TV REVIEW - ELEMENTARY

The natural reaction when one finds out about the new CBS procedural Elementary (Sunday, 8:30pm, Channel 10) is a cynical one; surely this idea of a modern-day Sherlock Holmes will be hopelessly inferior to the BBC’s Sherlock? Throw in the casting of Lucy Liu as Dr Joan Watson and the cacophony of cynicism only grew louder, with some critics and fans assuming that Watson and Holmes might be more than just friends as soon as the writers run out of other plot lines. Sherlock Holmes fans might not agree on everything, but they’re pretty consistently against Holmes and Watson having sex with each other.

Personally, I was torn. On one hand, I’m a huge fan of the British Sherlock (it was my number one show of both 2010 & 2012) and I didn’t want to see a cheap rip-off. On the other hand, I’m a firm believer that remakes and re-imaginings aren’t always inherently a bad idea (Exhibit A: Batman Begins. Exhibit B: I don’t need one) and there was every chance this would simply be more of a good thing. I really like one modern-day Sherlock Holmes tale, so why not two?

Which is why I’m pleased to report that while it’s not within a bull’s roar of the flat-out brilliance of Sherlock, Elementary is very far from a failure. It’s a crisp, well-executed procedural that takes the time to establish its central two characters and develop their relationship consistently and satisfyingly. The mysteries might be a touch above your average Bones/Castle/Mentalist fare*, but that wouldn’t even slightly matter if we didn’t care about our detectives, and Elementary is surprisingly successful in that regard. The character work is good, the writing and the support cast are decent, but what lifts Elementary from serviceable to good/very good is one major trump card, and it deploys it spectacularly.

*Although the show’s predilection for the procedural cliché of the most famous guest star having committed the crime is more ridiculous here than on any other procedural I watch. Seriously, when a main supporting character in a recently cancelled show is hanging around the background of a scene just to throw in two or three lines of dialogue, every IMDB nerd in the country knows they did it.

Any adaptation of Sherlock Holmes doesn’t work if the role of Holmes is miscast. Jonny Lee Miller is one of those incredibly underrated actors just waiting for the right television series to come along (his last starring role in a series was Eli Stone, which had more than its fair share of moments but was crippled by the writer’s strike*) and I’m as surprised as anyone that it’s a CBS procedural that’s produced it. He is simply brilliant as Holmes, growing into the role episode by episode until finally he stands as a creation equal to that of Benedict Cumberbatch**, while remaining considerably different and distinct. It’s quite seriously a performance more than deserving of an Emmy nomination, though I suspect he’s Buckley’s chance of receiving one. Crucially, the creative team keeps Holmes British, even though the show is set in New York, and that allows Miller the freedom to play every degree of light and shade within the character without the restriction of an American accent. What’s more, he’s admirably supported by Lucy Liu, deadpan, quiet and understated, she’s a terrific foil. (And breathe easy, traditionalists: there’s not even a hint of sexual chemistry or tension).

*He also played one of the weaker season-long villains on Dexter, even though his performance was excellent. For those unfamiliar, other highlights of his career include Hackers, Trainspotting and marrying/divorcing Angelina Jolie. Lowlights include being utterly wasted in Dark Shadows and being in Aeon Flux at all.

*The two starred together in Danny Boyle’s stage version of Frankenstein, which was outstanding, and the fact they’ve ended up playing the same role in very different shows is one of those fascinating quirks of the entertainment industry.

For fans of the Sherlock Holmes canon, don’t expect too many nods to the various shadowy figures we all know from the Conan Doyle novels (or the BBC show). The writers take their sweet time building character relationships before they start folding in mythology, but when they do (Episode 12) you can expect this show to go to another level altogether. For now, it’s merely an above-average procedural elevated by the outstanding work of Miller in the lead (as the second great Holmesian performance on an American show in the last ten years, the other one being Hugh Laurie in House). Elementary is good, and for a rare moment in the world of television, we can put our cynicism away.

ELEMENTARY SCORES
17/25