Home > Halt and Catch Fire

Landfall

What the hell?

( grunts )

Man on TV watch: ...Alicia's arrival is imminent,

- currently traveling west-- - ( crackles )

( groans )

( man continues ) ...approaching 75 miles per hour,

expected to exceed that,

before reaching shore sometime late tomorrow morning.

Reports of oil company employees

being evacuated by helicopter

from offshore rigs in the path of the storm

have punctuated the fear and trepidation

that's felt by many.

Advanced computer probability...

- ( sloshes ) - ( man on TV continues )

( Joe and Cameron moaning, panting )

Cameron: Hold on, wait. Wait.

- What's wrong? - Where did you-- how did you get these?

Really?

I was in high school.

( moans )

I'd been saving up money for a long time.

Summer jobs and everything.

And I bought a '64 Chevy Nova.

Bright yellow, love at first sight.

The day I got it, I took some friends out.

And it was mid-February and cold. I mean, bitter cold.

( Joe sighs )

Ice on the roads. No one should've been out that night.

Hold on.

Is this true?

What do you mean?

You're lying to me.

Okay.

Oh, my God.

The truth is-- God, this is embarrassing.

When I was a kid, I had a buddy who lived out on this farm road and there was this mill rusted to hell.

One day I dared him. I said, "Mike"--

Oh, my God. Stop.

Is this another lie?

Why do you care, Cameron? I mean, honestly.

Stop handling me. It's just a question.

But why do you care about the answer?

You are too screwed up for words.

Because I don't want to tell sad stories in bed with you?

- When did this become that? - What's "this"?

Our routine? You come over whenever, I don't know, you need to, and I'm happy to oblige.

Now all of a sudden you're getting pissed 'cause I don't want to play house.

Don't do that. It's just a question.

You designed the routine.

( groans ) Well, it's no longer doing anything for me.

This has gotten boring.

You're free to leave whenever you like.

- You have gotten boring. - Like I said.

- You want a piece of advice, Joe? - Not really.

Your whole thing, it attracts people, but it won't keep them around.

Authenticity is what inspires people.

If you want to lead people, you have to show them who you really are.

Otherwise, you're just a thousand-dollar suit with nothing inside.

No one gives a shit.

( thumps )

- What time is it? - Shh.

Go back to sleep. It's late.

( groans )

Mm, you smell like beer.

( moans ) I love you so much.

Gordon.

You're so beautiful.

Stop it. I have to sleep.

I can't.

I have so much tomorrow. I have to pick up the cake.

And I have to do it before work 'cause they close at 6:00.

You poor lady.

And Joanie's become fixated on this Cabbage Patch Doll or Kid or whatever.

She got so worked up talking about it she started crying... tears of mania.

What is it?

( yawns ) It's a doll.

It's a stuffed baby.

I'll get it.

- What? - I'm getting it.

Gordon Clark to the rescue.

Oh, my God, really? That would be amazing.

Don't give it another thought.

Oh, go to sleep, Drunky.

( sighs )

"Sooner Than Now" playing

♪ When the damage is done ♪

♪ And we lie here, what good am I now? ♪

♪ If you close your eyes ♪

♪ I think I might feel sooner than now... ♪

Rain check. Big storm's supposed to be coming in.

Thanks.

♪ And you see it begin ♪

♪ If we lie here, what good am I now? ♪

♪ Don't know how to win ♪

♪ Break down again sooner than now. ♪

( door closes )

( theme music playing )

( TV playing )

( sighs )

How was your show last night?

My amp caught on fire. Probably the best part.

I thought you'd be there. Where were you?

Out.

( keyboard clicking )

- What is that? - Modified version of "Adventure."

I made it for you.

A stupid thing I did for fun.

Oh, thanks.

Yo-Yo: You going to work? I'll give you a ride.

"A gifted man bears his gifts into the world not for himself, but for the people among whom he is placed.

Because the gifts are not his.

He himself is a gift to his community."

Henry Ford said that. Did pretty well for himself.

There are many gifted men and women in this room, and this moment, we bring our creation into the world.

Today, with the touch of a button, we start a ripple effect that will be felt through our community for generations.

Thanks to our engineers, we have a prototype.

Thanks to our programming team, we have an operating system in place.

And now, finally... we bring our creation to life.

- Let Bosworth do it. - Yo-Yo: Yeah, let Boz.

- Man: Boz! - Man #2: Hey, Boz.

- Cameron: Boz! - Nah.

Yeah. Boz, go.

- ( crew shouting ) - Go Boz!

- Boz! - Do it!

Yeah, all right.

( crew chanting ) Boz, Boz, Boz, Boz...

All right. Okay.

( chanting stops )

Well, ladies and gentlemen... a time comes when... well, you gotta grab your balls and jump, am I right?

( laughing )

- ( button clicks ) - ( computer whirring )

- ( beeps ) - ( crew cheering )

( voices overlapping )

Hey, congratulations.

Thank you so much. I'll see you soon.

Not bad.

- Are we good? - Yeah.

Sorry about how things have been.

This process doesn't always bring out my best.

That's true of us both.

We should celebrate.

Come over for dinner tomorrow night.

I don't think you've seen more than my garage.

Yeah, you got it.

It's done.

Miss Howe?

So, that's it.

When can we expect the peripheral drivers from your team?

Is this how you're gonna talk to me from now on?

How would you like me to talk to you?

Like you're flesh and blood.

I'm sorry if my tone is businesslike, but I am your boss and this is, in fact, a business.

Oh, my God. So lifelike.

"Rich Daddy" playing

♪ You got money? ♪

♪ Well, then, you're living the good life ♪

♪ You got a big fat daddy at home writing checks tonight ♪

♪ You got nothing? ♪

♪ Well, then, you're living a bad life ♪

♪ You got a big, fine car ♪

♪ And you eye me while you pass me by ♪

♪ A rich daddy? ♪

♪ No, I never had one ♪

♪ A rich daddy? ♪

♪ No, no, I never had one ♪

♪ You got money? ♪

♪ Well, then, you're living... ♪

( music fades )

( murmurs )

( laughs )

Gordon.

Our computer's gonna have a personality.

An operating system that asks you questions, you answer it back.

You interact.

What?

Um, I need an additional 384k of RAM.

Um... no.

- ( all chuckling ) - What do you mean, no?

I mean, it's completely out of the question.

Operating systems are total pigs.

Even with the added memory, you're gonna be stealing from the other applications...

- Yeah. - ...and slowing the entire machine down.

I know, but, Gordon, figure out a way around that.

- Cameron, it's done. - No, it's--

- Look at it. It's done. - No, it's not done. It's-- it's-- it works fine, but it needs a soul.

It needs to be something that people can fall in love with.

We can do that.

Okay, if there's one thing that I've learned in the 15 years of doing this is that at some point, you have to stop changing things.

You have to be happy with what you've made.

( slaps table ) You're scared.

What would I be scared of?

Yeah, why don't we make the machine jerk us off, too?

( men laugh )

And I can program hundreds of commands in the operating system for it to understand accounting for regional variance in speech, program 10 ways for it to respond to each.

It would be conversational.

It would be like speaking to a human being.

- Slow down. - You've played "Adventure."

It's like that, except instead of, "I want to cross the stream," you input "I want to run WordStar."

You tell it what you want it to do.

What are the hardware implications?

Have you talked to Gordon about this?

Gordon is too scared to try anything new or different because he's traumatized from being a loser his entire life.

I think you might be overstating that slightly.

Okay.

See this?

This I made with my dad when I was a little kid.

It's a stupid, stuffed thing, but my dad wiggled its head and he gave it a voice and he brought it to life.

I named it. I fell in love with it.

This is the sort of loyalty we can create.

We have to get a share of the market first.

We have to show that we can compete with the majors before we start changing things up.

Maybe for a second generation, we could do something like this.

This is because of last night.

I haven't given that a second thought.

I thought you said this was a business.

It is. If we go with a standard operating system,

I know what is going to happen.

There are no surprises down that road, no pitfalls.

We will go to COMDEX, we will make it into Sears,

we will sell 150,000 units, guaranteed.

You're offering me none of that.

Gosh, you're right.

I don't know what's wrong with me.

I guess with all your grandstanding,

I somehow got you confused with a visionary.

I guess it just doesn't matter what you're saying as long as people are listening, right?

What the hell does that mean?

Forgive me.

I just thought something around here should have a soul.

( door closes )

I may need you to walk me through this.

It's possible some of it's going over my head.

Yeah, no problem.

Does Gordon understand everything that comes out of your mouth?

Yeah, as long as it's about computers.

Hm. How's his project coming along?

Oh, sorry.

( softly ) His super secret project.

It's going well.

It's eating up a lot of his time.

You know, it can always be faster, it can always be smaller.

Mm-hmm.

They solved the real estate problem, though.

Did you help them with that?

Maybe.

What was the solve?

Chips on both sides of the board.

So simple.

I guess you're everyone's secret weapon, huh?

Super secret.

Speaking of, corporate's gonna want a presentation of this work.

I'm gonna need you by my side.

Would you be up for that?

A little business trip?

Of course.

Good.

Yes, good.

Cameron tell you her bright idea about the operating system?

It's insane, right?

I trust that you told her no.

Tell me you told her it was out of the question.

I don't know. She might be onto something.

- It's certainly unique. - "Unique"?

You didn't write "unique" on the board three months ago.

- Maybe I should have. - You wrote "faster," you wrote "cheaper."

Anyway, that's not the point. Do you know how much real estate that would take?

I'd have to rethink the entire layout of the board.

Greatness comes at a price, no?

Yeah, and I've paid that price.

Do you know how many nights I've missed putting my kids to bed?

You know how many all-nighters I've spent here?

You asked me to do something and I did it.

It was impossible and I did it anyway.

It's a thought experiment. And I'm considering it.

Well, don't. Just don't consider it.

I'm gonna do whatever I want to do and you're gonna do whatever I tell you to do because that's the way this relationship works.

Gordon: And Joe tells me he's actually considering it.

You can't change it. It's a thing of beauty.

I don't know. Maybe he's right.

No, Gordon, you built a beautiful machine.

You have to stand up for it.

Joe MacMillan's an asshole.

He doesn't know a fraction of what you do about what makes a good computer.

Daddy, is the hurricane gonna come?

No, no, no, no. We might get a big storm, some rain, but the hurricane can't reach us here.

Houston might get walloped, but--

Ahem.

We're safe here. You guys go play.

Oh, hey, did you get the you-know-what?

- What's that? - The Cabbage...

Did I get cabbage?

No, the--

( whispers ) the Cabbage Patch Kid.

Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. I left it at the office.

I didn't want Joanie to find it. She snoops, you know?

Anyway, sort of the worst part of it is-- please keep in mind that you love me when I tell you this, but before everything went down,

I invited Joe for dinner tomorrow.

- Dinner here? - I know, it felt like the right thing to do.

You know? Smooth things over.

Well, do you think this idea could really compromise what you've done?

Yeah.

Well, you have to do whatever you can to change his mind.

Even if that means inviting him into our home.

It's your machine, Gordon. Don't let him ruin it.

Yeah.

( weather reporter speaking faintly on radio )

"Happy People" playing

♪ Happy, happy, happy, happy people... ♪

- ( keyboard clicking ) - ♪ Smilin' in their cars, smilin' happily ♪

♪ Man, it looks like Mars, is that the world for me? ♪

♪ I knew a happy little girl ♪

♪ Trapped in her happy little world ♪

♪ Ravaged from desire ♪

♪ La la la la-la-la la-la ♪

♪ Yeah ♪

♪ La la la la-la-la la-la ♪

♪ Yeah... ♪

( music continues )

( bangs )

( can snaps )

So, what's going on in there?

Is something wrong?

I'm stuck.

( rain pattering, thunder rumbling )

- ( knocking on door ) - Come in.

Hey, you need a ride to work?

Uh, no, I'm on a roll.

( keyboard clicking )

What?

( keyboard clicking )

Hey, did you start the tests on those drivers?

No, I'm waiting for the coders to give them to me.

Hey, uh...

- Lev. - Yeah, I know. Lev.

Listen, I was wondering when we were gonna get some of the drivers.

We need to start end-to-end testing as soon as possible.

I'm working on the OS expansion.

What? Who told you to work on that?

Cameron did.

Did Joe approve that?

Go back to working on the driver, okay?

I'm the boss, not Cameron.

Well, Cameron's in charge of software.

Well, I'm in charge of stopping idiotic things from happening.

And you can trust me. I'm not screwing the product manager to get my way.

What?

Lev, just go back to working on the driver, okay?

I'll straighten this out.

- Gordon, your wife called. - ( groans )

She wanted me to remind you about the...

The Cabbage Patch.

( sighs )

Do you know of a toy store nearby?

Well, can you find one, Debbie?

- Yes. - That'd be great.

( faint thunder rumbling )

No...!

- Son of a bitch. - Hey, pal. Hey there.

You ain't looking for a Cabbage Patch by any chance?

- Yeah. Yeah, I am. - I got one.

I paid 80 bucks for it 'cause these jerks marked it up 'cause it was the last one.

And now they won't let me return it.

- I'll take it. - Honestly?

- Yeah, yeah. - Oh, you're a lifesaver.

- Yeah, yeah. - Thank you. It's right here.

You are really saving my butt.

Likewise, believe me.

All right, well, now I might go home and beg the wife for sex.

- ( chuckles ) - Probably get some, too.

Well, good luck.

( engine starts, tires squealing )

( thunder rumbling )

No.

No!

Hey, where are you with that module?

- Are you kidding me? - What?

Gordon retasked us all with drivers.

You keep changing directions on us. This sucks.

Just figure out what you want us to do and we'll do it, Jesus.

Get all the coders in my office.

Now.

I don't know what anyone else has told you, but I'm your manager. You take instructions from me, okay?

- That's what everyone else is saying. - Well, they're wrong, okay?

I need that module for the OS and I need it today.

Any questions?

I got a question. Are you banging Joe MacMillan?

( laughing )

Oh, yeah, I'm stupid for thinking a toy store might carry the world's most popular toy.

- Hello? - ( rain pattering )

Debbie!

- Any luck? - Not yet!

( keys beeping )

Uh, yes, I'm looking for a Cabbage Patch Kid.

You do?

Uh, really?

C-can you put it on hold?

No, I will come right now.

Look, do not sell that Cabbage Patch.

Hello?

- Gordon? - What?

( Gordon grunts )

You were incredible last night.

I--

I would never, okay?

Y-y-you guys know Donna, right?

( mutters )

( doorbell rings )

( thunder rumbling )

Joe, glad you could make it in this downpour.

Oh, come in. Gordon's not back yet, but he should be here soon.

Uh, '66 Bordeaux. Really interesting.

Thank you. How thoughtful.

You know Joanie and Haley, right?

Girls, say hi. This is Joe, Daddy's work friend.

- Girls: Hi, Joe. - Evening.

So, how's everything going at work?

Gordon tells me things are progressing nicely.

Yeah, moving right along.

- Haley: Hi. - Hi.

( giggles )

That shoe you're sitting on comes all the way from Italy.

Where's that?

Far away from here.

Gordon should be back any minute.

Did I say that already?

Man on radio: Galveston is once again

braced for a major hurricane tonight.

Winds exceeding 110 miles per hour...

- Where are you going? - Home.

Oh, come on. It's pissing rain out there. Come have a drink with me.

- ( groans ) - Come on, I'll make you a Cardiff Special.

I'm not taking no for an answer.

Come on, shake it, kid.

Hope everything's all right.

No, everything's fine. If I know my husband, he's out right now running around frantically,

( whispering ) trying to find a Cabbage Patch Kid.

- ( girls giggling ) - Oh, hi.

Oh, girls, would you leave him alone, please?

- How old are you? - I'm 35, why?

I don't know. I'm six.

Hey, okay, okay. What about a fort?

- Okay. - Would you like to build a fort?

All right, uh...

Do you girls know if we can find any blankets?

- Okay. - Okay, let's turn that chair around.

- Joanie: Okay. - Whoa.

Here we go.

All right, everyone in.

- Come on, everyone in. Everyone in. - Yay!

( girls laughing )

So, Gordon tells me you're thinking of doing something experimental with the OS?

I'm considering it.

The truth is, I just want to do something great.

How did torturing Cameron fit into that?

I regret that... but it was about getting the world's attention.

I guess I also want to do something successful.

Well, then you should listen to Gordon.

He's actually a genius.

Why do you think I chose him?

You know the competition. The only way to cut into their market share is by doing what they do better or cheaper or both, and you can do that if you stick with what you've got.

There's something to be said for ingenuity, no?

Well, sure. Exactly.

That's what I'm saying. There's ingenuity in there.

You've been sitting with this machine for a few months now.

It's easy to lose sight of what's great when it's right in front of you. You get used to it.

The computer you two built is a work of art,

and not only that, it'll sell.

So you can believe in your original vision.

You made it all happen.

- ( thunder crashing ) - Whew, God Alfrighty.

Jeez, it's coming down now.

( chuckles )

What was that dustup in the bullpen this afternoon?

( groans ) It's a long story.

Yeah, well, I got nothing but time.

Clark, huh?

Gordon is good.

- Mm. - He's really good.

- Mm-hmm. - But Gordon wants to build a computer that'll impress all the other people who build computers.

I want to build something for people who never thought they'd want a computer, who don't know anything about them.

I want to build a computer for you.

Hey, now. I know my way around a damn computer.

I've been in this business since before you were in diapers, kid.

All right. You know what I mean.

I want to build something that makes people fall in love.

( faint thunder rumbles )

How'd you fall in love?

Computer Club.

I didn't have a ton of friends in junior high.

Oh, I am shocked by that.

Yeah.

So, yeah, I was hiding out in a classroom at lunch and the Computer Club came in.

I just pretended I was there on purpose.

Mr. Monroe taught us BASIC and it was like finding water in the middle of the desert.

For the first time, I knew how to talk to something.

I finally had the right language.

- ( thunder rumbles ) - You're talking just fine now.

- I'm drunk. - ( Bosworth chuckles )

Listen, now, the-- the theatrics out there today.

( sighs )

Be more careful, Cam.

I'm a big girl. I can take care of myself.

Oh, hell, I know that. That's plain as day. It's just...

( sighs )

Some of the people around here, no matter what they say, or even what they think-- part of them wants to see you shit the bed on this thing.

Why's that?

'Cause you're the future.

Ain't nothing scarier than that.

When I was little, any time there was a big storm, my dad would take us out in it to show me there was nothing to be afraid of.

Then a kid in our neighborhood got pinned under a fallen tree and so he stopped doing that.

( sighs ) I feel like parenting used to be different.

( thunder crashing )

My mom used to take me up to the roof of our old Victorian to look at the stars.

That any of us survived is a miracle.

- ( loud thunderclap ) - ( screaming )

Hey, hey, it's okay.

You afraid of the hurricane?

But you've got hurricane zappers right here.

You don't know about hurricane zappers?

Oh, yeah, these.

Just point them at the storm and it can't hurt you.

- ( flashlights click ) - Here, I'm telling you the truth.

- Give it a shot. - Joanie: It'll work through the roof?

Oh, yeah. A bigger storm, you might need to go outside.

But a little storm like this, through the roof should be fine.

- Haley: Let's try it. - There they go.

( thunder crashing )

( bell jingles )

( crashes )

( loud buzzing )

( thunder continues )

( buzzing, crackling )

( buzzing )

( buzzing )

( fizzing, popping )

( buzzing, popping )

( thunder crackles )

( laughing )

It's not working.

Mind if I give it a shot?

It's a big storm. You have to do it outside.

- No, sweetheart-- - You're probably right. You're probably right.

- Joe, you don't have to-- - Okay, follow me.

You really don't have to.

- Be careful, don't let her get hurt. - Her?

- Anastasia. - You named it.

Mine is Sharky.

And they're your friends?

Huh.

I promise to be very careful.

Okay, watch.

- Joanie: What's he doing? - Haley: Let's go see.

( thunder crashing )

Whoa!

( giggling )

It works a lot better outside.

( thunder crashing )

( thunder rumbling )

- ( giggling ) - All right, all right.

- Here you go. - Oh, thanks.

- Gordon! - Girls: Daddy!

We were worried about you. Are you all right?

Yeah, I'm fine. I'm so sorry I'm so late.

What happened to you?

Oh, thanks for sticking around, Joe. I appreciate it.

It's no problem.

Should we eat? Did you guys eat?

I should go, leave you guys alone.

Storm's clearing up anyway.

Well...

Joe, I need to talk to you.

Oh, no, Gordon, you can talk tomorrow.

Hey, thanks for inviting me. Uh, I'll see you tomorrow.

- Bye, girls. - Girls: Bye.

( thunder rumbles )

Hey, are you okay?

Uh, yeah, yeah.

( rain pattering )

( rapping )

What do you want?

Do you have anybody?

What are you talking about?

If you got stuck in a hurricane, do you have anybody you would call?

I don't.

Show me what you've been working on.

Press "Enter."

( key clicks )

Don't be rude. Computer's talking to you.

Answer it.

- ( laughs ) - You messing with me?

Well, it only does first names right now.

( rainfall continues )

When I was a kid, my mom used to take me up to the roof to look at the stars.

She was wild and... experimented with drugs.

One time, she let go of my hand and I fell three stories and landed on a fence in the front yard.

I spent most of the next two years in a hospital bed.

Cameron?

Yeah?

This is really good.

(Music playing )