Halt and Catch Fire: TV’s best drama you’ve probably never heard of (2021) • Hacker News Board

Re: Halt and Catch Fire: TV’s best drama you’ve probably never heard of (2021)

#21

Post by OneDeuxTriSeiGo » Wed, Feb 18, 2026, 3:37 AM UTC

danielvaughn wrote: post #3

Lee Pace's performance in that show is one of my all time favorites. It's incredibly hard to play a charismatic marketing guru because in some sense, you're not acting. In a given scene, the character might be trying to convince people around him of some crazy idea, but if he hasn't convinced you, the viewer, then the entire illusion falls apart. So he really has to do in real life what he's pretending to do on scree…

Lee Pace is such a phenomenal actor. He really just transforms the roles he's in and makes something special out of each show he's in.

He's also fantastic in Apple TV's Foundation and it's been really impressive seeing his range put on display there.

Re: Halt and Catch Fire: TV’s best drama you’ve probably never heard of (2021)

#22

Post by vesrah » Wed, Feb 18, 2026, 3:39 AM UTC

This is one of those shows I've had in the rolling background rewatch queue for years, I love it and I try to recommend it to as many people as possible. Flawed, yes, but still special.

Re: Halt and Catch Fire: TV’s best drama you’ve probably never heard of (2021)

#23

Post by dzink » Wed, Feb 18, 2026, 3:40 AM UTC

Yes, hands down the best show! They need to do more seasons, especially with modern day problems.

Other thoughtful and well made shows: Dark Matter, For All Mankind, Foundation (also Lee Pace and also stellar).

Re: Halt and Catch Fire: TV’s best drama you’ve probably never heard of (2021)

#24

Post by tptacek » Wed, Feb 18, 2026, 3:41 AM UTC

IBCNU wrote: post #2

And as I understand it loosely based on the fantastic and seminal book Soul of a New Machine. I had a great EM once who said I need to read it because nothing has changed in 40 years, and I keep a copy on my desk. Touching as well, as it's on Joe MacMillan's desk in the final scene of third season. What's so great about it is: - mushroom theory of management works - trust new graduates and juniors to win by not under…

Season 1 is Soul of a New Machine-ish, but about personal computing, not minicomputers, and is set in Texas.

Season 2 is roughly about BBSs and Compuserve, and still in Texas.

Season 3 is about the early commercial Internet, same characters, SFBA.

Season 4 is about the Yahoo era of the Internet and about venture capital, also SFBA.

Re: Halt and Catch Fire: TV’s best drama you’ve probably never heard of (2021)

#25

Post by bane » Wed, Feb 18, 2026, 3:42 AM UTC

It starts as a kind of okay near-real alternate history of early computing in the Silicon Prairie, and ends with some really powerful storytelling about the fragility of humanity.

Totally worth a watch.

Re: Halt and Catch Fire: TV’s best drama you’ve probably never heard of (2021)

#26

Post by ppcdeveloper » Wed, Feb 18, 2026, 3:43 AM UTC

This is on my bucket list to finish. Watched one or two episodes and it reminded me of a dead serious Silicon Valley.

Re: Halt and Catch Fire: TV’s best drama you’ve probably never heard of (2021)

#27

Post by wmf » Wed, Feb 18, 2026, 3:43 AM UTC

DrFunke wrote: post #20

Season 1 was wonderful. The showrunner had initially written the pilot to get a job on Mad Men. It was eviscerated by critics for being too male, too masculine and seasons 2 onward pivoted into a girlboss series with Lee Pace's character taking a backseat and Scooter's character becoming a stay at home house husband. But if you like Breaking Bad and Sopranos, S1 is very well written.

I always thought Joe MacMillan was Don Draper with a little Steve Jobs so that explains it.

Re: Halt and Catch Fire: TV’s best drama you’ve probably never heard of (2021)

#28

Post by hsbauauvhabzb » Wed, Feb 18, 2026, 3:44 AM UTC

dzink wrote: post #23

Yes, hands down the best show! They need to do more seasons, especially with modern day problems. Other thoughtful and well made shows: Dark Matter, For All Mankind, Foundation (also Lee Pace and also stellar).

> They need to do more seasons, especially with modern day problems.

Silicon Valley, the insanity that it’s both a comedy and true to life

Re: Halt and Catch Fire: TV’s best drama you’ve probably never heard of (2021)

#29

Post by idontwantthis » Wed, Feb 18, 2026, 3:45 AM UTC

danielvaughn wrote: post #3

Lee Pace's performance in that show is one of my all time favorites. It's incredibly hard to play a charismatic marketing guru because in some sense, you're not acting. In a given scene, the character might be trying to convince people around him of some crazy idea, but if he hasn't convinced you, the viewer, then the entire illusion falls apart. So he really has to do in real life what he's pretending to do on scree…

He also stars in The Fall, one of my favorite movies ever.

Re: Halt and Catch Fire: TV’s best drama you’ve probably never heard of (2021)

#30

Post by 29athrowaway » Wed, Feb 18, 2026, 3:46 AM UTC

1970-01-01 wrote: post #14

29athrowaway wrote: post #7

The first seasons were excellent, the latter seasons not so much.

Objectively it was consistently good but not great. https://www.ratingraph.com/tv-shows/halt-and-catch-fire-rati...

The first season was the best season, and it's probably a good stopping point.