Practically canon.

FYI, Elementary is back tonight.

I am lukewarm about the Elementary premiere.

Good stuff: Joan kicking all kinds of ass, Gina Gershon being Gina Gershon, Gregson not even willing to deal with Sherlock's shit, *Joan* not even willing to deal with Sherlock's shit, Clyde!, Jonny Lee Miller's acting.

Bad stuff: Despite how well JLM just NAILS Sherlock's walled-off emotional regression, I cannot STAND it. I even get that it's totally in character, but I can't stand his emotional arm's-length bullshit with Joan (even as he's making little attempts at reconnecting [but only on his terms, at a distance he's comfortable with] -- the housewarming gift made me laugh and laugh; oh Sherlock, so awkward); also, Kitty. Again, I get what the show is doing, I get that it's in character for Sherlock to have taken on a new protege, I get that it's in character for Sherlock to not get (or not be willing to admit) how ridiculously hurtful that is to Joan, but...no. I just don't want a new character. Though I do appreciate that she's not a brilliant special snowflake who's just as good as Joan.

I just don't want a new character when Gregson and Bell are already criminally underused.

I totally get the point of Sherlock's emotional regression, but I strongly dislike it. It's painful to watch. Which is the point, I'm sure, but man, I cannot stand it. (It also perhaps maybe hits a little too close to home for me, so I'm being defensive.)

I liked the same things, especially, for some reason, Gregson's attitude and especially, "If Joan says it's OK, then OK." Joan running her own show is so freaking cool. So is her apartment.

I'm OK with the new character in terms of the actor and how she's portraying Kitty, but I don't really want a protege, which is better than not wanting a protege and not liking the actor/portrayal. Bright side. How long will that set-up last, I wonder?

All that aside, it was so great to have them back on the screen. Comfort TV.

Yeah, I do like the way Kitty is being portrayed. I guess I just dislike the storyline of Sherlock-Fucks-Things-Up-Because-He's-Sherlock-And-By-Now-He-Goddamn-Well-Knows-How-To-Be-Less-Of-A-Dick.

t edit Wait, that's basically every episode. Specifically, I dislike Sherlock being emotionally distant to *Joan* after the past 2 seasons. (Again, I get that the show is doing it on purpose.)

I also think the heroin he swiped is going to come back into play.

Yeah, it's kind of like a reset button was hit, and... why?

JLM!Holmes' attempts at pleasant facial expressions: Creepy. Creepy like a friendly ghost, not creepy like Cumberbatch!Holmes' attempts at pleasant smiles. It's just you know something ain't right in him, not that you're worried he might have found a buyer for your epidermis. At the end of last season, I believed that Sherlock deeply loved Joan in a truly platonic way and that she reciprocated same, probably not as deeply. Now... the right fic writer could convince me that his feelings have transformed into romantic love while hers are dry and dusty. He's just going to have to stew in his own juices, though.

I'm not sure about Kitty yet. Don't hate her, don't love her, either.

Yeah, what everyone said about the reboot or reset button. Consistent with character but... really bad story telling.

Maybe they were afraid that he was moving too fast and would stop being a jerk. But really, Holmes could have progressed a long long way from where he was still been a jerk.

It is not like he ever was *only* a selfish bastard. He obviously had a moral center, even in the beginning. There was a reason he chose to detect rather than commit crimes. And he had genuine indignation not only at murderers but at legal criminals like bankers. In spite of a narcissistic streak a mile wide, he did care, and even could show compassion on occasion. Mostly he was oblivious to verbal and emotional cruelty, maybe as a form of denial because he had been subjected to so much, and could only see evil when it was violent or thieving.

When the show began, I saw him as the widest departure yet from Doyle's Holmes, but more and more I came to see him as a genuine grappling on the part of the writers with how to produce someone with similar virtues and weaknesses to Doyle's Holmes in a contemporary setting. The show, taken as story telling is very far from Doyle; but - up until now - as a character study of Sherlock I think it is surprisingly close to the original.

The journey where he began to understand (or stop denying) the importance of courtesy and taking seriously the emotional damage he could inflict on others added depth to the show. I usually don't find recovery stories good fiction; but, to me, this journey added to the story's interest. A setback or detour would have been one thing, but going miles (or given the character, perhaps I should say "leagues") backwards is a misstep. It forces us to cover well-trodden ground a second time, and upsets to the delicate balance required for us to enjoy an annoying character, rather than be annoyed by him ourselves. There are hints that this may be short detour; getting back on track quickly will be unconvincing, but better IMO than prolonging this misstep. Maybe the intent is to foreground Joan more so that we can see more of her character, and more of her story. If so, I think this is the wrong way to do it.

I do hope Kitty says "F--- this" and leaves, rather than getting killed off/fridged.

I was enjoying the Joan Watson Show while we were getting it.

ETA and I hope the house-sitting brother looking for the bearded dragon doesn't turn out to be evil.