"Elementary", New CBS Show.

Discussion in 'Visual Arts' started by tonyc, Aug 12, 2012.

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  1. tonyc

    tonyc Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    United States
    I was watching the BBC "Sherlock" episode "Hound Of The Baskervilles" for a second time. Upon turning it off, my TV was on CBS and on the screen was an ad for the new CBS show "Elementary".

    Here is the official CBS description of the series:

    [​IMG]

    ELEMENTARY stars Jonny Lee Miller as detective Sherlock Holmes and Lucy Liu as Dr. Joan Watson in a modern-day drama about a crime-solving duo that cracks the NYPD's most impossible cases. Following his fall from grace in London and a stint in rehab, eccentric Sherlock escapes to Manhattan where his wealthy father forces him to live with his worst nightmare - a sober companion, Dr. Watson. A successful surgeon until she lost a patient and her license three years ago, Watson views her current job as another opportunity to help people, as well as paying a penance. However, the restless Sherlock is nothing like her previous clients. He informs her that none of her expertise as an addiction specialist applies to him and he's devised his own post-rehab regimen - resuming his work as a police consultant in New York City. Watson has no choice but to accompany her irascible new charge on his jobs. But Sherlock finds her medical background helpful, and Watson realizes she has a knack for playing investigator. Sherlock's police contact, Capt. Tobias "Toby" Gregson, knows from previous experience working with Scotland Yard that Sherlock is brilliant at closing cases, and welcomes him as part of the team. With the mischievous Sherlock Holmes now running free in New York solving crime, it's simple deduction that he's going to need someone to keep him grounded, and it's elementary that it's a job for Watson.

    So, is it "Elementary" to think this new CBS show will be canceled? Or are any of you looking forward to it and think it may actually be able to compete with the quality of the current or previous BBC versions?
     
  2. Jack White

    Jack White Senior Member

    Location:
    Canada
    The premise does read a bit preposterous, but I'm willing to give it a try.

    Most new shows are cancelled in their first year, but it's much too early to predict for an individual show that hasn't even aired.

     
  3. Yankee8156

    Yankee8156 Senior Member

    Location:
    New York
    It's so hard to tell what will stick with audiences. The majority of new programs get canceled, no matter how good they sound on paper. And then you've got shows that sound like a ridiculous concept that end up lasting a few seasons.

    It sounds like it's got a shot, though I'm not sure Lucy Liu has the star power to ensure that. It sounds quirky enough that it could stick, but who knows :shrug: Doesn't interest me, personally.
     
  4. KevinP

    KevinP Forum introvert

    Location:
    Daejeon
    Don't have high hopes. Moffat's Sherlock is modern retelling, making it one step removed from the source. This one is a recasting of Sherlock in the US, making it two steps removed.

    In Moffat's, I can just about buy that this is a world where there never was a fictional Sherlock Holmes. I think that's going to be harder to do when set in NY. They'd be better off just changing the names so that they aren't Holmes and Watson at all, making the allusions to Doyle's work subtle.

    Who knows? It might work and I'm criticising it without having seen it. I'm just not optimistic.
     
  5. MLutthans

    MLutthans That's my spaghetti, Chewbacca! Staff

    Looks like 100% pure poop on a stick to me, but I'll try watching anything once, so let's wait and see, I guess.
     
  6. Splungeworthy

    Splungeworthy Forum Rezidentura

    I liked this show the first time I saw it-when it was called "House".
     
  7. zebop

    zebop Well Known Stranger

    They keep trying to made Jonny Lee Miller happen. It's like the '60s and '70s when TV tried to make James Francisus and Tony Franciosa stars. I didn't happen. I don't think it's going to happen for Miller either.
     
  8. Thurenity

    Thurenity Listening to some tunes

    They should have swtiched roles - that would have been more interesting, at least.
     
  9. steeler1979

    steeler1979 Darren from Nashville

    Location:
    Nashville,Tn. USA
    Looks like a load of garbage to me tonyC :agree:
     
  10. Vidiot

    Vidiot Now in 4K HDR!

    Location:
    Hollywood, USA
    I'd be very surprised if this clicked. There have been a million variations on modernizing Holmes & Watson over the years. George C. Scott and Joanna Woodward in They Might Be Giants is a very similar idea, done very well. But with this cast, in a contemporary show... I'm very dubious.

    Here's CBS' 5-minute promo:

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6YvuZ4Msh50
     
  11. KevinP

    KevinP Forum introvert

    Location:
    Daejeon
    Is it just me, or do an awful lot of American TV shows have characters with debilitating backstories in which one single event changed everything? There's just something typical about 'A successful surgeon until she lost a patient and her license three years ago.'

    Not that I want a return to characters with no backstory or depth whatsoever, but I don't think it has to be one, single drastic event every time. That fact that it's explicitly highlight in a short blurb makes me think that it's a lazy way of creating backstory. People's lives are a series of events, not one major one and nothing else.

    Expect flashbacks.
     
  12. subatomic09

    subatomic09 Forum Resident

    Location:
    New Jersey
    God, I could not agree more. :righton:

    Based on the trailer and the synopsis, this show looks absolutely dreadful and derivative and uninspired. Typical American episodic crime show shlock designed to go on forever and reset every week. This is CSI meets Castle, not even in the same league as Steven Moffat's brilliant Sherlock.

    I predict six seasons of will-they-won't-they sexual tension between Sherlock and Watson. No thanks.
     
  13. rjp

    rjp Senior Member

    Location:
    Ohio
    lucy lui is the sell here i believe. she is the eye candy to get viewers to tune in.

    but if the show stinks, nothing will help.
     
  14. Jack White

    Jack White Senior Member

    Location:
    Canada


    Since the original Watson was an army doctor recently returned from Afghanistan, I'm surprised this updated Watson's backstory didn't include being a medical officer just back from Afghanistan or Iraq.

    And the stable, steady, reliable Dr. Watson engaged in malpractice, suffering from a deep personal crisis with the need to redeem him/ herself? Doesn't ring true with the character.

    I am willing to wait and see, though.
     
  15. The Panda

    The Panda Forum Mutant

    Location:
    Marple, PA, USA
    I never found her at all attractive, never understood her as eye candy.
    IMO, her acting skills are negligible.
     
  16. ky658

    ky658 Senior Member

    Location:
    Ft Myers, Florida
    Ditto...
     
  17. Thurenity

    Thurenity Listening to some tunes

    Technically the actors on all these shows are eye candy, gender aside. You usually have the hot female, the young attractive guy and sometimes the older "mentor" guy, usually a known actor or face.

    I've never found Lucy Lui to be all that attractive either, but obvously some people do as she is perceived that way. But this show as stated so far seems very forgettable - there's nothing grabbing my attention that says "I have to watch this". Where's the hook?
     
  18. I think it's too early to tell. Let's give it a couple of episodes to find its footing.
     
  19. dkmonroe

    dkmonroe A completely self-taught idiot

    Location:
    Atlanta
    Looks like a loser to me. I don't know why anybody wants to tackle another "Sherlock Holmes Update" series with the current BBC series being as outstanding as it is.

    If it is not cancelled within a few weeks I will be very surprised.
     
  20. Matthew B.

    Matthew B. Scream Quietly

    Location:
    Tokyo, Japan
    Probably since they're trying to avoid comparisons with the BBC show.
     
  21. RDK

    RDK Active Member

    Location:
    Los Angeles, CA
    I really hate silly/stupid thread titles like this. Not only is it a foolish bet as all TV shows eventually get cancelled - and I know that's not what you mean but even the majority on new shows get cancelled fairly quickly - but it's just further indication of just how negative and sanctimonious this forum has become.

    What's wrong with a simple "New CBS show 'Elementary': Let's Discuss"?
     
  22. subatomic09

    subatomic09 Forum Resident

    Location:
    New Jersey
    That's obviously not true. Some shows just come to an end without being canceled. The Sopranos, Lost, The Wire, Rescue Me, Smallville, Desperate Housewives, Friday Night Lights, Big Love, Battlestar Galactica, just to name a few. Breaking Bad and Mad Men will both end without being canceled.

    Granted, shows like this are designed to go on forever, so eventually it will have to get canceled. The question is how long will it last before that happens?
     
  23. tonyc

    tonyc Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    United States
    Since I'm the problem here with this forum, I suggest you contact a gort so that my membership status can be put under review.

    No wonder I have already quit this place twice before...
     
  24. Thurenity

    Thurenity Listening to some tunes

    Calling the thread title "stupid" is, in itself, is a bit sanctimonious isn't it? I happen to actually agree with you in that the title could have been a little more middle-of-the-road, but I think your opinion is a little extreme.

    Now if the OP had titled it something like "Elementary - This Show Is Going to Suck", maybe I'd agree with you. But the OP still left it a bit open-ended.

    If you don't like the thread (title), just ignore it. Or if you feel it's overly negative and doesn't belong here, report the post and if a Gort agrees they'll pull it. On that note, there's no way to hide a thread, correct? I really need to look into that more.


    I've asked if I should give back my membership card a few times, but so far they've let me keep it. ;)
     
  25. tonyc

    tonyc Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    United States
    The title of the thread was meant to be a joke on the word "Elementary". I did not foresee that it would be a major issue regarding "further indication of just how negative and sanctimonious this forum has become". But, apparently, I am much more smarter than I think I am and thankfully someone like RDK is here to point out my evil plan and that the title of my post will eventually lead to forum ruin. I guess the fact that I concluded my opening post with an objective yes or no question about whether or not the show will succeed is irrelevant.
     
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