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Michaela Wilson
Professor Haas
Writing 37
10 December 2014
Male vs. Female Watson
According to the literary scholar, George Dove, in his book, The Reader and the
Detective Story, the detective genre has four set elements, which are "transitory, without longrange goals or purposes; it is fundamentally an intellectual undertaking; it is recreational,
intended primarily to relax; and it is a disciplined, delimited literary form" (2). Sir Arthur Conan
Doyle quickly became the leader in the detective genre revolution with the creation of his
character, Sherlock Holmes. Holmes was not like any other detective because of his high level
of genius and eccentricities. With equal importance, Doyle created Watson who narrated all of
their adventures and investigations. In the detective genre, the main roles are taken on by males.
Doyle implemented this convention with having Watson as Holmess partner who is also new at
the detective craft. Sherlock and Elementary are both modern day television series that follow
the everyday lives of Holmes and Watson. Each episode is about a case they are trying to solve.
Sherlock is based in London, whereas Elementary takes place in New York City. While the BBC
television series, Sherlock, produced by Steven Moffat, stays true to this male sidekick, the
American television series, Elementary, produced by Robert Doherty, fills Watsons role with a
female. This change in Elementary occurred in order to fit the classic Sherlock Holmes stories
within the 21st century. In todays society males and females are on a more equal basis
compared to the Victorian Era. Even though Sherlock and Elementary are made for the present

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day audience and contain slight changes, both series still hold true to the classic conventions of
Watson and his relationship with Holmes like the student-teacher relationship, Watsons
protectiveness, and his strong morals.
Since Watson is a male role in Sherlock, the viewers are able to see more of that male
friendship with the many quarrels that is seen in the Sherlock Holmes stories. According to "The
Great Game" episode review titled "Sherlock: The Great Game' Review," written by Chris Tilly,
Watson is "a credible combination of honesty, loyalty, and strength," which is "the perfect foil
for the mad genius of Holmes." This friendship is seen in the episode, "The Great Game," in
Sherlock when Watson and Holmes are having an argument about what Watson says in his blog
about Holmes. Then, they go into arguing about Holmes not knowing simple things like how the
Earth rotates around the sun. During this scene, jump cut is used to show the heated argument
between Holmes and Watson. The sound of Sherlock flipping through the pages of his magazine
is an example of foley and this is used to show the discontent Holmes has towards Watson's
blog. Throughout this scene, low-key lighting is displayed to reflect the tension in the room
between Holmes and Watson. This scene further displays the friendship between Holmes and
Watson because with every friendship comes this camaraderie where there are arguments, but
they are quickly forgotten and the friendship is back to normal. Arguments like these are
frequently shown in Doyles Sherlock Holmes stories. For example, in the book, A Study in
Scarlet, Holmes and Watson argue about an article Holmes wrote that states that a man can come
to astonishing conclusions from little hints like a twitch as long as they train their brain to look at
the small details. Sherlock stayed true to this convention with continuing these arguments
between Watson and Holmes in the 21st century. Not only does Sherlock keep the friendly fights
convention of Sherlock Holmes, but it also utilizes Watsons protective nature. In "A Study in

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Pink" of the Sherlock series, Watson rushes to go save Holmes from the killer and even ends up
shooting the killer before he could hurt Holmes. This example also portrays Watsons morals.
He knew that someone bad was going to hurt someone who does a lot of good in the world, so he
made the hard choice in taking the life of the killer. Sherlock displays this to maintain Watsons
true character. Holmes and Watson were meant to have a friendship where they would bicker,
but still be there for each other and help each other out on their cases.
In addition, with Watson being female in Elementary, it creates a different dynamic
between Watson and Holmes, but still maintains their close friendship and Watsons
protectiveness and morals. During the Victorian Era, men over-powered women. Women did
not have the same freedoms as the men, but as years went on, the gender roles started to
equalize. Now in today's society, women have a lot more rights than they did in the Victorian
Era like being able to vote and having the opportunity to hold a high-paying position in the work
field. According to the article, "It's Elementary, Sherlock: How the CBS procedural surpassed
the BBC drama," written by Zack Handlen, creating a female Watson "wasn't just a gimmick, but
rather the central part of a commitment to finding a new take on the Holmesian mythology." A
female Watson is meant to demonstrate and support the gender equality of the 21st century.
Another reason for the creation of a female Watson was to receive more female viewers. With
one of the lead roles being played by a woman, other females find the show more relatable to
them, so they are more likely to watch it. 2Also, according to Leroy Panek, in his book, An
Introduction to the Detective Story, "female readers, too, latched onto the detective story" during
the Victorian Era, so the producers of Elementary were trying to reach the female audience of the
21st century because they knew what a success it was during the Victorian Era. 2This Watson
character also embraces the protective and moral Watson created by Doyle. However, with the

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gender change the student-teacher relationship is now Holmes and Watson teaching each other.
A scene that encompasses all of these characteristics of Watson is one from the episode, Pilot,
from Elementary. In this scene, Holmes and Watson go to interview a woman who can help
them solve their case. At first there is an extreme close up of a picture of the victim that Holmes
shows the woman and then there is an extreme close up of the woman being interviewed. This is
to show how similar the two ladies are to portray that the killer has a type. Low angle camera
work is used throughout this scene as the conversation between the three characters is
progressing. With this angle on the characters, it keeps the viewers as a spectator in this event
rather than having the audience feel like they are part of the scene. It keeps the viewer's focus on
Holmes, Watson, and the woman being interviewed. As the interview turns into a heated
conversation between Holmes and the woman, 2Watson intervenes because Holmes is making
the woman feel uncomfortable by asking her a lot of personal questions about her incident with
her attacker. Jump cut is used to bounce back and forth from character to character to help the
viewer follow the dialogue. 2The fast paced jump cut allows the audience to understand the
tension in the room. 2Finally, Watson has had enough when Holmes makes the statement that
the woman knew her attacker and others will die if she doesnt come clean, so she tells Holmes
to stop. The camera shows the point of view of Watson to allow the viewer to see Holmes's look
of amazement on his face. 2Watson saw that Holmes was being inappropriate by what he was
asking and stating, so because of her good morals in believing that you should be more respectful
of other people, she protected the woman from any further harassment from Holmes. Watson
was the teacher in this case and Holmes was the student because Watson was telling Holmes
what to do and teaching him that making rude comments is not socially acceptable.

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As a result, these two scenes exemplify how important the conventions of Watson are.

Both television series use the characteristics of Watson from Doyles short stories and novels and
translated them for the 21st century audience. The Watsons from Sherlock and Elementary both
encompass the classic Watsons relationship with Holmes, protectiveness, and morals, but in
their own way. Watson and Holmes in Sherlock have a student-teacher relationship where
Holmes teaches Watson; whereas, the Watson and Holmes in Elementary teach each other. Both
Watsons also try to get Holmes to act more normal and human like attempting to get him to
retain basic knowledge and act appropriate in social situations. The Watsons from the television
series let Holmes do what he needs to do in order to solve a case, but when Holmes crosses a
social boundary they make Holmes aware of that and try to steer him clear of something that is
unacceptable by them and society.
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In conclusion, Sherlock and Elementary have slight differences from the original

Sherlock Holmes stories written by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, but for the most part they stay true
to the core of Watsons character. Both television series show Watsons relationship with
Holmes, his protectiveness, and his morals. Even with the gender role change in Elementary,
Watson still had the same conventions as the classic Watson.

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Works Cited
Dove, George. "The Different Story." The Reader and the Detective Story. PDF File.
Handlen, Zack. "It's Elementary, Sherlock: How the CBS procedural surpassed the BBC drama."
AV Club. n.p., 20 January 2014. Web. 23 November 2014.
Panek, Leroy. "Beginnings." An Introduction to the Detective Story. Bowling Green, OH:
Bowling Green State University Popular Press, 1987. PDF File.
"Pilot." Elementary. CBS. 27 September 2012. Television.
"The Great Game." Sherlock. BBC. 8 August 2010. Television.
Tilly, Chris. "Sherlock: The Great Game' Review." IGN. n.p., 9 August 2010. Web. 25
November 2014.