Review of Elementary

Elementary (2012–2019)
4/10
Your Typical Quirky Detective Show...
6 October 2012
This show isn't "Sherlock Holmes".... and I don't say that because of any "reimagining" or creative license taken with the character.

This is nothing more than your typical Hollywood detective show that features a quirky guy solving crimes with his straight laced sidekick. It's been done millions of times on US television. Monk, Psych, Mentalist, Lie to Me, Perception, Endgame, The Finder, Life, etc.. The list goes on and on.

This is a very mediocre show... The characters are weak, the stories are weak, and the crimes are mundane. Halfway through the second episode I found myself already solving the "mystery" and spent the rest of the episode wondering why this Sherlock character isn't able to see something so obvious.

Furthermore the character doesn't "deduce" anything important and at least half the deductions are more like dumb guesses, they add little to the character or the story.

The use of "Sherlock Holmes" here is nothing more than a hook to get people to watch the show. In the end the "Sherlock Holmes" character is mere window dressing to your basic quirky detective show. One that isn't even as good as the other quirky detective shows.

The show does absolutely nothing to capture the essence of Sherlock Holmes.

If you really want to watch a modern take on Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's character then you really should watch BBC's Sherlock.

Elementary tries to be like BBC's Sherlock, but other than having a guy with a British accent, it fails miserably on all counts.
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