Elementary Catch-Up: 1x01

I've been saying for literal years now that I was going to re-watch and catch up on Elementary. I didn't intentionally walk away from the show, I just sort of lost track of it because of grad school and never found a good time to jump back in.

Well, at this point I've been pretty thoroughly spoiled by gifsets on tumblr, but they've also really inspired me to commit to catching up. If I blog it, I know I'm more likely to actually accomplish this catch-up. So away we go:

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From the very first scene with Joan jogging, I love this show’s commitment to a sense of place. You can tell they actually shoot in NYC unlike most shows that take place there. Building a strong sense of place is a way of staying true to the Holmes stories. The books are HEAVILY rooted in Victorian England (specially London most of the time). They are a mood. They are almost the quintessential example of the setting. To honor that, you don’t have to stay in Victorian London, but I think a good Holmes adaptation should place a high priority on really sinking the characters and the audience into wherever (and whenever) they are.

This intro between Holmes and Watson is unfortunately not very strong. Holmes is not making a deduction, he’s making a prediction, and it’s just… not realistic. Guessing a long line of a show's dialogue verbatim is not a matter of observation and logic. Plus, it's inconsequential. And they’re making their female lead, their POV character, uncomfortable via unexpected and unwanted romantic advances. By all means discomfit your lead! That's not a bad thing to do in a pilot! But it’s the male gaze that makes it take this particular form and I don’t like it! Thank god the show gets better.

(JLM looks hot tho. Sry not sry.)

I love how taking Holmes’ beekeeping hobby out of the context of his rural retirement turns it into just one of his weird idiosyncrasies. Like… “Urban beekeeping. Sure. Why not.”

HE IS SO ENCHANTED ALREADY BY HER INTELLIGENCE. HE LIIIIIKES HER.

“You’re done here. Go wait in the car.” Seriously, seeing a Watson who doesn’t fawn over their Holmes, making excuses for them, is so cool. Starting out with an antagonistic relationship is a unique take that I like. Their association is involuntary, also contrary to most adaptations. They move pretty quickly to getting along both personally and professionally, but this moment (and also the scene where Watson refuses to be charmed by Holmes’ deduction of her past) are important.

The fact that Watson thinks the car crash was all part of a plan is *chef’s kiss* humor. His abashed face!

This scene where Watson discovers a break in the case because a file happened to spill open is sloppy writing.

Alas and farewell, Detective Abreu. We hardly knew you.

Joan and her Mets hat <3333 Holmes puts her coat on for her <333333

Overall, if I’m being honest, this was kind of an uneven debut. There’s not much in the writing that brings it beyond most police procedurals. In my opinion, JLM and Lucy Liu’s performances are what elevate this. They both bring a fantastic vulnerability and yet... tartness? to Holmes and Watson. They are committed to making this a character study as much as a serial mystery show. And of course there’s the way they’re playing with the Holmes mythology by altering the setting and casting Lucy as Watson. I’m also remembering now how much I lamented the show’s decision not to have Watson be a practicing doctor. As I go through the re-watch I want to see how I feel about having her become a detective, because I don’t remember much about how that played into the show and her character, and it's another unique piece of this adaptation.