Tang, Chang

RA Thesis & Paragragh Revision

The short stories of Sherlock Holmes was written by Sir Authur Conan Doyle during the
Victorian Era. These stories were the first of the detective genre, which is another branch of the crime
and mystery genre. Doyle wrote these stories which displayed the general conventions of a detective
genre. The typical conventions of a detective genre has always been the genius hero and his sidekick.
This original detective genre has adapted into a procedural mash-up for the modern audience.
According to Tim Adler's article, "Why TV Procedurals Also Rule The World", procedurals are "TV
equivalent of comfort food". Procedurals have a general format and is reassuring for the viewers.
Elementary is the CBS adaptation that is set in Manhattan, New York. The procedural adaptation is
seen in this drama's episodic format, with short crime stories and a progressing character development.
Sherlock is the BBC adaptation that is set in London, and is more similar with Doyle's Sherlock
Holmes rather than a procedural adaptation. Sherlock uses more cinematic elements in order to make it
more dramatic for the modern audience and has a storyline that is unique each episode. The
conventions of Sir Authur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes has adapted into a procedural format for the
modern audience in Elementary, but Sherlock, the more traditional approach, is as popular with its
differences.