Elementary: 10 Times The Show Differed From the Books
CBS' Elementary starring Johnny Lee Miller and Lucy Liu was one of the most recent modern-day reboots of the eponymous Sherlock Holmes. The show went on to have seven seasons before airing its series finale in 2018.
While the American drama series might have had an arduous task, competing with the popular BBC counterpart, Elementary, too, did a fairly decent job at adapting Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's canon. However, to be fair, the references to the original stories were often tangential; the show took huge leaps when re-imagining the characters, albeit most of them in a good way.
10 London Becomes New York
Sherlock Holmes is synonymous with London, England, but the show makes a major change when it decides to place Holmes in New York instead. He is living in a luxurious New York brownstone owned by his father after having left London for a change of scene after the presumed death of the woman he loved.
Holmes becomes comfortable there, consulting with the NYPD, and decides to stay rather than heading back to 221B Baker Street. Interestingly, the planned finale which came with season 6 saw Holmes and Watson trying to rebuild their lives in London after fleeing New York following a series of unfortunate events. And when the series was renewed for one last season, back they came to the United States.
9 Mrs. Hudson Is An Irregular
It's difficult to imagine Holmes and Watson in their little apartment in Baker Street without Mrs. Hudson, the landlady. Although Conan Doyle gave her little dialogue, it is understood that Mrs. Hudson is as much a constant in Holme's life as Watson. In fact, even more so since Watson does leave for a while when he gets married.
However, Elementary makes the character into a recurring character. As an homage to the canon, she does take up a job as a housekeeper for Watson and Holmes but in a bold and empowering leap, she is a transwoman who has a history of "being kept."
8 Lestrade Is Replaced By Gregson
Conan Doyle fans will remember Inspector Lestrade as appearing in most of the cases where Holmes consults for Scotland Yard. The inspector is something of a blithering idiot, blundering about, requiring assistance in practically every case even though he continues to be skeptical of Holmes' methods.
Lestrade does appear briefly in the show, as a discredited cop, but one the main representatives of the law here is Captain Gregson of the NYPD, a competent police officer who appreciates Holmes' deductive skills and becomes something of a paternal figure for him. Fans know that an Inspector Gregson does appear in the original canon, but only for a handful of cases.
7 Marcus Bell Is Fictional
The character of Detective Marcus Bell is entirely fictional, not belonging to the canon at all.
Bell, a young and able police detective, is a permanent fixture in the NYPD, teaming up with Holmes and Watson for most investigations. In time, he grows to be one of the strongest allies and confidants of the detective duo.
6 Holmes' Parents Were Never Mentioned In The Books
Sherlock Holmes was known for his taciturn nature, and it was quite some time before Watson had even found about the existence of his older brother Mycroft Holmes. And there was never any allusion to Holme's parents, dead or alive in the books at all, except a passing mention of his ancestors being country squires.
However, in Elementary, his parents get quite a bit of attention, especially his father who is the main guest star of the series' fourth season. Morland Holmes, played by actor John Noble, is suitably sinister and mysterious, always teetering on the edge of right and wrong, but never completely falling off the precipice when it came to moral matters. Holmes' mother May Holmes also makes a brief appearance in his hallucinations and is referred to more than once as a major reason for the friction between father and son.
5 Mycroft Holmes Is A Restaurateur
Mycroft Holmes was a government spy and the only person in the world who could probably give Holmes a run for his money when it came to deductive skills. The gentleman's club where Mycroft usually spent a lot of his time was called the Diogenes Club.
In Elementary, Mycroft is, at least in the face of it, the owner of a chain of restaurants called Diogenes, and a much softer personality than what the canon suggests. He also has some shenanigans with Watson before things go south. Again, this is a far cry from the source material.
4 A Female Moriarty
The show is more empowering than the original canon ever was. The iconic villain and Holmes' ultimate nemesis Professor James Moriarty is now a woman named Jamie Moriarty. Not only that, she is also the woman Holmes had previously known as Irene Adler and loved.
Actress Natalie Dormer plays Adler-turned-Moriarty in one of the biggest reveals and main leaps that the show takes from the books. However, her character only appears as a guest star in a few episodes after which she remains in the shadows for the most part.
3 A Strong Female Watson
In the original stories featuring Holmes and Watson, the assistant doesn't get enough credit, nor is he a detective himself. He does take an interest in the cases and often accompanies Holmes but his main role in the books is to observe, act as a tool to highlight Holmes' phenomenal powers and chronicle his adventures.
In Elementary, however, Watson is not a prop but an active investigator herself. She herself becomes a detective, after being trained by Holmes himself, and ends up partnering with him to consult for the NYPD. Watson here is an empowered character and, of course, a woman.
2 Holmes Is A Recovering Addict
The famed literary sleuth did cocaine, and although Watson never encouraged it, he was also never able to make his friend kick the habit ferociously.
Miller's Holmes is a recovering heroin addict. His addiction is very much a struggle for him, but one he willingly fights. In fact, he meets Watson for the very first time when she is appointed by his father as his sober companion, someone who would accompany him through the process of recovery. His addiction is also not shown as a tool that makes him sharper, but rather something that makes him drug-addled and dull.
1 Holmes Is An Emotional And Physical Person
Sherlock Holmes was never an emotional person, and Watson was the only person he apparently cared about. Even then, he wasn't ever particularly expressive.
Johnny Lee Miller's Holmes is a much more emotional person that Conan Doyle probably imagined him to be. He has been in love, engages in sexual encounters--unlike in the books--and gets deeply attached to Watson, and his friends and allies in the NYPD. He is even shown to be concerned for his one-time apprentice, Kitty Winter, who subsequently makes him her son's godfather.