With the series leaving Amazon Prime, I finally get around to watching Jonny Lee Miller and Lucy Liu in the entertaining Elementary
“What kind of a name is Sherlock”
Who knows what inspired Robert Doherty to think of a contemporary update of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s indelible Sherlock Holmes but there’s something of a wry symmetry between Frankenstein theatrical co-stars Jonny Lee Miller and Benedict Cumberbatch each getting to play the role within a year of appearing at the National Theatre together in 2011.
Cumberbatch of course starred in Sherlock from 2010 whilst Miller took on the role in the US-based Elementary which relocated the detective to New York City, starting in 2012. And with the marvellous Lucy Liu on hand as Dr Joan Watson, the show became a CBS mainstay with full-on 24 episode series as opposed to the event TV nature of its British forebear.
I’m not going to review formally but one of the joys of the show for a theatre nerd like me, spotting the famous (to me) faces and Broadway names popping up in the supporting cast. So I’m just going to point out my faves for a bit of fun:
- It’s a blink-and-miss-her moment (which should be illegal for stars like this) but the talented Judy Kuhn features briefly in fourth episode ‘The Rat Race’ as ‘Board Member’
- Tony Award-winner Anika Noni Rose pops up in Episode 5 ‘Lesser Evils’ as a former friend of Watson’s, Dr. Carrie Dwyer, their relationship having gone a bit spiky.
- The same episode features the swoonsome David Harbour as Dr. Mason Baldwin who may or may not be suspicious but you’d probably still forgive him anyway, right?
- I can’t say too much about Roger Rees’ turn as Alistair Moore in Episode 6 ‘Flight Risk’ for risks of spoilers but it is lots of good fun for this great character actor
- And I also liked getting to see 24’s Michelle aka Reiko Aylesworth in that episode too as Miranda Molinari, mixed up in the airplane crash that is the case of that week
- Who doesn’t LOVE Lisa Edelstein, so all should be delighted to see her get a genius mini character arc in Episode 8 ‘The Long Fuse’ as Heather Vanowen, a flirty bombshell with quite a past
- I’m still not entirely convinced by the reinvention of Vinnie Jones as actor but Episode 12 ‘M’ features a striking appearance by him as Sebastian Moran, a nefarious figure who may link to Sherlock’s past
- Episode 19 ‘Snow Angels’ sees the introduction of an iconic Conan Doyle character in Ms. Hudson, played with engaging vigour by Candis Cayne, suggesting that an interesting future as a regular that sadly never came to pass
- Academy Award-winner F. Murray Abraham stars in Episode 21 ‘A Landmark Story’ as the rather menacing Daniel Gottlieb who has ties to series super-villain Moriarty
- The series finale ‘Heroine’ largely revolves around a great reveal (which I’m not mentioning) so attention is being paid instead to the Mummy himself – Arnold Vosloo. Playing on his ethnic ambiguity once again, here he’s a Greek ne-er-do-well Christos Theophilus.