Today marks five years since the first episode of Elementary – the American retelling of Sherlock Holmes, set in the modern day and starring Jonny Lee Miller and Lucy Liu.

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Since that first episode, it’s been repeatedly compared to Sherlock – the British retelling of Sherlock Holmes, set in the modern day, and starring Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman.

It also first aired a few years before Elementary, leading to more than one accusation of copying.

So, with Elementary about to enter its sixth season, and Sherlock seemingly finished for the time being, can we finally settle the question – which is better?




Sherlock vs Sherlock

Who is the best? (Picture: BBC/CBS)

Jonny Lee Miller and Benedict Cumberbatch are, in fact, friends in real life – but ones with quite different interpretations of Sherlock Holmes.

Where Cumberbatch plays the detective as a ‘high functioning sociopath’, Miller’s take is a lot softer, informed by recovery from addiction.

In Elementary, Holmes has a more defined character arc – and in that case, Elementary wins out.

Moriarty vs Moriarty

Admittedly, this is a difficult one to talk about.

While Andrew Scott’s Moriarty was a compelling take on Sherlock’s equal and opposite number, brilliantly matched to Benedict Cumberbatch’s detective, Elementary took a different approach.

One that you can’t really talk about without spoiling it – it’s part of a series long plot that culminates in an absolutely brilliant reveal.

If you’ve not seen Elementary, definitely give that first season a go – without any spoilers!

Watson vs Watson

Two very different Watsons (Picture: BBC/CBS)

Here’s one of the biggest changes that Elementary made – here, Watson is a woman. Joan, not John.

For a lot of people, this was too big a change to make – but equally, it’s not that big a change. All the most important things about the Holmes and Watson relationship stayed the same; they’re firm friends, partners, learning from one another as they go.

Still, though, there are differences in interpretation, and differences in dynamic accordingly.

Lucy Liu’s Watson just about wins against Martin Freeman’s Watson – the sober companion aspect of her relationship with Holmes provides a lot of engaging and compelling story material.

Accuracy to Conan Doyle

This one, undoubtedly, has to go to Sherlock – while neither show has ever been particularly interested in slavish adaptations of the original stories, certainly Sherlock has tended towards it more often.

What Elementary did was take different aspects and remix them – focusing, for example, on the drug use of the original stories, and building them into a key aspect of the character.

It’s arguably a more interesting approach – one that’s a little looser in terms of canon, sure, but also one that yields some compelling new ideas.

Who wins in the end?

After a while, it does start to become a matter of personal taste – Sherlock’s movie length specials vs Elementary’s more traditional procedural style have very different merits.

They each bring a lot to the table, and it’s great to have both interpretations of the Doyle stories.



Personally speaking, though, Elementary just about has the edge for me – while I enjoy Sherlock’s faithful approach to the original stories, Elementary’s willingness to be a little more experimental has resulted in some pretty impressive stuff of its own.

Alex Moreland is a freelance writer and student based in London. You can read more of his work here.

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