Analysis of consultant procedural vocabulary in Sherlock (BBC), The Blacklist, and Life (NBC) television series
Research of highly-rated consultant procedural television series examining three additional shows featuring defective detectives: Sherlock (BBC), The Blacklist, and Life (NBC).
| Term | Concise Definition | Sherlock (BBC) | The Blacklist | Life (NBC) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Consultant Procedural | Crime-solving series built around external civilian specialist working case-by-case with law enforcement | Modern Holmes adaptation - high-functioning sociopath consulting for Scotland Yard via DI Lestrade | Criminal mastermind turned FBI informant providing access to global blacklist of criminals | Wrongfully convicted detective returning to LAPD with unique philosophical perspective and insider knowledge |
| Defective Detective | Brilliant investigator whose impairments both hinder daily life and enable extraordinary deductions | High-functioning sociopath with severe narcissism and complete social dysfunction creating genius-level deductive abilities | Criminal mastermind with mysterious past and identity issues enabling unprecedented criminal network knowledge | PTSD and philosophical transformation from 12 years wrongful imprisonment providing unique perspective on justice and human nature |
| The Watson | Loyal companion who explains clues to audience, provides emotional balance and conduit to normal society | Dr. John Watson (Martin Freeman) provides military grounding, medical expertise, and humanizing influence on Sherlock’s antisocial behavior | Elizabeth Keen serves as FBI agent partner providing law enforcement legitimacy and emotional stakes through mysterious connection to Red | Detective Dani Reese provides practical policing experience while learning from Crews’ zen approach and unique investigative methods |
| Friend on the Force | Sympathetic officer who grants consultant access, legitimizes arrests and acts as comic foil | DI Greg Lestrade provides Scotland Yard cases despite frustration with Sherlock’s methods and condescending attitude | FBI Task Force led by Harold Cooper provides federal resources and legitimacy for Red’s operations despite moral concerns | Captain Kevin Tidwell and Lieutenant Karen Davis provide LAPD access while navigating politics of Crews’ wrongful conviction lawsuit |
| Consultant Hook | Protagonist’s singular talent that justifies weekly involvement and differentiates the show | Superior deductive reasoning and observational skills that completely eclipse police competence through “mind palace” techniques | ”Concierge of crime” expertise providing access to global criminal networks and blacklisted criminals invisible to law enforcement | Zen philosophy combined with wrongful conviction experience offering unique perspective on truth, justice, and human behavior |
| Accessibility Factor | Narrative techniques translating esoteric expertise into visual or conversational clues viewers can grasp | Text overlays showing Sherlock’s rapid-fire deductive observations and thought processes in real-time visual format | Red’s elaborate monologues and storytelling explaining criminal psychology and network connections through personal anecdotes | Crews’ zen philosophy expressed through meditation, fruit consumption, and philosophical observations making complex insights accessible |
| Dark Mirror Protagonist | Consultant whose insight stems from sharing traits with criminals, creating moral tension | Sociopathic tendencies allowing Sherlock to understand criminal psychology through lack of empathy and moral flexibility | Ultimate example - former criminal mastermind using insider knowledge to hunt other criminals while maintaining mysterious agenda | N/A - Crews’ insights stem from wrongful conviction experience and philosophical growth rather than criminal identification |
| Mythology Arc | Central ongoing storyline spanning multiple episodes/seasons providing deeper character development | Moriarty’s elaborate games, Sherlock’s apparent death and resurrection, and Mary Watson’s secret agent past over 4 seasons | Red’s true identity mystery, connection to Elizabeth Keen, and the fulcrum conspiracy spanning 10 seasons | Crews’ quest to solve his own wrongful conviction case and conspiracy involving corrupt police and business interests |
| Procedural Grounding | Ensuring fantastical elements anchored in realistic police work and legal procedures | Authentic Scotland Yard procedures, forensic science, and London police protocols anchoring Sherlock’s extraordinary methods | Accurate FBI procedures, federal task force operations, and international law enforcement cooperation despite criminal informant dynamic | Realistic LAPD procedures, detective protocols, and legal system navigation including wrongful conviction lawsuit proceedings |
| Moral Ambiguity Hook | Ongoing dramatic question of whether consultant’s darker impulses will overtake crime-fighting purpose | Whether Sherlock’s sociopathic nature and addiction tendencies will corrupt his crime-fighting abilities and relationships | Whether Red’s criminal past and mysterious agenda will ultimately serve justice or personal vengeance through FBI cooperation | Whether Crews’ zen philosophy and wrongful conviction experience enhance or compromise his ability to serve justice effectively |
| Competence Differential | Deliberate skills gap making consultant indispensable while preserving police credibility | Sherlock’s deductive abilities so superior that Scotland Yard detectives appear incompetent without his insights | Red’s criminal network access provides intelligence completely unavailable to federal law enforcement through conventional means | Crews’ unique perspective and philosophical approach reveal truths that traditional detective methods miss |
| Empathic Profiling | Visual/narrative device where detective mentally reconstructs crimes by “becoming” the perpetrator | Mind palace sequences showing Sherlock’s mental reconstruction of crimes through rapid-fire associative reasoning | Red’s criminal experience allowing him to predict and understand criminal behavior patterns from insider perspective | Crews’ wrongful conviction experience enabling understanding of both criminal and victim perspectives in justice system failures |
These three shows demonstrate remarkable diversity within the consultant procedural formula:
Each series develops unique methods for translating expertise:
All three shows balance episodic cases with long-term character development:
This analysis shows how the consultant procedural format accommodates different approaches to exceptional detective abilities while maintaining the core case-by-case structure that defines the genre.
