The Televerse #320- Halt and Catch Fire with Dennis Perkins

After four terrific seasons, this week we bid farewell to little-show-that-could (thank you, Peak TV!) Halt and Catch Fire. Friend of the show and The A.V. Club contributor Dennis Perkins returns to the DVD Shelf to help us break down the finale and celebrate the ups and downs of a show that started as Mad Men meets the 1980s computer tech race and grew into much, much more. Which shots stick in our minds? Which costumes? And how do we feel about the show’s full-circle ending?

Before we dive in with Halt and Catch Fire, though, Noel and Kate have a full week in TV to discuss. We start with the comedies, including the triumphant returns of Crazy Ex-Girlfriend and Jane the Virgin, season one of American Vandal, the finale of Survivor’s Remorse, and strong installments of Broad City and Brooklyn Nine-Nine. Then we move on to the genre and drama offerings, including season one of Mindhunter, the finale of Room 104, another spooky Exorcist, and The CW’s superhero series, Arrow, The Flash, Legends of Tomorrow, and Supergirl.

Who’s out of line, WhiJo or Darryl? Can Adam contend in the pantheon of Jane’s beaus? Is John Cho still our only reason for watching The Exorcist, and what’s up with that beeping in Arrow’s score? And of course, #WhoDrewTheD-cks? Tune in for this and more, then leave your thoughts on Halt and Catch Fire and the rest of the week’s TV at TheTeleverse.org.

DVD Shelf: Halt and Catch Fire with Dennis Perkins (1:27:53)

Our Week in Comedy

Crazy Ex-Girlfriend premiere (10:41)

Jane the Virgin premiere (19:20)

American Vandal Season 1 (26:15)

Survivor’s Remorse finale (28:27)

Broad City (30:52)

Brooklyn Nine-Nine (36:29)

Our Week in Genre and Drama

Mindhunter Season 1 (46:44)

Room 104 finale (57:27)

The Exorcist (1:01:18)

Arrow (1:07:37)

The Flash (1:11:45)

Legends of Tomorrow (1:16:22)

Supergirl (1:19:12)

Music Featured: “Let’s Generalize About Men” from Crazy Ex-Girlfriend; “Psycho Killer” by Talking Heads; Halt and Catch Fire Theme song

Articles Referenced: Mo Ryan’s piece at Variety about her assault by a TV executive; Lupita Nyong’o’s piece at The New York Times about Harvey Weinstein’s harassment of her; USA Today piece on the open letter to studio heads about sexual harassment in animation written and co-signed by 217 animators