Elementary vs. Sherlock - which is better?

Richard Dower

Not just the show, but the lead actors as Sherlock Holmes. I've seen both...imo the BBC version is superb tv and more "Holmes-ian" in its delivery, script and acting.

As good as Jonny Lee Miller is and despite some superb "M" related episodes, Elementary remains firmly in the CBS proceadural mould it is known for.

It was way too case-of-the-week with some added quirky Sherlocky type personality stuff thrown in.

Acting wise, a harder sell...if you saw JLM in those seaon finale eps. - too close to call.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-2383846/Sherlock-crippling-insecurities-mystery-Benedict-Cumberbatch-wife-despite-Britains-latest-superstar.html

Kiwi_knock

Hard to compare, even though they are the same character. Miller's Sherlock is a lot more vulnerable, he seems a lot more dependent on the people around than Cumberbatch's Holmes. The storylines and character development is better in Sherlock, but that is due to the shorter number of episodes. Sherlock is the better show, but Elementary has been a real surprise.

I do think more Sherlock fans should give Elementary a chance, if just to see the

Irene Adler and Moriarty

storyline.

FloatingVoter

Jeremy Brett as Sherlock leaves both of them in the shade.

Skid X

I'd have to go with Sherlock (the BBC one). Some of the episodes have been brilliant, I preferred them to anything I have seen on TV or film in recent years.

Having said that, Elementary is a good show and I think Johnny Lee Miller is a very under-rated actor. If it had been aired without a rival version it would probably be more popular on this side of the Atlantic.

brian_t

I can understand Elementary vs. Sherlock

and I can understand Benedict Cumberbatch vs. Jonny Lee Miller

but I don't get all 4 being in the one poll.

Would it not be simpler to leave it as just Elementary vs. Sherlock

that's the choice everyone seems to be making anyway.

One poll for two questions is ridiculous. It makes the whole thing pointless.


As for the questions asked, well they've been discussed in depth in the Elementary thread. The two shows are drastically different and the constant comparisons are unfair and do both shows a disservice. The portrayals of Holmes are almost the polar opposites. In Sherlock he's a smug dick who flaunts his intelligence and seems to live making others feel beneath him. Whereas in Elementary he's a deeply flawed and humane character who strives for human interaction. I love the fact that Miller's Holmes doesn't try to be a smug dick, it's refreshing to have a flawed character whose something of a nice guy.

I've only seen the first series if Sherlock and much as I enjoyed it, I did find it very overrated. The first episode was fantastic but number two was very poor and felt padded beyond belief. Episode three was decent but Holmes leaps in logic were beyond stupid and the end if it was a little too ridiculous to take seriously.

A lot of people criticise Elementary for being a procedural forgetting that BBC's Sherlock is also a procedural. Each episode Holmes gets a case that he and Watson investigate and each week a little more of the overall plot comes into play. The only real difference is that Elementary has to fill 22-24 episodes a year whereas Sherlock only has to knock out 6 episodes of equal length.

To say that the BBC Sherlock is more inline with traditional depictions of Holmes is also a bit odd. Elementary is striving to be something of a break from tradition. It's a Holmes for a new century but the writers have managed to keep all the elements that make him such a great character as well as a number of small nods to the source material that only fans would get.

Jax Teller

Sherlock is better but Elementary is still a very good show .

Richard Dower

^ i asked the mods to allow for multi voting so you could vote for the show and actor, i guess they havent modified the poll as yet...apologies.

Richard Dower

Poll was supposed to allow you to vote for Sherlock or JLM...but i screwed it up, awaiting mods to modify poll.

brian_t wrote: »

I can understand Elementary vs. Sherlock

and I can understand Benedict Cumberbatch vs. Jonny Lee Miller

but I don't get all 4 being in the one poll.

Would it not be simpler to leave it as just Elementary vs. Sherlock

that's the choice everyone seems to be making anyway.

super_furry

Elementary is awful. Another example of taking the bones and body of a show but losing the soul.

Maire2009

I really like the Cumberbatch/BBC portrayal of Holmes - him being a dick is really only a defense mechanism at the back of it all. He pushes people away to save them and himself - something referenced too quite a bit.

don ramo

no love for robert downey jrs sherlock holmes :pac::pac:

prefer elementary myself, both shows have their pros and cons but i enjoy the interaction between Miller and Liu more than i do Cumberbatch and Freeman

Daemos

I love both, but I think Elementary is better. Even though Sherlock draws more from the original material, I think Elementary is truer to the spirit of Doyle's work than the BBC's effort is

Sherlock is a darker reinvention than Elementary is, which isn't to say it's worse, there's nothing wrong with a bit of dark drama. But one thing I think Elementary focusses on more is the puzzle, and the fun of trying to solve it

JLM's Sherlock doesn't know absolutely everything, and doesn't see everything either. Other characters around him help him solve the puzzle, whereas Cumberbatch's Sherlock tries to solve it himself regardless of the people around him. It's interesting character-wise, but less entertaining IMO

pickarooney

Neither show is really all that brilliant to be honest. Sherlock had only had six measly episodes of which two were excellent, three decent and one downright awful. Elementary is an above average procedural with a solid central pairing and a fairly dull supporting cast.

Maire2009

Daemos wrote: »

I love both, but I think Elementary is better. Even though Sherlock draws more from the original material, I think Elementary is truer to the spirit of Doyle's work than the BBC's effort is

Sherlock is a darker reinvention than Elementary is, which isn't to say it's worse, there's nothing wrong with a bit of dark drama. But one thing I think Elementary focusses on more is the puzzle, and the fun of trying to solve it

JLM's Sherlock doesn't know absolutely everything, and doesn't see everything either. Other characters around him help him solve the puzzle, whereas Cumberbatch's Sherlock tries to solve it himself regardless of the people around him. It's interesting character-wise, but less entertaining IMO

Wonder will Sherlock's character change somewhat in Series 3?

He f€cked up pretty bad because in honesty Moriarty won out (despite ending up dead) in terms of Sherlock's reputation being ripped to shreds and in faking his own death Sherlock turned to (from what I can tell) Molly and Irene Adler to help him stage it. Sherlock was showing more emotion at the end of series 2 so will be interesting to see how that develops ... of course he could go deeper into his self-absorbed world as he may see his emotions (his want to prevent harm coming to Hudson, Lestrade, Adler, Watson) as getting him into the muddle in the first place