Halt and Catch Fire

:

Season 3
  • Network: AMC
  • Series Premiere Date: Jun 1, 2014
Season #: 4, 3, 2, 1
User Score
8.3

Universal acclaim- based on 77 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 66 out of 77
  2. Mixed: 6 out of 77
  3. Negative: 5 out of 77
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User Reviews

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  1. Tony1984
    Feb 16, 2018
    10
    A tremendous drama that doesn't coat it's audience in sugar or tug blatant emotional levers to evoke sympathy. Instead we have a fierce drama with characters who are borderline obnoxious to the extent of psychological disorder . Somehow, despite not especially liking any of them, and I mean any of them, we are fascinated by them and need to know how their world turns out.
    To some this    A tremendous drama that doesn't coat it's audience in sugar or tug blatant emotional levers to evoke sympathy. Instead we have a fierce drama with characters who are borderline obnoxious to the extent of psychological disorder . Somehow, despite not especially liking any of them, and I mean any of them, we are fascinated by them and need to know how their world turns out.
    To some this will be perplexing or even boring to watch as you need a little retro techno knowhow to understand what's going on and an appreciation for nerd culture especially the 80's version. The story evolves and explains technical advances in way that is both satisfying and seamless with the narrative. There is sadness and hubris and revelation in this season, it’s more poignant than the previous for sure. The finale leaves us satisfied and wanting more at the same time.
    The pace is gradual and then jumps multiyear and then gradual again. A nice technique to propel the story. What I like most are the stand alone scenes scattered throughout the season that are not pivotal or necessary as such but just develop the individual characters.These are subtle gems . Excellent show.    … Expand
  2. MauriceI
    Aug 24, 2016
    9
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. I'm writing this after seeing HaCF two full seasons and 2 episodes of 3rd, it's brilliant! Let me describe you how I got so excited about this show.

    Having in mind this is fictional story based on some quite real facts, quality of show is dependent on smart choice of type of main characters, them being fictional or real is not so important, and smart telling of story, not too fast, but also not too slow, and lastly, story can not be only (hi)story, it needs to have some human interactions.
    Checking these criteria, all are met, and then some!

    Cameron and Donna, you have surely seen some strong female characters,but Cameron and Donna, I'm repeating their names intentionally, you don't see such women every day. Yes, they exist, but you don't see them televised every day.

    Donna is housewife from first minute of first episode, but as series progress, you see that she is not ordinary housewife, as her job is asking, she temporarily leaves hers house role and gives at least 16 hours a day to her job, being techno-guru of Mutiny. And not only that, she's techno-guru, manager, economist, persistent, loving, and quite pretty, ideal woman any geek can imagine.

    For Donna's jin, Cameron is perfect jang, as she's Mutiny's software guru, and wild and socially inept as much as Donna is "common housewife". Of course, Cameron shows hers emotions quite much, she's not robot, but what is most important - she's showing that she don't know what to do with her emotions, problem almost every geek or any socially inept person has before losing that ineptitude in usual process of growing up. And she's wild and pretty, and you can be male macho or female feminist **** but you can not be human if you do not love both Donna and Cameron, as they are honest, and smart and and ... perfect in their imperfection.

    Don't think if I started review with two female characters that this show is female only sitcom, no no no! It's not sitcom, and it's not female only - Joe MacMillan, played by Lee Pace, you do not see such actor every day. Genius, intense, girls would probably say "mcSteamy" or something like this, he's Cameron's male counterpart, wild and having quite impressive tone in his voice, he is not guru of hardware or software, but he is guru of needs of of IT industry, and guru of people.

    And finally Gordon, only main male technical guru, having health issues and geek exterior, but boy how is he sometimes brilliant!

    So whatever you are, man or woman, straight or bi or same sex, techie or housewife, there are characters in this show you can identify with. Tech side is authentic, C64's etc, it's fun to see computers how they looked some 30 years ago and hear screeching of modems.

    Only reason I gave this show 9 and not 10 is at the same time reason why I so much enjoy this show - part of show is oriented to history of old computers, and that is something what not everybody can relate.
    But that applies also for Mad men or Pacific or any premier period/history TV drama, you get not only superb acting/script/characters, you also get insight to computers/advertising/war, and if you are not interested so much in that subject or have aversion, that can distract you. But if you give it a chance, you can and will enjoy in Joe MacMillan screen time at least the same or more than Mad Men's Don Draper.

    Know, Draper is The man, but he's just advertising freak, and ads are things we all live with, but hate.
    Joe MacMillan is The man, and he is the man who is making things without which our world today would not be so good as we know it. And role of Gordon and Cameron and Donna is also more than visible, they not only would not be so good without ingenuity of every one of them, success of each of them is quite intrinsically liked to others, although not everybody can see that all, and some employees don't see that at all.

    That's the beauty of show, brilliant people having human flaws, contrasted with "ordinary" people which are essentially the same, just a bit less brilliant and having more flaws.
    Knowing the difference, going for more, giving more, not more time, but more effort, more soul is the key.
    You can find it all in this show. And see C64 and listen about computer viruses. It's fun. But not cheap fun like predecessors, IT crowd or advanced version, Silicon valley, but fully blown, adult grade IT show.    … Expand
  3. GamergodsFail
    Oct 12, 2016
    10
    Halt and Catch Fire is the perfect example of a television show that just keeps getting better and better. With great directing, phenomenal acting, and very intelligently written with surprising shocks and turns, Season 3 brought all the right ingredients to go down as the best drama of the year.
  4. Eienkei
    Sep 8, 2016
    10
    HCL is great and very engaging. I have enjoyed every episode and I hope it gets new seasons and episodes!
    It is one of the few shows about computer and it is based on real events!
  5. GrantD243
    Nov 18, 2018
    8
    Season three of Halt and Catch Fire takes the technology focus of season one, the character/drama focus of season two, and combines them for what is a very good season. Each character continues to progress on their path and the story remains as interesting as ever. This remains the perfect show for fans of the history of computers as well as just fans of drama shows in general.
  6. Prosmooth
    Aug 23, 2016
    8
    This show has really grown on me. I like it because every time I think it's going to zig left--it zags right. It's very unpredictable in plot and characterization. It reminds me a lot of Mad Men in that way. The 5 main actors are all excellent. Really strong show for AMC. A shame more people don't watch it.
  7. metabad
    Apr 29, 2017
    9
    Season 3 and it's still one of my favourite shows on TV.
    The show stays at the top of its game and with no sign of weakness.
    It takes us on an exciting journey starting in the 80s and at the end of this season, it's the early 90s,
    and it's still interesting and exciting. I want more!
  8. OlivierPiel
    Dec 10, 2016
    10
    A show that gets better and better. Even the acting has improved! If there is one word that would sum up that show it would be "tempo". What a great pacing, what a great sense of where to cut, to make that elliptic jump and to focus on the core of the story even though most viewers are computer illiterate.
    The paranoid atmosphere is also rended in a far more electrifying manner than the    A show that gets better and better. Even the acting has improved! If there is one word that would sum up that show it would be "tempo". What a great pacing, what a great sense of where to cut, to make that elliptic jump and to focus on the core of the story even though most viewers are computer illiterate.
    The paranoid atmosphere is also rended in a far more electrifying manner than the AMC flagship, the ever slowly sinking The Walking Dead.    … Expand
  9. nthdata
    May 29, 2017
    6
    Great through S2 then it gets unrealistic. These guys are essentially supposed to be responsible for pioneering online gaming and primitive EBAY? I get they need more content, but I'm must waiting for the VR play at this point. The pivoting needs to just slow down a little1
  10. AngryIgor
    Apr 2, 2018
    0
    is just as boring as you would expect.... when you got boring topic you cant have interesting story... its just big meh.
  11. KillaCook
    Dec 14, 2017
    3
    Made it through most of season 3. I really hate to go against the grain here, but this fictional account of the early days of the personal computer revolution is seriously flawed. I get that it's fiction, but like good science fiction, it's supposed to be based on facts. The technology timelines are faltering at best and smell like they were written by someone who didn't live through them.Made it through most of season 3. I really hate to go against the grain here, but this fictional account of the early days of the personal computer revolution is seriously flawed. I get that it's fiction, but like good science fiction, it's supposed to be based on facts. The technology timelines are faltering at best and smell like they were written by someone who didn't live through them. The environment is better, but still flawed. Cameron Howe's character is simply a phony construct of someone's idea of what a revolutionary young woman would look and act like. They should have modeled her on a more believable real person(s). The other characters are more believable, but not endearing. I find myself wishing for their plans to fail (which they all do) rather than rooting for them. I do appreciate the contentional relationship shown between sales and engineers. That is depicted rather well.
    The commercial use of Commodore 64s is ludicrous. I loved my C64, but it didn't have ANY commercial following and the IBM XT was actually very short lived. Where is Intel depicted (a major player)? They got the concept of time sharing totally wrong, as if technology leaped from Main Frames to PCs in a single bound. What about the entire era of minicomputers (Control Data, DEC PDP and VAX, Data General Nova. Hewlett Packard 3000 2100 and 1000 series)?
    I know I sound like a technology snob, but I lived through this revolution (like millions of others) and I found that I could not overcome the blatant misrepresentations of this series. As a tv show it has managed to hold my attention. Unfortunately it has done so in much the same way as a train wreck attracts observers. No matter how this series ends, I will not feel good. Too much misinformation and a lack of decent human behavior make this a sad attempt at presenting a great time in history.    … Expand

Awards & Rankings

29
#29 Best TV Season of 2016

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
83

Universal acclaim - based on 12 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 11 out of 12
  2. Mixed: 1 out of 12
  3. Negative: 0 out of 12
  1. Newsday
    Reviewed by: Verne Gay
    Aug 26, 2016
    100
    Halt finally looks like a series going someplace important, and worth viewers going there with it.
    Read full review
  2. The Hollywood Reporter
    Reviewed by: Daniel Fienberg
    Aug 25, 2016
    80
    One of the better dramas on TV--particularly right now in the waning days of the summer.
    Read full review
  3. Vox.com
    Reviewed by: Emily VanDerWerff
    Aug 25, 2016
    100
    The first five episodes of that third season are as good as anything I’ve seen on TV this year.
    Read full review
See all critic reviews »