Halt and Catch Fire (AMC on the right track again)

[dunksby]

Season Two was just concluded, so I can recommend this one wholehearteddly without reservations :cheers:
Here's a short synopsis from Wiki:

It's the early 1980s, and the spirit of innovation in personal computing is about to catch fire. Hot on the trail is a renegade trio -- a visionary, an engineer and a prodigy -- who risk everything to realize their vision of building a computer that can change the future.
If Breaking Bad leaned on Cranson's performance to carry its weight a lot of times, Halt and Catch fire benefits from a variety of great characters and great performances from both the core and gues stars. The timing of the production is perfect as the computer and Internet tech is booming; this show gives a good perspective on the atmosphere and ideas surrounding the baby steps of copmuter and Internet.
All in all, this is a must watch :cheers:

http://img1.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20140410024622/haltandcatchfire/images/thumb/1/15/HaltandCatchFire.jpg/500px-HaltandCatchFire.jpg

[Thorpesaurous]

I've been watching for both seasons, and really felt this second season was an improvement. The first season centered on portable home computer. And it primarily was Joe's vision versus Gordon's ability, with some of Cameron's ability in there too. Then they had the usual love interest thing working. Honestly, the Joe McMillan character just never fully made sense to me. Sales people very rarely do. But the acting was great. And the era design and everything was so good that I enjoyed it anyway.


Season two though was just much tighter, much more relatable, and the characters were way more fleshed out and believable. They shifted the focus of the show drastically, going from the guys, to the two girls. Cameron starts an online gaming company, back when online meant a local server. It predates even Nintendo. And she's backed up by Gordon's wife, Donna, who sees more value in the interconnectivity than the games. They're just much better characters, and the nature of their venture is more plainly explainable. Joe even fits in better in the new job he has, and how it fits into the server's the company needs. Gordon is the most out of place, and is saddled with an illness plot that barely matters, but it does add tension with his wife. It just felt like the different places they're at in their careers was plenty for that (Gordon had a windfall from season one, and is starting a build to spec home PC business, and the two of them are in classic old school vs. new school models of where the industry is headed. They also have two daughters who conveniently only seem to exist when it's pertinent for the plot).


Anyway, the season was great, and for me the ending was satisfying in that it could end here, or the show could change drastically and keep going.

I've read that they still haven't been picked up for a third season, and people are not hopeful that they will be. It's unfortunate because it really has turned into a really good show. And it's one of the rare cable dramas of quality in which no one is murdered (which doesn't bother me, but it does always come off as a breath of fresh air whenever I find one).

[El Kabong]

Yea, I read the ratings for season 2 were even worse than 1, so they're not likely to re-new. I was kinda hoping for season 3 just cause I wanted to see Joe go full on bad guy and try to destroy Mutiny.

[rufuspaul]

I've read that they still haven't been picked up for a third season, and people are not hopeful that they will be.


:(

Damn. I really liked this show.

[dunksby]

I've been watching for both seasons, and really felt this second season was an improvement. The first season centered on portable home computer. And it primarily was Joe's vision versus Gordon's ability, with some of Cameron's ability in there too. Then they had the usual love interest thing working. Honestly, the Joe McMillan character just never fully made sense to me. Sales people very rarely do. But the acting was great. And the era design and everything was so good that I enjoyed it anyway.


Season two though was just much tighter, much more relatable, and the characters were way more fleshed out and believable. They shifted the focus of the show drastically, going from the guys, to the two girls. Cameron starts an online gaming company, back when online meant a local server. It predates even Nintendo. And she's backed up by Gordon's wife, Donna, who sees more value in the interconnectivity than the games. They're just much better characters, and the nature of their venture is more plainly explainable. Joe even fits in better in the new job he has, and how it fits into the server's the company needs. Gordon is the most out of place, and is saddled with an illness plot that barely matters, but it does add tension with his wife. It just felt like the different places they're at in their careers was plenty for that (Gordon had a windfall from season one, and is starting a build to spec home PC business, and the two of them are in classic old school vs. new school models of where the industry is headed. They also have two daughters who conveniently only seem to exist when it's pertinent for the plot).


Anyway, the season was great, and for me the ending was satisfying in that it could end here, or the show could change drastically and keep going.

I've read that they still haven't been picked up for a third season, and people are not hopeful that they will be. It's unfortunate because it really has turned into a really good show. And it's one of the rare cable dramas of quality in which no one is murdered (which doesn't bother me, but it does always come off as a breath of fresh air whenever I find one).
I forgot about this thread :lol
Season two was great apart from the Gordon plotline, they really did Gordon's character dirty, I think it's mostly due to writers not appreciating or being savvy on the hardware part of computer industry. Gordon is the only genuine genius among all of them, while Cameron is a great coder whose love for games puts her in a good position. Joe did finish on a high note which was satisfying, and anybody else think he got Tom to work with him? Dude came in as a hacker he also didn't get on the plane, so it only makes sense. Donna turned into a sulking manipulative manager from a brilliant engineer as well and that put me off ass well.