Last Thursday, CBS premiered a new show entitled Elementary.  This show is Sherlock Holmes (played by Jonny Lee Miller) in the modern day. While placing Holmes in the modern day is not a new idea, this show takes a few more liberties with its source material. First of all, like half the shows on television, the setting is New York City. Secondly, Watson is an Asian woman played by Lucy Liu.
But how good is the show? Well that’s more complicated. I think Jonny Lee Miller as Sherlock Holmes was an excellent choice. He does a very good job of both being the character from the original stories and being different from any version of the character. I love what the show does with Holmes’ deduction skills. If you don’t know, Sherlock Holmes could look at you and tell your whole life story from little details on your clothes and skin or whatever else you have. There was a moment where after meeting Watson, he deduces why she is no longer a doctor. He changes the story to spare her feelings from the real reason that she quit. I don’t think any other version of Holmes would have done that.
But what about Watson? I think Watson’s character needs work. She is different than the character from the books. Not just because she is a woman. She seems more critical of Holmes than the one from the stories. She’s less amazed and more annoyed by him. I also hope that they decided to cast a woman because of a new idea, rather than having members of both genders audition and choosing her. I think this lady’s acting needs to improve.  Her face doesn’t show many emotions. She seems to have the same look on her face for half the episode.
What about the plot? I liked the plot of this episode. It begins with Watson meeting Holmes and then goes on from there. They have to solve a murder case. The way Holmes figures out the specific circumstances of the murder was very interesting. All the evidence was that the woman must have known the murderer because there were two broken glasses on the ground. He deduces she was pouring drinks for the both of them. When the killer is found dead, with only two clues to go by, Holmes solves the case.
Overall, I think that this is a promising show that will have some interesting new developments and I will certainly be viewing it again this week.