I'm a big Sherlock Holmes fan, I make a point of reading The Hound of the Baskervilles at least once a year, as it is probably the definitive Gothic thriller and archetype detective novel.

Elementary was a good series and would probably have fared better had it not been released along side Sherlock, the comparison was inevitable and against Benedict Cucumberpatch he was not going to win out.
The stories are great and using Gregson as the main foil especially as played by Aidan Quinn is a good choice.

Lucy Liu is remarkable as Watson, her take on the character is spot on (Watson was suffering PTSD in the original books, though of course that was not the term for it at the time), her guilt ridden stress captures this perfectly.

Though James Mason is still my favourite Watson Liu's version certainly ranks in my top five.

It is ironic that the beloved flaws (drug addiction, antisocial behaviour, arrogance) of Holmes were written in to the stories by Doyle in order to kill the popularity of the character, as Doyle saw him and the demand for stories about as a distraction from his serious works.
It backfired and the trope of the flawed superman was born, had he left Holmes as the near perfect mental and physical specimen of A Study in Scarlett the readership would soon of grown bored of him.

This is what has made him a major influence on society, media and individuals for over a century now.