Media Audiences & Products - Criteria 5

Genre – TV Crime drama

Sherlock and Elementary – Portrayal
 

TV Crime Drama

Crime Drama is one of many different types of Drama shown on television. It is one of the most enduring, popular genres – not just on TV, but in films and novels.

They are an engaging narrative which can easily toy with the mind. These types of Dramas primarily focus on heroes, whose main occupation is to investigate, punish or commit crimes – usually entailing homicide, assault and robbery. Notable crime dramas in TV history include CSI and Law & Order.

Crime Drama consists of two types. ‘One-off’ crime dramas tend to focus on crimes which create anxiety among the audience, such as murder and serial killing. ‘Long Running’ crime dramas will have a variety of sub-plots, to help build the relationship of the hero characters.

The Crime Drama sub-genre holds many Codes and Conventions, which suspend the belief of reality inside the Drama, which appeals to audiences. By using iconic stereotypical representations of guns, police, and uniforms, they are able to show current social attitudes toward crime. Other conventions include a chase, betrayal, and conflict.

The use of a protagonist in Crime Dramas is slowly changing over time. The ‘good guy chases bad guy’ theme seems to be slipping, and the line between the protagonists seems to be slipping between hero and villain.

This ‘Anti-Hero’ is now an abundant character within Crime Drama. Throughout an episode, this character can shift between a traditional, loyal hero to a cunning, shifty villain.  Their life and attitude is often marked with action, and set themselves a purpose. They will only answer to themselves.

 

Elementary                                                     Sherlock

 

Representation of Characters

In this modernized version of the Conan Doyle characters, Sherlock begins with blurred images of a war. Men and women in uniform are battling, gunfire and shouts are echoing through the battleground. We are introduced to John Watson, who was having bad dreams about a war. We find out that Watson has been in a war, if army insignia printed onto one of his cups and a hand gun in his personal desk wasn’t enough, we later find out that he is recovering from an injury at war – a gunshot to the leg. He is in psychiatry because of this, in which he is told to write a blog about everything he does in his life, to help him get used to his new civilian life. To which he replies “Nothing happens to me.”

 

 

Unlike most Crime Dramas, Sherlock usually starts with an overview of the characters, instead of revealing the plot of the episode. This type of character driven piece makes the audience more attached to the protagonists.

Adding to his problems, Watson is in need of a flatmate who can share out the rent of an apartment. An old friend ‘introduces’ him to Sherlock Holmes, who instructs Watson at he is his new flatmate; telling him that he has found a perfect flat for them – 221 Baker Street.

 

 

 

Holmes is an eccentric sociopath. His brain is only filled with important information, chucking out the useless – such as friendship or love. He is a perceptive overachiever who works as a detective for the police. He is an unconventional hero who holds strong belief that every other person is either a nuisance or stupid. Although he is a rude and uncomforting person, his brilliant intelligence saves many lives.

Watson later proves that he is not just a flatmate or a standby, rather a friend. Watson brings human touch to the duo, which completes the team. And as well as his skills as a medic from war, they create the perfect partnership. As the series carry on, Sherlock becomes slightly more sympathetic to the world around him, befriending his closest co-workers, but without Watson at his side, his endeavours would not have the same result.

The theme music for Sherlock is incredibly catchy and upbeat, and it almost reflects Holmes’ character – intelligent and quirky, fast and unique.

 

Elementary is another version of Conan Doyle’s work. We are first introduced to a crime scene, a woman being assaulted in her own home by an unseen assailant. This foreshadows the fact that this certain case is common and realistic, and something that can happen a lot more than Sherlock’s more eccentric plots. This style is unique since it is a real life threat.

More importantly, what is most unique about Elementary is that Joan Watson is played by a female actor, Lucy Liu. This gives a unique perspective of her life, and a very different approach from previous Sherlock replicas.

Outfits worn in both Elementary and Sherlock represent their surroundings. Both are set in modern London, therefore all characters wear their usual, casual clothes. The only variance is that in the show Sherlock, the main character sometimes wears a hat, the same style as Conan Doyle’s first work of Sherlock.

The episode cuts to Joan Watson, who is busy carrying at her morning routine. Just as Sherlock, the show represents the companion’s life first, before the ‘Sherlock’ figure arrives onto the scene. Joan works as a ‘Sober Companion’, which is a person who provides one-to-one assistance to people recovering from an addiction, which in this case is drug addiction.

Throughout the show, Joan is not shown as a damsel follower, but an intelligent equal who is interested in what she does. Her intelligence would be noted if she was not paired with a drastically more intelligent man, Sherlock. The character storyline of Elementary involved a highly flawed yet intelligent detective (Sherlock) who learns to work together with a highly intelligent sober companion and ex-surgeon (Joan) This bond creates a new Sherlock - since before Joan, Sherlock only had an infrastructure of assistants who surrounded him. But not only does Sherlock slowly work with Joan, but with his entire workforce. Sherlock absorbs and learns information from others, and vice versa. Unlike the other Sherlock, because everyone is constantly looking up to one man for information.

Joan is informed by a rehab personnel that Sherlock has broken out of the rehab facility where Joan was supposed to meet him that morning. She travels to Sherlock’s local address, in hopes that he fled there after escaping the rehab. She finds Sherlock half naked and surrounded by television monitors. He immediately questions her, asking if she believes in love at first sight.

The scene itself is unconventional and reflects the show as a whole. Sherlock and Joan demonstrate that men and women can be friends and colleagues without becoming romantically involved with each other. Contrary to the show Sherlock, Sherlock and John are always considered as a couple by others, even when they aren’t, (And even when John finds a Wife).

Elementary’s Sherlock answerers only to himself. Joan recognizes that the work she does is meaningful, even when others do not. Even though she is in a current situation of being a ‘Sober Companion’, Joan takes the opportunity to adapt to her new surroundings while Sherlock works with the police on his investigations.

Both ‘Companions’ have an un-stereotypical relationship with their Sherlock. John and Joan are at constant battle, trying to keep their Sherlock safe, but with Sherlock’s unusual behaviour of being unpredictable, it would seem that their job is quite hard.

One thing the Companions were forced to deal with was Sherlock’s tendency to wander to the side of evil, to achieve good. This Anti-Hero behaviour is used in series such as Breaking Bad and Dexter, as it creates a question of ‘What if…?’ to the audience.

 

 



A scene in Sherlock. Sherlock texts a whole room of reporters and police with the word ‘Wrong’

as they are not solving a certain case right.

 

Narrative Structure

We learn about the two Sherlock’s as the shows continue, we start off with incredibly little. Although their un-stereotypical personalities unravel quickly as time goes on. We start learning more about the companions and their struggles first. John served time in the military and is having struggles coping with civilian life, he is told to write a blog about everything that happens in it. Once he meet Sherlock, his life drastically changes to danger and intrigue.

Joan works as a sober companion for addicts. One of her new clients – Sherlock – has somehow escaped from the Rehab. Joan is intelligent and inquisitive, and can cope with Sherlock’s constant unusual behaviour. Mostly.

Both Elementary and Sherlock have placed an un-stereotypical man inside a stereotypical situation. They do not adapt, but change the world around them.

These unique stories work well, and are popular texts which use experimental media language and narrative structures which work incredibly well.