Not HACF finest hour


You can tell the episodes are written and directed by different people. Last week was a dream, literally and figuratively. But last night they did what they do poorly - move time, characters and plot development. Showing Gordon and Donna when they first got married didn't tell us anything. I really had to suspend my disbelief that Donna could legally go in and strip Gordon's house and the only people who show up to 'move' were the old gang with their boxes and tape. Bos didn't even bring Diane - what is Diane's purpose again? There are good writers and directors, but Chris Cantwell hasn't reached that bar yet. However, the writing was OK and the acting excellent. The bright spots were Joe's reaction in general and his interaction with everyone and the scenes with Donna and Cameron. Plus it doesn't sit well with me that while it appears Donna and Cameron are getting back on track, Cameron and Joe are not.

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As a show, the writing is always clunky, never subtle. The relation to computing history is negligible and uninteresting considering what is developing at the time. Gordon's death scene was film school basics.

The interweaving connections between the characters is a draw for the show, but it doesn't have the insight or scope of Mad Men or Sopranos, which it so badly tries to be. Critics rave about this now because there's simply nothing else on the level of MM or Sopranos right now.

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I thought last week was good and even if it was 'film school basics', I was moved by Gordon's death scene. But you used a good word for this week - clunky.

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I loved it. The show has always been about the characters. They have grown since episode one. A major character has died and we got an episode that dealt with it.

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