Scoot McNairy as Gordon Clark, Mackenzie Davis as Cameron Howe and Lee Pace as Joe MacMillan star in AMC's "Halt and Catch Fire." (James Minchin III/AMC)
99 Words About … AMC’s ’80s-era ‘Halt and Catch Fire’
It might have the worst title since “Cougar Town.”
Named after old-school machine code instructions, “Halt and Catch Fire” (10 p.m. Sunday, AMC) follows an ex-IBM executive (Lee Pace), a burned-out engineer (Scoot McNairy) and a coding prodigy (Mackenzie Davis) in early-1980s Texas.
After reverse engineering IBM’s groundbreaking PC — “How many of these addresses do we need to transcribe?” “65,536.” — the trio force their way into a field dominated by “heavyweights” Commodore, Tandy and Texas Instruments.
The pilot is engaging, but where could it go from here?
More importantly, how many viewers will still be around to find out?
— CHRISTOPHER LAWRENCE
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