Tonight I watched the episode of Elementary which featured a dominatrix, and I have to say, it was not all that bad. \u00a0I was expecting the worst, really, I mean it is network television.Although I am a die-hard Sherlockian I just keep missing it because frankly, I forget to watch it, but also because I find Lucy Liu to be a\u00a0subpar Watson. \u00a0Not because she’s a woman (clearly), but because they failed to make her interesting. Also, her acting is not exactly Shakespearean, let’s face it. \u00a0Watson is a doctor, but he is also a gambling fiend, something of a womanizer, and probably has PTSD or whatever its Victorian equivalent is from being a surgeon in the war (read: occupation) of India. \u00a0He\/She is actually quite a well-formed character, and to see he\/she being played so one-dimensionally… \u00a0I digress.<\/p>\n

Anyway– I actually didn’t mind the depiction of the dominatrix. I thought it was a good lead-in, and the fact that the police treated her nonchalantly even while she was wearing leather and latex was a nice touch. She was not treated with any level of suspicion, and in fact knew Holmes through a mutual\u00a0academic\u00a0interest (not through the seedy underworld), which was refreshing. This of course, is done to throw off the audience, because of course they would be ready to believe that a dominatrix was involved in a crime (I would assume).I also thought it clever that neither the actual suspects or even the victim were involved in BDSM at all.<\/p>\n

Also– did anyone else notice they made a visit to Purple Passion? The scene where the clerk starts talking about how marginalized kinky people are while telling them they need a subpoena is priceless.
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\n<\/span><\/span>The other drama based on The Canon (hee\u00a0hee),\u00a0 the BBC’s\u00a0Sherlock, also features a dominatrix in one of their episodes early on as Irene Adler. \u00a0 The series is much more satisfying than Elementary in a way because they draw directly from the original stories and weave them together to create a more complex contemporary tapestry. \u00a0At first, the thought of a dominatrix as Irene Adler (referred to as\u00a0The Woman\u00a0by Holmes– one of two people to ever have outsmarted him) seems quite logical. \u00a0She is depicted as an adventuress in the original stories,\u00a0is a well-known opera singer, (apparently not a respectable profession in Victorian times- think somewhere along the lines of Degas’ ballet dancers)\u00a0making her somewhat of a charlatan. \u00a0 Hmmm… \u00a0sort of like being a dominatrix today, no? \u00a0I’ll answer that for you– Yes. \u00a0However– and I do mean to spoil it for you if you haven’t watched it– they fail to imbue the dominatrix character with any of the original Irene’s capacity for deceit. \u00a0On TOP of that, we are expected to believe that she is perhaps attracted to him (um, NO) and even weakened by his affections. \u00a0For instance, a code she expects to flummox Holmes with turns out to be a reference to her “longing” for him (gag me with a forklift) and also, he of course comes to her rescue near the end (It IS the 21st century right? \u00a0Just checking). \u00a0If you are familiar with the original stories, this would never, ever have happened. \u00a0 Irene Adler was a consummate professional and would only ever be interested in making sure that Holmes could never catch up with her. \u00a0The entire point is that she was the “one who got away”, and the reader is left to wonder whether it is because she escaped before Holmes could catch her or whether it is because she would never bang him. \u00a0Excuse me, take a turn around the room with him. \u00a0 All in all, it is probably a combination of both, but Holmes’ characteristic Victorian repression would never let him admit that to himself or anyone else. \u00a0Which is why we love him.<\/p>\n

Anyway, here is the naked scene, as promised. \u00a0I have to admit it was clever to make her most impressive outfit her sheer nakedness:
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