Gonna be brief with my comments for any shows that I finish since I am now a busy person.
This is one amazing TV show. I'd say of all the Mad Men bastards (Masters of Sex and Manhattan are examples), this one actually turned into something special and remained consistent throughout its whole run. These characters are absolutely wonderful and I love how they massively change into different individuals per season (Joe starts off as 80s Don Draper, where Gordon is a mellow Walter White, yet by the final season neither fits these images). Cameron Howe is the real hero of this series and her partnership with Donna really showed how two women could carry a series (for seasons 2 and 3, it was really their stories that felt like the main bits where Joe and Gordon were B stories). Boss is what I would want of a dad. Amazing performances and amazing writing (and so many touching dorky moments like Joe with the flashlights in the rainstorm that show this series was about dorks embracing their quirkiness).
I'm sad it's leaving Netflix (which is why I decided to binge it), this feels like a terrific show for people to discover on that platform but knowing how crowded Netflix is with its own originals now, perhaps the few AMC+ subscribers may discover this tiny gem of the 2010's (I didn't do a Best of the decade list, but if I did, this would've been on it or at least been an honorable mention).
Only watched Season 1 and man, it had some TERRIBLE episodes with absolute trash writing. Stop comparing it to masterpieces like Breaking Bad. There are no trash episodes or seasons in Mr Robot or The Wire.
It starts off with literally introducing the Mary Sue female programmer wonderkind (feminism doesnt care about reality or history) and I was tempted to stop watching right there.
After that, the first 3-4 episodes are actually decent before taking a nosedive.
Gordon is a whiny kid that changes direction in every effing episode and makes absolutely no sense.
Joe is supposed to be the great mystery man with an unknown past, and is probably the most interesting one of the bunch even tho he's painted as a sociopath early on - just to take a 180° and discover his heart later on. Again, realism, schealism.
Season 1 hits rock bottom with episode "The Giant". Holy mother of Jesus, what a huge pile of steaming whatever.
It's like the writers looked at great TV shows and tried to emulate good scripts by stiching together tropes and dramas and revelations they could think of but simply lacked any skill doing so.
End of season 1 is a little better, but still. Nowhere above 7/10.
If there's a masterpiece waiting in Halt and Catch Fire, it's not in season 1. According to critics, s3 and s4 are awesome - not sure if I ever make it so far tho seeing how s2 apparently "focuses on its female protagonists" instead of focusing on quality writing or consistent character arcs. Sigh.
Review by dogg724VIP 3BlockedParent2017-10-16T02:35:24Z— updated 2017-12-25T04:39:30Z
I've waited a long time to say anything about Halt and Catch Fire. It seems too easy or pointless to use a word like "underrated." It's hard to say the most compelling aspects are "subtle." No matter how many times I try to dismiss the whisper "masterpiece," it still returns. This isn't a show that wastes time trying to "work its angle" well enough that you get cheap glimpses into "the computer world." It doesn't try to impress you with talk that makes you think of a snobbish adviser they consult with too often. It doesn't try to make profound statements about family or entrepreneurship. Halt and Catch Fire is the grind. It's the thing that gets you to the thing.
I crave entertainment that makes me think. Halt puts me into a kind of meditation. I can adopt the skin of practically any character and feel like I know how I'd react to any other. I want to forgive and grow and try and disappear as they did. I want to root for them, and be cut deeper and deeper each time I try to believe again. I want to feel like my home is where my heart is, and my heart can reside in so many people and everything we've tried to create together. This show can let you feel a dynamic and chaotic beauty and drive for every ounce of the pain it takes to do so.
I've reached a point where I can't find anymore words to wrap the swelling in my chest with that will quell what I'm going to miss now that it's over. What these characters have, what this story shows, is human perfection. Bloody, confusing, tumultuous and heartfelt perfection. While the show can end, what it represents is everything I want my life to be, and I feel humbled that they were able to strike the chord so soundly.