There are two ways to go about your adaptation of Sherlock Holmes: adhering as close to the original Arthur Conan Doyle stories (known as "the Canon") as possible, or finding a fresh interpretation of the character. Wisely, Elementary has decided to take a page from each theory.
First airing in September 2012, Elementary brings the characters from Conan Doyle's stories into the twenty-first century -- with more than a few twists along the way. It is, of course, not the first filmed adaptation to place the stories in a "modern" setting (that's been done for decades, from the Rathbone WWII movies to the BBC series starring Benedict Cumberbatch).
But Elementary managed to find its way to creating unique twists on a much-adapted idea, placing their Holmes not in London, but rather uprooting him to New York City. And as the first season wore on, the writers and actors presented us with continually engaging characters, even as they continued to twist some of the best-known tropes of the Sherlock Holmes tales -- with exciting, original results.
I love a good mystery show -- and, if you've ever read this blog before, you know me as quite the Sherlockian. But even I was surprised to find how much I fell in love with this show, easily won over by brilliant acting, clever writing, and characters to care about.
With the premiere of Elementary's second season on the horizon, it seemed like a good excuse -- I mean, opportunity -- to take a look at what the show has done to introduce their own unique versions of some of the most iconic characters in literature:
Season 2 is off to a promising start (airing September 26 on CBS)
Sherlock Holmes:
Most people remember that Sherlock Holmes smoked a pipe, but Sherlockians will be quick to point out that the Sherlock Holmes of the Canon had other addictions besides. In Victorian times, today's illegal substances were in existence, but they weren't illegal yet, making Holmes's occasional uses of morphine and cocaine unfortunate but by no means unheard of.
In a truly modern update, Elementary's Holmes also made use of such substances -- with tragic results. After a catastrophic loss in London, Sherlock spiraled into heavy addiction, bottoming out before making his way to New York City. When the show begins, Sherlock's just finished a round of rehab at Hemdale Recovery Center and is on his way to putting the pieces of his life back together.
This tattooed, t-shirt-wearing Sherlock is almost jittery with energy, firing off rapid responses as he explains his quick-fire deductions to those around him. On the surface, this "hipster Holmes" is seen by some critics as being too unlike the original to truly hold the moniker of "Sherlock Holmes."
But in the ways that count, the character is unmistakably the Great Detective. It's not just in his deductions -- which, as always, point to a brilliant mind who sees the "puzzle" in things that most people fail to observe. But we also have a Sherlock Holmes who has deep compassion for the victims and clients who come to him for help, and who sees justice as something that, just occasionally, might require going around the law to uphold. The emotions he often tries to hide are undeniably present -- as in his Canon counterpart -- and his empathy and his ethics are all vintage Holmes.
My favorite thing about this Holmes has been the hope inherent in watching a character who has suffered a fall, but is continuing the struggle to heal. Indeed, the show occasionally explores the question of whether or not Sherlock will relapse -- and to resist the impulse, Sherlock has made use of the support of the people around him. One friend, in particular.
Dr. (Joan) Watson:
A doctor. A soldier. A man. If there was one thing Elementary got a lot of flack for (months before the first episode of the show had even aired), it was the decision to make Dr. Joan Watson only one of these things.
The Dr. John H. Watson of Conan Doyle's Canon is a former military surgeon who served in the Second Anglo-Afghan War. Sent home from India -- and still recovering from the double whammy of a bullet wound and a bout of typhoid fever -- Watson finds himself too poor to rent a set of rooms on his own. Luckily, a pal of his happens to know of another chap looking for a roommate: one eccentric Sherlock Holmes. Watson goes on to become one half of the most famous fictional friends in literary history, serving as roommate, bodyguard, assistant, partner, chronicler, eager audience, and best friend to the Great Detective.
A former surgeon, Elementary's Joan Watson now works as a sober companion, guiding recovering addicts through their first six weeks of post-rehab life. Hired by Sherlock's father for the job, Sherlock himself is quick to try to push her away ... at first. But by the third episode ("Child Predator"), Sherlock is coming to see real worth in the former doctor -- not just as a sober companion, but as a detective, and as a friend.
Strong, capable, intelligent, and fairly self-assured, Joan Watson is on her own quest throughout the first season: discovering who she is and what she wants to be. As her friendship with Sherlock deepens, so does her faith in her own deductive abilities. Though she's mentored by Sherlock, Watson has truly become a detective in her own right by the end of the season -- and she achieves a momentous victory in the season finale. A true partner, and a true friend, to Sherlock Holmes (and certainly, thank goodness, not a romantic interest), Elementary's Watson is one of the most engaging characters of the series.
Detective Gregson:
When it comes to the officials of Scotland Yard, Inspector Lestrade is the most famous policeman to work alongside Sherlock Holmes. But he's hardly the only Canon cop, and the Elementary writers choose to make use of a different Yarder for their interpretation: Inspector Gregson.
Tobias Gregson is described by Sherlock Holmes as "the smartest of the Scotland Yarders." When he first appears in the novel A Study in Scarlet, he's portrayed as the polar opposite of Lestrade: tall, level-headed, and a little more likely to overlook the occasional lapse of the law -- as long as justice is still served in the end.
In the world of Elementary, Thomas Gregson is a captain of the NYPD, and is similarly described by Sherlock as the smartest cop on the force. Gregson had previously crossed paths with Sherlock in London, when Gregson had been consulting with Scotland Yard on their counter-terrorism methods following the 9/11 attacks. Having seen Sherlock's brilliance first-hand in England, he is more than happy to bring Holmes in as a consultant to the police now that the private detective is on Gregson's home turf.
While commanding enormous respect from Sherlock himself, Gregson also does as much for the audience. It's in an early episode (Episode 4, "The Rat Race") in which we discover that Gregson knows more than he always lets on -- and that he's a great cop because he tempers intelligence with wisdom. With Sherlock's estranged relationship from his father and older brother, it's not hard to see that Gregson is serving as friend, mentor, and perhaps even father figure to Holmes himself.
Ms. Hudson:
While she rarely gets involved with the action of cases themselves, Mrs. Hudson remains an important figure in the Sherlock Holmes stories. The landlady of the apartments at 221-B Baker Street, Mrs. Hudson provides room and board for her two unusual lodgers, Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson. While we truly don't see much of her in the stories, we can, at the least, deduce that she has a great sense of affection and protection for her "boys" (she's always very affronted at those clients who insist on bursting in on Holmes and Watson at a moment's notice, particularly those clients who are not in the best of tempers), and she's also quite courageous (lending an important hand in The Empty House, at a bit of a risk to her own safety, to help Holmes capture the bad guy).
In the world of Elementary, the brownstone residence of roomies Sherlock and Watson is a property owned by Sherlock's father, which seemed to suggest that Mrs. Hudson wouldn't figure into the story. So fans were delighted by Episode 19 ("Snow Angels"), in which we are introduced to Ms. Hudson.
In a show which can rightfully pride itself on making great progress in representation, Ms. Hudson herself is transgender (both the character, and the actress who plays her). That is, of course, only part of who she is, and the fact that she's transgender never dominates the character.
Needing a place to stay after a breakup, Ms. Hudson finds herself at the brownstone for a few nights. (An expert in Ancient Greek, Ms. Hudson originally met Sherlock when he consulted her on an unusual case.) Initially wary of an unexpected houseguest, Watson quickly warms to Ms. Hudson when her self-proclaimed "OCD tendencies" result in her giving the hopelessly messy brownstone a much-needed cleaning. Sherlock eventually goes on to hire her as a part-time housekeeper -- and fans have fingers crossed that we'll see her again in the show's second season.
Irene Adler:
In the Conan Doyle stories, Irene Adler is known as "the Woman" -- that is, the only female mind who outwitted Sherlock Holmes himself. But rather than despise her for it, Holmes deeply admires this advisory who bested him, and "the Woman," as he so often refers to her, is meant as an honorary title. ("In his eyes," Watson explains to we readers, "she eclipses and predominates the whole of her sex.")
The original Irene Adler was neither a career criminal (she was threatening the King of Bohemia with blackmail because he'd broken her heart, not because she was after his money), nor a love interest for Holmes (she gets married to another man midway through the story). In dozens of adaptations, however, she is, as often as not, portrayed as a criminal -- and she has certainly served as a love interest for Sherlock Holmes in more than one onscreen interpretation.
Happily, Elementary finds a way to play with the modern ideas about the character while still serving up their own unique twist. Shown in flashbacks, Irene Adler is an American woman (as she was in Conan Doyle's short story A Scandal in Bohemia) who earns a living as an art restorer. Sherlock encounters her in the course of an investigation, and as he studies the paintings in her studio, he deduces that she is also an art thief -- sometimes keeping the originals and sending her own copies back to the museums who hired her. But despite that, Sherlock is immediately smitten with her, and it's not hard to see why: she is brilliant, creative, good-humored, and knows exactly who she is and what she wants. Here is the Woman, indeed.
Moriarty:
Professor James Moriarty was conceived by Conan Doyle to be "the most dangerous criminal in London," a genius mastermind who has a hand in half the crimes committed in London. "He sits motionless," Holmes tells Watson, "like a spider in the centre of its web, but that web has a thousand radiations, and he knows well every quiver of each of them." Moriarty is equal to Sherlock Holmes in wit, strength, and intelligence -- the polar opposite of the detective, using his powers for evil instead of for good.
Ironically, Moriarty was also conceived to be a one-off villain, never mentioned until his star appearance in The Final Problem and never used as a central character again. (He does rate a mention in The Valley of Fear, but it's more the suggestion of his presence than any actual appearance.) But this hasn't stopped Moriarty from becoming an iconic figure in the Sherlock Holmes legend -- and why not? Presented as Sherlock Holmes's ultimate foe, it's hard to resist giving him a larger-than-life (or larger-than-page?) reputation. (Plus, there was that little matter of the falls ...)
Elementary delights in teasing its audience with the appearance of Moriarty, starting with the startling revelations in Episode 12 ("M.") of Moriarty's involvement with the death of someone very close to Sherlock Holmes. The last few episodes of the season draw Sherlock and Watson into the tangled web of this latest incarnation of the criminal mastermind, with jaw-dropping results. To say more would ruin one of the greatest plot twists I've seen on television, so I'll simply leave you with the reassurance that, when it comes to Moriarty -- one of my all-time favorite villains -- Elementary's spin on the character is my solid favorite.
-- Request the first season of Elementary from the Catalog.
-- Post by Ms. B
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