New Holmes. New Watson. New York.
With a blurb like that on the promo banners, it was hard to take this Sherlock Holmes remake seriously. Throw in the New York angle and I imagined a CSI + Copper mash-up. Every time a series crosses over from the UK, the results are generally dire. Also, I'm also a big fan of Benedict Cumberbatch's ongoing series in the UK so my expectations were fairly low.
I was pleasantly surprised. Jonny Lee Miller isn't trying to be like Cumberbatch's Sherlock. He's quirky, brash and hyperactive. The energy feels different. The same holds true for the female version of Watson, played by Lucy Liu, which changes the chemistry of the relationship. She doesn't feel like a sidekick. I've seen comments criticizing Liu's performance, but I think this Watson is meant to be distant and guarded.
So how was the premiere? Not as clever as its British counterpart. Moffat thinks they changed too much, but that's expected. As a procedural, it was entertaining enough. I'm hoping it gets better after the first couple of episodes.