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A study in Sherlock: a tale of two series

Mathew Sychantha
Connector Editor

(Note: As Sherlock is airing on PBS, we won’t be touching on the unaired episode as of this reading)

Sherlock Holmes, the premiere detective of fiction. With over 100 years of literary history under his belt, different writers have tried their hand at pastiches ever since the ink dried on the pages that original author Arthur Conan Doyle wrote himself. These authors include revered french crime author Maurice LeBlanc, famed modern writer Neil Gaiman and recent UMass Lowell forum speaker Stephen King.

With such a rich literary history of writers interpreting the characters of Sherlock Holmes universe, changes have been made in every interpretation to fit the moods and the tastes of modern audiences across the adaptations, from big screen to the continuing literary tradition. Sherlock Holmes has become a mouse, a hound, a 22nd century detective, an apparent steampunk warrior, a sociopath and a drug addict.

However, with two different kinds of series of Sherlock Holmes based material going on, Sherlock Holmes has something of a slight fandom rivalry going on between it’s two english language adaptations, the BBC’s Sherlock and CBS’s Elementary.

Two shows with completely different formats, the two none the less have built up merits in two separate directions.

Sherlock has retained a large fandom by their reinterpretation of the Sherlock Holmes canon stories by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, it’s fantastic direction and it’s penchant for cliffhangers that keep people waiting on the edge of their chair for two years between seasons. Through it’s run, Sherlock and Watson have kept largely like their literary counterparts by resetting themselves from one story to the next and retaining little in the way of character development, which is a fine format for a series with three episodes at an hour and a half a piece.

Elementary meanwhile has gotten praise from reviewers and viewers alike for it’s boldness to step outside canon while retaining a canon feel much like the various pastiches through the years. It’s emphasis on slow burning and satisfying seasonal arcs, consistent character development from one episode to another and ability to deliver very strong episodes on a week by week basis has drawn them steady ratings between 9 and 10 million per week. As for it’s characterization, Elementary has made it’s name by taking elements of the main character’s personalities (Sherlock’s addictive and icy personality, Watson’s sidekick status and more) and deconstructing them deliberately.

Undoubtedly Elementary started off on weaker feet, with the show having to explain the mythic origins to a crowd struggling to accept what was being changed from canon and undoubtedly weaker stories towards the beginning of it’s run. However, since the second half of it’s first season until now, the show has managed to find it’s feet and has consistently delivered strong episodes that build to satisfying conclusions ever since.

Sherlock on the other hand started with an undeniably strong run. Barring what is known as the second episode curse among fandom(where the second episode is seen as the passable or skippable episode among fandom) the show’s first two seasons drew on strong plotting and heart-stopping tension. However, as the show has gone on, it has received its fair share of criticism. First for it’s portrayal of Irene Adler in it’s season 2 premiere. Second in it’s third season arc, with it’s heavier emphasis on characterization, the two episode mysteries seem to have taken a back seat as Sherlock seems to have taken a retooling. The problem with this being that in a show that runs the course of three episodes, forcing major character development in can be somewhat grating to the format of the show, especially in comparison to previous seasons.

That said, both shows have managed to deliver strong, entertaining television over the course of their respective runs. With Elementary returning from a three week break and it’s previous episodes available to stream on CBS.com(we recommend starting with Step Nine, the season premiere) and meanwhile Sherlock being available for streaming on Netflix and PBS’s website, both are fantastic takes and are sure to please.

Elementary airs this Thursday at 10 on CBS. Sherlock airs on PBS on Sunday at 10. Be sure to catch up on and enjoy both!