I was extremely skeptical of this series and it took a lot to even get me to watch the first episode - I've had too many "I want that hour back" moments in my life.
What I expected was a caricature of Holmes and Watson. I expected Watson's female characterization would be absurdly strong, mentally, physically, and emotionally, and Holmes would be weak, needy and barely able to function without her.
I was very pleasantly surprised - especially for the pilot episode where writers and actors usually haven't hit their stride yet.
Instead, within the premise of modernization and change of venue, the characters are engaging, the writing very good, and while Holmes might be a little over the top in this first episode, Liu's Watson is very well done and far more constrained than I expected.
The premise that gets Holmes to NYC, and in part motivates him to re-engage in the line of consulting detective, is plausible.
There were a couple of scenes that were unnecessary for the plot and inserted for drama alone, but overall, I was very impressed.
Other reviewers here have convinced me that the minor shortcomings of season one are addressed in later seasons (with the exception of some audio issues for a couple of seasons). I look forward to that because Season 1, Episode 1 is already a great start.
