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Adrian Latosquin
Professor Haas
Writing 37
12 December 2014
The Modernization of Watson
Conan Doyles classic conventions of Watson in the nineteenth century such as always
categorized in the middle-class, being a narrator, and having a student-teacher relationship with
Sherlock Holmes, have been altered after time. The revolution of Watson caused changes to the
character through gender and personal traits, while there have been several conventions that
remained the same from the original. Scottish show-runner Steven Moffat was responsible for
the television program of Sherlock when it was released July 2010; as the concept was detective,
Sherlock Holmes, and his sidekick, John Watson, solve several mysteries in London through
investigations and research. As the duos popularity increases due to perception of them being
excellent crime solvers, the citizens and government of Britain look up to them for help. While
Elementary, produced by show runner Rob Doherty, in September 2010, shows a modern twist
of Sherlock Holmes and a female update of John Watson, Joan Watson, as consulting detectives
solving unique crime cases in New York City. As Joan Watson formerly being a successful
surgeon and Holmes leaving rehab, they find each other useful on tackling difficult situations in
the bustling city. In contrast to the Sherlock Holmes stories that Doyle had written, modern TV
shows, such as Sherlock and Elementary, have revamped the Watson character to make it more
appealing to the 21st century. Both Sherlock and Elementary showcase different scenarios and
environments of Holmes and Watson solving cases, while keeping classic conventions of the
detective genre. The updated conventions of Watson that todays society perceives of the

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character being middle class, a gentlemen, and having a student-teacher relationship with
Holmes, has been inspired by Conan Doyles stories and ideas of the original Watson in the
Victorian Era. Elementary and Sherlock transitions some of those conventions similarly, and
other conventions differently through another perspective
Through the modern-text from Sherlock, the student-teacher relationship between Holmes
and Watson seem to be much stronger than compared to the original stories from Doyle, as they
rely on each other more heavily, and they show more careness towards each other. In the
beginning of A Scandal in Belgravia from Sherlock, Watson is writing in his blog about the
cases he goes through with Holmes to showcase a rising number of fans that are interested in
their work. Holmes interviews several people to see a case that fascinates him the most. In the
beginning of the scene, medium longshot was used to showcase Watson typing on his laptop for
his blog, while Holmes was flipping through the newspaper. This shows the audience a visual on
how theyre communicating with each other that emphasizes how Holmes critiques Watson on
his blog entries. Foley was also put into effect as the audience can clearly hear Watson typing
loudly on his laptop for his blog. This element gives a sense of reality to the viewers, as Watson
typing on the laptop is exaggerated in order to hear and visually see him paying half attention to
Holmes when theyre talking to each other. Overlapping was shown in the scene when the
screen would show Holmes walking by, and transitions to the following person telling their case
as Watson is recording each persons story in his laptop. This shows how Watson is still
conservative in Sherlock compared to Doyles classic convention of him, as he isnt as arrogant
or aggressive compared to Holmes. The cinematic elements presented in this scene supports the
student-teacher relationship between Holmes and Watson is emphasized more in the moderntexts than the Victorian Era version of Watsons original character, as he is more protective

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towards Holmess actions. In addition, Watson is more interactive in the cases hes trying to
solve with Holmes rather than during the Victorian Era version of his original character.
As Holmes and Watson had a great bond that seemed to be brotherly, the change in
gender roles of Watson now being a female in Elementary caused Joan Watson to put more effort
of showing her potential as a detective herself in investigations as Holmes took on the leadership
role in the beginning of their relationship of the series. According to the literary scholar, Panek,
in his chapter, Beginnings, he stated, Unlike most earlier fiction which made its pitch to
female readers, the new detective story aimed at entertaining what it what it perceived to be the
middle-class mind (17). The classic convention that the male audience used to be the main
readers of the detective stories after it was only common to females has changed. As the
progression of the classic conventions of the genre began from Conan Doyle, it has taken new
shape through a modern twist of TV Shows such as Elementary. In the Pilot of Elementary,
Holmes and Watson were having a conversation about Holmess keen observation skills. Then,
Holmes doesnt believe that Richard Mantlo had kill his wife after Detective Javier came in the
room, as he believed that Richards hands were too small when he tried matching up the marks
from the wifes neck in a picture on his phone. He asked Watson to support his argument.
During their conversation, close up was applied to the scene when Holmes and Watson were
talking to each other, to show a connection between them. The camera does a close up of
Holmes and Watsons faces when they were having a conversation, to exemplify the connection
between the two of them, in order to progress in their relationship. In addition to that scene, the
use of angle framing was put into effect where the camera would be looking up at Holmes when
he was talking, while the camera would be looking down when Watson would be saying

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something. This shows Watsons fascination of Holmes and her curiosity of his background and
attentions.
The scene conveyed the aspect of Match on Action, as one shot showed Holmes about to
show Watson the picture of the marks on the wifes neck, then the scene transitions on to another
shot of just the phone itself showing the actual picture. This shows how Holmes looks up to
Watson for assurance towards his arguments when solving cases, as theyre portrayed as trusted
partners. According to Emily Asher-Perrin, writer for the Battling Super Sleuths: The
Awkward Case of Sherlock, Elementary, and Building the Better Adaptation website, Sherlock
even recruits Watson as an apprentice because he believes she can develop a skill set much like
his own and become a detective. The female and male gender roles are much more equal in
todays society compared to the nineteenth century as it could be a reason for the twist on the
role of Watson in Elementary. That transition affected the classic convention of the studentteacher relationship between Sherlock Holmes and John Watson, as Watson took on the student
role, and Holmes would be the teacher.
Following the connection between the two scenes from Sherlock and Elementary, there
are some similarities and differences in the modern transformation of Watson between those two
different television series. A few differences include Sherlock being intended for the British
audience, while Elementary was to attract the American audience. Also, the relationship
between Holmes and Watson in Sherlock have a strong bond as they have each others back
through almost any situation given to them, and relates more to Doyles original stories of the
duo. While in Elementary, the correlation between Sherlock Holmes and Joan Watson
sometimes expresses a multi faceted relationship as it shows either a mother-son relationship as
Watson mostly nurtures him by telling him not to overstep his boundaries, or Watson and

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Holmes occasionally switching roles of being a student and the teacher. Some similarities of the
two scenes that share in common, is that they portray the teacher-student relationship as John
Watson is mostly observing Holmess actions in Sherlock, while Joan Watson learns more about
Holmess eccentricities the more she hangs out with him. In addition, the modern twist of
Watson in both Sherlock and Elementary have generalized him as middle class, as it stays true to
Doyles classic convention for the character. According to the literary scholar, Panek, in his
chapter Doyle, he stated, Finally, Doyle, through his fictional narrator, takes it as a given that
the public has a right to know about crime, criminals, policemen, and detectives (1).
In summary, Watson continues to be the responsible one between his relationship with
Holmes in the modern times originating from the stories by Doyle, as he tries to make sure
Holmes is secured and not in any type of danger. John Watson reassures Holmes to get a sense
of morality when expressing his actions and opinions in Sherlock, as Joan Watson second
guesses Holmess behavior occasionally by how more mature she is when handling certain
situations. Also, the audience of the 21st century is more emotionally invested in Watson than
Holmes, as he is more relatable and expressive throughout his judgments and scenarios. There
have been a few criticism that Elementary is a better modern twist than Sherlock of the classic
Sherlock Holmes and John Watson story. According to Zack Handlen, writer for Its
Elementary, Sherlock: How the CBS Procedural Surpassed the BBC Drama website, Theres a
wholly unexpected, and entirely welcome, vitality to Elementary at its best, a sense of new
ground being uncovered rather than old ground being re-trod.
Tracing back to Doyles original view on the character of Watson, the public of the Victorian Era
were just as fascinated with John Watson compared to Sherlock Holmes, as Watson being the
narrator made the stories more interesting to read, which caused the duo to be a main attraction

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as whole instead of being well known separately. Compared to the original story and the modern
revisions, the relationship between Watson and Holmes is stronger in the updated interpretations
as it shows they have more affection for each other.

Works Cited
Panek, Leroy. Beginnings. An Introduction to the Detective Story. Bowling Green, OH:
Bowling Green State University Popular Press, 1987. PDF File.
Asher-Perrin, Emily. Battling Super-Sleuths: The Awkward Case of Elementary, Sherlock, and
Building the Better Adaptation. Tor.com, Macmillan, 24 Feb. 2014. Web. 23 Nov. 2014.
Handlen, Zack. Its Elementary, Sherlock: How the CBS Procedural Surpassed the BBC
Drama,A.V. Club. The Onion, 20 Jan. 2014. Web. 11 Aug. 2014.
Panek, Leroy. Doyle. An Introduction to the Detective Story. Bowling Green, OH: Bowling
Green State University Popular Press, 1987. PDF File.
"Sherlock (TV Series)." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 26 Nov. 2014. Web. 27 Nov. 2014.
"Elementary (TV Series)." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 26 Nov. 2014. Web. 27 Nov.
2014.
Pilot Elementary. CBS. New York, United States. 14 March 2014. Television.
"A Scandal in Belgravia." Sherlock. BBC Wales. 25 July 2010. Television.