Watson - Watson

Something akin to House with Sherlock Holmes trappings, the opening episode of Watson gives us Dr. John Watson (Morris Chestnut) starting up a cutting-edge clinic six-months after the deaths of Holmes and Professor Moriarty at Reichenbach Falls. The case of the week involves a pregnant woman (Anjelica Bette Fellini) believed to have a genetic disorder that will soon kill her, although Watson and his team begin to investigate alternatives as the episode runs through various false diagnoses before finding the true cause of her symptoms. Along the way we also get glimpses of Watson's troubled relationship with his ex (Rochelle Aytes) who he abandoned to help Holmes on a final adventure that only Watson returned from.

Watson's team is an electric group including bickering twins (Peter Mark Kendall), a neurologist (Eve Harlow) with a secret past, and a Chinese Texan (Inga Schlingmann). The effect of Watson's attempt to save Holmes provides an ongoing story with a brain injury he's attempting to manage (and even self-medicate) on his own. Also part of the team is Shinwell Johnson (Ritchie Coster), a former criminal and friend to Holmes as well as a spy within for the not-so-dead Professor Moriarty (Randall Park).

The self-titled pilot is as awkward as the premise sounds. The Holmes trappings added to a medical procedural are an odd range of hit-and-miss. Using the teaching of Holmes to making Watson a better doctor does seem to be he biggest strength of the show. Morris Chestnut is good enough to carry the show, although the supporting cast does feels like something put together for TV show rather than an actual medical team. And the odd inclusion of Moriarty at the end is just... bizarre. My guess is that we'll see impossible medical cases for the good doctor every week that, if they are like the one presented here, are perfectly fine for the genre. However, I'd also wager that the looming shadow of both Holmes and Moriarty will also pass over the show influencing events (hopefully in more interesting ways).

• Title: Watson - Watson
• IMDb: link