Only two episodes left of Halt and Catch Fire for Margaux and I to discuss. Read on to see how we felt about “Up Helly Aa.”
Trevor: We talk a lot about Halt and Catch Fire’s amazing soundtrack, but last night it was too obvious by half. On the way to Vegas, “Psycho Killer” comes on right at this verse: “I can’t seem to face up to the facts/I’m tense and nervous and I can’t relax.” Then later they played “Blister in the Sun,” which is one of the worst songs ever written. I just had to get that off my chest. All that being said, I thought “Up Helly Aa” was pretty good.
Margaux: I’m actually really glad you brought up The Talking Heads cause in the car ride scene, I was so distracted by David Byrne’s voice for some reason, I wasn’t really listening to what the characters were saying. That is until, Joe tells that folklore tale that sounds like present day Burning Man.
Trevor: Yeah, except more whiskey and less white people in dreads. You gotta hand it to Joe MacMillan, though, the man knows how to captivate an audience, even if it’s just a car’s worth. Or those two sad-sack brothers from Sunnyvale. “Let’s hand out those samples, Petey!” It was cool to see Joe turn on the 80s smarm, as he swaggered into Vegas wearing sunglasses indoors, then conned the brothers out of their suite – and their shrimp! – by saying he was from IBM.
Margaux: That shrimp tree, once it’s revealed at the Giant launch party, I nearly vomited in my mouth. That…wasn’t right. All that aside, it also seems like Gordon’s mental break has given some sort of clarity. It was nice to see Gordon kick ass and take 80s nerd names, he really lead the charge and didn’t let the hiccups along the way freak him out too much. I was impressed.
Trevor: Yeah, there were some good character beats amidst all the madness at COMDEX. I really liked Gordon and Donna doing the 80s version of sexting on the Giant, right next to a slumbering Joe. It was sweet and funny.
Margaux: Just hope Joe didn’t wake up and read that screen. Which, speaking of the Giant’s issues, when they first arrive to COMDEX (ie, it not turning on) I really thought that was going to the computers biggest problem – it performing when it needs to, a theme shared with the characters. So I really felt as shocked as the characters when we see Hunt addressing a group of rapt COMDEX attendees about the Slingshot, a straight up rip-off of the Giant. Donna’s outburst when she realizes what’s going on, what he really did to her – used her, was great! I mean sure, it looked unprofessional but any press is good press, right?
Trevor: Hunt is such a DICKHOLE, and of course he’s teamed up with Brian now, Brian and his shitsucking mustache. I was furious on Donna’s behalf, and then very impressed by how much this show has gotten me to care about things like operating systems and dual-sided motherboards. I was actually bummed out when Gordon took the proto-Siri from the Giant, leaving Joe to give his harsh but effective “It’s not your friend, it’s your employee” speech.
Margaux: Pretty much anyone who has ever created something, it’s their worst fucking nightmare to go through this experience. And it was even more harrowing when Donna and Gordon turned on each other, after they’d formed such a united and supportive front – finally. But who could have seen that coming? It almost felt like Hunt and Mustache Asshole teamed up to stalk and fuck with the Clarks – like you said, I’d never think I’d get so wrapped up in motherboards and replicating BIOS systems.
Regardless, I actually feel the opposite way than you, I thought that Gordon did the right thing to save the project. You really had the distinct feeling that they were fucked, out of money and possible jail time hanging over their heads. I thought Cameron’s reaction to what Gordon had done, taking out her IOS, was so over the top and really immature. She can never state her case without getting emotional or leaning on Joe to defend her, which is probably why Gordon has even less respect for her than she thinks.
Trevor: Yeah, that’s a good point. I agree, removing the IOS was a smart move, even if it robbed the Giant of something very unique. But it’s not like they couldn’t put that feature in subsequent iterations of the Giant, so I don’t see why Cameron freaked out so hard. I mean, since we’re going with the Siri comparison, it’s not like the first generation of iPhones came with it.
Margaux: I wrote that in my notes too, that they could easily improve her rough IOS and have it come out on later versions of the Giant. You just need to make THIS ONE successful first, I don’t recall 80s technology being super focused on the user experience (like now), as much as it was just a win if the thing functioned for a year straight.
The final scene of “Up Helly Aa,” when Joe walks into what looks like a fucking human sacrifice suite, it’s all lit with candles and everyone is whispering. When that guy sticks the floppy disc in the 80s MAC, it boots up, and SAYS “Hello” – that was fucking creepy as shit. Hunt was damn right that it was too ahead of it’s time, didn’t 2001 come out like, ten years before this? No one wants HAL in their house, yet.
Trevor: Exactly. And this isn’t long after the release of the movie Demon Seed, a movie about which I make a joke at least once a week.
The Macintosh scene worked well, but there was some groan-worthy dialogue at COMDEX, like Gordon complaining about Windows being “buggy” or dismissing HP’s touch-screen interface as a fad. Come on, HaCF, you’re better than that.
Margaux: Joe had a lot of strange, unintentionally funny lines last night – couldn’t tell if they’re supposed to be Joe being self-serious or if no one really hears what they sound like. Example: “We’re gonna smoke every box” or “it’s what’s best for the machine” but the worst of them all was when Joe is addressing the crowd on the COMDEX floor. He’s going through his notes that he made in the car and comes across the ketchup stain Cameron left behind. I audibly said “OH JESUS” – it felt so heavy handed but was relieved that he continued to push through and managed to stick that landing. Something we weren’t sure Joe would be able to do consistently at the start of the season.
Trevor: Joe can do a lot of things, except impersonate John Bosworth. Overall, I liked “Up Helly Aa” even if parts of it were a little too obvious. It looks like the COMDEX adventures will continue at least into part of next week’s finale. What do you think?
Margaux: We’ve yet to see a sale of the Giant – or total backlash; we’re definitely sticking around COMDEX for a little while longer. But I did wanna bring that we finally get to find out why/how Joe left IBM and it was refreshing to hear that story from an unsuspecting source: Hunt The Dickhead. I cannot get over what snake oil salesman that dude turned out to be.
Trevor: It’s almost refreshing to have an adversary come out of nowhere, though. Especially one as insidious as Hunt; I don’t mean flat-out evil, but one wonders how much he was playing Donna, and for how long.
Margaux: Gotta give it up to a freshman show that manages to keep surprises coming out of nowhere, they could have taken the easy way out and just piled on the computer drama. Glad they didn’t, obviously.
Star count?
Trevor: Watching it, I was thinking four and a half. But now thinking about it, I might go four. That’s because of some questionable dialogue, and Cameron’s middle school temper tantrum. “If you really care about me, Joe, you will tank this project!”
Margaux: Haha. Yeah, I’m leaning closer to four stars. The grown ups, Donna and Gordon, really give Halt and Catch Fire a nice sense of urgency and always manage to ground this show in some sort of believable reality. But maybe the ½ star for 80s booth babes/porn stars? I kid. Don’t do that.
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