Elementary pilot

[amanuensis1]

The pilot of Elementary has leaked; I watched it. Feel "meh" about it.

First...remember my "Matt Damon does zip for me emotionally" a few weeks ago? Yyyyeah, well, thaat's Lucy Liu for me too. So I'm afraid that's #1 on the list of why I won't stick around for more. That's a personal reason and not a critical one.

But the rest is decidedly critical. Nothing else connected with me either. The script doesn't convince me that Sherlock is particularly clever; it just feels like everyone else is ingenuous, unsuspicious, and kinda dumb. Aiden Quinn's character is such a null point here, not showing even the least bit of annoyance with Sherlock's offensive quirkery. I thought that was supposed to be part of the fun, in Sherlock-Lestrade interaction?

The script feels plastic-y and plodding. Nothing seems funny, nothing's zingy. I never even made it as far as considering the dynamics of the Watson-Holmes relationship, because of the fake feeling, slow script. In Sherlock's words, bored.

Comments

[pervert-bitch.livejournal.com]

I think if they haven't called the characters Holmes and Watson, I would have likes this more :P

[amanuensis1.livejournal.com]

That has the ring of truth, it does.

[rex-dart.livejournal.com]

The script doesn't convince me that Sherlock is particularly clever; it just feels like everyone else is ingenuous, unsuspicious, and kinda dumb.

So this is Adam West style Sherlock.

[amanuensis1.livejournal.com]

Mmmmmmm, mmmaybe. Sherlock's the only one not Adam West-ing, see. But he doesn't come off as should-be-Sherlock levels of brilliant, in my view.

[iibnf.livejournal.com]

I didn't hate it, but I found it very hard to concentrate, kept wandering off. I like Lucy Liu, but yeah... no connection. Not yet anyway. I'll keep watching, waiting to see if I become a fan.

Bit like I'm still watching Supernatural, waiting for that to click.

[amanuensis1.livejournal.com]

How many seasons is that now? :D

[iibnf.livejournal.com]

Eight seasons? One thing, fans say 'the show went to hell after season five!' and people like me are just 'meh, still looks the same to me'. One of the benefits of being a mundane-fan for shows like that. (That is, I watch it like Mundanes watch shows - non-fannish, no feels).

[amanuensis1.livejournal.com]

I wish Supernatural had grabbed me--there are a lot of elements in it I like, but the actual horror of it drives me away. I got one look at that shrieking woman framed in flame on the ceiling and I instantly channeled my inner "Too bad we can't stay, baby."

[iibnf.livejournal.com]

Horror doesn't bother me, except as I get older, I find I'm less and less able to deal with distress. So I can watch Supernatural and not feel anything at all, but something like Law and Order SVU makes me miserable. Realistic distress - more than I can handle.

[shezan.livejournal.com]

EXACTLY why I never could watch, try as I did.

[amanuensis1.livejournal.com]

I notice no one ever shows pictures of THOSE moments when displaying all the pretty pictures they love from that show!

[http://users.livejournal.com/_hannelore/]

voice of disagreement here! :P I was hyper-excited to actually see a woman on television who isn't loaded up with make-up and a need to impress the boys, so Lucy Liu certainly did it for me. I was actually relieved at the lack of quirky/funny/zingy and I've certainly seen entire volumes of Sherlock-Lestrade annoyance (i.e. the Jeremy Brett version) that it was interesting to see something else.

I also thought it was good that it showed what I like best about Sherlock, that it's not really all about being super-clever or amazing, but that observation (not just seeing) will get you much farther. I haven't seen a single Benedict Cumberbatch episode so I'm not really comparing it at all, but I'm willing to give Elementary another try after seeing the pilot.

[amanuensis1.livejournal.com]

It's certainly possible that the BBC Sherlock has given me, yanno, EXPECTATIONS, which might have me holding up higher standards of quirky/zingy/argumentative/fast-paced for derivative forms. And it's certainly possible that I just don't connect to Lucy Liu.

There were a few other things that bothered me, though, in their execution. Watson as babysitter, the stereotype that if a doctor loses a patient it causes an emotional breakdown to the degree that they leave their profession...a lot of little niggles.

[shezan.livejournal.com]

I like Liu a lot, but not here. She & JLM have ZERO chemistry. As in Zero in Fahrenheit.

[amanuensis1.livejournal.com]

In KELVIN. Boo-yah! :D

[pennswoods.livejournal.com]

What? Aiden Quinn is in this? I'm so out of it, I didn't even know. But now I'm extra intrigued. I have heard from others that the chemistry isn't quite there yet between Miller and Liu. I would still like to watch it as I'm always in support of more Sherlock, but I wonder if my infatuation with the BBC Sherlock means I'll come in with certain expectations that just cannot and should not be met by a different show.

[amanuensis1.livejournal.com]

I usually love Aiden Quinn too! He was quite the hottie in his heyday. And, yes, what you say about expectations from other versions may influence; it's probably influencing me.