BBC's Sherlock VS CBS's Elementary

                                                  

I’ve just re-watched BBC’s Sherlock for the 2^nd time, and I am still in love with it. The plot, the script, the soundtrack, and the cast, everything about it – I love it.

And just a week ago, I got down to watching Elementary, with Jonny Lee Miller being casted as Sherlock and Lucy Liu being casted as Watson (well, in this case, Joan Watson)

So, BBC’s Sherlock VS CBS’s Elementary, which is better? I’m not a professional, I can’t comment much, but personally I think BBC’s Sherlock beats Elementary, hands down.

Why did I enjoy BBC’s version so much? Why? First of all, I absolutely love the cast; honestly, there’s nothing to hate about it. A cast with good chemistry, superb acting skills, and excuse me, good looks (even though some might say that Benedict looks like an otter and Martin looks like a hedgehog, it’s perfectly fine, I mean, otters and hedgehogs are cute), that is what we look for in a good television series. If there’s a good script, but you don’t have the right cast, makes it intolerable in the end, doesn’t it? Secondly, the concept of Sherlock in the 21^st century didn’t exactly catch my attention at first, but when I heard they would be remaking it based on the original story, and not entirely according to it, I wanted to watch it so badly, because in this century, when forensic science is more developed and police detectives are presumably smarter, I can’t wait to see how Sherlock would be like. Furthermore, they had Gatiss and Moffat involved in this, how can I not watch it? Thirdly, I can't deny how much I love Benedict Cumberbatch's Sherlock and Martin Freeman's John Watson. I really really love their interpretations of the character so much. In this BBC, Sherlock's very anti-social and quote John, "I always hear "punch me in the face" when you're speaking, but it's usually sub-text,". Yes you honestly do feel like punching him sometimes, but his face is too gorgeous for you to do so (ehhem) However, as much as I enjoyed watching B.C portray Sherlock, I enjoyed how M.F portrayed Watson equally as well. He acts as a mental compass for Sherlock, who is so ignorant about human feelings and has literally divorced himself from human feelings. Sherlock doesn't care if someone is dying, because he thinks caring wouldn't help their situation at all. He feels that the brain should not be used to keep information that are not useful to him when it comes to solving cases. All he cares about, is the thrill that solving crime brings him. This is where Watson comes in, even though it doesn't work, he tries to talk sense into Sherlock every single time (Quote Watson again, "He will outlive God, trying to have the last word,") He understands Sherlock, and seemingly tries to help him, and although he gets pissed off with Sherlock for being so unfeeling all the time, he trusts Sherlock as a friend (and this is where Johnlock comes in, but honestly, I can't bring myself to ship them at all) At the same time, while Watson tries to help Sherlock, Sherlock is also unknowingly helping Dr Watson. He understands his needs, apart from knowing his past in just one glance. BBC Sherlock has also made Mycroft Holmes a rather important character in this series, where he is part of the government and is involved in sibling rivalry with Sherlock, although obviously concerned for him in his own weird way. The other characters like Lestrade and Molly were well played as well. I find Molly's character rather irritating though, sorry, I can't stand wishy washy romance. No way.

On the other hand, after watching CBS's Elementary, I didn't feel the exact same thrill I had when I was watching Sherlock. Elementary was good, honest, but not a masterpiece. I can't say it's a rip-off of Sherlock because it is in fact rather different, other than the fact that Elementary's Sherlock Holmes as a little resemblance to BBC's in terms of their personality, other than that, the plots are obviously different and of course, the main difference in this whole thing is Joan Watson. In CBS's version, how Joan acts as a moral compass to Sherlock is more obvious, since he is a former drug addict and Joan has to prevent him from falling into relapse. I have no idea why they had tried to bring Joan Watson in though, my opinion is that, since American dramas can't do without romance, they brought in a female Watson to try to develop some romance, which is a really bad idea if it happens to work out this way. Sherlock Holmes should be a drama of deduction, crime and mystery, any romance other than Sherlock and Irene Adler, many would not agree to it. Besides, it doesn't seem like Moriarty's going to appear any time soon, which pisses me off because he is part of why Sherlock Holmes (the novel) is Sherlock Holmes. There isn't any tension with the police as well, CBS's Sherlock seems to get along with the police just fine. I'm not sure if I'm just being biased towards BBC's version, but Elementary doesn't leave a lasting impression. Now, a week after I watched it, I can hardly remember what happened in the first episode. But, maybe it's just me. To be fair, I wouldn't say that Elementary is really bad, but nor is it really good. I think CBS was just trying to depend on the popularity of BBC's Sherlock to up its viewership. 

In the end, I feel that, it doesn't matter if BBC or CBS is better. Each of us have our own personal taste in dramas and there are some who prefer one over another and vice versa. All that matters is that we enjoy it and we should continue to support the version that we like instead of bashing the other version. 

P.S Sorry Robert Downey Junior, you're better off as Iron Man xD