This show could be better but it isn't. Never made the viewers feel for the characters.

I think it did that for Gordon and his wife, but hasn't for Joe and Cameron. John was a slow build.

I thought John was the only immediately good character, but then I always like that actor. Gordon and wife have been a rollercoaster from okay to bad and back again and Joe and Cameron are just unlikeable. This show never really gave us a hero to like or root for or get invested in. Gordon and wife have too many flaws to overcome.

Here's an interesting tidbit that I just found due to seeing another poster in OOTV's name. His name is CardiffGiant. As you all know, Cardiff is the name of the company, and Giant is the name of the computer. Well, poster CardiffGiant registered in 2008.

So, I figured there must be more to the story, and sure enough I found this on wikipedia, enjoy:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cardiff_Giant

We are being trolled, loled, or somethinged. Oh, and I still think it's hilarious that they named the "smallest" portable PC the Giant.

gonna give this a go

Ok, I did actually make it into the episode and while I'm not featured like originally intended, I am very visible.

Here come the tl;dr anecdotes.

--------------------------------------------------------------
I was cast to play Bill Gates.

The extras casting firm posted a casting call searching for someone who could look like a young (ldo) Bill Gates and "had no fear dancing it up." I quickly tried to look the part, snapped some pics and shot over an e-mail. A short time later, I got an e-mail back saying, "Thanks for submitting, looks like you could be perfect."

They had another request, though. They wanted me to take a video of myself doing the "gator" dance like in this clip from Animal House:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C7G1-IR2rrU&t=2m36s

I did it and I was cast.

I'm in the hotel suite party scene, but the big dance was cut before it even filmed. It was supposed to be after the party was over, during the scene when Joe is talking to the CompUSA exec and the Xerox dude asks if anyone wants pancakes. You might notice there are a few guys drinking around a high table in the corner across from Joe - I was originally put on the floor next to them to do the spasmy gator dance. They put in position, asked me to demonstrate, and that was it. I laid/sat there for a while while the actors were rehearsing the directors were talking. Eventually, they told me they weren't going to use me and I was wrapped.

It was really disappointing, since it would've been REALLY good screen time and I thought I could even get in the credits if they specifically singled me out as Bill Gates. But, that's life. After I demoed the dance, Lee Pace and the other actors thought it was hilarious. He asked me how I ended up getting the part and if I had ever done anything like that before. He was very nice, very encouraging. The actors that was positioned by - the guys who got a few lines in the episode - were all very nice, as well - we chatted it up a bit.

Other stuff:

* The scenes on the convention floor were filmed at the Georgia World Congress Center in downtown Atlanta. I wasn't in them, but they had asked me to come down to the set to meet some people the day before my scene, so I hung out for an hour or so.

* The hotel room and hallway were a set constructed in an old industrial building. It was pretty nuts walking up some plywood steps and then being in a hotel.

* As far as extras go, I was like a Q-list celebrity, as everyone knew I was coming in to be Bill Gates. When I went in for my wardrobe fitting, they handed me this picture and said, "Mull over this for a while."



That was the model for my wardrobe. As I said in an earlier post, I'm the only one at the party with a sweater.

* Everybody was already on set when I got called to go on in. They hustled me to the "hotel" hallway, sat me in a chair, and did some last minute touch-ups to my hair, including chopping off my sideburns. They then took me into the bedroom, where Lee, Scoot, and everyone were, and had the prop master get my glasses set. The actors were totally staring at me. Then they took me into the party area of the suite to get me situated as a party-goer like everyone else.

* The set was really hot and stuffy. Some people were smoking (fake cigarettes) and they had a smoke machine going to add to the look. I was sweating like a pig. There were couple guys who really stank by the end of the night.

* Because of the number of extras and the tightness of the space, it was tough choreography with all the crosses, wipes, etc. I had to dunk under and around cameras a number of times. The director did a great job, I thought.

* At one point during the first part of the scene, where everyone was just mingling, they had me walk to the table where Joe McMillan eventually sets the Giant. Little did I know, Joe/Lee was walking over there, too. Normally, you're supposed to pantomime speaking in the background, but Lee actually whispered to the few of us at the table. So, I whispered back (it's shockingly hard to pretend to have a conversation while not actually saying the words). We were looking at those pamphlets for the Giant. Where the specs were listed, it said, "MS-DOS," and since I was Bill Gates, I said to Lee, "That's my operating system." He told me no, they made their own OS, and when I corrected him, he was a little confused. They cut, we reset, and were on to the next take. When we got back to the table a few minutes later, doing the same thing all over again, I pointed out what the pamphlet said. He got wide-eyed and said, "Oh, man, that's a mistake." We quietly laughed about it and said a few more words when we walked back to our spots for yet another take (this was all before he saw me doing the gator dance).

* During the mingling part, one of the extras I was with said she saw Lee and Kerry Bishe looking at me and saying how great I looked.

* Kerry Bishe is incredible looking in person, if that wasn't obvious.

* I was out of the room for several takes, as they didn't need some of us due to the camera angle. I could hear everything, though. During those takes, Lee routinely ****ed up the part of his speech where he asks everyone to come the booth the next day. I mean, he just couldn't get it. He got really frustrated and started cussing, but considering how cool he was the rest of the night, I'm guessing it was with a smile on his face. When we were all done with the party scene, he thanked all of us for doing a great job.

* When Lee goes into the bedroom to see how Gordon's doing with fixing the computer, you can hear everyone chanting "GIANT! GIANT!" We were really doing that - it wasn't added in.

* As I said, normally, you have to pantomime talk if you're an extra. During Joe's big speech, the director told us to pantomime all our cheers and shouts. So, he started talking, and we did silent cheers. He stopped almost immediately and said that it was really disconcerting to have us not make any noise and that we should just yell, anyway. So, we did, and after that the director told us to go for it on every take.

* Lee broke the bedroom door making his entrance once, so we had to wait while that got fixed.

* As is usually the case, there was one stupid-ass extra. As extras, you are just supposed to do what you're told. You're not an actor. You don't have lines. Just be seen and not heard. Well, this dude felt he should make himself a part of the scene. This wasn't really shown, but when Joe/Lee got to the front of the crowd and put the Giant down, he plugged it in and turned his back to us to build up the anticipation. It was quiet in the room. On one take, this extra suddenly yelled, "SPEECH!" I face palmed. Later, this same extra noticed that all the guys in the room had their top buttons on their shirts unbuttoned and if they had ties, the ties were loosened. It was a drunken party, after all. His clothes were all still nice and neat. He actually started talking to members of the crew about it, suggesting that he should loosen his tie, too. One crew member asked him he was wearing it the way wardrobe had set him up, to which he said yes. The crew member replied with an I-don't-have-time-for-this look in his eye, "Well then I think maybe you should just leave it that way."

* For the final few takes, they moved me up to a more prominent spot towards the front of the crowd, presumably so I'd get seen better on camera in anticipation of my later dance. I was next to the Indian techie and the booth babe with whom he was dancing. I got hit by some of the champagne. I don't think they used that take in the episode, as I couldn't see myself there.



Told you that was going to be tl;dr.

I'll see if I can get some screen caps when the episode is up online, as I have no idea how to do it straight from the TV.

Great stories.

Since the Macintosh was debuted with a "soul", that means Cameron's idea wasn't unique anymore. So, victory for Joe and Gordon? There were so many cringes in that episode, but I still kind of liked it. I had mentioned how stupid Donna was to be talking about the machine with Hunt, and that stupidity was fully realized (also realized was Donna hoping she'd be asked to go work at Cardiff, even if she wouldn't have gone). I'm interested to see how they wrap up the season. Unless this show costs like $150k per episode to produce, I have no idea why AMC would renew it.

Oh yeah, I was vindicated about Gordon's alcoholism. He said he was a part-time alcoholic...so BOOM kioshk.

This show has gotten a lot better from episode 5 or so on. Really enjoyed it last week and this in particular.

I'm enjoying the show a lot, but I always end up thinking after every episode that I just find the show this just great because of the interesting and unique theme. I am pretty convinced I would be complaining about how unoriginal and cliche everything is if the show was about a different (less interesting to me) subject.

Though I'll admit that despite everything being so predictable that the build-up usually is very well done. I hope it gets a second season, but it seems very unlikely at this point.

I like Donna's character the most, which is weird since you're probably you're supposed to find her annoying . Gordon is great too obviously.

Joe and Cameron needed more screen time and backstory in order to be able to relate to them I think. They have great scenes from time to time but for every moment like that there's moment where I have no idea what their motivations are.

I've watched 3 eps. I'm trying to piece this together...

These 2 guys reverse-engineered the IBM bios. They got caught. They aren't allowed to do this.

So they hire an untainted person, Cameron. What exactly is her role? She's trying to recreate the bios, or something similar, without any information provided to her from the previous reverse engineering?

This doesn't make sense to me.

1) why is she any more likely to succeed at this than countless other computer engineers with vast amounts more of experience than her.

2) if she does succeed, isn't it quite likely the necessary information was fed to her?

maybe I'm missing something.

Don't overthink it.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Compaq_Portable

They wanted a female love interest for Joe. In 1983 less than 5% of tech was female.

They didn't get caught, Joe told IBM what they were doing. They wouldn't have been caught if he hadn't told them. It's the whole impetus for Joe's character (his reckless/psychotic behavior that he always feels he can punch his way out of). They are allowed to go forward with their project as long as no one passes on the information to whoever builds the new BIOS from who has already reverse engineered it (Gordon and Joe/the blue book). It's the equivalent of what I think is called a Chinese wall in law (meaning someone completely independent has to arrive at the same place without help, in order for something to become admissible that would have been previously inadmissible). That means no contact between whoever they bring in and Gordon (Cameron is the choice). No one really thinks this BIOS copy will be built without looking at the specs, but they're trying to act like no one will look at the specs. In Cameron's frustration at not knowing what she's doing, Joe even brought her the book, but it is never made to feel as if she looked at it.

Correct.

This is where you have to suspend your disbelief. At the beginning of the first episode, Joe goes to a college class and gives a lecture. He's looking for "visionary" types (it's possible he might have already scouted her, though this is not brought up). After weeding everyone out, the rebel Cameron is left as the lone "visionary" type in the class. It's just the basic backstory of a character potentially being used later.

They are in a pinch, and Joe doesn't want someone he can't at least somewhat control (which is lol in regard to the Cameron character). He thinks Cameron can do it, and she'll be way cheaper than anyone else he can get. He also won't have to be told "no" every day by someone who knows what they're doing. It also allows Joe to retain ownership of the process, from what I can tell.

Yes and no. Because she's young and talented, she might be able to succeed on her own. Other than when she's frustrated, there's absolutely no indication that she will be even potentially fed information. I can't remember what episode it is (maybe 3 or 4), but Gordon sees a board of her code and thinks it's brilliant. That's the point we're supposed to know that Cameron CAN do the job, even if she doesn't do the job.

Thanks for the post nunnehi. Still leaves my confused as to how she'll be able to do it, or won't be tainted. I guess that's where the fictional belief is meant to come in. Turns out I wasn't really confused with the plot development just had a hard time believing it.

I mean I guess there's similar things all the time where people are tainted with proprietary information and the hope is this just gets sorted out in a legal battle. Hopefully correctly.

Can almost see Cameron figuring this out independently and then IBM launching a suit against them believing that she was fed the information.

Cardiff is a no name player (I think they made stuff nothing like this in the show's universe, but I can't remember what). IBM probably wouldn't have cared if Cardiff had actually reverse engineered it until they found out Joe was involved. Cardiff just was never a big enough company to be a huge threat to IBM, even with Joe's grandiosity.

AFAIK that's what the guy standing in the office was there for. No doubt that IBM would sue but Cardiff would have a defense that no collaboration occurred because they guard would testify that she didn't have help. How effective of a defense that would be, I don't know.

Yeah, it was a lawyer who sat with her for the first couple of episodes, but then *poof* he disappeared.

I thought this was an ok episode. Honestly, I've kinda checked out since it seems to be dead in the water. Confrontation between Gordon and Donna after their previous passion was good drama. And Gordon rejecting idealism for the practical seemed natural.

like his part time alcoholism?

He's just dabbling, trying it on for size.

Screen shots of me as Bill Gates in Episode 9:


Beginning of the party, right after the commercial break




Cardiff crew brings out the Giant




Raising a beer




Where's Waldo?




Split second before cheering after Joe invites everybody to watch the Giant smoke everyone at Comdex




I was trying really hard to get a good one of me cheering, but it's hard to pause it at exactly the right frame during the online stream. So here's a look at me as the shot fades over to Joe.




And finally, a GIF of that cheer (I believe they were actually framing me in an anticipation of my featured dance that never happened). That's how I pretend to whoop it up while drunk.

Was this shot done before the decision was made to cut your featured part?

Yup. IIRC, this was one of just a few takes where I was way up front during Joe's big speech. Throughout much of it I was either in the middle or the back (like a couple of those pics above) and even out of the room entirely. We were almost done when they grabbed me and moved me near the front for the last few takes. I was hoping they'd get a shot of me dancing next to one of the girls.

The whole party was filmed chronologically (except, perhaps, for the scenes in the bedroom). After the main party scenes, they cleared everyone out except for those in the post-party scene (Joe talking to the CompUSA exec, Cameron talking to Heath, etc.). Like I said in a previous post, they put me in place, had me show everyone my dance, and that was it. The actors rehearsed and after 10-15 minutes, the director told me they weren't going to use me in that scene.

While I was ticked off that I was there for 12 hours only to have my big moment cut, I guess it was for the best, as it would've been hard for me to act all happy during the party if I knew it was already cut.

Here's something mildly interesting that I just dug up. I was able to grab a call sheet that day as a souvenir. It looks like in the scene after the party was over, there was supposed to be a singalong. I'm guessing that the guys in the corner with me were maybe supposed to engage in some drunken revelry and I was going to dance next to them.

It's interesting, because you're now a part of an artistic "mistake"...lol. They actually shouldn't have used that shot in the show, and I had a feeling that it was shot before they had made the decision, but the editor didn't know it. The reason I say that is because you are the focal point of that shot (foreshadowing that you will have a role to play later in the scene). I think that's Scoot in front, but he looks really different from that angle (so I'm not sure), and Donna is also in that shot. No one is in real focus except you. There was a plan for why they shot it that way, but the plan was ultimately scrapped. They probably should have scrapped that shot, too, but must have liked something about it.

The good news for you is that it's demo level material, in that there are very few extras who have the camera completely focused on them with the stars of the show in view.