BBC's better Sherlock fixed a major flaw in Cumberbatch's version

When Sherlock premiered on the BBC in 2010, it immediately updated the image of the world’s most famous detective for modern society. Benedict Cumberbatch's Holmes was portrayed as brilliant, icy, and obsessively cerebral — a genius that was an emotionally distant figure whose mind moved at a pace faster than most people could engage in conversation.

The show gave us stylish and daring high-concept mysteries, with fast-paced deductions. But with every season, a distinct problem arose: the character's emotions, or lack thereof, their almost superhuman skill set, and the world’s pop-culture infrastructure began to blend with a fantasy version of reality.

This is where Elementary quietly shone. The American adaptation may not have turned heads like Sherlock, but it aired on CBS two years later. It certainly provided something the BBC version never fully embraced: emotional complexity and grounded storytelling. Holmes, portrayed by Jonny Lee Miller, didn't just solve cases. He connected with people, struggled, failed, learned, and most importantly, he... well, engaged.

Both shows reimagined Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's creation, but Elementary fixed a core flaw with Cumberbatch’s version: it made Sherlock Holmes human again. In doing so, it became the better Sherlock – not because it outsmarted its predecessor, but because its detective felt real.

Miller’s Sherlock made deductions believable again

Perhaps the most astounding, and controversial, of all Cumberbatch’s Sherlock traits was his incredible, almost superhuman ability to make deductions in a matter of moments.

From solving beautifully complex crimes in the middle of a dialogue to reading lives off of inscriptions told by risings and folds, his mastery was delightful but frequently blurred the lines of possibility. The show’s stylized editing further heightened this sensation, at times transforming Holmes into a supercomputer rather than a man.

Elementary, one of the various spinoffs of the Sherlock Holmes franchise, severely toned down the spectacle, focusing instead on a logic that could be followed step by step. For Jonny Lee Miller’s Holmes, it felt as though he was not merely two steps away from illusions; rather, he was an astute and incredibly troubled man whose coping was built on deduction.

The show brought audiences into the process instead of only showcasing the finished product. That ground reality did wonders for engaging not only the audience with the mysteries presented, but also to feel more drawn to the character of Holmes himself.

A more emotional, evolving Sherlock

Cumberbatch's Holmes was already in trouble when he described himself as a “high-functioning sociopath,” and his characterization only became more confining as the series progressed.

His relationships, even the most important one with John Watson, were mired in some form of emotional unavailability or, at best, manipulation. Holmes’s self-serving attitude made him seem aloof and distant, not just to onlookers but to everyone in his life, including himself.

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Unlike his contemporaries, Miller's rendition was a work in progress. His friendship with Joan Watson, skillfully portrayed by Lucy Liu, was rooted in appreciation for one another’s perspectives. The battles he had to fight were many: substance abuse, enduring loss, broken trust.

But these struggles were far more than fleeting distractions — they were defining components of his identity. The producers of Elementary did not try to pigeonhole their version of Sherlock into a single defining trait. Instead, they embraced the idea of him evolving throughout the series.

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