There has been quite the resurgence of popularity in Sherlock Holmes in recent years. This happens every 10 – 15 years, as each new generation is introduced to, and then reinterprets the 125 year old source material. This phenomenon is a testament to the original stories. While not the first or arguably the best detective fiction ever written, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s “Consulting Detective” has remained the most popular.
Lately, we have seen three new versions of Sherlock Holmes. Guy Ritchie’s 2009 film “Sherlock Holmes” kind of came out of left field, though there was a slow rumble leading up to its creation, and while not based on any of Conan Doyle’s actual writing, the film was successful enough that spawned a resurgence in interest in the character within the collective unconscious.
Out of this, came the BBC’s Sherlock, created by Doctor Who writers Stephen Moffat and Mark Gatiss, which premiered in 2010. This version is set in contemporary London, and uses Conan Doyle’s work as a basis. It is also some of the best television ever made. Sherlock is brilliant on several levels, not the least of which is the choice of actors used. Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman play Holmes and Watson respectively, and both are perfect. The Holmes that Cumberbatch creates is a darting, cold, manic-depressive and self-described “high functioning sociopath”, who knows that he is the smartest man in the room, or indeed any room. This does not mean that he doesn’t have his moments of heart and likability. He does, and more often than one would expect. Freeman’s Watson is a quiet war vet with PTSD, and the show does a fantastic job of letting the viewer in on his relationship with Holmes as it cycles through being wary, annoyed, intrigued, impressed, and then back to wary and annoyed as the day to day realities of living with an eccentric genius set in.
The thing about Sherlock is that the series is definitely rooted in Holmes lore and canon. These are the same characters, updated for the new millennium by using the technology of today. Holmes was never very personable, and of course that type of personality prefers to communicate via text message rather than face t0 face. Watson, as Holmes’ biographer, uses a blog rather than a weekly magazine to chronicle the events portrayed. However, these are same safe, dependable, uniquely British characters we have enjoyed for over a hundred years.
Which brings us to Elementary. Far be it for American television executives to see something wildly popular across the pond and not want a piece of that action. As happens more often than not, the studio machine can’t just make a deal and broadcast the same show on network T.V. over here, they have to make their own. This has been done countless times, some met with success(All In The Family, The Office), but most have died very painful deaths (Life on Mars, Coupling, Skins), especially when the Americans start messing with what is proven to work and work well in the source material. This is exactly what was happening with Elementary. They moved the setting from London to New York, made Sherlock a recovering drug addict, who is not so much the English gentleman as grungy burnout, and Watson is now a disgraced female Asian-American doctor with the made-up sounding job of “sober companion”, tasked with keeping Sherlock off drugs. All this had enraged the purists, and sure seemed like a recipe for disaster, but amazingly CBS has managed to craft a surprisingly entertaining show. Elementary shies away from established canon, choosing instead to create all new story lines that better fit the American setting and the new dynamic between the stars. Initially I thought that on a lot of levels this show would be just as good if the Holmes mythos was nowhere to be found. Police procedural dramas often rely on an eccentric genius and a feisty sidekick (House, Monk), so why bother calling them Holmes and Watson? Slowly but surely, the show is hitting the beats necessary to make this a recognizably Sherlockian endeavor. By slowly introducing or hinting at characters and situations familiar to the established mythology, interest can grow as a slow burn thanks to having more episodes per season than the British usually do.
Winner: SherlockIf I have to pick sides in most debates along these lines, I usually caucus with the purists. Also, even though I’ve been a lifelong fan of the source material, and pretty much know where all this is going, I’m much more interested in how Sherlock is going to bend modern reality to make that happen than I am in seeing Elementary make it all up. I’m a lot more invested in the characters in Sherlock because I’ve spent my whole life with them in one form or another. With Elementary, I have an entertaining detective show nestled in with a hundred others on prime time T.V., and if it suddenly goes away, I still have Castle and Person of Interest and whatever else right there to fill the void.
Here is Sherlock's first meeting with Watson in the BBC version:
And the American version:
Do you have a topic you would like the Prairie Nerds to address? Let us know at PrairieNerds@tulsaworld.com or Email Jason Powers at jason.powers@tulsaworld.comFollow Prairie Nerds on Twitter.
Like Prairie Nerds on Facebook.
