Sherlock's Producers "Will Protect Its Interest And Wellbeing" In Face Of Its American... Cousin

[Brendon Connelly]

Nobody has seen anything of CBS' upcoming mystery show Elementary yet, because not a single scene has been shot, but there's certainly something familiar about the concept:

Sherlock Holmes, but in the modern day.

Admittedly that's quite a vague description so while the concern is that the Network are planning little more than a rip-off of Steven Moffat and Mark Gatiss' runaway-smash BBC series, there's still plenty of space for a new take. A new new take, as it were, and going far beyond simple relocation from London to New York.

But when you learn that, before pressing ahead with their own show, CBS approached Hartswood Films, producers of the BBC show, about a potential remake, things might look a little more suspicious.

Sherlock producer Sue Vertue has spoken to The Independent:

We understand that CBS are doing their own version of an updated Sherlock Holmes. It's interesting, as they approached us a while back about remaking our show. At the time, they made great assurances about their integrity, so we have to assume that their modernised Sherlock Holmes doesn't resemble ours in any way, as that would be extremely worrying.

We are very proud of our show and like any proud parent, will protect the interest and wellbeing of our offspring.

Like, maybe, fake its demise through rigged bad ratings, mocked up bad reviews and fictional audience dissent, thereby convincing would be rip-off artists that there's no money in the idea, before coming back the next year even stronger. Yeah. That sounds like a plan.

Well, it sounds like one of their plans.

I said "Cousin" in the headline because, honestly, I don't know what else to call it. "Copy cat" might be tempting, but it's not necessarily fair.

[ahlhelm]

Much like the Fables issue, I think they shouldn't really be surprised if their series based on public domain ideas has those ideas lifted for a similar (but not the same) take.

[Kinnon]

Well, I never hit saturation point on any media so long as it's being done with a bit of heart and passion, so even with all the comics, movies, adaptations, and TV shows on Sherlock, there's room for one more.To be honest, Holmes is being done so well on so many fronts at the moment, I'd have thought the marketplace was a bit intimidating for a whole TV show, considering the existing quality. A movie from The Asylum, fair enough, that's a cash in, but hopefully this'll be a much more interesting creature. Maybe with the UK production only being the equivalent of 3 mini movies a year, there's an enthusiasm, or passion for the character to be mined in an audience a bit more regularly?

[Jimvanhise]

How can there not be similarities when the UK version is basically the Doyle version in modern times? The UK version doesn't exactly change things a lot, other than the time period. The style of the scripts and the approach to the stories could be called singular, but the characters are not. Sherlock Holmes is recognizably Sherlock Holmes. Watson is even a veteran (of Afghanistan). Similarities will be inevitable. If the update of the UK version hadn't been as similar to the original as it is, there'd have been a lot of complaints from traditionalists.

[CraigMD]

To quote Jim Carrey: "Imitation is the sincerest form of plagiarism."

[zetomenon]

Well if they aren't ripping off Sherlock theyd be ripping off The Mentalist, which is the same core concept... but then so are most crime shows, such was the pervasive potential of Conan Doyles idea...

[RKB]

Yep, if it's PD and does well your getting FABLED.

[adamdodd]

the mentalist is nothing but a sad atempt to capitalize on ANY form of sherlock. I just saw BBC sherlock for the first time last night. i'm hooked. no alternative will be an adequate sub even if they try to cop a flesh and bone it will not be the same nor as good.

[Mike H.]

A) Public domain.

B) "Sherlock Holmes" in the modern day is a pretty broad concept. The Mentalist has already been mentioned, but what about House? It also has more than a few nods to Holmes.

[aditantimedh]

SHERLOCK HOLMES is public domain.

But how specific modern day elements are used in the BBC's version - smartphones, social media, the internet etc to gather intel and solve crimes, certain supporting characters like coroner Molly who aren't in Doyle's original - is Moffat's ideas. If CBS replicate it, they'll be plagiarizing, and that's when the BBC will have grounds for claiming violation of *their* copyrighted material.