Elementary

Funnier, smarter, more elegant than Sherlock. And Jonny Lee Miller doesn't look like the middle stage of an animorphs cover, either.

Very easy watching.

1x; Stopped after S1E3.

Bad writing

Enjoyed this but didn't finish the series. I wish they had some episodes where they solved crimes that were not murders would have given it more variety. I do like all of the callouts to real world technology, science, and math concepts.

Great pilot, but becomes formulaic and repetitive quickly because of its procedural format and lack of overarching plot

This show offers a combination of Castle and the mentalist. In a way that the cases are interesting and the developments are mindblowing. But most of the times the way things progress it is identical to past episodes.

Stopped watching mid season 2.

Lengthy but enjoyable show. I think having watched it over 7 years was a blessing, as it might likely get repetitive if binge watched. The character work on the main two protagonists is excellent, and even though there's nothing really special about the show's plots and sideplots, it's simply enjoyable to watch. Not the best TV series around, but I felt legitimately sad for a while when it ended. I'll truly miss it.

The proximity of the initial releases of the BBC's Sherlock and Elementary, makes any comparisons inevitable. While Sherlock is built around its "clever" plots, Elementary takes a more character focused approach, dealing with addiction and rehabilitation, friendship and growth. Miller is great as the damaged titular character (a more realistic take than Cumberbatch's), and Lui's interpretation of Watson is good (though not as much as Freeman's). A lot of procedural filler, but a solid show.