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Elementaryvs.Sherlock':WhosthebetterHolmes?|NewYorkPost

ENTERTAINMENT

Elementaryvs.Sherlock':Whosthe
betterHolmes?
By Michael Starr and Sara Stewart
January 16, 2014 | 10:31am

JonnyLeeMiller(left)andBenedictCumberbatch(right)playSherlockHolmeson"Elementary"and"Sherlock"
respectively.
Photo:CBSandBBC

MichaelStarrmakesthecaseforElementary':
I was initially skeptical (so what else is new?) prior to watching Elementary on CBS. A
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Elementaryvs.Sherlock':WhosthebetterHolmes?|NewYorkPost

show in which Sir Arthur Conan Doyles iconic British detective, Sherlock Holmes the
one we all know and love never existed?
Please.
Oh, and were supposed to believe the Sherlock Holmes who exists in Elementary (Jonny
Lee Miller) is, like Conan Doyles creation, a British-born recovering drug addict only
here hes been transplanted to New York, where his brilliant deductive reasoning (and
OCD) makes him an invaluable asset as a consultant to the NYPD?
Well . . . yes. I quickly bought into the premise lock, stock and barrel and the series is
terrific.
What makes Elementary so good at least in the context of its suspending-belief TV
universe are the performances of its stars, both Miller and Lucy Liu, who plays Holmes
sidekick, Dr. Joan Watson. Shes an ex-surgeon who abandoned medicine after an
unfortunate incident and has morphed from Sherlocks sober companion to his salaried
crime-solving partner.
Their on-screen chemistry (no romantic overtones yet) is palpable. Miller somehow
imbues Holmes arrogant and condescending with just the slightest bit of vulnerability,
making us like and admire him in spite of ourselves while Miller fires off his elaborate,
florid dialogue effortlessly (or seemingly so).
Watson herself is no shrinking violet, softening Sherlocks verbal blows with an are you
kidding me? stance while, in her own sly way, getting all up into her partners grill while
respecting his ethereal brilliance.
The show is fun and fast-paced, in spite of its over-the-top plots, and features a winning
supporting cast (Aidan Quinn as world weary NYPD Capt. Tommy Gregson and Jon Michael
Hill as top-notch, slightly cynical Det. Marcus Bell).
Kudos to series creator Robert Doherty for adding a new wrinkle to a familiar pop-culture
mainstay.

SaraStewartmakesthecaseforSherlock':
I cringe at the term Cumberbitch, but Im not going to lie the impending arrival of the
third season of Sherlock on Sunday does make me a bit teenage-girl-shrieky inside. As
the BBCs version of Sir Arthur Conan Doyles quirky detective, Benedict Cumberbatch is so
right for the part its almost painful to watch anyone else try (apologies to RDJ and Johnny
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Elementaryvs.Sherlock':WhosthebetterHolmes?|NewYorkPost

Lee Miller).
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, whose banter is so quick a non-Brit would be well advised to watch with
closed captioning on (Im still not sure I got every word from the last two seasons).
In a world oversaturated with reboots, sequels and updates, Steven Moffat and Mark Gatiss
creation is the rare worthwhile revisit: a contemporary rendition of the worlds greatest
detective, meshing the utility of modern technology (texting often figures prominently)
with a deliciously Victorian sense of leisure (Sherlock spends off hours at 221B Baker St. not
on the Internet but playing the violin, doing questionable science experiments or just
staring off into space).
And the rest of the cast is equally impeccable. Has there ever been a part more well-suited
to the twitchy, double-takey Martin Freeman? (Well, other than The Office?) Marvel as
his John Watson discovers Sherlocks back from the dead; the scene is a thing of comic
beauty. Then theres his brother Mycroft, played to simpering perfection by Gatiss himself,
who very nearly walks off with Sundays episode.
Plus, you have to respect a show that so clearly adores its obsessive audience right back:
Sherlocks return features not one but two fan-fictiony kisses between characters which
Im not going to spoil for you, dont worry. The episodes title, The Empty Hearse, is the
name of a group of Sherlock admirers (in the show) piecing together their hypotheses about
how he pulled off his fake suicide, just like weve all been doing here in the real world.
This show is for full-on nerds, my friends. And as Sherlock siren Irene Adler put it last
season, Brainy is the new sexy.
FILED UNDER
BBC, BENEDICT CUMBERBATCH, CBS, ELEMENTARY, JONNY LEE MILLER, PBS,
SHERLOCK, SHERLOCK HOLMES
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