Common Sense Media Review
By Joyce Slaton
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
Language, powerful performances in book-based series.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 14+?
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The Last Days of Ptolemy Grey
Parent and Kid Reviews
What's the Story?
Based on the Walter Mosley book of the same name, THE LAST DAYS OF PTOLEMY GREY stars Samuel L. Jackson as Grey, a man in his 90s who has dementia and undergoes an experimental treatment to restore his memory that ultimately hastens his decline. Watching in dismay is Robyn (Dominique Fishback), who's taken over Grey's care when his beloved nephew Reggie (Omar Benson Miller) is killed. As the two grow closer, Grey hurries to solve a murder case before his memory fades again.
Is It Any Good?
With powerful actors Samuel L. Jackson and Dominique Fishback at the center, this book-turned-limited series is affecting and habit-forming, with fully-fleshed characters occupying a brisk plot. The serum that returns Grey's memory to him and then causes him to quickly flame out is an appealing if fatally flawed fantasy in The Last Days of Ptolemy Grey: What loved one of a person with dementia hasn't imagined a way to turn back the clock? And the Grey we meet in the first episode isn't a happy or satisfied man; he hides in his roach-infested apartment, terrified of what could be outside. Meanwhile, sound and camera work show the viewer how his mind works, with memories both lovely and awful bleeding through and obscuring what's actually going on around him.
Things improve immeasurably once sympathetic teen Robyn appears, connected to Grey through a web of friends and family, herself in need of someone to care for and about her. She shapes up Grey's existence, but can only watch in dismay deepening into horror as he chooses to take the experimental treatment offered to him by the doctor he calls Satan. The twin mysteries the newly sharp Grey solves are MacGuffins that fade into the background compared to the interplay between Jackson and Fishback, which is tender, involving, and absolutely beautiful to watch. Author Mosley is known for his crime fiction and his characters; The Last Days of Ptolemy Grey gets both exactly right.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about dementia and The Last Days of Ptolemy Grey's portrayal of people with dementia. Is Ptolemy Grey a realistic character? Is he like other people with dementia that you know? Does the show's depiction of dementia ring true despite the drama's sci-fi aspects?
How are viewers supposed to feel about Ptolemy and Robyn? Are we supposed to like them? Relate to them? Laugh at them? How can you tell? How do TV shows and movies communicate how to feel about characters? Do TV shows ever make you relate to more than one character at a time?
How do the characters in The Last Days of Ptolemy Grey demonstrate empathy and compassion? Why are these important character traits?
TV Details
- Premiere date : March 11, 2022
- Cast : Samuel L. Jackson , Dominique Fishback , Walton Goggins
- Network : Apple TV
- Genre : Drama
- Character Strengths : Compassion , Empathy
- TV rating :
- Last updated : April 10, 2022
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