“I don’t guess; I observe. And once I observe, I deduce” says Sherlock Holmes, a gifted but disturbed detective who is the central focus of the CBS’s new show “Elementary.”
Airing Thursdays at 10 p.m., the show follows Holmes – played by the talented Jonny Lee Miller – as he runs loose in New York City and solves crimes in a unique and slightly odd manner.
Playing babysitter is the ever present and grounded Dr. Watson. The character comes with a twist: Watson is a beautiful woman, played by the stone-faced Lucy Liu.
The show’s premise follows Holmes and his new “sober companion” Watson, who was hired by his father to ensure he stay clean.
At times, it seems difficult to determine who has the darker, more troubled past. Watson was a doctor who no longer practices due to the death of someone on her operating table, and Holmes broke out of rehab for drug and alcohol abuse the same day of his tentative release.
While Holmes has done a magnificent job of breaking down almost every secret Watson has, from her time as a doctor to her parents’ marital problems, he is a trickier egg to crack, one that neither Watson nor the audience knows much about yet.
The audience does know, however, that Holmes is an incredible detective. In the style of most CBS procedurals, he easily and quickly wraps up a case in under an hour, solving crimes as easily as he dishes out insults.
Holmes is rude and has no concern for others’ emotions, making him the Sheldon Cooper – Jim Parsons’ character on “The Big Bang Theory” – of crime solving. His lack of social skills does not make him an unlikeable character, though; Miller does a great job of making Sherlock biting but funny with a sympathetic and sweet side that will win audiences over in the long run.
The pilot was entertaining but predictable. Most of the episode was shown in the extended promo for the series, so the only new thing to see was the crime. Like all crime shows on CBS, however, “Elementary” will prosper with a wide range of viewers, and this standard but enjoyable series will most likely be on for many years to come.