I'm surprised they cast a 43 year old instead of someone much younger. But then it's CBS which skews to older viewers so it's not too surprising. But whatever...I love Lucy Liu so I am not complaining.
Lucy Liu cast as Watson in CBS' Sherlock Holmes show
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CBS wants to make money and they know that Sherlock is popular now and wants in. I don't thinks it's a "favour" for the American people.
Plus if you cast someone too young, your Watson may no longer be believable as both a licensed medical doctor and a veteran of the war in Afghanistan. That's assuming Liu's Watson will still be such, of course, but seeing as it's such a big part of Watson's history, I don't see why they wouldn't keep it.
I was annoyed about this whole idea when I first heard about it, but that was more out of loyalty to Sherlock than anything else. Now I'm over it; there's plenty of room in the entertainment world for both series. I just hope Elementary actually does something interesting with the characters, and doesn't turn out to be another generic CBS procedural.
^ They have at least cast two interesting and charismatic lead actors. That may not be enough but it's certainly a start.
Since the Liu casting I'm now at least mildly curious about this.
Well, according to another link, she will be a doctor who lost her license because of a patient's death (which of course doesn't preclude her being a veteran, but I'd say it makes it more unlikely). It also tells a bit about Holmes' backstory and it seems that he will still be English.
http://spinoff.comicbookresources.c...erlock-holmes-pilot-casts-lucy-liu-as-watson/
Liu is in her forties.
I doubt it.
There are ways to control these things.
There are ways to control these things.
Hmm, the pilot's written by Robert J. Doherty? He was a writer-producer on Voyager's final season or so and worked on some good episodes (such as "Riddles" and "Life Line") and some bad ones (such as "Tsunkatse" and "Q2"), and some in between. He also worked on Tru Calling, which got better over time. Kinda hard to draw any conclusions, but he doesn't stand out in my experience as a great talent. (I never watched Medium, the show he's apparently most associated with.)
The premise has some interesting angles to it, though. So Holmes is in rehab and Watson is his "sober companion," which I would guess means sort of a watchdog to keep him from falling off the wagon. That could add an interesting dynamic to their relationship. And if she's lost her license, that would explain how she has the time to tag along solving mysteries.
We have kind of an excess of shows about NYPD detectives already, but if it's handled right -- particularly if it's shot in NYC and uses writers who know the city and its culture -- there could be some interesting stories to tell about unleashing Sherlock Holmes on the Big Apple. For instance, how well would his vaunted observational skills work when he's placed in an unfamiliar culture and can't read all the subtle behavioral and environmental cues as easily as he can in London? He might need Watson as a native guide/interpreter, which would help make her a more equal partner.
The premise has some interesting angles to it, though. So Holmes is in rehab and Watson is his "sober companion," which I would guess means sort of a watchdog to keep him from falling off the wagon. That could add an interesting dynamic to their relationship. And if she's lost her license, that would explain how she has the time to tag along solving mysteries.
We have kind of an excess of shows about NYPD detectives already, but if it's handled right -- particularly if it's shot in NYC and uses writers who know the city and its culture -- there could be some interesting stories to tell about unleashing Sherlock Holmes on the Big Apple. For instance, how well would his vaunted observational skills work when he's placed in an unfamiliar culture and can't read all the subtle behavioral and environmental cues as easily as he can in London? He might need Watson as a native guide/interpreter, which would help make her a more equal partner.
Maybe he's got I'mnotlefthanditis?
Solving crime in London got too easy, so he moved to America
Solving crime in London got too easy, so he moved to America
Hee hee.
I heard about this on the radio this morning and was wondering what sort of reaction it would generate. I tend to be picky about what I watch, but I will admit that Lucy seemed like an odd choice (not necessarily a bad one).
I'm complaining...because this makes it likely she's not staying with Southland. She's great on that and her character quickly became one of my favorites on an already excellent show.
Only if the pilot actually goes to series.
After reading all the screaming and angst among Sherlock Holmes fans (especially on Deadline, where they're having a highly entertaining meltdown), I realized this is a great object lesson for Trekkies in how TV actually gets made - not for existing fanbases (whether Sherlock fans or us) but for the audience of a specific network. Whether existing fans are going to like the results is not the chief concern of the people making the show.
CBS is not making this show for Sherlock Holmes fans. It's clearly making it for CBS viewers, and not assuming they're necessarily interested in Sherlock Holmes per se. That's definitely behind the switch of Watson's gender - gotta have that all important unresolved sexual tension!
This change probably wouldn't have happened if, say, Showtime or AMC were making the series. The change happened because the CBS audience expects certain things, and that's why they watch CBS. But any other channel would also have their audience expectations, and other changes would inevitably be made, maybe more extreme.
So something in this same vein could happen to Star Trek when it returns to TV. I don't mean anything so direct as Spock being recast as a woman.
I mean, the audience where the series is airing will determine a lot of how it turns out.
We're all very fortunate that there's no way CBS would do a Star Trek series - it's too far out of their usual cop-show template - and the changes could be very good for the franchise (more grownup drama, characterization and sexuality on Showtime for instance) - but I guess whether that's "good" depends on whether you're sympatico with the approach that Showtime takes already. Or wherever it ends up. There's no telling how it would turn out until we know where it's ending up.
CBS is not making this show for Sherlock Holmes fans. It's clearly making it for CBS viewers, and not assuming they're necessarily interested in Sherlock Holmes per se. That's definitely behind the switch of Watson's gender - gotta have that all important unresolved sexual tension!
This change probably wouldn't have happened if, say, Showtime or AMC were making the series. The change happened because the CBS audience expects certain things, and that's why they watch CBS. But any other channel would also have their audience expectations, and other changes would inevitably be made, maybe more extreme.
So something in this same vein could happen to Star Trek when it returns to TV. I don't mean anything so direct as Spock being recast as a woman.
I mean, the audience where the series is airing will determine a lot of how it turns out. We're all very fortunate that there's no way CBS would do a Star Trek series - it's too far out of their usual cop-show template - and the changes could be very good for the franchise (more grownup drama, characterization and sexuality on Showtime for instance) - but I guess whether that's "good" depends on whether you're sympatico with the approach that Showtime takes already. Or wherever it ends up. There's no telling how it would turn out until we know where it's ending up.
While I don't have great expectations for this show, the casting of Lucy Liu as Watson DOES strike me as a pretty interesting one.
After House, Sherlock, and the RDJ movies, the previous dynamic feels awfully played out by now, and having a woman in there could provide something new.
Of course, as usual, it all depends on the writing.
After House, Sherlock, and the RDJ movies, the previous dynamic feels awfully played out by now, and having a woman in there could provide something new.
Of course, as usual, it all depends on the writing.
Yeah I'm really liking her on Southland too. Although from the outset it was said she would only be appearing for a limited time on that.
And she hardly appears 43 either, so that's not really an issue.
Won't be watching this band wagon jumping show.
It is so OBVIOUS that after turning Watson female, the writers will eventually have her have a romantic relationship with Holmes in a later season. That pretty much happens with nearly all cop shows with male and female leads. Makes me puke just thinking about it. 
Holmes and Watson is also the biggest bromance in history. If they going to turn Watson into some asian woman, they might as well give the show a different name.
Holmes and Watson is also the biggest bromance in history. If they going to turn Watson into some asian woman, they might as well give the show a different name.
