ArkaEvren

TV SERIES · 2012– · USA

Elementary

32 archived facts 4 topics 1 source Last reviewed Nov 2026

32 Interesting Facts About Elementary

Interesting Facts (26)

  1. #001

    In Joan's Chelsea apartment there is an artwork above her bed. It is a serigraph made by Lucy Liu herself.

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  2. #002

    Before creating the series, Robert Doherty studied psychological assessments of Sherlock Holmes written by real doctors over the years.

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  3. #003

    "Diogenes" also appeared as the name of a club founded by Sherlock's brother Mycroft in many of the original Sherlock Holmes stories.

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  4. #004

    Sherlock's tattoos belong to Jonny Lee Miller. Unlike Holmes's tattoos, however, Miller's are not self-applied.

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  5. #005

    The series is generally filmed in New York at 7th Avenue and 51st & 52nd Street.

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  6. #006

    Although the series is titled "Elementary," Johnny Lee Miller uses only the famous Sherlock Holmes catchphrase; the title was derived from a trip in the pilot. This may be because the original Sherlock Holmes did not use the phrase very often.

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  7. #007

    The creators of this series reportedly made great efforts to avoid possible copyright issues with the British series Sherlock (2010), which also retells Holmes's story in a contemporary setting. One visual clue (included as a salute to the British series) is a scarf that Holmes wears in the same way as in "Sherlock."

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  8. #008

    Neither Jonny Lee Miller nor Lucy Liu had read a Sherlock Holmes story before taking their roles in the pilot.

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  9. #009

    Roof scenes, such as the moments when Sherlock tends to his beehives, are filmed on the roof of the Silvercup studios in Long Island City. It is the same place where McLeod and the Kurgan fought at the end of Highlander (1986).

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  10. #010

    Joan's brother is named Oren, just like Lucy Liu's character in the Kill Bill films.

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  11. #011

    Raza Jaffrey, who plays Andrew Paek (Joan Watson's love interest), is married in his private life to the actress Lara Pulver, who played Irene Adler (Sherlock Holmes's love interest) in the BBC-TV series Sherlock.

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  12. #012

    Sherlock Holmes actually used a 7% cocaine solution, but since cocaine is no longer taken that way, his preferred drug was changed to fit the modern setting.

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  13. #013

    The actor who plays the rabid football fan 'M' is Vinnie Jones. In the 12th episode of season 1, he had actually played professional football before becoming an actor. For a time he played for Chelsea, the favorite team of Johnny Lee Miller (Sherlock).

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  14. #014

    Although Sherlock Holmes is famous for his deductive reasoning skills, he almost never actually uses deduction. Deduction is the use of known facts to form and support a theory. What Holmes actually uses is inductive and abductive reasoning, as defined by Charles Sanders Peirce: induction, in which the answer is known first from observation and then proven; and abduction, a form of logical inference that moves from observation to a hypothesis that accounts for reliable data and seeks to explain the relevant evidence. (Peirce first introduced the term as "guessing.").

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  15. #015

    The opening title sequence includes elements of the board game Mouse Trap.

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  16. #016

    In Season 1, Episode 18, Watson says she will play Lieutenant Columbo to investigate the case; another Lucy Liu character, in Lucky Number Slevin, also plans to play Columbo because he is her favorite detective.

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  17. #017

    Dr. Watson's wardrobe, at least throughout Season 6, follows a black-and-white theme.

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  18. #018

    Michael Cuesta, who directed the pilot, initially wanted to cast Rupert Friend as Sherlock. However, after seeing the actor's audition tape, he decided to cast Friend in Homeland instead.

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  19. #019

    Sherlock and Joan live on Brownstone. "Mr. Brownstone" is a slang term for heroin, Sherlock's drug of choice.

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  20. #020

    Lucy Liu plays the first person under Holmes's tutelage. The second is played by Ophelia Lucy Lovibond. So both characters are played by actresses named Lucy.

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  21. #021

    Captain Gregson's hair color changes from episode to episode.

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  22. #022

    Ironically, Jon Michael Hill, who plays Detective Marcus Bell, does not appear alongside Bell in the opening title sequence. Aidan Quinn, who plays Captain Thomas Gregson, does.

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  23. #023

    CBS's Elementary stands out among the productions that adapt the character of Sherlock Holmes to the modern age. Comprising 154 episodes, the series, according to the source, not only brings Sherlock Holmes into the present day but also offers a genuinely fresh interpretation of the character.

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  24. #024

    According to the source, Elementary is regarded as a worthwhile watch among Sherlock Holmes adaptations. The series is said to offer a different perspective from other productions that adapt the Holmes character to the modern era.

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  25. #025

    The source gives the series' episode count as 154 and states that the production aired on CBS. The source emphasizes that Elementary displays an original approach among the productions that bring Sherlock Holmes into the modern age.

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  26. #026

    Arka Evren Note: In Joan's apartment in Chelsea, there is an artwork above her bed. It is a serigraph made by Lucy Liu herself. More about Elementary

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Behind the Scenes (1)

  1. #027

    In the 12th episode of season 6, "Meet Your Maker," Sherlock and Watson attend a Comic Con-like event to catch a suspect. A long queue of attendees in various costumes forms. As Sherlock and Watson approach the main entrance, the camera scans the crowd and briefly pauses on a costumed couple waiting in line. Their costumes are a Sherlock and Watson from the 1890s; the woman is Sherlock and the man is Watson. (The reverse of this series.) Sherlock wears his distinctive deerstalker and Watson a bowler hat.

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Characters & Cast (2)

  1. #028

    In the summer of 2011, Danny Boyle created a National Theatre production of 'Frankenstein' in which Benedict Cumberbatch and Jonny Lee Miller played the creator and the creature, alternating each night. Later, both actors played Sherlock Holmes, another Victorian work, in contemporary settings on opposite sides of the Atlantic.

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  2. #029

    Sherlock Holmes was also played by David Arquette in a theater production in Los Angeles. Arquette appeared with Jonny Lee Miller in "Dead Man's Walk (1996) (TV)." Arquette played the role of Augustus McCrae, previously played by Robert Duvall, who had played Doctor Watson in The Seven-Per-Cent Solution (1976).

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Easter Eggs & References (3)

  1. #030

    The character Detective Bell is an intelligent police officer with a distinctive deductive ability. This is a nod to Dr. Joseph Bell, the Scottish doctor and professor whom Sir Arthur Conan Doyle knew and who served as the real-life model for Sherlock Holmes.

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  2. #031

    Joan's mother is named Mary Watson. This is a nod to Arthur Conan Doyle's stories, in which Dr. Watson's wife is named Mary.

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  3. #032

    In Season 4, Episode 11, Sherlock tries to create a code name for Watson. Among others, he offers "cold blood killer," a clear reference to Lucy Liu's character in Kill Bill, who has the code name Cottonmouth. A cottonmouth is a dangerous snake that, like all snakes, is cold-blooded.

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Sources & editorial notes

Reference databases

  • IMDb IMDb title page (trivia)

Information from external sources is independently selected, consolidated and edited by Arka Evren. Sources are listed for verification and further reading. Encyclopedia text is used under its licence (CC BY-SA). How we work