Character Face-Off: Lucy Liu's Watson vs. Martin Freeman's Watson

ZIMBIO
By Hayley Igarashi on January 23, 2014



Let's take a break from our busy lives to focus on a matter of some importance: the curious incident of two modern-day Watsons sharing primetime space on our televisions. In another world, one without bias or fandoms at the ready, we could let these two Watsons coexist peacefully — as equals, even.

But this is our world. We don't let two characters share a name without picking a favorite — no, a champion — to crush the less-worthy upstart in a showdown of our own imagination.

So sorry, Elementary's Lucy Liu and Sherlock's Martin Freeman. You both seem nice, but we can't like you equally. Only one of you can be the fairest Watson in TV land. As our favorite consulting detective would say, the game is afoot!

Round 1: The Name
In one corner, we've got Freeman's Dr. John Watson — in the other, Liu's Dr. Joan Watson. Now yes, the nifty gender swap sort of necessitated a name swap, but we're not sure if we're feeling the moniker change. Sometimes classic is just better. (Try Shirley Holmes and Irwin Adler. See? Also not as fun.)

Winner: Martin Freeman's Watson

Round 2: The Backstory
MF Watson's backstory matches up with Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's description, that of a recently returned army man battling his own demons from his tour in Afghanistan, but LL's gets a little tweaking. In Elementary, she's a surgeon-turned-sober companion, a former career woman who gave up on the medical profession after making a mistake that cost her patient his life. As a sober companion, she's assigned to Sherlock, who's just been released from rehab.  What that gives us is a complex and dependent relationship that seems more realistic than Doyle's version — at least when transplanted to the 21st century.

Winner: Lucy Liu's Watson

Round 3: The Sidekick (jk)
Jonny Lee Miller's Sherlock is certainly endearing and compelling, but it's hard to hold your own against the juggernaut of haughty superiority and prickly charisma that is Benedict Cumberbatch's Sherlock. Elementary fans are quick to point out Miller's commitment to the role, but Cumberbatch doesn't even need that. Notice how no one feels the need to defend Cumberbatch's performance. You know why? Because he's the king of Baker Street on either side of the pond.

Winner: Martin Freeman's Watson


READ THE REST HERE AND VOTE FOR YOUR FAVORITE: http://www.zimbio.com/Lucy+Liu/articles/b1dVUU1Cfq5/Character+Face+Off+Lucy+Liu+Watson+vs+Martin

Jonny Lee Miller: 'Elementary' Season 2 Spoilers: Has Sherlock's Brother Mycroft Set His Sights on Joan?

LATINOS POST
By Nicole Rojas | First Posted: Sep 21, 2013 01:55 PM EDT



CBS’ hit Sherlock Holmes drama “Elementary” returns for its second season in just a few days with a special London-based premiere. Sherlock (Jonny Lee Miller) and Joan Watson (Lucy Liu) will kick off the new season by leaving New York City behind and heading back to Sherlock’s childhood home.

According to CBS, “Holmes and Watson travel to London to help track down an old mentor and investigate an unsolved mystery.” The two detectives won’t just be solving crimes, they’ll also be delving deeper into Sherlock’s past. CBS teases, “Meanwhile, Mycroft Holmes (Rhys Ifans), Sherlock’s estranged brother, reunites with Sherlock and reveals some secrets of his own.”

The reunion of the two brothers, who don’t appear to get along very well, will allow Joan to find out more about Sherlock’s life before he moved to New York City. But that’s not all. According to TVGuide, Sherlock and Joan make a bet about Mycroft: whether he wants to sleep with her or not.


READ MORE HERE:http://www.latinospost.com/articles/28183/20130921/elementary-season-2-spoilers-sherlocks-brother-mycroft-set-sights-joan.htm

Lucy Liu and Jonny Lee Miller have fun filming Elementary... as she walks her Labrador in between takes

MAIL ON LINE

By CLIFF RENFREW

PUBLISHED: 01:59 EST, 16 August 2013 | UPDATED: 01:59 EST, 16 August 2013

It seems like Lucy Liu and Jonny Lee Miller are having a ton of fun filming their TV show Elementary.

The 44-year-old actress was seen walking her chocolate Labrador around the set in New York on Thursday while Johnny could not contain his laughter while filming with his co-star.

Lucy swapped her ankle boots for some flats when she walked her beautiful dog in between takes flanked by security guards.

Wearing a dapper grey blazer, stripped shirt, navy blue pants and brogue shoes, Jonny tried to hail down a New York taxi for his co-star as the pair filmed on a bustling street.

Eventually, he was successful but in between takes the two actors laughed and joked with one another as they were surrounded by crew members.

Elementary is CBS's contemporary update of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's classic Sherlock Holmes tales in which Jonny plays the fabled detective himself.

While Liu plays an alternative style Dr Watson opposite him.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-2395415/Lucy-Liu-Jonny-Lee-Miller-fun-filming-Elementary--walks-Labrador-takes.html#ixzz2c9G4oxN1 

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Lucy Liu & Jonny Lee Miller Film 'Elementary' in London (JUST JARED)

READ MORE HERE: http://www.justjared.com/photo-gallery/2907461/lucy-liu-jonny-lee-miller-film-elementary-in-london-01/

JONNY LEE MILLER: New Elementary Cast additions (DEN OF GEEK)

Sean Pertwee is to join Jonny Lee Miller, Rhys Ifans, and Natalie Dormer as the latest Brit in CBS' Sherlock Holmes show, Elementary...

Elementary has nabbed itself a bit of a UK acting dynasty (well, dynasty might be somewhat grand a term for the family, but his dad did play both The Doctor and Worzel Gummidge) by casting Sean Pertwee as Scotland Yard detective, Inspector Lestrade.

Absent thus far from Elementary's New York-set proceedings, Lestrade is one of a flurry of Conan Doyle characters introduced at the tail-end of season one and the beginning of season two. First came Sebastian Moran, then Irene Adler, and Moriarty, next is Holmes' brother Mycroft, and with him, Sean Pertwee as Inspector Lestrade. The character, often depicted somewhat mockingly in the Conan Doyle stories, consults Holmes on various cases, and has won his professional reputation based largely on Holmes' deductions.


Read more: http://www.denofgeek.com/tv/elementary/26351/elementary-season-2-casting-news#ixzz2Yk9GG3mY 

Elementary season 2 - Jonny Lee Miller's Sherlock Holmes confirmed for Sky Living this autumn (RADIO TIMES)

The satellite broadcaster has secured the second run of the US drama, which will see the detective back in his hometown of London

Paul Jones

6:10 PM, 19 June 2013

US Sherlock Holmes update Elementary will be back on British screens this autumn on Sky Living, RadioTimes.com can confirm.

The show, starring Jonny Lee Miller as the eccentric detective, returns to US network CBS for a second series on September 26, and is expected to come to Sky around a fortnight later, pointing to an air date of mid-October.

The modern-day American take on the Sherlock Holmes stories is the highest rating show in Sky Living’s 20-year history, averaging 1.12 million viewers per episode.

The series co-stars Lucy Liu as Holmes’s female partner Dr Joan Watson and ended last month with the revelation that his former lover Irene Adler, played by Game of Thrones star Natalie Dormer, was also his arch-nemesis Moriarty.

READ MORE: http://www.radiotimes.com/news/2013-06-19/elementary-season-2---jonny-lee-millers-sherlock-holmes-confirmed-for-sky-living-this-autumn

Jonny Lee Miller, Benedict cumberbatch: Elementary season 2 - where next for the wacky Sherlock Holmes update? (RADIO TIMES)

Paul Jones
12:19 PM, 29 May 2013

Season one of Elementary ended last night on Sky Living – and what a crazy ride it's been. In case it passed you by, it was set in New York, not London, and in the 21st century, not the Victorian era. Dr Watson was a woman. And so was Moriarty (oh, and she was also Irene Adler, who was also Sherlock's former girlfriend, who came back from the dead – but let's not get too bogged down in the detail).

While all those changes may well have had Sir Arthur Conan Doyle spinning in his grave, they've been a recipe for success as far as Elementary goes, with a second series already on its way. The two-pipe problem now (not that Jonny Lee Miller's Sherlock Holmes smokes a pipe, of course, he doesn't smoke anything, he's a recovering drug addict – sorry forgot to mention that) is where can it possibly go from here? Here are a few theories...

Watson is Moriarty


Anyone else think Joan Watson became a brilliant detective in her own right a little too easily? And that Natalie Dormer's Irene Adler/"Moriarty" ended up being a bit too much of a pushover and falling for the oldest trick in the book: "We're alone, so I may as well confess everything"? Joan is the real shadowy figure behind the shadowy figure, who has been manipulating Holmes all along (a "sober companion" is not actually a thing – get a grip people). Series two will see more of the same, with Joan/Moriarty planting the idea in Sherlock's head that they should head to London in order to fulfil her ultimate goal – meeting Benedict Cumberbatch.

Watson is Holmes


We've seen already (above) that Lucy Liu's character may, in fact, have been manipulating Sherlock Holmes all along – but in this version of the hypothesis she actually is the detective and "Holmes" is a vulnerable mental patient/idiot savant/idiot she uses as a front for her investigations. It's not the first time a theory like this has been posited – 1988 movie Without a Clue saw Ben Kingsley's Dr Watson shunning the limelight and feeding his deductions to hapless actor Michael Caine, who he'd employed to play the role of the great detective.

READ MORE THEORIES HERE: http://www.radiotimes.com/news/2013-05-29/elementary-season-2---where-next-for-the-wacky-sherlock-holmes-update

Jonny Lee Miller - (SPOILER) Elementary: Moriarty’s identity revealed in US Sherlock Holmes update Spoilers: don't read on if you don't want to know who plays the detective's nemesis before the season finale airs (RADIO TIMES)

Radio Times staff
4:17 PM, 21 May 2013

We learnt back in April that Game of Thrones star Natalie Dormer was set to play Sherlock Holmes's former lover Irene Adler in US update Elementary. And earlier this month we were told that the season finale would see Jonny Lee Miller's detective face a showdown with arch-enemy Moriarty, the man he believed had killed Irene. Then, just last week, UK viewers discovered Irene's secret – that she's not dead after all.

But now (right now, if you're still reading this) as the series approaches the climax to its first season, there's one more major twist still to come...

...Irene Adler is Moriarty!

Dormer's character will be unveiled as the brilliant criminal nemesis when she shoots one of her own henchmen in order to save Holmes's life.

READ MORE: http://www.radiotimes.com/news/2013-05-21/elementary-moriartys-identity-revealed-in-us-sherlock-holmes-update

Lucy Liu & Jonny Lee Miller: CBS Upfront & 'The Talk' Guest! (JUST JARED)

Elementary stars Lucy Liu and Jonny Lee Miller hit the carpet at the 2013 CBS Upfront Presentation held at the Tents at Lincoln Center on Wednesday (May 15) in New York City.

Earlier in the day, the 44-year-old actress sat down with the ladies of The Talk to chat about her hit series, which was renewed for a second season.

Also in attendance at the upfront event were The Talk ladies Julie Chen (with husband and CBS boss Les Moonves), Sharon Osbourne, Aisha Tyler, Sara Gilbert and Sheryl Underwood. The gals are in the Big Apple doing a special week of shows in New York! Catch it at 2pm on CBS.

 READ MORE: http://www.justjared.com/2013/05/16/lucy-liu-jonny-lee-miller-cbs-upfront-the-talk-guest/

Jonny Lee Miller: 'Elementary' Season 1 Finale Spoilers: Sherlock Deals With His Past in 'Heroine' and 'The Woman' [Video]

“The Woman” – As Sherlock (Jonny Lee Miller) reels at the reappearance of his former lover, Irene Adler (Natalie Dormer), a series of flashbacks unravel the tumultuous events that led to his downfall into addiction , on the two hour season finale of ELEMENTARY, on Thursday, May 16 (10:00-11:00 p.m. ET/PT) on the CBS Television Network. Also pictured is Lucy Liu. (Photo : Jeffrey Neira /CBS)

The first season of CBS exciting new drama ‘Elementary’ is coming to a close this week with a special two-hour finale. The Thursday night finale kicks off with “The Woman,” as Sherlock (Jonny Lee Miller) comes face-to-face with his presumed dead former lover Irene (guest star Natalie Dormer). Fans saw how Sherlock broke down at seeing her again in last week’s episode.

LATINOS POST

Jonny Lee Miller: Sherlock to face showdown with Moriarty in Elementary finale (RADIO TIMES)

Written By

Paul Jones

3:27 PM, 09 May 2013

A tense, season-ending showdown between Sherlock Holmes and his arch-nemesis Moriarty – it’s a scenario fans of BBC1's Sherlock are familiar with. And it’s one that’s set to repeat itself in Elementary, the stateside take on the great detective.

So far, the closest Jonny Lee Miller’s New York-based Sherlock Holmes has come to the criminal mastermind he believes murdered his former lover – one Irene Adler – is a phone conversation. But as the first series of the US show approaches its conclusion, Elementarycreator Rob Doherty says all that is about to change.

“It is a Moriarty-centric finale” says Doherty. “It comes to our attention he may be operating in New York. The finale is really about a build to a showdown between Sherlock and Moriarty."

Not that the action will be entirely confined to the Big Apple. For the first time, viewers will see Sherlock in his native London, in flashback sequences that will also introduce Adler, played by British actress and Game of Thrones star Natalie Dormer.

“For the first time, we're going to see actual moments from his past,” says Doherty. “We're going to see him outside of New York and in London. Seeing London isn't so much the point. It's really about how he came to meet and fall for Irene Adler.

READ MORE:http://www.radiotimes.com/news/2013-05-09/sherlock-to-face-showdown-with-moriarty-in-elementary-finale

Jonny Lee Miller: Holmes to visit London in 'Elementary' season premiere (USA TODAY)

Sherlock Holmes will be taking a trip when Elementary returns in the fall.

The CBS drama is heading to London, the home of the original Holmes, to film the second-season premiere.

In the episode, the first to be shot outside New York, Holmes, the brilliant, eccentric detective played by Jonny Lee Miller, journeys back to his former home to look at an old case and, in the process, runs up against his past. Watson (Lucy Liu), the companion who keeps him grounded, learns more about Holmes before he moved to New York.

"We couldn't be more excited to have this opportunity to see Sherlock's old stomping grounds and take a closer look at a life that, until now, we've only been able to glimpse through the lens of his recovery," executive producer Robert Doherty said in a statement accompanying the filming announcement. "By meeting old friends and revisiting prior cases, Watson will gain even more insight into Holmes. She'll have to keep up with a Sherlock who is both more comfortable in his surroundings and even bolder in testing the limits of those around him."

READ MORE: http://www.usatoday.com/story/life/tv/2013/05/09/elementary-to-film-second-season-premiere-in-london/2146071/

Jonny Lee Miller helps his cameraman try to find cure for his son

Jonny Lee Miller: Natalie Dormer On The 'Elementary' Set With Jonny Lee Miller (PHOTO) Posted: 04/12/2013 6:23 pm EDT | Updated: 04/12/2013 6:28 pm EDT (HUFF POST)

The British actress, who plays Margaery Tyrell on "Game of Thrones," has joined the CBS drama's take on the classic Sherlock Holmes stories as the revered Irene Adler. TV Guide was the first to report the casting news earlier this week.

Jonny Lee Miller, who plays Sherlock in the show, tweeted a picture of himself with Dormer on the "Elementary" set


Adler has been an unseen character on "Elementary" Season 1. She was described as Sherlock's ex who died at the hands of serial killer "M.", which fueled Sherlock's descent into drug addiction. When Sherlock later confronted "M." -- who turned out to be Sebastian Moran (Vinnie Jones) -- he learned that Adler was actually killed by Moraiarty.

In November, "Elementary" executive producer Rob Doherty told TV Guide, "As we build our Irene and we get into more detail, obviously, she has to be fairly unique, in that someone like Sherlock found himself attracted to her ... As we've said in the past, he doesn't really like to get close to anyone, let alone women. The way we've depicted him, to this point in the season, he's not an especially romantic kind of guy ... Irene has to have a certain strength. I see someone who has to have managed to surprise Sherlock in small, but significant ways. He's so easily bored by the predictable."

READ MORE: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/04/12/natalie-dormer-elementary-jonny-lee-miller-photo_n_3072344.html

Jonny Lee Miller: 'Elementary' Casts 'Game of Thrones' Actress as Irene Adler 1:09 PM PDT 4/9/2013 by Philiana Ng (THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER)

Elementary has found its Irene Adler.

Natalie Dormer will begin her three-episode arc May 9.

Game of Thrones star Natalie Dormer has been cast in the pivotal role on the CBS drama, the network announced Tuesday. She will begin her three-episode arc May 9.

Irene Adler plays a significant part in Sherlock Holmes' (Jonny Lee Miller) past, as his first and only love in London. Her mysterious murder by Sherlock's nemesis Moriarty caused his downward spiral into drug addiction.

“We're moving to the next chapter in our show – and in some ways, to a previous chapter in Holmes' story,” said executive producer and creator Rob Doherty. “Irene Adler is perhaps the most pivotal relationship in Sherlock's life, and I can't think of an actress better suited to the challenge than Natalie.”


READ MORE: http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/live-feed/elementary-natalie-dormer-cast-as-435603

What 'Elementary' Star Jonny Lee Miller Loves Most About His Co-Star Lucy Liu ENTERTAINMENT (LIFE AND STYLE)

“She always brings a great sense of humor,” he tells Emmy magazine — Lucy is the cover girl this month. “We do try to see a funny side of everything. Otherwise we’ll be freakin’ miserable.”

The 44-year-old actress’ love to have a good time may be what brought her to the new successful comedy in the first place.

“I know it sounds crazy, but I was really looking to do a comedy,” she says. “I had gotten a bunch of other offers to do some comedies. In the end, this was the best project for me because it was really well put together.”


READ MORE: http://www.lifeandstylemag.com/entertainment/news/lucy-liu-jonny-lee-miller-elementary

Jonny Lee Miller: 'Sherlock' is 'Elementary' for Lucy Liu March 29, 2013 (EXTRA)

Lucy stars as Dr. Watson to Johnny Lee Miller’s Holmes. The two say it's all about keeping things light and funny on set.

“He knows a million jokes and he remembers all of them -- and he can pull them out of his hat at any minute, which I love,” she explained. “I can’t remember any. And I always think, ‘Oh, my God, I have to remember that,’ and I never do. I never remember the punchlines.”

Miller added, “If you’re going to spend a lot of time with someone, you really need to be able to get on with them. It’s nice because we have a very similar sense of humor. Still, you usually have to explain jokes to her about three or four times.”

READ MORE: http://www.extratv.com/2013/03/29/sherlock-is-elementary-for-lucy-liu/

Elementary "Details" Review: Why Watson and Sherlock Can Never Hook Up by Lily Sparks (TV.COM)

If you didn't spend last night feeding fistfuls of lukewarm spaghetti to your lover at a fine chain restaurant, or throwing down a tarp in front of a fireplace and setting up the equivalent of a Cold Stone Creamery toppin' bar to incorporate into your lovemaking with your significant other, then you were best off watching Elementary, which steered clear of conventional Valentine's Day themes to center on the two kinds of love that touch me the deepest: unconditional filial loyalty, and the weird "meeting of the minds" vibe that characterizes Sherlock and Watson.

Sherlock, in a teary stream of whispers, told Watson he was better with her, more focused, and maybe he'd eventually figure out why. While it was all in a soap opera tone that I doubt the show would have used if Watson was being played by, say, John Krazinski, I'm glad the writers cleared the air about Watson not being an official sober companion anymore and essentially lying to him. I'm glad they made the point that he encouraged her to move on while still admitting that he'd like her in his life. I'm ECSTATIC that they are Watson and Sherlock, crime-solvers, now, 300 episodes in. But as much as I wanted to just squee out and enjoy the season's most heartfelt moment (embedded in an episode where JLM had previously thrown tennis balls at her and chased her across the house posing as a masked invader), I felt really vigilant, as a critic, about detecting and therefore calling out any romantic threads present in the exchange. Because that mustn't ever, ever, ever happen.

It feels desperately important to me that Watson and Sherlock in their male-female incarnations never take on a romantic angle for reasons that are hard to articulate but hey, that's my job, so here they are as syllogistic treatise if you will:

1. It's very rare that a platonic female character appears in any kind of "buddy" genre TV or film. If there are two friends who stay friends all the way to the end, 99.9 percent of the time they are either both male or both female.

TO READ MORE: http://www.tv.com/news/elementary-details-review-why-watson-and-sherlock-can-never-hook-up-30628/

Elementary Scoop: How Will Sherlock and Watson's Relationship Change Now? By Natalie Abrams, TV GUIDE (SEATTLE PI)

Following Sherlock's (Jonny Lee Miller) run-in with Sebastian Moran (Vinnie Jones), Joan (Lucy Liu) decided to ask Sherlock's father for an extension on their contract. But when he denied her request, she lied to Sherlock in order to stay during his time of need.

"It's not a lie that Joan is going to live with for a particularly long time," executive producer Rob Doherty tells TVGuide.com. "It's something that we expect to get around to in the next three or four episodes."

Naturally, once Sherlock finds out the truth, it will initially cause a divide between him and Watson. "The expectation would be that Sherlock would feel betrayed and upset and embarrassed," Doherty says. "He was so resistant to the idea of Joan in the very beginning. He did not think he needed help. He's learned over time that it's a good thing to have her around."

Elementary Scoop: When will we meet Irene Adler?


Read more: http://www.seattlepi.com/entertainment/tv/tvguide/article/Elementary-Scoop-How-Will-Sherlock-and-Watson-s-4202076.php#ixzz2IKyBDg00

Jonny Lee Miller thrilled by support from Benedict Cumberbatch and fans for ‘Elementary’ By Laura Byrne-Cristiano at 4:00 pm, January 16, 2013 - @Laura__BC (HYPABLE)

Jonny Lee Miller has the unenviable position of being the third man to play Sherlock Holmes in recent memory; Benedict Cumberbatch and Robert Downey Jr. being the other two. Miller is both humbled and thrilled by the success and support he gets for his role on Elementary.

In a new interview with Collider, Jonny Lee Miller talks about how the success of the show is beyond his wildest dreams. The first sign that things were going well was when CBS ordered up a full season almost right away. Secondly, CBS just bought a Superbowl commercial slot to tout the show. With these slots starting in the 2 million dollar range for a mere 15 seconds, this is quite the vote of confidence. Miller, being from the U.K. and not being fully up on American football, didn’t realize initially what an unusual occurrence this was.

Despite the ongoing marketing campaign, Miller tries to stay focused on his role and not get too distracted by outside forces. In fact, he doesn’t even want to know too much in advance what the writers are planning. His intent is to truly go on a journey of discovery with the Sherlock. He found that he was able to get into his character surprisingly quickly.

You’re trying to bring a character to an audience, and tell stories. That’s what we’re all trying do. So, any time that you get to color that with history and emotion and those darker sides, which are a part of all of us, that’s really the bread and butter of what we do. So, any chance that any of us get to do that is really great. One thing I love about this character is that he’s quite raw, and his struggles are on the surface. Hopefully, that makes it more enjoyable for people, and they can identify with that.

READ MORE: http://www.hypable.com/2013/01/16/jonny-lee-miller-thrilled-by-benedict-cumberbatchs-and-fan-support-for-elementary/