Photo Credit: AMC TV
Last year AMC debuted the new series Halt and Catch Fire, and while it was well received by most critics, the general public has been mostly unaware of its very existence. With dismal season one ratings, most assumed that the show would be one of the first cancelled last year. Surprisingly, AMC decided to give this gem a second season.
With season two set to premiere May 31st, AMC is giving viewers ample opportunity to catch up on season one. The entire first season is available on demand, through AMCtv.com, and on Netflix streaming. Their hope is that through binge watching they can build a decent audience for the start of the second season.
It comes as little surprise to fans of the show that it hasn’t caught on with a wide audience yet. On its surface Halt and Catch Fire is an 80s era drama about a computer start-up company. Not terribly thrilling or sexy material at a glance. None of the sex and violence of Game of Thrones and none of the criminal world of Breaking Bad. What Halt does have, it brings in spades. Let’s look at why everyone should be giving this show the chance it deserves.
The Writing: Halt and Catch Fire is probably one of the best written dramas on television right now. The characters talk and feel like real people. Everyone’s motivations are clear and make sense. Story twists are clever while still remaining completely believable. One of the show’s greatest strengths is that it doesn’t dumb itself down or pander to an audience. There are time jumps and story points that you could very well miss if you aren’t paying attention. This show does not hold your hand and lead you through every beat. Much like season 1 of Breaking Bad and of Mad Men, some people will be turned off by the slow burn of the show. But if you can stick it out it’s well worth it.
The Characters: Halt stars Lee Pace as Joe McMillan, Scoot McNairy as Gordon Clark, Kerry Bishé as his wife Donna, and Mackenzie Davis as Cameron Howe. While there may be some arguments from others as to who is leading vs who is a supporting player, I would argue that this show features four wonderfully different leads who each bring their own style and personality to their respective characters. Lee Pace (no stranger to cult hits like his previous work on Pushing Daisies) plays a Steve Jobs type. A man with vision and moderate technical ability, but with a talent for bringing the right people together and driving them to a goal. Scoot McNairy (yes, that’s a real name!) plays an engineer who dreams of greater things and a path not taken. He’s a fractured man who feels torn between his ambitions and his familial duties. Kerry Bishé plays a loving wife and mother, she’s sacrificed her dreams and stifled her own talent to take care of a broken husband and barely holding together her family. And Cameron Howe is a brilliant but naive programmer, still wrapped up in the romance of what she wants her work to represent, trying to be an anarchist while still craving approval and the accolades of others. The cast does a terrific job of keeping their characters both real yet fascinatingly layered.
Photo Credit: AMC TV
The Look: AMC once again has put out a fantastic looking show. The blocking, lighting, and staging of shots is fantastically done. Enough to be aesthetically pleasing while being functional and not intruding into the narrative. The show feels authentic in the period it’s depicting without being over the top and cliché in its depiction of the time. Each episode is like a little work of art.
The Music: The 80s setting gives the production a very specific music catalog to draw upon. Much like with the look and design, this could have been to the show’s detriment. Instead, by relying on a mix of hit music and instrumental/synthesizer score, we are always firmly in the time while not being reminded of it ad nauseam. The opening music does a great job of setting you up for the show. You feel the 80’s, there’s a technological sense to it, and a shadow of foreboding.
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