first time you see them, they look one way. But then time changes, the pattern of
light shifts. Maybe you've moved slightly, your perspective has changed.

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, a Scottish physician, is noted for his short tales and his works in the
detective genre. Upon close inspection of his writing style, one can relate to the environment he
endured. Being a middle class writer, he also represented a majority of people during his time.
Doyles main creation, Sherlock Holmes, gave the detective genre a totally different perspective.
Sherlock Holmes is an eccentric character adored by his fans for his perfections and
imperfections. Through the 20th and 21st century the Sherlock Holmes series has been remade time
and again to suit the audience; it is peculiar how Holmes has never been changed yet the crimes and
associates have. It is vital to understand that the protagonist itself is the main reason behind the
success of the series and how the series has changed to handle its audience.
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Doyle, unknowingly, created a superhero or an individual that possess most of the traits of a
superhero. In many ways Sherlock was one of the earliest unofficial superheroes. Little did Joe
Shuster and writer Jerry Siegel know that Superman would become such a huge hit, that a century
later there would be 3D action movies based of him. In the last decade, there have been two movies
based on Sherlock Holmes. They have however completely ignored the original script by Doyle. The
only difference between Joe Shusters and Conan Doyles superhero is that Sherlock is a more
realistic superhero. Neither is he the man of steel, nor does he fly about in fancy clothes yet he is
an unsung hero. If we were to analyze how the movies are made, we see that all the characters in the
main script lie in the movie; however the stories have been plagiarized, parodied, burlesqued,
updated, and rewritten so many times the originals have disappeared, smothered by their progeny
(Panek, 39). Some characters seem to be more dynamic to make the movie less boring and packed
with action (Michael Dalton). For instance Watson is seen as an equal to Sherlock in the movies. But
the fact remains that the superpowers the protagonist possesses does not change regardless of time.
Sherlock's main power well is that he deduces. His remarkable ability of extracting impeccably
accurate information from bare minimal detail and make it sound like it is nothing more than the
obvious is what sets him apart from the rest of the world. This particular trait has become the
trademark of Sherlock Holmes.
Maria Konnikova explains in her book How to think like Sherlock:
But his insights into the human mind rival his greatest feats of criminal justice.
What Sherlock Holmes offers isnt just a way of solving a crime; its an entire way of
thinking

As of late, there are two shows which portray Holmes under no alias namely the BBC version
of Sherlock Holmes and Elementary. Elementary, a holmesian adaptation in America, provides a
thoroughly enhanced version of Sherlock Holmes than its counterpart in London. The show puts a
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realistic image of what would happen if Sherlock was picked up from the orthodox Victorian period
and placed in our age of technology. The influence of Sherlock is considerably reduced, this may be
due to various reasons but the factors have been well accounted. More than making this a one man
show, He works with these people as a member of a team instead of wandering off on his own to
play Super Detective claims Emily Asher-Perrin in her article Battling Super Sleuths: The Awkward
Case of Elementary, Sherlock, and Building the Better Adaptation.
The BBC series however, seems to ignore only certain aspects of our age and hence causes a
conflict in the era in which the shot is taken and when it was originally written. For instance, one of
the key factors for the idolization of Holmes was due to the contrasting level of thought process
between Holmes and the rest of the elements such as Watson and the police. In the 21st Century,
mockery of the capabilities of the Police seems highly ignorant. The notable difference between the
two shows is the power distribution between the characters. Watson seems absolutely unnecessary in
the BBC series, but plays an extremely crucial role in Elementary. Furthermore Elementary has
seemed to paint a more accurate picture of the crime and the police involvement. By the end of
season 2 in the BBC series, the police are an obstacle to the protagonist, an adaptation of the original
script but in Elementary, Sherlock, Watson and the Police go hand in hand. However if we are to
compare who is the better Holmes, BBCs Cumberbatch would win hands down. Its not (just) his
aristocratic, weirdly reptilian good looks or the Alan Rickman-lite voice Cumberbatch just exudes
effortless, amused intelligence. Hes the embodiment of the high I.Q. of the show claims Sara
Stewart. By making the other characters an equal to Holmes, he is not able to grab the entire
spotlight. Sherlock Holmes shouldnt have super powers. He should be extremely clever, but as with
any hero you want to be able to relate to him argues Chapman in his works. However if you are to
make a show with Sherlock as a main character, he doesn't need to be flawless but the least you can
do is empower him.
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The BBC version of Sherlock however sticks to the main script written by Sir Conan Arthur
Doyle. By and large, each Sherlock entry keeps its focus on a single plotline, and while the best
episodes have enough twists and turns to keep that line from dragging, theres little of the comforting
regularity that Doyles fiction generally delivered. states Zack Handlen. Him being spot on, the
BBC series deviates only as to fill in the void of the generation gap by the use of technology.
Elementary on the other hand thinks beyond mere changes in technology. The NYPD is well
equipped and a respectful force. The characters come from various races and the biggest twist being
that of the Antagonist. Irene Adler found alive was an unexpected twist, further making Irene Adler
the evil villain Moriarty was something else. No one would have guessed such a twist would ensue
and a fewer would have come to terms with the fact that Moriarty, an intellectual equivalent to
Sherlock himself, to be a female.
I would like to focus on three scenes, one from the BBC Sherlock and two from the show
Elementary. Firstly focusing on the BBCs Sherlock, The fall of Reichenbach, the episode in which
we see the fall of Moriarty and the apparent death of Holmes himself. Midway through the episode
we see that Moriarty has planted an idea in the head of the police that Sherlock himself is part of the
criminal activities taking place. Sherlock enters an empty cab, arrogant as ever, considers Watson a
hurdle in his flow of thought commands him to take another cab. We see a crane shot of Holmes in
the cab when suddenly the GPRS turns into a screen with Moriarty, we must note that this is the only
modernity that this show brings to its audience. We see two alternating scenes during the chaos. On
one side we see Moriarty explaining how he plans to trap Sherlock and on the other we see that the
police falling prey to Moriartys scheme. This style of editing gives the audience a good idea about
how the execution of Moriartys plan goes spot on as he narrates it; we also observe that the scenes
are shot in two different styles; Sherlock being a close up representing his individual attempt in
bringing down Moriarty and a medium shot of Lestrade and his assistant representing their failure to
comprehend the plan and in trusting Sherlock. We also notice the close shot with a shallow focus on
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Sherlocks face as he loathes the fact that he had fallen for every single trap laid by Moriarty.
Lestrade however is portrayed under office lighting casting a deep shadow, representing how he is
chained in following the judicial principles. As this show is a typical replication of the original script
we must note how the police is a burden to our protagonist. We must also note that there is no actual
use of Watson in the series; he does nothing that aids our hero other than provide a contrasting
character to make our protagonist look smarter. This is the typical Doyle setup during the late
Victorian period.
Now focusing on the last episode of season one of Elementary; firstly I would like to talk
about the scene in which Irene Adler, played by Natalie Dormer, is discharged from the hospital and
taken to Sherlocks residence. The medium shot scene starts off by showing how Joan Watson,
played by Lucy Lui, is worried about Sherlock. We must notice that the lighting is a mixture of key
light and fill light giving us a mixed expression of a serious conversation yet not a dramatic one.
Unlike the cold, relentless Holmes we have read about, we see a more passive and caring Holmes,
who even admits to have fallen in love later in that episode. He even gives up on the case and further
requests Watson to continue on the cold trail. This scene is but a paradox to everything we know
about Holmes; our protagonist would never fall in love, never tire till he solves the case and would
not rely on Watson. These elements make our hero weak and fragile like a normal human being, but
at the same time makes the show more pragmatic. The scene now turns into a long shot picturing the
house in which Irene was found from a low angle, depicting that something positive is going to come
out in the next few minutes. Watson, a female character, begins her investigation and the audience is
shocked to see that her deduction is at par with Holmes himself. Next I would like to focus on the
scene in which Holmes is admitted in the hospital for apparent overdose. The combination of the key
light, the dead silence and the unpopulated dry hospitals ambience brings out a very dramatic and
serious side of the characters in this scene. Holmes accepts his defeat to Moriarty, a female lead,
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making him inferior but at the same time smartly captures her accepting to her crimes. The most
shocking part however was that the mastermind behind the capture was none other than Watson, a
female character of an Asian ethnicity. We see that the police are not a hindrance at any point and
actually take Holmes and Watson extremely seriously.
Other than Irene Adler, a probable paradox to the mainstream work, we see no female role in
any of the Doyles work. Some might argue that he was being a male chauvinist, but it is also
abundantly clear that women, during the Victorian period, did not play a major role. This could be
one of the main reasons why Watson or Holmes himself was not plotted as a female character
originally. I would further argue that Doyle being unexposed to the rest of the world made his
characters standard Londoners.
Emily Asher ends her work by asking her viewers What amazes me more is that no one
seems willing to take the extra groundbreaking steps herelike making Sherlock Holmes a woman.
Call me when that adaptation happens. For all we know in the next 50 years, when, inevitably,
Holmes is made again, we will see a female protagonist with an addiction to video games, maybe
even a transsexual Watson and a Moriarty none other than his brother Mycroft. But all that would
depend on how the world evolves and what factors would determine a hit series at that point of time.







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Work Cited
"Battling Super Sleuths: The Awkward Case of Elementary, Sherlock, and Building the Better
Adaptation." Tor.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 Aug. 2014.

'Elementary' vs. 'Sherlock': Who's the Better Holmes?" New York Post Elementary vs Sherlock
Whos the Better Holmes Comments. N.p., n.d. Web. 17 Aug. 2014.

"It's Elementary, Sherlock: How the CBS Procedural Surpassed the BBC Drama." For Our
Consideration The A.V. Club. N.p., n.d. Web. 17 Aug. 2014.

Konnikova, Maria. Mastermind: How to Think Like Sherlock Holmes. New York:
Viking, 2013. Print.
Panek, Leroy. An Introduction to the Detective Story. Bowling Green, OH: Bowling
Green State University Popular Press, 1987. Print.
"Sherlock Holmes 2." Movie Parliament. N.p., n.d. Web. 26 Aug. 2014.

"10 Reasons Why Elementary Is Better Than Sherlock." What Culture 10 Reasons Why
Elementary Is Better Than Sherlock Comments. N.p., n.d. Web. 17 Aug. 2014.