Elementary –1.01– Pilot– A to Z Challenge – Day 05
‘So keep fightin' for freedom and justice, beloveds, but don't you forget to have fun doin' it. Lord, let your laughter ring forth. Be outrageous, ridicule the fraidy-cats, rejoice in all the oddities that freedom can produce.’
― Molly Ivins
Prologue
This episode falls firmly in the category of “Firsts”.
I saw the unaired pilot as well and preferred it over this one but this one was every bit as good as the other. I really liked this pilot. It’s odd that I actually didn’t continue watching it, like I initially planned*. This was by far one of the best pilots of the 2012-2013 TV season that I personally watched. I love Johnny Lee Miller, Lucy Liu and I’m an avid fan of the character of Sherlock Holmes so it was a perfect storm of bias.
I’m a Sherlockian (aka a fan of the BBC’s Sherlock) as well but I feel like there is more than enough material to go around and each show has its pros and cons and I don’t compare them because there is no comparison each one is unique and great in its own way.
I have a lot of great things to write about so onwards and upwards to the rest of the review…
About the Show
Seasons: 2 | No. of Episodes: 42 |Premiere Date: 09/27/2012 | End Date: N/A |Status: On-Air
Genre(s): Crime, Drama, Mystery
Story in a nutshell: Elementary is an American crime drama series that presents a contemporary update of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's character Sherlock Holmes. The series was created by Robert Doherty and stars Jonny Lee Miller as Sherlock Holmes and Lucy Liu as Dr. Joan Watson.
The show follows Holmes, a recovering drug addict and former consultant to Scotland Yard, as he assists the New York City Police Department in solving crimes. His indifference to police procedure often leads to conflict with Captain Thomas Gregson, although the two still remain mutually respectful of one another. He is accompanied by Watson who initially acts as his sober companion. She is a former surgeon and was hired by Sherlock's father to help him in his rehabilitation.
They eventually begin to work together on his cases, and she becomes Holmes' apprentice.
Best Reason to Watch the Show: The writing staff is AMAZING! I’m constantly hearing nothing but good things about the episodes and casting choices as well as the mind blowing twists. Even though I don’t watch the show just yet, I do follow the Elementary Writers’ Room on Twitter and they are really witty and great at interacting with their fans.
Best Thing about This Episode: No boring exposition. Really there's not a single boring moment in the entire episode, at least not to me. I was thoroughly engrossed for the duration.
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Episode Summary: Joan Watson is assigned as the sober companion of Sherlock Holmes. When she goes to meet her new companion, she finds that he escaped from rehab the day of his release. When she meets him, he takes her on the subway to a house in Manhattan; he explains that before he began using drugs he used to work for Scotland Yard as a consultant to help solve homicides. He works on the case of a woman who was attacked, and supposedly kidnapped, only to find that she was hidden in a safe room in the apartment.
The next day, Holmes finds that the killer is most likely a serial killer, finding similarities to another case, except that this victim survived. After interviewing the woman, Holmes and Watson find that she knew the man who attacked her. When Holmes calls Captain Gregson, with his newest lead, Gregson reveals that they're at the suspect's house, and that said suspect has committed suicide. Watson and Holmes fight, due to his lack of trust and sharing regarding his past, before drugs, and mysterious personal life, resulting in her saying she'll request another companion assignment.
Holmes concludes that the victim's husband, a psychiatrist plotted to have her killed by giving his patient pills that would make him violent, then sending him after his wife. There was a pre-nuptial agreement, and he would have received money if his wife were to die.
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Character of the Night
• Sherlock
Best Character Interactions
• Joan & Sherlock
Best Line
• Joan: It’s incredible the way that you can solve people out just by looking at them. I notice you don’t have any mirrors around here.
Sherlock: What’s that supposed to mean?
Joan: It means I think you know a lost cause when you see one.
Best Scene
• Joan and Sherlock watch a baseball game and Sherlock deduces the final winning play much to Joan's disappointment.
Memorable Moments
1. Sherlock sniff a shirt to see if it is passable/clean enough to wear and decides that it is.
2. Sherlock is into BDSM, he likes to be tied up and is possibly into autoerotic asphyxiation.
3. Sherlock has a wall of weird.
4. Joan swabs Sherlock's mouth mid-sentence.
5. Sherlock smashes Joan's car into a smug suspect's car in retaliation and out of frustration.
Notable & Quotable
1. Sherlock: Shh, yourself. It's not even on key.
2. Sherlock: It's elementary. - He said 'THE THING'!
3. Sherlock: Sometimes I hate it when I’m right.
4. Joan: What about my father….how did you know my father had an affair?
Sherlock: Google. Not everything is deducible.
5. Sherlock (to Joan): Please don’t get comfortable, you won’t be here long.
Superb Scenes
1. Joan questions Sherlock about not being right all the time and he corrects her about the mistake that she thinks he made.
2. Sherlock tracks Joan down at the opera.
3. Joan makes Sherlock wait in the car after badgering a victim.
4. Joan meets Sherlock and he quotes a sappy monologue from a soap opera to her.
• I've always has a problem with smart people who are socially inept. If one knows what makes people tick then they should know that rudeness usually won't get anyone anywhere with another person.
My Favorite Main Character
• Joan Watson
My Favorite Side Character
• Captain Thomas Gregson
Least Favorite Side Character
• Marcus Bell
Fun Fact: Did you know that the show House, M.D. was basically a Sherlock Holmes alternate universe?
Tasty Tidbit: Those tattoos of Johnny Lee Miller's are all real.
Side Notes: *I seriously thought this was going to be one of those ‘can’t miss’ shows for me. I loved the pilot and the two follow up episodes that I saw were great as well but somewhere along the way, I just lost interest and then completely forgot about the show (Thursday nights are an extremely busy time for me). In all honesty it was probably due to my obsession with the BBC’s Sherlock. The hiatus between season 2 and 3 nearly drove me mad, I spent most of the time writing meta, making fan art and commiserating with fellow Sherlockians on Tumblr. I do plan on getting all caught up with the show this summer.
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Grade: A
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Comparable Shows
If you like shows with heavy elements of crime, drama and mystery then I highly recommend you watch one, some or all of the following shows: Bones , Leverage, Sherlock and/or White Collar.
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Up Next: If you are a fan of the space western genre come back and check out my blog Monday, April 07, 2014 because I will be writing about my favorite episode of Firefly.
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