Halt and Catch Fire. Season One.

Rating: 9.5/10

Creator: Christopher Cantwell & Christopher C. Rogers

Main Cast: Lee Pace, Mackenzie Davis, Scoot McNairy & Kerry Bische.

This show is oft hailed as the "Next Mad Men." Not having seen Mad Men, that statement meant absolutely nothing to me. Pretty soon it became quite clear that it is a pretty high for of praise. So naturally I binge-watched it in two days. And my, what glorious two days they were.

Set in the 80's, during the personal computing boom, this a show initially centered around Joe MacMillan, a visionary who wants to create something extraordinary. He has no skills directly related to the field; he is not a hardware or software engineer. What he has is the ability to talk his way into or out of anything and everything. Essentially a man with a silver tongue. He is a compulsive liar who has no qualms about manipulating people and will not hesitate to do anything, and anyone, to get what he wants. And what he wants is to create a computer that will revolutionize the field of PCs as a whole.

https://media3.giphy.com/media/118f1wPYULWPYc/200_s.gif

To do this he enlists (by enlists I mean manipulates them into) the help of Gordon Clark, an once promising engineer now living a droll and meaningless life, and Cameron Howe, a prodigy and bit of a loose cannon.

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I cannot stop praising this show. It pulls you in from the get go. The moment you start watching, you are drawn into it. Not only do you get invested in the characters, but also their aspirations.

If you are a computer-person, you will love this! This show has a way of incorporating real events from this era into it, such as the iconic 1984 Macintosh commercial amongst others.

The premise may sound a bit dull if you think computers aren't your thing, but trust me it is anything but boring. This show has a way of making everything interesting. And there are plenty of things going on to keep you enthralled.

The plot is mesmerizing. There is never a dull moment. The paths of the main characters are littered with hurdles. Just as they overcome one, they are met with two more. Not only that, but there are surprises at nearly every corner.

If you enjoy retro shows, you will love this. From the costumes to the sets to the color palettes, it is a delight to watch.

The female characters on this show are so badass. Set in an era, and field, in which men are more prominent, it is amazing to see women who are equally (and in some cases, more) important and competent. And it is very realistic in their portrayal. They are not put into neat little stereotypical boxes. They are shown as humans, with their faults and strength and many, many layers. There is Donna, Gordon's wife, who at first glance seems to be the typical 80's wife and mother. But as you get to know her, you see the fire inside her, her talent and ambition. Cameron, on the other hand, flat out defies the norm as each and every turn. But as you get to know her more, you see that she is more than just a stereotypical rebel.

But the character that undoubtedly stands out the most is Joe MacMillan. Lee Pace does a spectacular job capturing the essence and nuances of this determined, complex, ambitious, and, ultimately, self-destructive man. Joe is a character of endless layers, of which you don't know how much is true and how much is a product of his manipulations. It is a delight watching him manipulate each and every situation and character. After all, there are few things better than a morally ambiguous protagonist.

Lee Pace deserves awards for this as much as Leo DiCaprio deserves an Oscar.

If I could recommend only one show that I watched this year out of all the ones I have watched, it would definitely be this one.

But let's be honest, nothing I can say will describe this show better than a gif from the show itself.

This show is:

http://media.giphy.com/media/mAKejxDGKi6HK/giphy.gif

Don't believe me? Give it a shot yourself.


P.S. Today on "Where Have I Seen That Person Before" : Scott Michael Foster, Cappie from Greek and (more recently) Kristoff from Once Upon a Time, plays Hunt Whitmarsh.