The new season has brought about a whole
variety of TV shows to choose from. While former favourites like Dexter and Homeland are going great-guns with their latest installments, there
is always that want to get addicted to something new and different.
While it may not be different per say, but Elementary is probably the most awaited TV show of the present season. Taking inspiration from the British series Sherlock, Elementary places Sherlock Holmes (Jonny Lee Miller), rehabilitating from a drug and alcohol addiction, in modern day New York. The conventional Watson gets a rather drastic change of the female kind in Lucy Liu's Dr. Joan Watson assigned to keep a lookout on Sherlock by his father. To make matters slightly different we get two detectives in place of the famous Lestrad, with Captain Toby Gregson (Aidian Quinn) and Marcus Bell (Jon Michael Hill) playing second fiddle to the famous detective.
Elementary deserves credit for trying hard, but try as it might it just doesn't have the same mind frame that Sherlock has. While Jonny Lee Miller is made to look edgy with his antics and his tattooed body, it is Lucy Liu in a very subtle role that commands notice. Obviously unlike Sherlock, Elementary has the job of keeping the audience happy for at least 12 if not 20 odd episodes. If only it would stop trying so hard as it did in the third episode which resembles the film Primal Fear from the get go. Another aspect of Elementary that makes it less dark is that so far there is no Moriarty like figure that would really keep Sherlock on his toes. A hint did present towards the end of the third episode, but that too was dumbed down because it seems at this time Sherlock must have the upper hand in all situations. Nor is there a Mycroft Holmes, brother to Sherlock, who I hope will be introduced later in the series as well.
Everything aside, Elementary is a good enough modern take on the character of Sherlock Holmes. Moreover, with his eccentricities and obsessions he somewhat fills the void left by Monk when that series ended a few years back. Having the option of more thank 3 to 6 episodes does give the series liberty to bring in characters at a later date and hopefully that would make it more interesting.
