The answer, to your question, is welcome… to tomorrow.
Yes, that would be awesome. Space Wars and/or the section about Sierra would be amazing.
Hmm - back on the Ms. Wanna-be Mary Stuart Masterson, is it possible (considering the name of the season finale) they were actually going for the look of Anya Major?
I just re-watched the opening scene and punky grrrl mentions Reagan’s SDI, which wasn’t announced until 1983. So yeah, it’s basically taking place in an alternate universe where clones didn’t exist until much later (by product cycle standards). Which is weird - why base your show on such an extremely specific event and then shift the timeline around? It’s like doing a show based on Watergate and then saying it’s set in 1977.
Easier to shift the date of the creation of IBM PC clones (which most of the audience only has a fuzzy idea of) than something like Return of the Jedi and the announcement of SDI. As a “civilian” non-IT guy, I wasn’t aware of the existence of “PC Clones” till at least '86 or so.
The series is smarter than it first seemed: it seems that some of the bugs we identified are in fact features. Much of the second episode quite deliberately addresses our nitpicks. It is in fact 1983 - they mention “the recession” which started in 82 - and Compaq is established as already existing. Hawt grrl lambastes salesguy for having a very been-there-done-that plan to just sell “more beige boxes.” Salesguy turns out to be less of a visionary and more of a visionary wannabe (though still capably of wrapping people around his finger.) These guys aren’t on the bleeding edge; they’re behind it, trying to catch up.
The previews for the third episode point to another Bold New Plan, but it’s again something that already existed in the marketplace in '83. It’s probably just another false start. And who knows, maybe the whole series will be a bunch of false starts - which would be more true to the actual period than one singular dominating vision anyway.
Yeah, I’m going to keep watching, mostly due to the charisma of the lead actors. I want to see what they do with it. This MacMillan guy is a bit of a snake-oil salesman, I want to figure out what his real deal is.
I get the impression we’re supposed to think that Former Piemaker Salesgay is in fact visionary despite putting out extremely rudimentary, marketing weasel level ideas. They mentioned Compaq in passing, and that the reverse-engineered BIOS has been done before. Which is hard to reconcile with them claiming they were doing something new. His “new” idea has been done, as you pointed out. Compaq has in fact already put out a portable PC in January 1983. “Luggable,” since it weighed nearly 30 pounds, and looked like a full-sized desktop box with a built-in monitor - much like the Obsorne 1.
I found it hard to take Hardass Texan CEO seriously. That whiney, beg-y thing he was doing is not something you see in successful company owners at that level. You don’t show that face to a corporate customer, ever.
I found Hawt Grrl’s shoplifting thing hard to take as well. What’s she doing going to college if she can’t afford a shirt? And if she’s astute enough to negotiate a high salary, you’d think she wouldn’t be shy about demanding a check for basic living expenses up front.
Hmm, Gus, after tonight’s episode I wonder if your “salesgay” up there was a typo or whether you’d figured out something about one of our heroes.
Or perhaps Joe just figured that out about Mr Gigolo and had his tryst in order to queer the deal (no pun intended). Also, how did Jean Smart catch on to the fact that her boy-toy had dallied with Joe?
I wish Hawt Grrrl had more to do at this point. BTW she needs to stand up straight-- she’s got that slouch that tall girls sometimes develop.
I watched episodes 2 and 3 tonight. I really want this show to succeed, but I can’t imagine the audience for it. HBO Silicon Valley would be appealing to techies of all ages, and probably funny even if you missed 1/2 the inside jokes.
HCF, it seems to me would only appealing to those who like period dramas, and middle age techies. The acting is pretty good but plot is is a mess.
Also what idiot is trying to make IBM Clone with 80186 chip. The integrated DMA devices are in a different location than the IBM PC. (Ok maybe I should give the writer a pass for that particular slip up…)
Third episode was trash.
So no more comments? Did no one else watch it?
I’m planning on watching it.
Well, tonight’s episode was about 1000x better than last week’s. My only question’s are–who had the corrupt cops give Joe a beating–Jean Smart’s character? And how did Cameron get out of the sticky situation with Mr. disgruntled shotgun guy?
I think the retired partner/rancher dude had the cops beat him up, but it’s just a hunch. Cameron got out of it because the guy realized they both hated the Gordon. So the enemy of my enemy is my friend.
I think Bosworth (the EVP Sales) is the one that arranged the beating, as indicated by his chumminess with the cop who initiated the beating; I’m pretty sure he was following the owner of the company’s advice at the farm to show Joe who was really in charge. Which is why he was so obvious about the chumminess in the station.
As for the shotgun situation, I have no clue. It’s possible she slept with him, it seems as if she’s not all that respectful of herself, as Donna pointed out.
Hmm, the latter might explain why the place wasn’t totally trashed when Donna and Gordon(?) get back. I guess I could see Bosworth being the instigator of the beating, especially after the convo with Cardiff.
I thought so also. I figured he was say “looking here slick yankee, we gotta our own ways of doing bizzness down here.”
I will say that Sunday’s episode was actually worth watching, first one really.
Record this on a DVR if you can because AMCTV.com is loaded with awful commercials. Every 5 minutes there’s 2 minutes of commercials, including an incredibly loud vodka commercial with thumping club music.
Does not help that the player tends to go out of sync so I have to reload /fast forward to resync, which tends to trigger another round of commercials.
Literally every one of the characters annoys me, but I can’t but help but have a soft spot for a show that makes Colossal Cave Adventure a featured part of an episode.