Among the upcoming works based on Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes stories and characters is CBS’Watson, and it’s already risking repeating the problem that killed the BBC’sSherlock. The cases of the Great Detective and the many characters who have accompanied him through the years are still a big source of inspiration for many artists. Thanks to the state of the rights to Sherlock Holmes, many artists have taken creative liberties when borrowing Conan Doyle’s characters, expanding their stories and even bringing them to other time settings and places.
Modern adaptations of Sherlock Holmes and company have found great success on TV, as happened with CBS’Elementaryand the BBC’sSherlock, and this will continue withWatson. Created by Craig Sweeny,Watsonis described as a medical drama with detective elements, and it stars Morris Chestnut as John Watson.Watsonwill be set in modern-day Pittsburgh, and will follow the title character a year after Sherlock Holmes’ death at the hands of Moriarty – and this character, while important to the story and characters, risks becomingWatson’s biggest mistake.
Watson Shouldn’t Rely Too Much On Moriarty’s Presence
Moriarty Is Important, But Not Much Than Watson
Now without his best friend and detective partner, Watson begins working at a clinic for the treatment of rare and unusual diseases. However, it won’t take long for Moriarty himself to reemerge, forcing Watson to face his past and maybe even confront his best friend’s murderer. At the time of writing, no actor has been cast as Moriarty inWatson, but the professor’s involvement in the show has already been teased. Speaking toDeadline,Chestnut, without revealing too much, teased Moriarty’s rolein the series, calling him a “very challenging nemesis to dispose of.”
Chestnut added that, when you have a character with the type of villainous intent that Moriarty has, it’s hard to get rid of him,confirming that he will show up simply by saying that he “pops up.”However, it’s unknown if Moriarty will feature prominently inWatsonor if he will just be a lurking presence. Either way, and despite his involvement in Holmes’ death and whatever brings him back a year later,Watsonshould avoid relying too much on Moriarty, as that could kill the show just like it did with the BBC’sSherlock, even though Andrew Scott’s Moriarty was excellent.
How Sherlock’s Perfect Moriarty Ruined The BBC Show
Andrew Scott’s Moriarty Was Too Good
The BBC’sSherlockis one of the most successful but also controversial modern adaptations of the Great Detective, his cases, and the characters who accompanied him through the years. Starring Benedict Cumberbatch as Holmes and Martin Freeman as Watson,Sherlocktook the characters to modern-day London, mixing and adapting some of the detective’s most notable cases to modern technology and social issues.Sherlockteased Moriarty’s arrival since the first episode, where he was mentioned for the first time near the end.
Jim Moriarty made his first official appearance inSherlockseason 1’s finale, and became the main villain throughout season 2, despite Holmes and Watson attending other cases.Scott’s performance as Moriarty was praised by critics and viewers, becoming one of the show’s biggest strengths, and though that benefited season 2, it also ended up ruining the show because of how good he was. Moriarty killed himself at the end of season 2, in the episode “The Reichenbach Fall”, in which he pushed Sherlock into killing himself too – but the detective only faked his death.
Sherlocknever revealed exactly how Holmes faked his death, but Moriarty’s was real.
However,neitherSherlocknor the fans let Moriarty go, and he was brought back in flashbacks and hallucinationsin seasons 3, 4, and the special episode “The Abominable Bride”.Sherlockkept teasing Moriarty’s involvement in other crimes and even teased his return at the end of “His Last Vow”, but the latter never paid off. Instead of fully focusing on new stories,Sherlockheld on to Moriarty for too long, which only made other stories unnecessarily tangled and even nonsensical.
Watson’s Moriarty Will Have To Be Different From Previous Versions
The Next Moriarty Needs To Be A New Version
One of the biggest challengesWatsonwill face with its Moriarty is modernizing him in a new way. BothElementaryandSherlockdid modern-day versions of Moriarty in different ways:Elementarywent for a gender-bent version played by Natalie Dormer, whileSherlockturned Moriarty into a modern-day criminal. The latter had a bigger impact on the audience, soit would be easy forWatsonto fall into the trap of writing its version of Moriarty based on Scott’sdue to how great and well-received he was. Of course, this risks becoming a copy ofSherlock’s Moriarty, which would negatively impactWatson.
Watsonhas some challenges to overcome that are a consequence of recent modern adaptations of the stories and characters of Sherlock Holmes, but Moriarty might be the riskiest one.Watsonshouldn’t rely much on Moriarty and it has to create a new, fresh version of Holmes’ archenemy, while also being aware of when to let go of the character.
Watson
Watson follows Dr. John Watson a year after Sherlock Holmes' demise as he leads a clinic for rare disorders. Despite his return to medical practice, Watson is drawn back into the mysteries and challenges of his past, suggesting that his association with Holmes is far from over.
