The Sherlock in Elementary is a different beast from the canonical Sherlock. I think the BBC Sherlock is closer to canon than Elementary's Sherlock (how many times can she use his name in two sentences!)

I think that Conan Doyle's own characterization of Holmes was less consistent than the differences between the Cumberbatch and the Miller portrayals, from one end of canon to the other. The times when Watson reports Holmes as being close to emotionless are greatly at odds with all the times when a depth of emotion, passion, and compassion escape the lid Holmes keeps on his feelings. Conan Doyle did not love his most famous creation as much as we do, he simply didn't bother with consistent characterization. From Study in Scarlet where Watson describes Holmes as someone who refuses to give room in his brain for even the most basic facts of astronomy because it doesn't matter to solving crimes to The Adventure of the Lion's Mane where Holmes claims to be "an omnivorous reader with a strangely retentive memory for trifles" is a long road in terms of both lifespan and characterization.

In creating each of these two modern interpretations of Sherlock Holmes, the BBC and the CBS productions keep and discard different facets. Elementary holds closer to canon in the realm of Holmes' psychological and moral makeup - very ethical and deeply caring while still not being remotely neurotypical - while Sherlock hews closer to canon in acknowledging that Holmes was coded as queer, whether specifically homosexual or asexual or what points precisely the Great Detective occupies on the spectrums of sexuality and desire for romantic relationships, is very open to interpretation.

There is also the fact that apart from being a criminal, Moriarty was once best known as the author of The Dynamics of an Asteroid, something that canonical Holmes surely must have read at some point.

Elementary!Sherlock mentions that yes, indeed he did think the sun revolved around the earth... when he was a boy.

Elementary!Sherlock mentions that yes, indeed he did think the sun revolved around the earth... when he was a boy.

Man, that whole interaction was great. Plus I love Owain Yeoman.

The times when Watson reports Holmes as being close to emotionless are greatly at odds with all the times when a depth of emotion, passion, and compassion escape the lid Holmes keeps on his feelings.

One way that BBC Sherlock (the show) suffers from its format of only 3 episodes is that we don't get to see the development of Sherlock's (the character) compassion and how/when he expresses it towards people other than Watson. At least, we don't see it as well as Elementary has been able to do it, because they just passed 100 episodes. That's a whole different creature that allows for a lot of character development, which I think the show and JLM have done beautifully.

I'm obviously going to have to give Elementary another try.

I've often figured canon Holmes asexual as well. Watson hoped he'd take an interest in a female client who proved more resourceful than usual, but Holmes referred to her concern as brotherly. And I think his attraction to Irene was more respect for her mind and gumption.

I'm obviously going to have to give Elementary another try.

The beginning of S1 is kind of bland procedural-ish, and it's weird to see Sherlock Holmes transplanted to NYC, but after about 4 or 5 episodes, it really picks up. And what they did with Moriarty was sheer fucking genius.

I'm worried about Moriarty after what the BBC did.

No, Elementary's Moriarty is a glorious thing. I promise. (Because I utterly loathe BBC's Moriarty. LOATHE.)

Word.

I second Steph's thoughts about the contrasting Moriarties. BBC Moriarty = creeptastic and gross. CBS Moriarty = Brilliant and genuinely novel.