We Are Family: Why I Like Elementary’s Version of the Holmes Clan

If you check out fanfiction.net, you’ll notice it’s strong fanon that Holmes’s father was abusive to him as a child. Without wishing to minimize real-life child abuse, which is horrible, in some types of (fan)fiction, parental abuse is used as a way to explain a character’s emotional issues or bad behaviour,…

Why Elementary’s Joan Watson Is Just the Best

Let’s get this out of the way: Elementary lacks a certain je-totally-sais-quoi compared to other contemporary Sherlock Holmes TV series. Its mysteries often make little sense ; the bad guy is almost always the only next-tier guest actor who is not a canonical character; and in one of its recent episodes,…

Elementary vs. Sherlock, Or, Why I Disagree With Most of the Internet

(tl;dr — because I am contrary!) CBS’s Elementary and the BBC’s Sherlock are the most well known current television updates of the Sherlock Holmes stories. Both follow the adventures of the Great Detective and his bff, Watson, transposed into the 21st century, with a healthy helping of original plot and characters. Judging by…

Only the Good Guys Die Young: Why I Loved Allegiant

(WARNING: Spoilers for Veronica Roth’s Divergent trilogy, J. K. Rowling’s Harry Potter series, Katherine Paterson’s Bridge to Terabithia, C. S. Lewis’s The Chronicles of Narnia, the original Star Trek and Star Trek: the Next Generation movies, and various Sherlock Holmes stories and adaptations.) I w a r n e d y o u t h…

Sherlock Is My Holmesboy; Or, What I Love About Holmes and Watson

(I promise that title is the worst and only pun in this blog entry.) Sherlock Holmes is one of the world’s most popular and iconic characters. He is re-imagined for every generation and niche. He’s a child; he’s an old man; he’s a she. Sherlock Holmes is a delusional drug…

Why Irene Adler Is THE Most Annoying Character in Every Update of Sherlock Holmes, Ever

(Even you, Elementary. Though I admit your circumstances are slightly different. BUT I WILL *NOT* SPOIL THEM, SO READ ON WITHOUT FEAR!) I love updates of Sherlock Holmes, but I have not yet encountered a single version of Irene Adler who does not make me want to punch the character in…