Halt and Catch Fire (TV Series) Giant (2014) User Reviews

Enjoyable but a few inconsistencies

[tom_butts · 8/10 · 31 August 2017]

I enjoyed this episode and thought it was among the strongest so far (I just started binge watching the series), but there were a few things that I thought were inconsistent with the times:

In 1983, homosexuality was still quite taboo. I don't think the characters would have treated it as so "matter of fact" like is done today. I even doubt that Bosworth would have punched out that idiot in the strip bar; he would most likely have just let it pass, lest anyone would think he thought it defensible.

Also, apart from Isaac Hayes, how many black men had shaved heads and a goatee in 1983?

Intriguing

[mm-39 · 7/10 · 16 July 2014]

The Giant episode reveals much in character development. The viewer learns more about Joe's past which troubles Cameron! Boz is the tough, Texan who is literally willing to bet the ranch on the P C project. Gordon snaps from the pressure, and there is asocial message about how one's ethics effects others. Giant is an episode which displays the frailties of the characters. One has to watch closely to notice the minor details. The viewer is asked how will the characters with their flaws survive at Cardiff electronics. Cardiff is about to go broke, and has no money to survive before the big sales convention. Well written, directed and acted episode. Seven out of ten.

Gordon Keeps Falling Down the Rabbit Hole!

[gab-14712 · 8/10 · 16 July 2020]

Gordon, the Cardiff's team working man, is falling apart...and quickly. That is one of the biggest storylines we see in "Giant." In the previous episode, Gordon gave Cameron's idea backlash about giving the computer a personality type. This week, his gives even more backlash...this time to Joe regarding the computer's aesthetics. We learn that Joe had a secret lover who is now dying of AIDS, and he works as a design artist. Simon Church, played brilliantly and emotionally by D.B Woodside, shows up with his input for the PC's design. That storyline felt a bit superficial and contrived. It did not feel as developed despite the strong individual performances. However, the "Gordon falling apart" storyline and the storyline about Cardiff's financial ruin held my interest.

With COMDEX looming, the next step in the PC's creation is its design. Gordon believes the PC is good as is and any changes to the design means loss in function. Joe swings that thought aside and brings in his former lover to help add design and flavor to the box. This alienates both Cameron and Gordon. Cameron is jealous because she thinks she has feelings for Joe, and Gordon continually is ignored. Donna goes on a business trip with her boss and her boss may have the wrong intentions. So, Gordon stays home and parents his children in his own drunken way. He tells the girls a bedtime story about a fake fossil and P.T Barnum. This story leads him to do something that will worry Donna out of her mind. Meanwhile, Cardiff has run out of money thanks to the PC project. John Bosworth does not tell the group and decides to find last minute financial backing to keep them afloat at least until COMDEX.

I thoroughly enjoyed this episode. Joe's storyline was interesting, but a little weak. I am getting frustrated at Donna and her boss's flirtation that seems to be nonstop. Luckily, the rest of the stories are up to the challenge of keeping my interest. I really liked the ending as it proves just how far down the rabbit hole Gordon went. The episode was directed by Jon Amiel who proved himself with some solid Hollywood features.

My Grade: B+

Function versus Design

[Hitchcoc · 9/10 · 11 August 2015]

Joe brings in an old lover, a master of design, to create a case for the new computer. Gordon confronts him at a meeting because he can't take any sort of invasion of what he considered a final design. In the previous episode, he stood up against personality; in this one, he is confronting aesthetics. Gordon is about to flip out. Donna goes on an overnight business trip with her handsome boss and a grave misunderstanding occurs. Meanwhile, Gordon begins to destroy any order in his house. He throws away the lasagna prepared for his girls. Attacks the plumbing under the sink. And, finally, he tears the crap out of his hand and begins to bleed all over the place. He also tells his girls a crazy story about a farmer, P. T. Barnum, and a giant, which parallels his role in the whole computer development process. Meanwhile, we come to realize that John's wife has filed for divorce. He knows that Cardiff is near insolvency and tries to borrow money. He and Joe have been at a strip club, trying to embrace a sleazy designer as a last resort. John is at a crossroads. Finallly, Cameron realizes that she loves Joe, but his swinging both ways, especially with a man he really loved, is going to bring some heavy duty challenges.