John R

I just watched Episode 5, and am totally hooked. Won't spoil, but do warn that the series takes a while to get going .... I think it really only begins to take a clear direction in Episode 4. If you like really complex, multicultural drama filled with characters with shifting and murky allegiances, this is for you.

From having read the book I'm pretty sure that .

The pilot of this show misled me into thinking it would be about the very real excitement of the pioneer days of mass computing: the open standard PC clone leading to the open standard Internet. I thought the three principles--Joe, Gordon, Cameron--plus John would have their problems but the excitement of collaboration on something really cool and new (and profitable) resulting in a kind of creative synergy would be the main story. The 1999 movie "Pirates of Silicon Valley," based on the actual origins of Apple and Microsoft, did a not so bad job of doing that. "Great artists steal." But also: "Great artists ship." The margin of error for success in such a project in such a competitive environment is tiny. This show is a complete disappointment. No a single coherent or believable character. Guess I'll stick around for the last 3 episodes out of a nagging habit to be loyal to shows, but I have no expectation of redemption.

I was excited by the pilot of this show. The whole story of how reverse engineering the IBM-PC ROM/BIOS and how that creates modern open network computing is potentially exciting, I think. Then innovation devolves into first practical laptop, issues of speed and size. OK, I guess. Now Cameron gets excited and runs into Gordon to tell him that, like her plush toy, computer OS needs a "personality," which will require an additional 384K of RAM. I bought my first PC clone in 1986, 3 years after this show takes place, and it had a total of 256K RAM. Maybe 3 years later I upgraded to 640K RAM, the MS-DOS upper limit at the time. I was also under the impression that the company was under tremendous financial pressure to get a product out the door and start generating revenue. For Cardiff to have a chance there would have to be intense synergy between the main players. I thought that's where we were going in Episode One: Joe and Gordon and Cameron (and, presumably Donna) clicking together to create something great. But all there is is conflict and yelling and drama between 3 childish people. If I were a grunt working at Cardiff, I'd be looking for a better job at someplace like Burger King. And Gordon's smashing the window for the doll and then ignoring the corpse. It's like Landry the killer in Season 2 of Friday Night Lights. Maybe I'll stick it out for the rest of the season. But very disappointed.

On my wall I have a poster: "The North Remembers" with the direwolf sigil. I agree with those who want to see a central theme of Season 5 be the beginning of the North's revenge, particularly against the Freys and Boltons. Wyman Manderly is not optional, nor Lady Stoneheart. Tyrion is right: King's Landing is not the place to find justice. But the North is.

I thought the use of Boz Skaggs' "Lido Shuffle" in last night's episode was inspired. The tension in Gordon's character between the desire for risk taking and his slumps into IBM inspired FUD (fear, uncertainty and doubt) are embodied in the way he embraces the song (check out the lyrics) when he's riding high after getting the new office and then cuts it off when back in his fear mode. And nice to be reminded of that song.

I really want to like this show, but I think others have made valid points that cause real concern. I loved the pilot, but don't know where the show is going now. Since, in this universe, Compaq already exists, what is the point? Is Cameron's genius going to result in some new invention totally off the charts? In the Apple/IBM-DOS universe, I don't know what that would be. Joe is too incoherent, Cameron to much the stereotyped punk rebel. I still like Gordon, though. I love shows about a band of zany, risk-taking, rebellious pioneers taking on the system. But to have any chance at success, they need to be competent and organized. Hope HACF moves in that direction.

Reading the reviews made me realize that my love for the pilot was grounded in my understanding of how important the successful (from a legal and business perspective) reverse engineering of the IBM PC ROM-BIOS was for the entire future of technology and, really, society. It was the first important open network standard and without it, it's inconceivable the the Internet (another open protocol) would have become the dominant network standard. I lived through it all, played a small part in it, and now teach a class called "Technology and Society." In particular, it's hard to imagine how crazy it was in 1983 to go up against IBM. I thought the last scene, with the descending hordes of IBM folks, nailed that. But I thinks it's a problem that the show did not do a better job of explaining that. (For example, Gordon's article in Byte Magazine (which I read avidly) is on the future of open computer architecture. I could see how that might slide by some folks.) Anyway, I hope this show lives up to its potential.