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Amber Capasso Professor Haas Writing 37 12 March 2014 Adaptations of the Sidekick The mystery genre is part of fiction literature, "where the plot revolves around a mysterious happening that acts as the driving question," with characteristics such as a genius detective, mediocre sidekick, and a tricky culprit (Mystery Fiction). These genres do not remain fixed; they change in order to match the interests and values of the audience. Conan Doyle is part of the classical stage where the conventions were invented, whereas, the revisionist stage of the genre is when genre films consciously question or reverse the established conventions of the classical stage. The sidekick within the mystery genre is an important convention which has its foundation in the Conan Doyle classical stories and is still used today in revised modern-day interpretations. Conan Doyles character, Dr. John Watson, has been interpreted in many different ways throughout modern-day texts and television shows such as Sherlock, House, and Psych. The sidekick in each of these shows resembles the original characteristics portrayed through Watson, for example the Watson in Sherlock, often gets to go off on his own investigative tangents and Wilson in House remains Houses best friend to the end. Although these modern-day characters share a variety of similar features with Dr. Watson, there have also been many changes. A scene within the television series, Elementary, illustrates the differences between Dr. Joan Watson and the original Dr. John Watson when Sherlock brings Watson to a scene of a murder and waits for her to give her thoughts on the case. In Doyles novel, The Sign

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of the Four, while at the murder scene of Bartholomew Sholto, John Watson tries to suggest what happened and helps collect evidence. Elementary is an American crime drama series created by Robert Doherty which premiered on CBS on September 27, 2012, intended for a middle aged audience. Sherlock Holmes is a recovering drug addict living in New York City with his sober companion, Dr. Joan Watson, while resuming his work as a consulting detective. Elementary is a modern-day revision of Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes stories, updating genre conventions for its 21st century audience; in particular, the convention of the sidekick, Dr. Joan Watson, is an update of Conan Doyle's Dr. John Watson, with specific revisions such as being the first Asian female Watson and going from being a former surgeon to a sober companion. These modifications attract a new type of audience than before such as women because Watson is now an Asian female. In season one, the beginning of episode seventeen, Possibility Two, Holmes and Watson arrive at the crime scene of two dead security guards; while there Holmes stays quiet and waits for Watson to give her thoughts about the incident. In a way Holmes is testing Watsons ability to observe and trying to teach her the necessary skills by correcting her judgments because he acknowledges that she will be useful in his future investigations. The crime scene is set on a rooftop parking structure during a cold and gloomy day. According to Stephen DeVega, Setting can create mood, convey specific narrative information, elicit an emotional response, and communicate characters state of mind (Setting and Expressionism). The location and atmosphere of this scene creates a dreary mood, which in turn communicates Watsons state of mind. She is mentally affected by the sight of the bodies because of her experience of losing a patient on her operating table. When Holmes asks for her conclusions, she is immediately snaps out of it and is able to give her thoughts and theory. Although her emotional state was affected

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for a slight minute, she is able to collect herself and quickly observe the crime scene without any prior practice of doing so. This demonstrates Joan Watsons strong, complex female lead; she is on par with her companion, given equal credit and equal footing. As Watson begins her interpretation of the crime scene the camera begins to move in on her through what is called tracking. As the camera is moving in, everything around Watson, such as the background and other people, moves as well. The moving camera effect imitates visual expectations of movement thoroughly. This allows objects that were not present before to now be seen, so as Watson discusses her theory, all the pieces of evidence and her surrounding objects become viewable. This brings close attention to Watson because as she is explaining her reasoning, viewers are analyzing the scene with her. Watson becomes the main focus of the scene rather than Holmes, showing the importance of her role as the sidekick in the show. In the Conan Doyle stories everything is through Watson's viewpoint; so this show is visually replicating Watson's narrative viewpoint from the classical stories. In Doyles novel, The Sign of the Four, Holmes and Watson arrive at Pondicherry Lodge to discover the death of Bartholomew Sholto. While analyzing the body of Bartholomew, Watson states, This is all an insoluble mystery to me It grows darker instead of clearer (Doyle 34). Right away Watson has overlooked how all the pieces of evidence are tied together, instead of theorizing about what might have happened he sees the case as impossible. This demonstrates one modification between modern-day Joan Watson and the original John Watson; they go about observing crime scenes in differing ways. Joan is able to come to conclusions on the spot whether her observation or correct or not, whereas John has a hard time putting the pieces together; he needs assistance to be able to come to his judgments. Elementary has adapted to our new culture by putting emphasis on Joan Watsons intelligence. The original John

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Watsons knowledge was that of an average man, whereas the modern Joan Watson is more intelligent when it comes to investigations. Holmes and Watson are presented as equal in Elementary, which reflects what a modern audience would expect of gender roles; in fact because Elementary has chosen a female Watson, it is even more important that they do not present her as inferior to Holmes. Another revision between the two Watsons is the simple fact of their gender, but this is important because it affects their personality and how they are viewed. John Watson is the typical working gentleman of the Victorian Era, while Joan Watson is still very proper, like John Watson a gentlewoman by today's standards but she could have never been a surgeon or an assistant consulting detective during that time period. John was modified to fit the appropriate social constructions of the 21st Century. This demonstrates how societys attitudes toward women have drastically changed over time. Since a female sidekick is now accepted, Joan is often the voice of reason, instead of Holmes, in Elementary. This attracts a large female audience since Joan does not play a stereotypical women role, but instead is given more of a lead role alongside Holmes. The mystery genre convention of the sidekick has changed to adapt to a more modern audience appealing to a variety of viewers such as middle aged adults and women. The sidekick is an important part of the mystery genre because as Belvins says, Sidekicks p erform a number of functions in the stories they populate, not just serving as the companions and assistants to the main characters, so it is necessary for the sidekick to be modified as society transformations. There are countless versions of Conan Doyles character, Dr. John Watson, that have been revised to attract a variety of different audiences throughout the centuries. As for the series, Elementary, Joan Watson is a surprise; she is introduced as Holmess sober companion, an Asian

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female, and a former surgeon that later on develops into his assistant; according to author Sandra Gonzalez from Entertainment Weekly, she is Sherlocks equal rather than his sidekick, which creates a whole new twist to the original Watson. Arthur Conan Doyle established the foundation for the sidekick and the expectations, but the world has taken the matter into their own hands in order to develop a more relatable character for its society.

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Works Cited Belvins, Brenta. The Role of the Sidekick. New Myths. 2010. Web. 20 Feb. 2014. DeVega, Stephen. Setting and Expressionism. Online video clip. YouTube. YouTube, 19 Oct. 2009. Web. 19 Feb. 2014. Doyle, Arthur Conan. The Sign of the Four. London: Lippincott's Monthly Magazine. 1890. Online book. Gonzalez, Sandra. 'Sleepy Hollow,' 'How I Met Your Mother,' 'Revolution,' 'Supernatural': Find out what's next in the Spoiler Room. Entertainment Weekly. 6 Dec. 2013. Web. 2 March 2, 2014. The Mystery Fiction. WGBH Educational Foundation. Masterpiece Theatre. PBS.org. 2005. Web. 2 Feb. 2014.