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Halt and Catch Fire (Season 2)
Episodes
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Promo #1
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IrQbLvpgZ6g
Saw this last night during the Season Finale of TWD. Pretty stoked to see that the new season is coming May 31, 2015. I wasn't expecting this until mid-summer. I'll take it now thank you! :)
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And I believe season one is coming to Netflix this month... quite excited to finally get a chance to see it.
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So what's the premise of this? In a couple of sentences... please.
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Group in the early 80s try to build the first personal computer.
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There's this article I'm reading on Boingboing: Your Cyberpunk Games Are Dangerous (http://boingboing.net/2015/05/08/your-cyberpunk-games-are-dange.html). I'm getting the feeling that there may be some hints of what season two of "Halt and Catch Fire" might entail.
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Speaking of Halt and Catch Fire, the other day, I went to my Watch list on Roku with the intent of re-watching Season 1 going into the new season. Roku took it down. I'm p*ssed. >:(
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It is on Netflix, though. Which I'm sure will help with the season two ratings.
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Episode 1
SETI
(http://i.imgur.com/SW1TShG.gif)
I'm sooooooooooooooooooo happy that Halt and Catch Fire is back!!! SETI was a great episode that jumps right into where we left off, given a bit time jump. I like that it was a big jump because we get to see where everyone is in relation to each other and where they came from. Cameron and Donna are neck deep in their 'Online Gaming' business and the problems that come with being the first in this avenue. Even though I wasn't into Online Gaming at this time (hell, I didn't even know Online Gaming, along with Chat Messaging) was even around back then, I can imaging the headache of trying to keep things from constantly crashing. If you guys haven't started watching this series yet, you're depriving yourself of a very cool retro show.
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One of the most amazing things about HACF to me is how ahead of the times the characters are in terms of their vision, they develop a portable computer, essentially the first laptop, the first interface with a personality (basically SIRI), but they still got their butts handed to them by a superior product. Now they're going head-first into online computer gaming, where there isn't really an online yet, and they're about to deal with Nintendo, which will revolutionize... and pretty much steal all the spotlight from... computer games.
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Episode 2
New Coke
(http://i.imgur.com/SW1TShG.gif)
I'm really glad that Toby Huss as Boz is back. I pretty much figured that he was gone for good when he was shipped off to prison last season. So, seeing Cameron greeting him as he left prison at the end of Episode 1 was great. Seeing where they are potentially taking him this season after watching New Coke has me intrigued. He is clearly damage and this can give us many directions to take Boz. Ultimately I want to see him running Mutiny and whipping this band of misfits into a well-oiled machine. Really digging the whole 'Online Gaming' angle this season. If you play any kind of games online, being it Xbox, PlayStation or just your Web Browser, it's totally relatable to what is going on today. I would hope that gamers would be flocking to this show just for that little connection. Anyway, great episode.
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Episode 3
The Way In
(http://i.imgur.com/SW1TShG.gif)
Well, after tonight's episode, I'm confident in saying that Joe's new job will collide with Cameron and Donna's company, aka Mutiny. In the first two episodes I was trying to figure out how they would all reunite in a common goal. I kinda figured it would revolve around the server issues. With a big chunk of the story centered in The Way In and how it all tied in with online users and the eventual crash, it was kind of a relief when Joe discovered that the computer system he is working with is not on "company time" for 16 hours of the day. This will open the way for Mutiny to piggyback on said computers. That's how I see it happening.
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You know, I'm trying to avoid spoilers for season two, but I am happy to hear that Toby Huss is back. He's one of those actors I've always liked, even as a kid, and I love his character on this show.
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Episode 4
Play with Friends
(http://i.imgur.com/SW1TShG.gif)
Why do I not trust Cameron's boyfriend/programmer? Why do I get the feeling that he was purposely planted by the Big Boss Man that took a major financial hit and had to payout all the checks from the Company that worked on the 'bust' that is the Giant Computer? Ever since this new character popped up as the hacker that got into Mutiny's server, this has been in the back of my mind and I was certain his ruse was about to be uncovered when Boz was looking at him sideways. Guess he just saw some kid that was head over heels for Cameron. I'm still convinced he is a spy sent to sabotage Mutiny. And what the hell is going on with Gordon? Nose bleeds, fainting, etc.... Doesn't look good for him.
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Episode 5
Infiltrator
(http://i.imgur.com/SW1TShG.gif)
It was cool to see them name drop Nintendo and the "game with the turtles". I really wasn't expecting them to ever name drop them...or any other competitor. The other cool thing was the tie in with Terminator, but I think we have a continuity error here. The movie obviously came out in 1984 and this episode itself finally gives us a definitive year that the show is set in: 1985. So, how the f*ck are they watching a VHS copy with original box art? They can't as it wasn't released a year after its theatrical run. I certainly don't recall it being released in '85.
Love the face to face between Cameron and Joe. It felt like Season 1. As for Cameron, I don't get this new ga-ga lovey dovey thing she has for her new boy toy. It's out of character for her since she was never like that in Season 1 when she was with Joe. Showing their face to face in this episode just made her actions all the more out of step.
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You weren't sure what year it was? They said it was a year later, right? And the first season started with the kids seeing Return Of The Jedi and ended in early 1984 (they mentioned the Ridley Scott Mac ad).
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I knew it was mid-80's and I did pick up on those references. I was just waiting to get an actual, definitive year.
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Episode 6
10Broad36
(http://i.imgur.com/SW1TShG.gif)
This was a nice throwback to last season with Mutiny building a Frankenstein Computer to fool Joe into thinking they had the resources and talent to do something on the fly. That's the one thing I miss about Season 1: Computer construction.
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Episode 7
Working for the Clampdown
(http://i.imgur.com/SW1TShG.gif)
So, the entire episode is all about Joe convincing Cameron to sell Mutiny to his boss and then at the 11th hour he warns her that his boss will basically strip Mutiny of what it is. The ending, with him deciding to run off and get married to his girl and head to cali makes it seem final. If they have Joe circle back, which I expect, it's gonna seem like an odd way to extend his relationship with the other characters.
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Episode 8
Limbo
(http://i.imgur.com/SW1TShG.gif)
Ack! I spoke too soon regarding last episode as it appeared to be somewhat of finale regarding Joe, even though I knew it wasn't. After the events of what happened in this episode, it all seems to be heading toward a reunion of Joe, Cameron, Donna and Gordon. At least I hope that's where they are heading. Gordon definitely has some sh*t to work out with Donna who may or may not be the one to sabotaged him and his Custom Computer-build business. The entire season has basically been about each one venturing off to do their own thing and failing to match what they did previously as a unit. It's going to take the four of them to unite and stick it to Joe's 'boss' (aka father In-law). The what and how remains to be seen. I just can't wait to see how they get him back for kicking Mutiny off the network and stealing their customers.
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Episode 9
Kali
(http://i.imgur.com/SW1TShG.gif)
For the entire episode, I was waiting (patiently) for Joe to blow sh*t up at the conference and do the right thing in telling the shareholders that the company stole from Mutiny. I was actually giddy with anticipation with what was sure to come. But no. Joe only gives Cameron props for her genius and that was it. It seemed that Joe was happy just doing that, which was kind of bullsh*t. The twist of course was great. I love that Cameron had actually placed a virus in her own Mutiny Interface, knowing full well that Joe would take the bait and open it. Having the virus destroy the company's fake interface was priceless.
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Episode 10
Heaven Is a Place
(http://i.imgur.com/SW1TShG.gif)
Joe MacMillan is one slimy motherf*cker! I found it so ironic and somewhat just in that Gordon was defending Joe to Donna as being a "good guy" for most of the Season Finale, only to find out at the end that Joe stole his idea of the anti-virus software he created and then turned around and sold it for $10 million. Yes, Gordon had it coming. Don't cheat on Donna! As for Joe, all season long they have been driving home the fact that Joe can't be trusted. Every character kept warning everyone NOT to trust him. But from the vantage point of the audience watching Season 2, we see that he is making a valiant effort to change. Guess a leopard can't change his spots after all. So, Season 1 was all about building a portable computer. Season 2 was all about online gaming. If there is a Season 3, we can now tackle the anti-virus market. Now lets hope there is a Season 3. This season was over way to fast. Really not sure what to expect about renewing the series. It took so damn long just to renew for a second season. I think they are going to be even more anal about "numbers" and viewership this time around.
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Article on Grantland: BREAKOUT.exe: The Stunning Turnaround of ‘Halt and Catch Fire’[/urll]. Real interesting insight into how the show has evolved. (http://grantland.com/hollywood-prospectus/halt-catch-fire-season-two-finale-recap/)
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And lucky lucky us, Halt And Catch Fire is getting a third season, even though barely anyone watches it (http://www.vox.com/2015/10/8/9482019/halt-and-catch-fire-season-3-amc). VERY happy with that news. Now if the second season would just show up on Netflix already.
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YES YES YES YES YES!!!!!! Happy dance ensues.................................
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I'm on episode 07 now. Oh man, the bit where they pretty much improvise broadband was brill... I LOVE that kind of stuff on this show, but oh man, Gordon's company? Chip, you know what he's doing, right? Dude, he's building DELL! Mail-order custom PC building is how Dell Computer started.
Oh, and after the Giant's run-in with the Macintosh last season (so heartbreaking), I love that Mutiny is shifting into an online experience rather than just being games, because they'll be crushed by Nintendo (the "jumping on Turtles" game, btw, is either Mario Bros or Super Mario Bros. The Ninja Turtles game didn't come out until 1989, at which point Nintendo was dominant).
And can I say for the record that I love James Cromwell? AND he was the dad in Revenge Of The Nerds!
(http://assets.nydailynews.com/polopoly_fs/1.943631.1318375790!/img/httpImage/image.jpg_gen/derivatives/gallery_1200/gal-nerds-james-cromwell-jpg.jpg)
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Yeah, I was hyper aware of what he was doing. Great season.
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Finished season two. Loved it. It'll be weird having them go to California after two years in the Silicon Prairie, Texas has always been part of the show (despite being shot in freakin' Georgia), but it'll be interesting. They're gonna be small fish in a big pond and they'll have to innovate their butts off in order to make a mark.
it's funny watching this show while I'm also watching The Goldbergs, two shows taking place in the 80s.