Stephy Watched Elementary: Season One

 I don't guess; I observe. And once I've observed, I deduce.

About/Summary

Elementary is a modern day Sherlock Holmes adaptation that aired from 2012 to 2019. Starring Jonny Lee Miller as Sherlock Holmes and Lucy Liu as Joan Watson, the duo assist the New York Police Department in solving various crimes.

Content/Trigger Warnings

Murder

Sexual Assault

Manipulation

Drug Use

Past Drug Addiction

Kidnapping

 

This is a crime drama so, yeah... Lots of crime. Mostly murder.

Characters/Casting 

I fucking adore the casting of this show.  I've been a slight fan of Jonny Lee Miller since I watched Trainspotting as a teenager so when I originally heard he was going to be Sherlock Holmes I was excited to check it out. Was not disappointed. Lucy Liu was perfect as a genderbent version of Dr. Watson.

Atmosphere/Setting

The show takes place in New York City. Mostly in the brownstone that Sherlock lives in with Watson. I want to live in that brownstone. Not with Sherlock, though. He seems like a real shitty roommate. 🤔 Actually, he might be a fun roommate. Yeah. I would live with him.

Adaptation?

Maybe an adaptation? More of an influenced by? Okay, everyone knows who Sherlock Holmes is. And this is a modern retelling. But it doesn't really follow any of the books or stories that well. There are elements and chracters there. But not enough to say it's an adaptation.
 

Plot

 Each episode (for the most part) has a stand alone main plot line, which is just Sherlock trying to solve a crime. Then there is the underlying sub-plot of Watson trying to get Sherlock to open up, which results in the Moriarty plot that shows up in all the Sherlock Holmes things.
 

Costuming

Costuming is pretty basic. Wait. No. That means something not great... Uh... It's simple. Modern era so costuming is sort of easier, I guess. It seems easier than historical costuming, at least. Well, all of it would be easy if you didn't care, but if you're going for accuracy, historical costuming seems more difficult. 

Anyway! This isn't supposed to be me rambling about historical costuming or whatever.

I do love a lot of the outfits Watson and Sherlock wear. The clothes seem to fit their personality types. And I just like them on a personal level.
 

How diverse is it?

It is moderately diverse. One of the main characters is an Asian American woman. One of the main cop characters is African American. So, not a bunch of white dudes at least.

Oh! And we do get a trans character. That isn't a criminal. Nor the butt of a joke.
 

Overall Thoughts 

Major Spoilers Ahead

so, if you don't want shit spoiled for a 12-year-old show, stop reading now.

This is my favorite Sherlock Holmes adaptation/inspired by thing. The others are fine. But this one is better. 🤷

And I love the Moriarty twist. Natalie Dormer needs to play more criminal masterminds because she was fantastic in this. Stop giving me boring white dudes as criminal masterminds. Give me Natalie Dormer.

Watson starts out as a former surgeon turned sober companion and then gives that up to become a consulting detective with Sherlock. I think the arc of her changing jobs was well done.

Not sure what to say that isn't just me gushing about Natalie Dormer and Lucy Liu. So, I think I'll end this one here. Go check out Elementary. It's really good.

Stephy Watched Miss Sherlock

 

 

 

About/Summary

A Japanese gender-swapped version of Sherlock Holmes. Oh, that sounds like an anime plot, but it's not!

 

Content/Trigger Warnings

Murder

Child Murder

 Torture

Brainwashing

 

Characters/Casting

This version of Sherlock is pretty unhinged. And I enjoy a good unhinged Sherlock.

Characters were slightly different than how they are usually portrayed. I guess. I mean, this version of Mycroft actually gets along with Sherlock.

This version of Watson (Wato) was... She was okay. Not bad, but not my favorite version of Watson (that honor goes to Lucy Liu as Joan Watson)

 

Adaptation?

This is a Sherlock Holmes adaptation, but Japanese. Names are different but it is still noticeable who some of the characters are.

Sherlock Holmes adaptations are hard to judge. I don't think this one follows any of the old stories, not sure as it has been awhile since I read anything besides Hound of the Baskerville. The characterization of Sherlock is good. But, Wato seems a bit more meek than Watson. But it's not bad.

As an adaptation I would say it's not bad, but it's not exact.

 

Plot

 Each episode focuses on a mystery that Sherlock has to solve, with Wato trailing behind. There is also an underlying plot (the Moriarty plot) going through several of the episodes.

Costuming

I adored Sherlock's outfits. And did get quite distracted by her shiny heels at one point... She could stab a suspect with those shoes...

Uh. Everyone else's outfits are fine... Just fine... Look, I was fucking distracted by Sherlock.

Overall Thoughts

I put this one my list on Max a few months back and then promptly forgot about it. Then, I wanted to watch Elementary, but couldn't find my DVD of the first season. So I watched this to get my Sherlock Holmes fix. And oh. My. Gods. I hate that I waited so long. I figured I would only end up watching one or two episodes before my attention span was at its end. Nope. Watched the entire series. And do not regret it. I loved this show.

I do not recommend this to picky Sherlock Holmes fans. But I do recommend it to anyone who enjoys mystery shows with awesome female characters. Just remember it is a Japanese show.

That's all for this one.
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The Hound of the Baskervilles by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

 Hello there!

I'm Steph and I ramble about nerdy things.

Today I'm going to ramble about The Hound of the Baskervilles by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.

Hold my book, Oliver

I have (for some reason) decided to change my book review approach. I'm basically just copying and pasting notes I take while I'm reading the book and then going to try and make them into something coherent. So if it seems a little messy, welcome to my brain. Well, a slightly more coherent version of my brain. I'll see how this works for me. 

Warnings:

Death

Murder

Animal Deaths

As with all Sherlock Holmes stories and books (at least the ones I have read) this is in Dr. John Watson's point of view. Which I always liked. 

Okay, so, Dr. Mortimer shows up at Sherlock's flat with a problem. It takes about three chapters for him to get to the actual problem. First, he tells a story (Old Guy Baskerville was a dick, and a hound from Hell or something killed him). Then talks about his dead friend (Charles Baskerville - who maybe saw the hound and died of fright?). And finally, The Problem, should he bring the last living Baskerville (Henry - he's Canadian) to the home when it might or might not be cursed? Sherlock tells him to come back the next day and he will have an answer for the doctor.  Dr. Mortimer has an interest in skulls, by the way. No joke. I love it. 

The doctor returns with Henry Baskerville the next day. And Sherlock is all "I don't know what you should do. You have a missing boot? Let's have lunch."

Finally (after another missing boot and a threatening letter) it is decided that Henry will go to Baskerville Hall. But he should take someone trustworthy with him. Not Sherlock. He's much too busy. He takes Watson, at Sherlock's suggestion. I just imagine Sherlock picking up Watson and handing him over like "here, take this."

After arriving at Devonshire, Watson meets the Stapletons. A brother and a sister. The sister, thinking he is Henry, tells him to leave. Which is suspicious. 

"One page is missing." Where is that page Watson?!

I have read this book before. I have watched three different adaptations of this book. And I still cannot remember what happens. 

Oh yeah, there is an escaped convict out there somewhere. Keep forgetting about him. 

Henry develops an interest in the Stapleton sister. Which, her brother isn't too keen about at first, but then seems fine with it.

Some woman is crying at the Baskerville house at night. The butler, Mr. Barrymore says it's not his wife, who is the only woman in the place. Though, Mr. Barrymore is secretly watching the moor every night so not sure how trustworthy he is.

Oh yeah! The escaped convict is Mrs. Barrymore's brother! So there are a couple mysteries solved. 

Henry and Watson decide they are going to catch the escaped convict, instead of, I dunno, contacting the police or something. It does not end well. They hear a Hound (maybe. It could be a strange bird!) And Watson sees the shadow of a man. Oh. And the convict gets away. 

Oh, who could this strange man on the moor be?! *whispers* I know who it is. Oddly enough, back when I first read this book I guessed who it was. Made me feel quite smart.

Watson chats with a neighbor and gets a clue to where the Strange Man is hiding. So, Watson goes to confront the ruffian! Only to find out it is Sherlock. Because of course, it is. 

Watson is super upset that Sherlock lied to him. 

Wait! Stapleton's sister is really his wife?! And he has a "close intimacy" with that other lady?! How did I forget this?! He's the murderer. Dirty, lying murderer. Poor Henry is going to be devastated to know the lady he likes is married! 

Well… Henry is dead…

False alarm. It was the convict. Remember him? Cause I fucking didn't…

Wait. Stapleton looks like the old Baskerville guy? Plot twist! (I had to know this, right? I have read this book before…)

Sherlock uses Henry as bait and discovers Stapleton was using a great Hound as a murder weapon. He also tied up his wife to keep her from foiling his plans. 

The last chapter has Sherlock summarizing the entire case. Which was nice because there were a few details that Watson didn't know. 

And that's the book. I left out some bits (like Stapleton's motive) for reasons. Reasons that might or might not be that I forgot all the details. 

I really like Sherlock Holmes stuff. They're fun reads and I always get over-excited when I figure out something before Watson or Sherlock.

That's all for this week. If you like my ramblings, considering to donating to my Ko-fi so I can buy more books (and things for my cats...)