Joan Watson: Not so Elementary
Written by GeekGirlCon Copywriter Winter Downs.
Image source: IMDb
Many geeks are gaga for Sherlock, but I’m here with a shout-out to the other modern-day TV adaptation of the Sherlock Holmes books, CBS’s Elementary.
For me, the core appeal of the show is not the sleuthing—the mysteries can be a bit lackluster—but the relationship between Sherlock (Jonny Lee Miller) and Joan Watson (Lucy Liu), and the character of Watson herself. Lucy Liu’s casting caused concern in fan circles, for some because they favored ‘traditional’ (ie. white male) casting; for others because they thought that making Watson female meant the showrunners planned to reduce her to a love interest or caretaker.
For folks in the second group, just one or two episodes should set their minds at ease.
Just to get the main drawbacks out of the way: as in all Holmes adaptations, Watson is defined by her relationship to the title character. The show also suffers from a lack of other female characters for Joan to interact with. But she herself is the most dynamic and interesting Watson I’ve seen (and I’ve seen a lot of Watsons), and she elevates the whole show.
