Sherlock vs Elementary; The Difference between British and American Television

Casting Sherlock Holmes into a modern day environment has often been imagined.  In one way it is enticing, but also holds trepidation.  After all, he was a creature of Victorian England, with all the accouterments, from speech to outlook.

As a character, there was something about Holmes which was repellent yet, obverse provoked  a great respect for his deductive abilities.

How would it be possible for such a person as Sherlock Holmes to exist in this day of forensic science and the Internet?

Two programs were created, one in England, one in the United States to answer the question of whether Sherlock Holmes would work in the modern day.

Sherlock, the British version, is absolutely delicious. The star, Benedict Cumberbatch is perfection plus. Everything about him is spot on.

What adds a remarkable twist to the story is that in the original, Doctor Watson had recently returned from Afghanistan where he had been injured, as it was the time of the Great Game.

In Sherlock, Watson has also just returned from Afghanistan where he was injured in this new version of the Great Game.  Over 100 years have passed, yet…the Great Game goes on.

In Sherlock, So much of what was in the 19th century has been translated into the 21st; i.e the ‘Baker Street Irregulars’ were homeless street boys then. They are simply homeless people today.

It seems great effort was put into keeping so much of the original story true to modern day.

Elementary is a little harder to swallow.

Set in New York City, this Sherlock Holmes has been sent here by his father and assigned a care worker as he had become a drug addict.

This Holmes doesn’t have the right appearance and seems a break from the past. Although Sherlock Holmes has always been ‘eccentric’  he seems a bit too off the far end.

In Stories by Conan Doyle, one can follow a deduction; i.e. in the original Holmes story a woman had mislaced her shoes which made Holmes deduce she had left home in a hurry.

In Elementary, the quick movement of Holmes, his fast remarks and his rather too quick deductions leaves the viewer a bit behind.

One expects Holmes to speak a bit slower and more pretentiously with confidence.

Yet, interestingly, both series work.

The slow, long episodes of Sherlock work perfectly in the British milieu. Elementary takes a bit of getting used to, but it also works.

The insertion of a female Watson as a kind of nurse/companion is a bit hard to get one’s mind around.  But the character works.

The interest in both series is how the crimes are solved. The deductions in Sherlock seem a bit more easily comprehended then in Elementary.

Watson is very interesting in the American series, unlike in the English where he is, as he was in the original sort of the ‘environment’.

Sherlock had its debut in 2010 and went three seasons. There was a break due to the contractual commitments of Cumberbatch but the show should resume in 2017.

Elementary began in 2012 with some misgivings, (considering the popularity of Sherlock) but has continued for 5 seasons, the last beginning in October 2016.

I can recommend  both programmes but would not suggest viewing the shows in tandem.

Watch Sherlock, complete the first seasons. Have a pause of at least a week, (where you watch everything from NCIS to Mad Men) then begin Elementary and complete all the posted seasons.

Take a break in which you watch other shows, (from Suits to Hawaii 50). By that time, the new season of Sherlock would have completed, and you can begin.

As I have said before, watching a ‘living series’ online and having to wait until next week to see the next episode defeats the online experience. You want to be able to complete an entire season at your choice, not having to wait on the next episode.