Great post that has actually inspired me to join LJ and post a comment! I wanted to discuss/address some of the comments you made in the opening paragraphs about similarities/non-similarities etc. I am a big fan of the original ACD stories. I started reading them about age ten when the Granada (UK) series first aired starring Jeremy Brett. This was an absolutely fabulous series that was very true to the novels and short stories and was superbly acted by Brett who I would say is the definitive SH. When I first heard about the first Downey Jr movie, I cringed. How could they choose an American to play such a very British part, but I must say, those two movies are excellent in their own way - similar to the ACD character but with differences.
When BBC's Sherlock first started airing I didn't watch it. I'll admit I was out of the loop and didn't get at all caught up in the fandom. The idea - modern take - interested me, but I just never got around to watching it. Then I noticed Reichenbach Fall being aired and decided to give it a try as I was interested to see how they did the modern take on the famous story. The story itself was interesting, but I hated the characters. SH is not supposed to be a twat but I found the way it was played to be a complete turn-off, while Watson's character seemed weak and almost insignificant. You won't be surprised to hear that I've been completely put off watching any more of those.
So to Elementary - how could a character I love 'work' well in a different city? London is a wonderful city, but then so is New York and there are infinite possibilities for great backdrops where the city streets are as much a part of the show as the characters themselves. Unfortunately, this hasn't exactly been the case yet in Elementary. It could really have been filmed anywhere - so as an aside it would be nice to 'see' more of NYC in the series. But I was very happy that SH is played by a Brit and JLM is excellent in the role. The character portrayal of SH in Elementary is, in my opinion, far more true to the original ACD characterization than what I saw of SH in Sherlock, so how Moffat can say that Elementary isn't true to ACD's works - but presumably he believes Sherlock is - I find laughable. Surely getting the characterization right and developing stories around that character is far more true to ACD than what BBC's Sherlock does - which I see as creating a character who's an absolute a-hole but it's okay because the stories are based on the originals. Hmmm...
As for a female Watson - I didn't exactly have any strong opinions on this before the season started, but Joan Watson is excellent. She has a very strong character and the way the whole background to her being there was developed is genius - the whole sober companion thing - it gives her an excuse to be the mother hen that Watson was (partly) written as in the original ACDs, but she's now growing beyond that. Developing her own skills as an investigator, not just an observer or bystander, and as we go on she's going to become more and more invaluable to Holmes, giving her own take, helping out with medical info etc.
We're now getting more nods to the ACD stories too, and I love that. As you said, static-abyss, you won't find a strict interpretation of the novels in Elementary and some ACD fans may find that hard - I don't, because I truly believe that this is an excellent show that successfully takes a popular and well known character and modernizes him, unlike - imo - the BBC series does. Yes, Elementary is an awesome show and long may it continue!!
I'm now going to read the other parts of your original post and will start posting my own comments on my LJ profile if I can figure out how to work everything :-)
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timeasmymeasure
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Date: 2013-02-10 08:39 pm (UTC)I wanted to discuss/address some of the comments you made in the opening paragraphs about similarities/non-similarities etc. I am a big fan of the original ACD stories. I started reading them about age ten when the Granada (UK) series first aired starring Jeremy Brett. This was an absolutely fabulous series that was very true to the novels and short stories and was superbly acted by Brett who I would say is the definitive SH. When I first heard about the first Downey Jr movie, I cringed. How could they choose an American to play such a very British part, but I must say, those two movies are excellent in their own way - similar to the ACD character but with differences.
When BBC's Sherlock first started airing I didn't watch it. I'll admit I was out of the loop and didn't get at all caught up in the fandom. The idea - modern take - interested me, but I just never got around to watching it. Then I noticed Reichenbach Fall being aired and decided to give it a try as I was interested to see how they did the modern take on the famous story. The story itself was interesting, but I hated the characters. SH is not supposed to be a twat but I found the way it was played to be a complete turn-off, while Watson's character seemed weak and almost insignificant. You won't be surprised to hear that I've been completely put off watching any more of those.
So to Elementary - how could a character I love 'work' well in a different city? London is a wonderful city, but then so is New York and there are infinite possibilities for great backdrops where the city streets are as much a part of the show as the characters themselves. Unfortunately, this hasn't exactly been the case yet in Elementary. It could really have been filmed anywhere - so as an aside it would be nice to 'see' more of NYC in the series. But I was very happy that SH is played by a Brit and JLM is excellent in the role. The character portrayal of SH in Elementary is, in my opinion, far more true to the original ACD characterization than what I saw of SH in Sherlock, so how Moffat can say that Elementary isn't true to ACD's works - but presumably he believes Sherlock is - I find laughable. Surely getting the characterization right and developing stories around that character is far more true to ACD than what BBC's Sherlock does - which I see as creating a character who's an absolute a-hole but it's okay because the stories are based on the originals. Hmmm...
As for a female Watson - I didn't exactly have any strong opinions on this before the season started, but Joan Watson is excellent. She has a very strong character and the way the whole background to her being there was developed is genius - the whole sober companion thing - it gives her an excuse to be the mother hen that Watson was (partly) written as in the original ACDs, but she's now growing beyond that. Developing her own skills as an investigator, not just an observer or bystander, and as we go on she's going to become more and more invaluable to Holmes, giving her own take, helping out with medical info etc.
We're now getting more nods to the ACD stories too, and I love that. As you said, static-abyss, you won't find a strict interpretation of the novels in Elementary and some ACD fans may find that hard - I don't, because I truly believe that this is an excellent show that successfully takes a popular and well known character and modernizes him, unlike - imo - the BBC series does. Yes, Elementary is an awesome show and long may it continue!!
I'm now going to read the other parts of your original post and will start posting my own comments on my LJ profile if I can figure out how to work everything :-)