Favorite TV of 2015 -- #5 -- Halt and Catch Fire
Here’s the problem with Halt and Catch Fire -- the first season was not all that good. Frankly, the only reason I made it through the whole thing was because Lee Pace kept getting shirtless (I am only human, ok?). The most frustrating thing about season one was that there were brief flashes of greatness; you could see there was the potential for something interesting beneath all the tropey and tired ~prestige drama~ cliches it was sagging under, and this year they realized that potential in a huge way.
And it’s not just that season two got better, but the real amazing thing is how it got so much better: it realized its two male leads were pretty boring and decided to throw its focus behind its two female leads instead. I mean, that’s kind of unheard of, and the best part about it was that it worked. It worked so well that it’s an entirely new show. By highlighting different characters, and their different desires and ambitions and problems there were much more interesting and engaging stories to tell, and suddenly they were telling the story of not how 80s computers were made, but the birth of social interaction on the early internet (which I think all of us here at Tumblr dot com can get behind). It was kind of incredible, and it made me want to scream from the rooftops that everyone should be watching this show.
Which brings me back to why that boring first season is such a problem. There’s so much damn TV these days and we all have lives with limited amounts of time and I understand the last thing anyone wants to do is spend 12 hours watching a show they don’t very much enjoy. That sucks. I’d say start with season 2 but we all know that can kind of be difficult with heavily serialized shows like this one. You kind of need to be aware of what came before. But if you have the time, I’d heartily recommend giving it a shot. Season one isn’t so much bad as it is just sort of bland and mediocre, but trust me, it pays off. This is the year of second seasons kicking ass, and this one is squarely at the top of the pack.
Previously
