THE GAME IS AFOOT IN PITTSBURGH.

In the past ten years or so, I have seen remakes of Sherlock Holmes with Dr. Watson being a veteran of the Afghan wars of the Elizabethan era (Sherlock);  with Sherlock Holmes banished to New York to get sober, assisted by Dr Joan Watson (Elementary); and now CBS has Holmes and Moriarty taking a fatal plunge that Dr John Watson survives, and once he recovers he has a bequest to set up a hard cases medical clinic in Pittsburgh.  TV Fanatic contributor Joshua Pleming notes, "It also doesn’t hurt that the network has given viewers the tall drink of water, Morris Chestnut."  He continues,

The story itself seems pretty cut and dry. Holmes left Watson a bunch of money so the doctor could return to medicine. It’s all very straightforward, which is exactly what Sherlock Holmes is NOT known for.

The show worked hard in the pilot to establish that nothing is as it seems. I don’t even want to make assumptions because I’ll be dead wrong, but something is definitely afoot.

Is a Scotland Yard guy in league with Moriarty?  Only the Shadow knows.  Oh, sorry, wrong mystery series reference.  And television might be able to portray the price of ambition.  "Every show, from Nurse Jackie to Grey’s Anatomy, proves that the cost of a successful healthcare career is a volatile love life."  The One Chicago series generalizes that to first responders generally.

At CBR, Joshua Patton quips, "Watson Series Premiere Review: The Holmes Inspired Drama Is Basically Sherlock House."  That might not be surprising.

Hugh Laurie's surly doctor solved medical mysteries for eight seasons, and series creator David Shorn said House was inspired by Sherlock Holmes.  Watson brings things full circle, from using the protagonist's surname as the title to his medical deductions, so comparison is inevitable. Of course, that series is not the most important source of inspiration. Of the mixture of elements that make up Watson, that which is inspired by Arthur Conan Doyle's iconic character amounts to about a seven percent solution. Now in the public domain, the series is free to borrow, remix and ignore whatever elements it wants. Rather than a traditional mystery procedural, the show centers on John Watson's life as a doctor. He's also without his more famous companion, though given how "Pilot" ends, that may not be for very long.

None of which comes as a surprise: Conan Doyle was a medical student who credited one of his professors for stressing the usefulness of observation in diagnosis.

The pilot show fails to impress TV Pulse contributor Jennifer Griffin (not to be confused with the eponymous Fox News diplomacy correspondent).  "The problem is Watson is neither sufficiently coherent in tone, nor unique in execution, to carry the weight of its own premise."

The next show will air on February 16, as pitchers and catchers are reporting.