Lucy Liu cast as Watson in CBS' Sherlock Holmes show

Discussion in 'TV & Media' started by Dream, Feb 28, 2012.

  1. Borgminister

    Borgminister Admiral Moderator

    Joined:
    May 30, 2001
    Location:
    California
    If I get a House actor vibe from Elementary, I'm out. As acted, that character is either one you love or hate, and I gravitate toward the latter...
     
  2. DigificWriter

    DigificWriter Vice Admiral Admiral

    Joined:
    May 20, 2001
    Location:
    West Haven, UT, USA
    This might be because I'm much more familiar with him than I am with others, but I've gotten a very Robert Downey Jr.-esque vibe out of the character of Holmes as portrayed by Johnny Lee Miller based on the behind-the-scenes teaser and 5-minute trailer we've gotten thus far. To me, JLM seems to be playing Holmes very similar to the way RDJ has, and also seems, at least to me, to be channeling a bit of RDJ's Tony Stark as well, albeit without the arrogant air that Tony has.
     
  3. Gaith

    Gaith Vice Admiral Admiral

    Joined:
    May 11, 2008
    Location:
    Oregon
    ^ It certainly ain't the Doyle's Sherlock Holmes character transplanted to the present; that's for sure. Just another arrogant eccentric. Unsurprising Fail.
     
  4. Temis the Vorta

    Temis the Vorta Fleet Admiral Admiral

    Joined:
    Oct 30, 1999
    Location:
    Tatoinne
    Bold and original? This is still CBS we're talking about, right?

    CBS is to TV as McDonalds is to food. Plan your viewing schedule accordingly.

    That was never even remotely a possibility. CBS has a very narrow definition of what a CBS show is like, and they have had a great deal of success hewing to that definition with great discipline. CBS viewers like knowing what kind if show they'll be watching just like McDonald's customers like knowing exactly what kind of burger they'll be eating.

    The upcoming CBS series that might be a departure by CBS standards is Vegas, not Elementary. That's the one I'll be checking out.


    You're right about everything but the Fail part. The show looks like exactly the kind of thing the CBS viewer wants in a show. I still predict it will be a success for CBS.
     
    Last edited: Sep 1, 2012
  5. Temis the Vorta

    Temis the Vorta Fleet Admiral Admiral

    Joined:
    Oct 30, 1999
    Location:
    Tatoinne
    I've been watching that one, and it's squarely in the quirky-detective tradition that is so wildly successful now, especially on CBS and USA. Blame Monk for it all. House, The Mentalist, etc, its all over the place. But despite myself, I do like Eric McCormack in the role, despite the predictable and formulaic plotlines.
     
  6. Takeru

    Takeru Space Police Commodore

    Joined:
    Sep 6, 2007
    Location:
    Germany, EU, Earth
    I just watched the pilot, it was very good! I especially liked Lucy Liu as Watson, she's great and I love her and Holmes as a team, I loved that he apologized and pretty much admitted he acted like an arrogant ass without stopping to be an arrogant ass.
    I think I liked it even more than the first episode of Sherlock, can't wait for the season to start. I wasn't sure about this show before but now it's the new series I'm looking forward to the most this season.
     
  7. Borgminister

    Borgminister Admiral Moderator

    Joined:
    May 30, 2001
    Location:
    California
    Did they have a showing I missed? Thought its debut was late September...

    ;)
     
  8. Takeru

    Takeru Space Police Commodore

    Joined:
    Sep 6, 2007
    Location:
    Germany, EU, Earth
    Sort of :whistle:

    The main reason I preferred this version to Sherlock's premiere is because the cops weren't so antagonistic, I also think the introduction of Watson was done better on Elementary, it was very quick and not drawn out.

    I prefer the way they do the deductions on Sherlock, the visual stuff help me understand things much better, I had problems understanding Holmes on Elementary sometimes (english isn't my first language), I'm still not sure how he knew Watson was a surgeon for example, something about one of her hands and how surgeons use products to take care of their skin ... I don't get it.:confused:
     
  9. Guy Gardener

    Guy Gardener Fleet Admiral Admiral

    Joined:
    Apr 15, 2000
    Location:
    In the lap of squalor I assure you.
    I'm half way through it.

    Sherlock's Holmes is better, but the Watson here is more interesting.
     
  10. Allyn Gibson

    Allyn Gibson Vice Admiral Admiral

    Joined:
    Oct 16, 2000
    Location:
    South Pennsyltucky
    A workprint of the Elementary pilot leaked online last week.
     
  11. Enterprise is Great

    Enterprise is Great Vice Admiral Admiral

    Joined:
    Oct 24, 2004
    Location:
    The Island
    I was checking out Entertainment Weekly's Fall tv preview issue at the supermarket yesterday and they put Elementary on their five best new shows list.
     
  12. Guy Gardener

    Guy Gardener Fleet Admiral Admiral

    Joined:
    Apr 15, 2000
    Location:
    In the lap of squalor I assure you.
    Well they're idiots, or everything else which is new is a bigger turd.

    it's just a very blunt show.

    "You're troubled and brilliant, but it doesn't really matter that you're troubled because you're brilliant."

    Exchange asshole for "troubled" and that's the plot to every episode of House.

    Problem is.

    The murders ain't that complicated, and Holmes in this incarnation isn't that rude.

    And most importantly this show is a pale shadow of it's English brother.

    However episodes of Sherlock are an hour and half long.

    So they have more room to be amazing.
     
  13. Anwar

    Anwar Admiral Admiral

    Joined:
    Dec 11, 2006
    Location:
    Moncton, NB
    There's also that British shows have fewer episodes, easier to have quality when you don't have to make 22 episodes per season.
     
  14. Locutus of Bored

    Locutus of Bored Yo, Dawg! I Heard You Like Avatars... In Memoriam

    Joined:
    Jul 5, 2004
    Location:
    Hiding with the Water Tribe
    I don't have time to post a longer review at the moment, but I really enjoyed this. The back and forth banter and the dynamic between Miller and Liu is entertaining and intriguing, and I'm glad they showed both of their strengths and vulnerabilities. And the guy they got to play the first killer was delightfully evil when he was taunting Holmes. If the rest of the series can maintain the quality of the pilot this should be a first rate show.
     
  15. Guy Gardener

    Guy Gardener Fleet Admiral Admiral

    Joined:
    Apr 15, 2000
    Location:
    In the lap of squalor I assure you.
    You're not wrong, but I'm just trying to imagine the set of Breaking Bad when Vince says "Right, what we have been doing is good, but I think if we want to be awesome that we have to cut our episode number down to 3 a year so that all the damn couch potatoes out there learn to appreciate us."
     
  16. Saul

    Saul Vice Admiral Admiral

    Joined:
    Dec 27, 2002
    Location:
    東京
    Not a patch on the Uk show, but on it's own, even if this was a non-sherlock holmes show this was pretty enjoyable.

    Sherlock is a little bit too apologetic. Greg House and Cumberbatch do the Holmes personality more justice in their portrayal. I liked Lucy Liu's Watson and that her Watson is able to wound Holmes more easily than the other Watsons have.
    I think the fun part was the mystery behind the murder. This could be a typical detective series but it's less bland than others. I agree with what Locutus said. If they can maintain this type of story telling i'm happy to keep watching.

    Also doesn't step on the toes of BBC's Sherlock. Good good.
     
  17. Guy Gardener

    Guy Gardener Fleet Admiral Admiral

    Joined:
    Apr 15, 2000
    Location:
    In the lap of squalor I assure you.
    I recall earlier in the thread someone citing that the producers of English show was livid about this abomination.

    Seriously, the English sell their scripts/series all the time.

    Elementary is something that could have been generated form the English material.

    It's practically theft.

    Especially since now, an Americanized Sherlock can't be sold in America because it will just be seen as a knock off of Elementary.
     
  18. Allyn Gibson

    Allyn Gibson Vice Admiral Admiral

    Joined:
    Oct 16, 2000
    Location:
    South Pennsyltucky
    CBS has been trying to develop an American-setting modern Sherlock Holmes series for about a decade now, and there are scripts of previous efforts floating around on the web.

    What Sherlock did was give CBS the impetus to finally pull the trigger and commission a pilot. I think Moffat really should have just taken CBS' money when they talked to him about an American Sherlock. They had familiarity with the material from previous efforts, they wanted to commission a show like that, and he was essentially being offered free money for the concept.
     
  19. Guy Gardener

    Guy Gardener Fleet Admiral Admiral

    Joined:
    Apr 15, 2000
    Location:
    In the lap of squalor I assure you.
    Oh he turned them down?

    Then it's Moffats fault.

    Glaring error in the CBS preview last night.

    One of the Two Broke Girls says... "And now for a show that's really Elementary."

    It's almost as if someone writing the copy doesn't know the meaning of the word.
     
  20. Christopher

    Christopher Writer Admiral

    Joined:
    Mar 15, 2001
    That happens a lot. I remember the old Stephen Collins show Tales of the Gold Monkey from the '80s. Everyone thought it was a Raiders of the Lost Ark knockoff, but Donald Bellisario had pitched it before Raiders came out, and ABC had just had it sitting on the shelf, neglected, until Raiders was a huge hit and suddenly they were all, "Hey, do we have anything like this that we can put on the air?" I bet there are plenty of other examples too. I think a lot of people don't realize how many series ideas networks have sitting around in development hell. So as often as not, instead of making something up to capitalize on a new trend, they can just grab something they're already sitting on and finally put it on the air.