We all have struggles and we all have things that haunt us. For Michael Sleep (Pearce Quigley), they are one and the same. The new series Small Prophets, now streaming on Apple TV, follows Michael’s problems and the unique solution posited by his Dad (Michael Palin). It makes for an interesting slice-of-life series. The pilot, “Down at the cul-de-sac,” introduces it all. Let’s dive in.
Everyday struggles
At the outset, we meet Michael. He’s living a simple life in a run-down house on a cul-de-sac. His neighbors want him to cut back his garden, which looks as if it hasn’t been touched in years. In fact, most of the house looks that way. Turns out, that’s intentional. Michael’s girlfriend Clea disappeared seven years earlier, on Christmas Eve, and he hasn’t given up hope she’ll return. In fact, he’s left the sitting room ready for Christmas just as it was when she left.
In the meantime, he fills his days at a menial job at a local hardware store. He is meant to help customers, but instead seems to take pleasure in misdirecting and misinforming them. He’s found a partner in crime in Kacey (Lauren Patel), his younger co-worker who has a similar distaste for the job.
After work, he spends his days at the retirement home where his Dad stays. They chat about the past and about what is to come. His father is lonely and losing track of his thoughts. That leaves Michael to fill in the pieces and with the help of Hilary (Charlotte Mills) who mans the front desk, to keep him out of trouble.
It’s not a busy existence, but it is Michael’s everyday routine. We see him doing the same thing each day, struggling to pass the time as he hopes to see Clea again. But each day finds him going to sleep alone as hope begins to wane.
A looming problem
But time is passing, and others are not as patient. Michael beings the hour ducking the calls of Roy (Paul Kaye). Soon enough, clinging to his daily routine, Roy is able to catch up with him. So, Michael reluctantly agrees to meet, and it’s not good news.
Roy is Clea’s brother. He’s grown tired of her absence and wants to declare her dead. That rankles Michael and his sense of hope. More importantly, it creates a threat for him. He and Clea weren’t married, so he technically doesn’t have a claim on her property. While it is his home, it’s something more for Roy.
Roy is hurting for funds. If he declares Clea dead, he gets the house, which he can sell for profit. That’s the plan he shares with Michael, who is doubly motivated to keep hope alive for Clea. The question is how to do it.
Michael in his despair goes to visit his father. His father mentions something—Homunculi—small prophets that can be grown and answer questions about the future or mysteries about the present. He suggests that could be the answer for Michael in his quest to find Clea. But the question is how to do it. Michael’s father has an answer for that, too. Once upon a time, he learned the secret on a trip and wrote it in his notebook.
Michael heads home where he keeps his father’s things stored. He finds the book about Egypt and goes through it. He manages to find the secret and begins to read. Could it indeed be the answer to all his problems?
Thoughts on the episode
I like the pacing here. Quigley makes for a fun lead and the half hour time frame is ideal for a nice comfort watch. This was one of two episodes dropped this week, part of a six-episode season that will make for some fun during the month of October. There’s plenty of potential here.
Small Prophets streams Wednesdays on Apple TV. Check back as we recap all the action and fun of the first season.
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