Halt and Catch Fire: Season 1 (2014)
Average Rating: 7.3/10
Reviews Counted: 39
Fresh: 31 | Rotten: 8
A refreshingly well-acted period drama, Halt and Catch Fire convincingly portrays the not-too-distant past.
Average Rating: 7.1/10
Critic Reviews: 17
Fresh: 13 | Rotten: 4
A refreshingly well-acted period drama, Halt and Catch Fire convincingly portrays the not-too-distant past.
liked it
Average Rating: 4.3/5
User Ratings: 248
Season Info
A trio of renegade techies in 1980s Texas launch a risky project amidst the personal-computer boom.
Network: AMC
Cast
-
David Wilson Barnes
David Butler -
Kerry Bish�
Donna Clark -
Scoot McNairy
Gordan Clark, Gordon... -
Lee Pace
Joe MacMillan, Joe M... -
Mackenzie Davis
Cameron Howe -
-
Ed Amatrudo
Professor -
-
-
-
John Getz
Joe MacMillian Sr. -
Toby Huss
John Bosworth -
-
-
Steve Reddington
Male Student -
-
-
-
Lou Taylor Pucci
Heath -
Alec Magee
Dallas Deputy -
David de Vries
Dennis Cummings -
Jean Smart
Loulu Lutherford -
Alana Cavanaugh
Hayley Clark -
Barak Hardley
Petey Manning -
Han Soto
Shuji -
Travis Smith
Travis -
Ricky Wayne
Kenny Burke -
Morgan Hinkleman
Joanie Clark -
Bianca Malinowski
Debbie -
Graham Beckell
Nathan Cardiff -
John Atwood
VP -
Jason Davis
Aaron Littlefield -
Lenny Jacobson
Donnie Manning -
Scott Takeda
Hirohinko -
Matthew Burke
Steve -
Damon Lipari
Kyle -
Griff Furst
Wally Turner -
DB Woodside
Simon Church -
Barry Stoltze
Director #1 -
Pete Burris
Ed -
Colton Medlin
Larry -
Robert Larriviere
Director #2 -
Randall Taylor
Carl Surberry -
Pete Burns
Ed -
Pat Young
Attendant -
Brian Welch
Computerland Retaile... -
Eric Goins
Larry -
Robin Bloodworth
Bryan Nayhead -
August Emerson
Malcom "Lev" Levitan -
Randy Havens
Stan -
Will Greenberg
Brian Braswell -
Louanne LaFortune
Maylene David -
Jason Vail
Attorney #1 -
Steven Archer
Timmy -
Wilson Barnes
Dale Butler -
Neko Parham
Nick Rallo -
Cooper Andrews
Kenneth "Yo-Yo" Engb... -
Scott Michael Foster
Hunt Whitmarsh -
Josh Henry
Young Attorney -
Jack A. Landry
Ernie -
Lisa Sheridan
Rebecca Taylor -
Sharon Blackwood
Hunt's Admin -
Rafiq Batcha
Darren -
Andrew Hyatt Masset
Senior Attorney -
Steve Garland
TI Executive -
Annette O'Toole
Susan Emerson -
Graham Beckel
Nathan Cardiff -
Brett Charles Gentil...
Victor -
Michael Esper
Ron Kane -
Mike Stoudt
Demo Audience Member... -
Vince Pisani
Accounting Lead -
Mike Pniewski
Barry Shields -
David Sherrill
Randy -
John Michael Morris
College Student -
Randy Spence
Stereo Salesman -
John Hardy Jr.
Demo Audience Member... -
Pedro Garcia
Janitor -
David Paul Lord
Arcade Manager -
Jim Gleason
Patron -
Victor Turner
Male Rep -
Thomas L. McCafferty
Deputy -
Whitney Goin
Gayle -
Jenna Bryant
Booth Babe -
Chris Mulkey
Gary Emerson -
K.D. O'Hair
Judie -
Stephen Caudill
Another Rep -
Joey Nappo
Ajax -
Grant Murray
Agt. Calligan -
-
Michael Sanders
KCYD DJ -
Ted Huckabee
FBI Agt. -
Sadye Elizabeth
Mary-Sarah Baker -
Eduardo Gonzalez
Senior Salesman -
-
Adam Drescher
Supervisor -
Nick Arapoglou
Bellhop -
Sean Bury
Coder -
Dan Chandler Huth
Seth -
-
Jessica Miesel
Admin -
-
-
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Episodes
I/O
"I/O" The 1980s computing boom through the eyes of a visionary, an engineer and a prodigy as they chart the changing culture in Texas' Silicon Prairie. AMC Original
FUD
"FUD" After surviving a visit from IBM, Joe's team must overcome internal differences and begin the technical feat of building the new machine. AMC Original.
High Plains Hardware
"High Plains Hardware" Gordon and Cameron struggle to make Joe's vision a reality while Joe and Bosworth attempt to procure capital to fund the making of the new machine. AMC Original
Close to the Metal
"Close to the Metal" As Cameron nears completion of the BIOS, a crisis threatens the project's future and requires all hands on deck to save the machine. AMC Original
Adventure
Cameron bristles under a new manager as Joe and Gordon attempt to procure a key piece of new technology for the computer.
Landfall
A breakthrough by Cameron places her at odds with Gordon, leaving Joe to make a tough decision. Meanwhile, Hurricane Alicia spurs some personal revelations.
Giant
A visitor from Joe's past threatens his newfound connection with Cameron. Meanwhile, with Donna out of town, the toll of Gordon's work catches up with him.
The 214s
Scandal hits Cardiff Electric as the team finalizes preparations for COMDEX. Meanwhile, Bosworth makes a sacrifice for the good of the PC program.
Up Helly Aa
Unforeseen opponents and new complications threaten to derail the Cardiff Electric team's work at COMDEX.
1984
In the Season 1 finale, Gordon and Joe prepare to ship the Giant, but a suspicious defect calls their partnership into question. Meanwhile, Cameron takes her future into her own hands.
Friend Ratings
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All Critics (39) | Top Critics (17) | Fresh (31) | Rotten (8)
The series comes off as overtly coy and more than a little aimless.
Period tech drama is fascinating, but expect sexy stuff.
All of the acting is outstanding. No one delivers big speeches. But when they do speak, their words feel as precise and efficient as lines of code.
We aren't quite sure where Halt and Catch Fire is going, but there is certainly enough here to keep us interested.
If you're a fan of Lee Pace or if you enjoy dramas set in the technology world, Halt and Catch Fire is worth checking out.
The pilot even manages to find tension in mundane engineering tasks.
Sunday's premiere doesn't give a great sense of what the show will be on a weekly basis - a business drama with a side of humanity about following one's passion, perhaps? - though it definitely leaves viewers curious about what comes next.
Halt and Catch Fire has all the self-importance of AMC's other modern period piece, Mad Men. But it lacks the substance to make that swagger look anything but foolish.
You don't need to speak geek to watch Halt and Catch Fire, any more than you need to know corporate law to love Suits.
The premiere episode doesn't advance the story far enough to intrigue us with where it might be heading. If Halt and Catch Fire is going to catch fire, it'd better do so quickly.
The show... benefits from its stylized appearance, with a go-go pace and enough 1980s fashions to conjure memories of the Go-Go's.
It's impossible to fill the hold left by the season's end of Mad Men, but Halt and Catch Fire is a pretty strong entry.
I'm still pretty excited for Halt and Catch Fire, because I get the feeling that "I/O" was a necessary step for the series to take in order to start telling its real story.
It's success will most likely hinge on building on the characters, keeping them interesting and providing the right touch of drama as they attempt to innovate in the competitive computer world.
As far as spinning a tried-and-true formula, Halt has pulled off an intriguing debut that modernizes the concept and at least cleans up some of the 1950s issues that plagued Mad Men.
If you do so happen to be a tech geek like my other friend that watched the show with me- you, my friends, are in for a treat. Meet your new favorite show, computer nerds!
The pilot shows the time, perseverance and attention to detail of some of television's best programs, and if the other nine Season 1 episodes are half as good, Halt and Catch Fire will be worth watching.
Halt and Catch Fire's operating system is solid, crafty and cunning. Boot it up.
It has a destination in mind, and while it can take its time getting there, every single scene has a purpose and point on its way toward that destination.
Once Halt figuratively puts it back in its pants, it settles into a predictable but engaging drama with a proper focus on how nerds, geeks and other proto-techies discarded their pocket protectors to launch the age of personal computers.
As the hours and days drag on, it's hard not to be charmed by [Pace and McNairy's] natural chemistry or their excitable reactions when they make a big breakthrough.
The actors do try hard to make the high-tech drama more engaging, but for a series about punks and pioneers, Halt and Catch Fire seems too safe to ultimately, ahem, catch fire.
A stellar Toby Huss portrays the hard-driving Bosworth, a commanding presence. There are more than a few of these in Halt and Catch Fire, and from the available evidence an immensely seductive enterprise.
Halt and Catch Fire bears watching - until something else bears more watching and you reprogram the DVR.
So far it's promising without being riveting, with the potential to be Facebook -- or Myspace.
First impression is that Halt is fresh and fraught with calculated promise.
The problem is, once you get past the shock of a fresh premise and watch the pilot, the show starts to seem formulaic, with stock characters and what sounds like placeholder dialogue that was supposed to be filled in with good stuff later but wasn't.
It all adds up to a promising, surprisingly lively and fast-paced drama that humanizes those early computer geeks.
Despite its assets, though, the series still feels more like a programmatic reboot of familiar themes than anything shiny, new and next-gen.
The plot takes a few satisfyingly clever twists, some of them possibly even fact-based.
This is smart, engaging television about the early days of the tech craze in the '80s.
The performances are exceptional. The dialogue is ham-fisted and stilted. The dark, grim tone is intriguing. The pace is choppy.
Halt has earned both my interest and my patience. Actors this good deserve a showcase, and AMC viewers deserve a show that respects brains for their content, not their calorie count.
Before long, everyone seemed to have an IBM "clone." That's your backdrop to Halt, but the foreground is a compelling human one.
So heavy-handed that it comes off as a little silly.
The action unfurls a mere 30 years ago, but it may as well be the Dark Ages when viewed through today's technology-dependent lens. That's a big part of what makes the show such fun.
Halt and Catch Fire has me excited for a new drama in a way that I haven't felt about a show in a very long time.
If the Halt and Catch Fire writing stays strong, AMC might have something special on its hands.
The pilot is definitely intriguing, helped along by solid writing and a good cast, including a cantankerous Toby Huss.
Audience Reviews for Halt and Catch Fire: Season 1
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