During one episode of Halt and Catch Fire, the main protagonist states “Computers aren’t the thing. They’re the thing that gets you to the thing.” And that statement perfectly summarises this show.
This series is not really about computers, it's about people.
The show focuses on the relationship between our four main protagonists. Two male and two female. This unlikely group is drawn together by the personal computer boom of the early 1980s.
Gordon Clark, a promising engineer, has been forced to take a safe job following a failed attempt to build a mass-market computer. Donna is married to Gordon, and together they have two kids.
Donna is also an accomplished engineer, but motherhood has curtailed her dreams of making it in the industry. Nevertheless, when former IBM salesman Joe MacMillan turns up at Gordon's office, nothing will be the same again, for the couple or the world.
Salesman Joe MacMillan, played by Lee Pace, wants to start an I.T. revolution.
His big idea is to build the world's first portable computer. To realize his dream, Joe will need a hardware engineer (Gordon) to build the computer but also a programmer who can bring it to life.
Enter 22-year-old college drop out Cameron Howe, the volatile prodigy whose talent will make or break the project. These four characters will push the limits of technology and each other over four seasons of brilliantly tense drama.
Is Halt and Catch Fire Worth Watching?
A caveat: You will watch the first two episodes of Halt and Catch Fire and you won't care if the whole cast gets electrocuted by the computers they're building.
I guarantee you'll take an instant dislike to Joe, you'll think Gordon is a depressing nerd, and his wife nothing more than an endless nag.
Even Cameron, who has some redeeming qualities, quickly morphs into a spoilt brat. However, at the end of episode three, something happens – you begin to care.
The characters' back stories develop and you see them all in a different light – from that moment on you'll be hooked.
Available on Amazon Prime (UK) and Netflix (US).
