Elementary (Season 1)

Show: Elementary

Season: 1

Episodes: 24

Created By: Robert Doherty

Based on the Characters Created by: Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

Released: 2012-2013

Rating: 3/5

Basic Plot: A modern take on the cases of Sherlock Holmes, with the detective now living in New York City.
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Watson's Gender-swap
I admit this is the thing that gave me a little worry when I heard about the series. I could find no good reason why Watson was now a female in this series. I went from "so Watson can be a love interest since the media seems to have trouble with queer relationships" to "it's to show Sherlock's misogyny better". I have not yet found a good reason why Watson is a female, but it's something that doesn't bother me while watching the show. Lucy Liu does a great job with making Watson a strong, female character that is able to put Sherlock in his place. While I do ship the pair, Joan Watson is anything but a defenseless female.

Bits of Excitement
I don't remember any episode where I was dying to know what happened next. I was willing to wait a week to find out. Even when Irene was shown to be alive I was interested, but not dying because I had to know what happened next. However, there were parts here and there of true brilliance. Such as when Sherlock goes after the man that he thinks killed Irene. This shows such a vulnerable side to an otherwise logical character that it reminds the audience that Sherlock is indeed human. Overall, it was a very meh Season though the Watson and Sherlock moments are always a pleasure to see.

Character Changes
Now I am not going to talk about Irene Adler because she is a major spoiler for the series. Ms. Hudson is now a transexual. She is still a she but she just has male genitalia. For those unused to trans people, it is both correct and polite to refer to them as the gender they call themselves. It is for this reason I am very happy about Hudson's character being the same gender but a different sex. You don't know how happy it makes me. Moriarty's character being changed leaves me with mixed feelings. On one hand it's a very interesting take, on the other hand it is odd and confusing.

Final Thoughts
I know I have said negative things about this show. However, I was watching the show before Day 1. Before the Pilot aired I saw a pirated version of it (link given to me by a friend). It entranced me enough to keep me watching each week. I love Johnny Lee Miller's Sherlock since there is so much life, joy, pain, sorrow, logic, and emotion in him. He really helps keep the show afloat. The show even has its own little gag which is bees. Supernatural has pie, Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles has pancakes, and Elementary has bees. I am not a big Sherlock fan so I don't know if big time Sherlockians will like this take on the classic tale. I'd suggest watching the Pilot and what you do from there is up to you.