My head is still buzzing about the show tonight. (Forgive me if it was a repeat and discussed before.) The character portrayed by Treat Williams had CTE or chronic traumatic encephalopathy, a form of dementia some athletes get from repeated head injuries. They say it is different from Alzheimer's and in this story the character committed crimes which I think is different from the reports on this site, but many of the symptoms displayed in the show were similar to some of the behaviors we have seen in our loved ones. I was struck by the writers of this episode did not sugarcoat some aspects of the disease as is often done in the media with AD, but it was brutal. Wake up call ? To the legal and medical professions? I don't know. There is so much we don't know about these dementias.
I saw the show also. It was not a rerun. I don't know if they were playing the dementia angle as much as injury from football trauma. Last week on Murphy's Law, it was about a high school athlete dying after a football game because of repeated trauma finally causing the "final blow." I think some of the shows are trying to bring awareness regarding the dangers of football. I am waiting for a show that will depict all the sordid details of AD. You know what? I think it is a long way away.
I felt so sorry for the wife of the dementia victim in Law and Order. Maybe because I could put myself in her shoes.
I also thought this was really well written, as jerseymama mentioned it was not sugarcoated at all. It showed a behavior that I have never seen mentioned in any dementia stories written for TV. I think dementia is dementia no matter what causes it. I also felt what my husband went through more than when he was alive...does that make sense? Maybe because I was watching & not living. Also, didn't end the way I expected.
I also identified with the wife of the dementia victim. While not in denial of her spouse's decline, she struggled to help him maintain dignity and was torn apart, as was he, when his failings were exposed so publicly. The writers even showed how the dementia victim "covered" his memory loss, when discussing his glory days, he let others fill-in the details, while he laughed and repeated the same phrases in social settings.
I had recorded it on the DVR, and just watched it last night. I agree that it was very well done and not sugarcoated. I also agree that it was more to bring awareness to the seriousness of repeated football head injuries than dementia itself. But it was an excellent episode. The wife's emotional pain, financial ruin, Olivia's empathy - all very well done.
I won't give away the ending in case anyone else DVR'd it and hasn't seen it yet, but at the end, the realization in his own eyes was absolutely heartbreaking.
My youngest daughter saw that episode & she realized that the actor was portraying someone with dementia because she recognized his actions were the same as her Dad’s (he stays with her once a week while I go shopping). She also said that she cried most of the way through (even though she usually never cries when watching TV programs). She then posted a link to the program on facebook with a message to her siblings that they should watch it because (in her words) it puts into perspective what Dad is going through & Mom as well. I did not see the episode but I'll probably watch it online.