Elementary
Channel 10, 8.30pm Sunday
Starring Johnny Lee Miller and Lucy Liu
YOU don’t need to be Sherlock Holmes to work out that Elementary is one of the best shows on television at the moment.
Starring Johnny Lee Miller and Lucy Liu as Holmes and Dr Joan Watson respectively, the crime drama manages to modernise a classic hero without ruining the distinctive character of the legendary detective.
Miller’s turn as Holmes is a standout performance, bringing Arthur Conan Doyle’s 19th century creation to life with a perfect blend of eccentricity, brilliant intelligence, nerdy obsession and social awkwardness.
Liu’s take on the starchy but steady Dr Watson is a refreshing transformation for fiction’s ultimate second banana. Sexy, smart and not at all intimidated by Holmes’ oversized brain, this is a role that seems set to grow as the series continues.
Set in New York, where the English detective moved to escape his former life as a drug addict, the episodes do not mirror the famous tales penned by Doyle. Instead, it uses conventional modern crime stories as a base for each show.
Where the show stays true to the original is the portrayal of Holmes as a man battling the demons of drugs, depression and an insight into the workings of the human mind that seems to haunt his every moment.
The line between madness and genius has always been a thin one with Sherlock Holmes, and this series allows his brilliance to shine in preposterous crime-solving ways.
With crime drama one of the key planks of prime-time scheduling, finding a twist in the formula has become harder than ever.
Only the truly clueless wouldn’t be able to figure out that Sunday night at 8.30pm on Channel 10 is must-see-television.
It really is elementary.
– Danny Buttler
