.jpg "Jonny Lee Miller as Sherlock Holmes in CBS Elementary Episode 17 Possibility Two") |
| Jonny Lee Miller as Sherlock Holmes |
Gerald
Lydon (Dennis Boutsikaris) is the victim of a medical condition that is genetic
in nature. He does not have that in the family and believes that he has been the
victim of a deliberate infliction. He tries to hire Holmes to figure out the guilty
party.
Holmes
refuses to take his case and is bribed with a rare species of bee. Shortly, Lydon is taken into custody for the murder of his
driver, Crabtree (Steven Hauck).
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In
the customary subplot, Holmes has started mentoring Joan in the skills of detection.
He lets her do the deductions on crime scenes and advises her to carry evidence
bags all the time.
He
also assigns the laundry work to her and keeps the fridge cleaning duties to
himself. This is another tactic to hone her observation skills.
In
the Canon, Holmes never teaches Watson the methods of deduction. This aspect is
unique to Elementary. Unfortunately, this development does not seem to be a
good omen for the show. As good it is to see Holmes and Watson in a
mentor-student relationship, things seem to be headed in an altogether different
direction. Holmes seems jealous of Joan’s intimacy with her college professor.
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| Lucy Liu as Joan Watson |
The
mystery itself was quite convoluted.
I
did enjoy the scenes at the dry cleaning service. They were genuinely funny.
The
scene where Holmes texted Gregson and Bell while they were interrogating a
suspect, instantly reminded me of the press briefing scene in BBC Sherlock’s “A Study in Scarlet”, where
Cumberbatch’s Holmes texts Lestrade and everyone else in the room.
The
scene did have one redeeming feature - Holmes quotes Benjamin Franklin: “You
may delay, but time will not”.
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Jennifer Lim as Natasha Kademan
|
Canonical references
- Someone
named Musgrave has recommended Gerald Lydon to contact Holmes – Reference
to Holmes’ college mate from The
Adventure of the Musgrave Ritual: “Reginald Musgrave had been in the
same college as myself, and I had some slight acquaintance with him.”
- Holmes
receives a bee as a bribe from a prospective client - In the story His Last Bow, Sherlock mentions he
is writing a book on Bee Keeping entitled “Practical Handbook of Bee
Culture, with some Observations upon the Segregation of the Queen”.
- Holmes
teaching Single stick fighting to Joan - Watson
mentions about Holmes in A Study in Scarlet: “Is an expert singlestick player, boxer, and
swordsman.” Holmes himself states in The Adventure of the Illustrious Client: “I’m
a bit of a single-stick expert, as you know.”
- Holmes
is seen speaking Norwegian language – Reference to this line spoken by
Holmes in The Adventure of the Empty
House: “You may have read of the remarkable explorations of a
Norwegian named Sigerson, but I am sure that it never occurred to you that
you were receiving news of your friend.”
- Holmes
is seen listening to a French song (“La Vieille Chanteuse” by Claire Diterzi) – Reference to this line stated by
Holmes in The Adventure of the Greek
Interpreter: “But, none the less, my turn that way is in my veins, and
may have come with my grandmother, who was the sister of Vernet, the
French artist.”
 |
| Jonny Lee Miller as Sherlock Holmes |
Elementary
is proving to be a very average adaptation of the Sherlock Holmes stories. I do
not find anything outstanding in this show.
The
show seems more like a character-driven drama than a show based on Arthur Conan
Doyle’s stories. I am guessing that the show will score very well with audience
who are yet to familiarize themselves with the Sherlock Holmes Canon.
I
do give credit to the show for the Canonical nods that pop up now and then. Even
this aspect of the show is becoming stagnant. The Bee Canonical Nod has been
used in a number of episodes and the Single stick has also made a couple of
appearances.
It
is becoming increasingly tedious to sit through the episodes. That is something
that rarely happens with an adaptation of Sherlock Holmes stories.
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Image Source: CBS
