Benedict Cumberbatch On CBS's 'Sherlock' Competition
by Shannon Keirnan
Benedict Cumberbatch is speaking about CBS’s hastily made answer to BBC’s amazingly successful “Sherlock” series.
“Elementary” is set to feature Johnny Lee Miller as Holmes, with Lucy Liu stepping in to play his sidekick, Dr. Joan Watson, and will premiere on CBS September 27th.
The two will be fighting crime with the power of their brilliant minds in New York City, and, probably, fighting some sexual tension, something some might argue that “Sherlock” lacks.
Although, some might argue just the opposite.
Cumberbatch, who plays Sherlock Holmes kind of brilliantly in BBC's "Sherlock," opened up to Shortlist.com about the competition, and frankly, got a little sharp about the whole situation.
“I don’t know, we’ll see… I think there’s room for us to both coexist. I don’t feel threatened by it and I wish him the best, which is as diplomatic as I can be… It’s very odd. I did say [to Miller], ‘Well I’d prefer you didn’t do it but you’ve got a kid to feed, a nice house in LA and a wife to keep in good clothes….’ I wish him the best of luck, but I’m a bit cynical about why they’ve chosen to do it and why they cast him.”
Miller, who did not choose to take this role specifically to piss off Cumberbatch (or DID he?), meanwhile had only nice things to say about the star.
“I love the work that Benedict has done with Sherlock. I would call him up like a groupie after every episode had come out. I’ve been able to reassure him about his different this script was.”
Cumberbatch, in a typical Cumberbatch move, is crying foul play and misquotes about his rather ungracious comments, but since every time he’s quotes as saying something a bit nasty he claims a misquote, the truth remains up in the air.
“What I said is I would have preferred not to be in the situation where we will again be compared because we are friends. I know for a fact his motivations were to do with the quality of the script and the challenges of this exceptional role.”
I, for one, am willing to tune into “Elementary” and give it a shot, because this new Sherlock Holmes fad is a bus I’m eager to jump on.
However if anyone hasn’t seen Cumberbatch’s version, I highly encourage it if you love British television, Martin Freeman, mystery, or any combination of the three.