“Halt and Catch Fire,” or HCF as it is known to computer geeks, refers to computer machine code instructions that cause a computer’s CPU to cease meaningful operation.
As a borderline Luddite, and one who struggled with a recent change to my PC’s operating system, I must confess that I had to look up the meaning of HCF, because I don’t even know the difference between a byte and a microchip.
In any case, the AMC cable network, fresh off its half-season run of “Mad Men,” has launched new summer series “Halt and Catch Fire,” the fictional drama about the early days of the personal computing business, when IBM ruled supreme and tried to crush anyone that interfered with its global designs.
The time period is 1983 and the setting is Texas, where the Silicon Prairie is the Lone Star state’s answer to the tech worlds anchored on both coasts.
Texans aim big, and that’s the case for Cardiff Electric’s chief operations executive John Bosworth (Toby Huss).
The good folks at Cardiff Electric would probably keep plowing ahead on their own steam, but then along comes charismatic outsider Joe MacMillan (Lee Pace), a former IBM sales executive from the East Coast.
His take-no-prisoners approach is clear from the opening scene when his fancy sports car flattens an unfortunate armadillo that got in his way.
Talking a good game, Joe MacMillan essentially bulldozes his way into a senior position on the Cardiff sales team.
Once he has the job, he immediately initiates a risky scheme to reverse-engineer the flagship product of his former employer.
Restless in his quest for new opportunities, Joe is an enigmatic figure, often expressing random thoughts that sound like a riddle. “Computers aren’t the thing. They’re the thing that gets us to the thing,” he says, explaining his vision.
Joe needs help to build a better product, so he enlists the help of frustrated genius engineer Gordon Clark (Scoot McNairy), an alcoholic who is sleepwalking through his job and life, but would love to regain his glory days before his own computer experiment failed drastically at a trade show.
For a computer programmer, the evident choice is the outcast Cameron Howe (Mackenzie Davis), a spiky-haired rebel who would prefer to play video games where she’s able to rig the coin slot for continuous free play.
And, by the way, in their first encounter, Joe has wild sex with Cameron in the stockroom of a cocktail lounge.
From what was presented in the series premiere, “Halt and Catch Fire” seems to have some dramatic promise, making the world of the computer business more interesting than I could ever imagine.
It remains to be seen if the AMC series will catch on with the general audience, but there was potential at the end of the first episode when the Cardiff corporate office is suddenly awash in a platoon of IBM suits on a search-and-destroy mission. Trouble is certain to follow.
The Starz cable network has teamed up with executive producer Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson for the new crime drama series “Power,” an oddly commonplace title for the sleek nightclub scene and the tawdry drug-dealing on the streets of New York.
Best known as a rapper, 50 Cent apparently was dealing drugs during his teens, and then later, when he had transitioned to the music world, he was shot at and struck by nine bullets.
Now, as a veteran of this culture, he is producing a show about the drug-dealing thug life.
Consistent with the swagger of its key player, “Power” may have this title only because the magnetic character at the center of the action is James “Ghost” St. Patrick (Omari Hardwick), a smooth operator who has it all – the beautiful wife, a swank Manhattan penthouse and the hottest nightclub in Manhattan.
An alternative title might be “Truth,” which is the name of Ghost’s up-and-coming new nightspot, a prime venue which is getting a major boost when Vogue magazine rents the joint for an exclusive party involving models, celebrities and high fashion.
The truth of the matter is Ghost wants to build a club empire, where he can establish himself as a legitimate businessman, even if it allows the laundering of drug money. Besides, he likes to wear tailored suits and drink expensive champagne.
Ghost’s style clashes with his primary business, the lucrative drug trade. It also causes friction with his childhood pal and business partner Tommy Egan (Joseph Sikora), a mercurial but loyal associate. Tommy finds the money, power and control of the drug trade is what is truly addictive and appealing.
Meanwhile, Ghost’s drug business is under attack from mysterious parties that have the muscle to steal from his couriers.
On top of that, Puerto Rican gang leader Carlos Ruiz (Luis Antonio Ramos) is part of Ghost’s distribution network, but he is chaffing under Ghost’s autocratic rule and is looking for a chance to strike out on his own.
The dapper Ghost would have us believe that he’s never strayed from his wife Tasha (Naturi Naughton), even though he’s surrounded by the hot women who love to party at the hottest nightclub that he owns and operates.
Other complications are sure to follow when Ghost’s old school flame Angela Valdes (Lela Loren), who grew up with him in a rough neighborhood, suddenly reappears in a chance encounter. Angela’s smart, beautiful and ambitious, and she looks as tempting as forbidden fruit.
Though Angela makes it known that she’s now a lawyer working for the government, what Ghost doesn’t know is the extent of her legal work goes deep into investigating the criminal world. It’s inevitable that Ghost and Angela will tangle, most likely both romantically and professionally.
“Power” is about the corrupting force of power and how the trappings of success in the criminal world are inherently seductive. Ghost’s double life seems to be on a collision course.
Whether Starz has a hit with “Power” may depend on whether future episodes become bogged down in the familiar turf of similar crime dramas or something more compelling is realized.
Tim Riley writes film and television reviews for Lake County News.
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