Watson pilot 1/26/2025 (spoilers) (was: What Did You Watch? 2025-01-28 (Tuesday))

suzeeq <suzeeq@imbris.com> wrote:

On 1/29/2025 9:54 AM, Ian J. Ball wrote:

On 1/29/25 9:13 AM, Arthur Lipscomb wrote:

Watson - New CBS show about Sherlock Holmes' partner Dr. Watson
(Morris Chestnut). Following Holmes' death Watson returns to the U.S.
to run a medical clinic. This show is basically "House" with Watson
and his team of doctors taking on a weird medical case that stumps all
the other doctors. But Watson uses the deduction techniques he
learned from Holmes to solve the cases. The only thing that makes
this show different than "House" is a spoiler I can't mention yet.

That's disappointing - I assumed he'd be a doctor who solved
mysteries/crimes on the side. If this really is "House-redux", then I
can't say I am interested in it at all.

The premise may be similar to House, but it's not like a clone of it.
Give it a couple episodes before rejecting unwatched,

I'm going to watch for a while but, no, it doesn't grab me and I doubt
Ian is wrong fr W/Qing it.

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The main problem is Morris Chestnut. I think he can act but no one
bothers to give him the chance to act, like, ever. He's a large man with
a resonant voice who simply dominates scenes due to his physical
presence. While they resisted the urge to have him rip his T-shirt
whilst lifting weights, he still gets a gratuitous shirtless scene to
let casting directors know he spends as much time in the gym as possible
and hasn't eaten a carb since childhood. You might get your actors naked
for a sex scene, but this was just posing.

I'm not criticizing the actor for this as he still has to make a living
and if he's kept his matinee-idol looks now that he's in his mid 50s,
more power to him.

But he's not right for the character. Watson is supposed to be an ordinary
dude who observed and learned Holmes' techniques, not that Conan Doyle
allowed all that much character growth in the stories.

But I will give credit to the writers for one thing: Setting the story
just after Holmes' "death" at Reichenbach Falls is a logical place to
begin Watgson's solo story, and since the viewer knows what Watson
witnessed is false, they have the opportunity to introduce the Holmes
character into the story some time later.

But in the setup, they went out of their way to tell us that Watson
wasn't just concussed but received a traumatic brain injury (and has been
unsuccessfully hiding symptoms). Chestnut has been shaving his head for
years. They couldn't be bothered to give him a permanent scar from brain
surgery in makeup!

The rest of the setup is ridiculous. Somehow Holmes was massively
wealthy, and gave the money to set uo a "clinic" for Watson, both the
building an doperating cost. At one point, Watson is called to 6. Is
this the sixth floor? Is this an entire hospital?

The patients weren't realistic at all, just said dialogue to contrast or
complement Watson's lines, whatever the plot required.

Of course it was necessary to include romcom bullshit with Watson
working with an ex-wife (or girlfriend?). There are two bickering twin
brothers on staff, whom the audience is supposed to despise. Success!
The rest of the supporting cast made no impression,

They ruined the last scene. The Lestrade character is now Watson's ally,
who returns to Switzerland to investigate. There he encounters
Moriarity to hand off the Maguffin. Did Lestrade betray Holmes or Watson
or is he acting on Holmes' instructions? Who cares? After Moriarity
exits, we see Lestrade shaking in terror.

Give me a fucking break. Moriarity is played by the guy from Fresh Off
the Boat.

Oh. And Arthur's spoiler that he hinted at that he didn't reveal as to
why it's not House MD? The team didn't kill either patient even once,
although they deteriorated in care. House's team often killed patients
at keast once and perhaps up to three times.

But it wasn't lupus.