Elementary, season 1
Long time, no case file! What do Trainspotting, Charlie’s Angels, a rooftop covered in bees, and a pet turtle named Clyde have in common?
Welcome to our case file on season 1 of Elementary, which ran on CBS starting in September 2012. This episode just covers the first season, but all told, Elementary ran for seven seasons, concluding in August 2019. The American procedural drama was created by Robert Doherty, and stars Jonny Lee Miller as Sherlock Holmes - a recovering drug addict and former assistant to Scotland Yard, now consulting for the NYPD - and Lucy Liu as Joan Watson - Sherlock’s sober companion and a former doctor who becomes his partner in crime-solving.
Sarah and Marisa walk us back to 2012 and reminisce about watching the show when it aired, dissect its first season and the portrayals of its characters, and consider what Elementary is attempting to do in taking Holmes out of London in the 21st Century - and reimagining Watson as someone very different than we usually think of her.
Is Watson still Watson, when his gender or his Britishness is different? Is Vinnie Jones the best Sebastian Moran out there? Why do these bees make us want to cry?
This episode contains significant spoilers for season 1 of Elementary, including that very good, very major plot twist surrounding that character played by Natalie Dormer… best not to listen if you don’t want to be spoiled.
Music credit: The song “Denmark (Live)” by the Portland Cello Project, and Sentimental Waltz, no.6 from Op. 51 Pyotr Tchaikovsky are featured with an Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).