Elementary: The Fourth Season - DVD [6 Discs]

Last season this series opened up a bit strangely and it took awhile for me to get into the groove of it again. For one, Holmes had a new assistant and it really threw me. I'm glad to report that nothing strange like that occurs this season. There is one big change but it is a good one. John Noble. who is an outstanding actor, joins the cast as Sherlock's father. I was so pleased when he was standing on Sherlock's roof and turned around and I saw who it was. Secondly, Holmes and Watson open together as committed partners in solving crimes. There is no more wishy washy stuff about them going their separate ways and such. They are united but they are still not romantic partners and I don't think it will go in that direction. I think that is wise as it entirely shifts the show when that occurs. Lucy Liu and Johnny Lee Miller at this point have Watson and Holmes down perfectly. Miller has down perfectly all of the weird tics that characterized Holmes in the Conan Doyle works. He is a very odd duck but indeed so was Sherlock Holmes. As for the drug addiction episode we closed with last season with Holmes, that mainly serves to bring John Noble as the father into the show. Sherlock resumes becoming a recovering addict. We do not seem to be belaboring the drug abuse aspect of this show and for that I am thankful. The reason this show was late entering the fall lineup is there was some football show on Thursday nights which was going to mess with its ratings. That show is now off so Sherlock will last longer into the spring this year.

Season four is a must have to add to your expanding collection of who done it mysteries.

Elementary continues to be a more satisfying, three dimentional, and consistent modern take on the Sherlock Holmes character than other recent offerings. This season has several episodes presenting adaptations of classic Holmes stories, presented in interesting and sometimes surprising ways. It's a shame the show isn't available physically in HD, but the quality of the DVD is more than serviceable. The sound balancing continues to have the same problem the other seasons do, with Jonny Lee Miller's voice being a little difficult to hear, seemingly coming out half from the subwoofer and half from the center speaker with his soft register, even after multiple audio calibrations and different sound systems. This volume also breaks the consistency in shelf look that the previous three seasons had going for them, lacking a slip case and having a different colored spine, which is a bit of a shame for collectors.

I starting watching ELEMENTARY on TV about four years after its debut. However, I found myself liking the tone of this TV show. I was skeptical of a modernization of Sherlock Holmes & Dr. Watson set in current day NYC. However, the series works although its direct connection to the Victorian Holmes & Watson is minimal. The setting in today's NYC and the casting (which includes Lucy Liu) all jell nicely and there is a current social feel to the various mysteries our heroes encounter -- which makes things seem somewhat believable.

Season 4 of Elementary brings in a character we have been waiting to meet for quite some time, Sherlock’s father. The last episode of Season 3 left us with bated breath and we were not disappointed. It is important to note that one should watch this series from the beginning in order to understand the dynamics between the characters. You should watch this series if you want a smart, frustrating, amazingly convoluted show.