Half-Life (1997 series)

Half-Life is an science-fiction television series created by Vince Gilligan and Gabe Newell as part of a working relationship with Twentieth Century Fox and Valve, which premiered on The WB on September 12, 1997, and concluded on HBO, on August 25, 2007. During its original run, the program spanned ten seasons, with 191 episodes. The show is based on the 1992 science fiction film with the the same name. The television series was filmed in and around the city of Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
The series revolves around Black Mesa physicists Gordon Freeman (Eric McCormack) and Alyx Vance (Fairuza Balk) who after reuniting for the first time in several years, battle alien creatures from Xen with the assistance of a skeleton crew after a failed experiment that triggered a resonance cascade. The resonance cascade created a rip in spacetime, allowing the hostile alien creatures from Xen to invade the Black Mesa Research Facility. Freeman, a newly hired scientist, finds himself caught in the middle of the invasion and must fight his way through the facility to prevent the aliens from reaching the outside world.
Half-Life was praised for its groundbreaking characters, special effects and its immersive storytelling. The series was also notable for its use of cliffhangers, which kept viewers guessing until the next episode. Half-Life was a critical and commercial success, winning numerous awards, including the Golden Globe Award for Best Drama Series in 1999 and the Emmy Award for Outstanding Drama Series in 2000.
Despite its popularity, Half-Life was unexpectedly canceled by The WB in February 2001. The cancellation was due to a number of factors, including the network's desire to focus on more youth-oriented programming and the high cost of producing the series. The cancellation received considerable notice by news media, and thanks to a a fan-led campaign, the series was picked up by HBO for a six-season run The success of Half-Life has led to hundreds of tie-in products, including novels, comics, video games and a spin-off Opposing Force that was introduced in October 2001, at the start of Half-Life's fifth season. 
== Series overview ==
=== Story-Arcs ===
===== Seasons 1-4 (Resonance Cascade) =====
The series begins five years after after the conclusion of the events recounted in the original feature film, with Gordon Freeman, a young physicist now working at the Black Mesa Research Facility and reuniting with Alyx Vance, accidentally opening a portal to an alien world known as Xen. This event triggers a resonance cascade, which releases a horde of alien creatures into Black Mesa. Freeman, along with his colleague Alyx Vance, must fight their way through the facility to close the portal and prevent the aliens from invading Earth.
As the seasons progresses further, Freeman and Vance uncover a conspiracy involving Black Mesa and the Combine, a multinational corporation that has taken control of the facility and is using it to experiment with Xen technology. The Combine's ultimate goal is to conquer Earth and use its resources to fuel their own expansion.
Freeman and Vance are joined in their fight by a small group of allies, including Barney Calhoun, a security guard at Black Mesa; Dr. Kleiner, a scientist who is studying Xen; and Dr. Breen, the former administrator of Black Mesa who is now collaborating with the Combine.
The fourth season ends with Freeman and Vance defeating the Combine and closing the portal to Xen. However, the victory is bittersweet, as the Combine had already caused widespread destruction on Earth. Due to this, G-Man offered Gordon Freeman a "job", which he agreed to and was put into stasis.
==== Seasons 5-7 (Aperture Science) ====
Picks up several years after Freeman's entrapment, with the formation of Aperture Science, a research facility dedicated to advanced technology. Despite the Combine's defeat, Earth remains a scarred and fractured world, struggling to rebuild amidst the ruins of its former glory. Meanwhile, within the confines of Aperture Science, a new threat emerges, one that could potentially surpass the Combine in its destructiveness.
As the seasons unfolds, Gordon Freeman is awakened from stasis and thrust into this new conflict. He must once again confront formidable adversaries, unravel cryptic puzzles, and navigate the treacherous landscape of a post-Combine Earth. Along the way, he encounters familiar allies and uncovers shocking truths about the nature of Aperture Science and its enigmatic founder, Cave Johnson.
===== Seasons 8-10 (Xen) =====
One year has passed. Gordon Freeman and Alyx Vance, flung through the dimensional tear caused by the destruction of the Aperture Science facility, find themselves in a strange and alien world, untouched by human hands. Lush, bioluminescent flora pulsates with unknown energy, while towering crystalline structures pierce the sky. This is Xen, but not as they knew it.
Stranded and cut off from Earth, Gordon and Alyx must learn to survive in this hostile yet strangely beautiful environment. Xen's creatures, evolved beyond the Combine's grasp, present new and deadly challenges. Razor-sharp insectoids stalk the neon-lit undergrowth, while colossal, gravity-defying leviathans patrol the skies. Each encounter pushes their skills and resilience to the limit.
But survival is just the first hurdle. The mysteries of this Xen run deep. Whispers of an ancient, benevolent race echo through the mindscapes of the native fauna, hinting at a civilization lost to time. Alyx, attuned to these psychic resonances, becomes increasingly drawn to unraveling Xen's secrets.
== Production ==
==== Development ====
On August 24th, 1989, former Microsoft employees Gabe Newell and Mike Harrington founded Valve Studios in Kirkland, Washington. Shortly thereafter, they began development on a project codenamed "Lambda," which was later retitled "Half-Life", and subsquiently released on May 12, 1990 on the Sega Genesis and MS-DOS. 
As the project's core concepts solidified, Newell and Harrington sought partners to bring Half-Life to the television screen. Twentieth Century Fox Television expressed keen interest and entered into a development deal with Valve. The project was then entrusted to Chris Carter's Ten Thirteen Productions, who at the time were developing "The X-Files". 
Vince Gilligan, who would later go on to create the critically acclaimed AMC series Breaking Bad, was attached as showrunner for the first three seasons of Half-Life, before Frank Spotnitz took over for the fourth season. Majority of the filming took place in Vancouver for the first four seasons; then shifted to Los Angeles for seasons 5-10. 
When HBO acquired Half-Life for a six-season run, it infused the series with a darker, more mature edge. The Aperture Science and Xen storyliness were thrust front and center, its otherworldly horrors taking on a chilling new dimension. Gone were the campy elements and lighthearted humor that might have permeated earlier seasons; in their place, a brooding atmosphere and a constant sense of dread took hold. 
====== Seasons & Timeslots (The WB; original run) ======
* Season 1 - 17 (September 12, 1997 - March 27, 1998) [Timeslot: Friday 9:00 p.m. E.T.]
* Season 2 - 22 (September 25, 1998 - April 2, 1999) [Timeslot: Friday 9:00 p.m. E.T.]
* Season 3 - 22 (September 17, 1999 - April 21, 2000) [Timeslot: Friday 9:00 p.m. E.T.]
* Season 4 - 22 (September 29, 2000 - May 18, 2001) [Timeslot: Friday 9:00 p.m. E.T.]
===== Seasons & Timeslots (HBO; revived run) =====
* Season 5 - 22 (October 22, 2001 - March 18, 2002) [Timeslot: Monday 8:00 p.m. E.T.]
* Season 6 - 22 (October 14, 2002 - March 10, 2003) [Timeslot: Monday 8:00 p.m. E.T.]
* Season 7 - 14 (April 9 - July 16, 2004) [Timeslot: Friday 9:00 p.m. E.T.]
* Season 8 - 12 (June 18 - September 24, 2005) [Timeslot: Saturday 7:00 p.m. E.T]
* Season 9 - 14 (June 24 - September 23, 2006) [Timeslot: Saturday 7:00 p.m. E.T]
* Season 10 - 16 (May 5 - August 25, 2007) [Timeslot: Saturday 7:00 p.m. E.T.]
==== Executive producers ====
Throughout the show's entire run, Vince Gilligan was credited as executive producer and for the first three seasons (1997-2000), he was also the showrunner, supervising the writing and all aspects of production. Additionally, Gabe Newell and Marc Laidlaw were credited as executive producers and were involved creatively for the first two seasons, then after Ten Thirteen departed from the project, Newell and Laidlaw returned alongside Star Trek veteran Ronald D. Moore. 
==== Writing ====
For seasons 1-4, the scriptwriting was done by Ten Thirteen Productions, while the writing for seasons 5-10 was done by Black Mesa Productions, a production company founded by Marc Laidlaw. The writers with the most writing credits are Vince Gilligan, Chris Carter, Sarah Schechter, Robert Hewitt Wolfe, Ann Donahue, Robert Singer, Marc Laidlaw, Brad Falchuk, Jeff Pinkner, Alan Ball, Marti Noxon and Glen Morgan. 
==== Format ====
As with most shows, Half-Life is told in a serialized format with season-long storylines including a mythology arc. The overarching story, which spans events as early as the 1990s, is built around a government conspiracy to hide the truth about alien existence and Black Mesa's connections with The Combine. Through the last three seasons, the show's storyarc mainly centered on the battle between Gordon Freeman and Aperture Science.
==== Music ====
Half-Life's theme song was an instrumental version of "Haunting Me" by Stabbing Westward throughout the series' first four seasons. Star Trek composer Dennis McCarthy was the show's lead composer for the first two seasons, before Jay Chattaway took his place for the third and fourth seasons.
One of the many changes HBO requested also in 2001 was a pulse-pounding soundtrack and an updated theme song for the reminder of the series, therefore Black Mesa Productions offered both Walter Murphy and Christophe Beck to compose for Seasons 5-10. 
The show's individual episode titles are named after songs featured in the episodes, usually heard during the closing credits and each episode. 
==== Cancellation ====
Originally, Gilligan and many members of the crew during production of the fourth season felt that the show had entered into its final season, and that the story arcs from its first three seasons were ended including the "Resonance Cascade" arc, resulting in a cliffhanger ending of Freeman entering into stasis after accepting G-Man's request.
The WB was not ready to let the show go. The network approached Ten Thirteen Productions, the production company that had been responsible for the show's first four seasons, about the possibility of returning for a fifth season. Ten Thirteen, however, was concerned about the possibility of cancellation and declined the network's offer resulting in departing from the series and the development deal.
As a result of this, on February 7th, 2001, the WB Network announced that Half-Life had been canceled. The news of the cancellation was met with disappointment from fans, who had grown to love the show's complex characters, intricate storylines, and exploration of the Half-Life universe. The cancellation brought protests by fans—at The WB Network and Twentieth Century Fox's headquarters. 
Fan reaction at the time was to organize letter-writing campaigns, online petitions, blood and food drives, advertisements in trade magazines and via mobile billboards, and attempts to lobby other networks (FX, Sci-Fi Channel, CBS, NBC). Thanks to the attention generated by the fan campaign, by the following April, it was announced that HBO picked up the series for an additional six seasons, with the eighth season premiering on October 22nd, 2001. By the time pre-production started for the fifth season, a new production company Black Mesa Productions led by Marc Laidlaw was offered to oversee the show's final three seasons. However, as part of an agreement, HBO requested the show to go on some major changes. The network wanted the show to be more action-oriented and to feature a new cast of characters with a new showrunner Robert Hewitt Wolfe. Black Mesa Productions agreed to these changes and began developing a new storyline for the show resulting in the Aperture Science story-arc. 
Several factors contributed to Half-Life's original cancellation. The WB Network was undergoing a period of change, and the show's ratings had been declining in its later seasons. Additionally, the network's focus was shifting away from science fiction programming, and Half-Life was no longer seen as a fit for the network's new direction. 
== Cast and characters ==
==== Starring ====
* Eric McCormack as Dr. Gordon Freeman, physicist at Black Mesa.
* Fairuza Balk as Dr. Alyx Vance, physicist at Black Mesa who is Freeman's colleague and lover.
* Ron Perlman as The Architect (recurring season 8; main seasons 9-10); inter-dimensional alien shapeshifter from Xen. 
*
* Colin Cunningham as Barney Calhoun (seasons 1-7), security guard at Black Mesa.
* Terry O'Quinn as Dr. Issac Kleiner (seasons 1-4), scientist at Black Mesa.
* Laura Prepon as Caroline (seasons 5-7), assistant to Aperture Science CEO, Cave Johnson who later has her conscious transferred to a artificial intelligence machine GLaDOS.
* William Devane as Dr. Richard Keller (seasons 6-7); former Black Mesa scientist.
* Patrick Gilmore as Mark Rosenberg (seasons 5-6), former Black Mesa scientist.
* Michelle Trachtenberg as Chell (recurring season 5; main seasons 6-7); a Aperture Science Test Subject / super solider created by Cave Johnson as Aperture Science's first genetically enhanced human who later works with Freeman, Vance and the others.
* Robert Picardo as Dr. Walter Bennet (season 6-7); former Black Mesa scientist.
* Peter Weller as Cave Johnson (seasons 5-7), CEO of Aperture Science.
==== Supporting / recurring cast ====
* William B. Davis as G-Man (guest seasons 1-2 and 8; recurring seasons 3-4); a sinister inter-dimensional bureaucrat with ties to The Employers.
* David James Elliott as The Caretaker (seasons 5-6); a empath that can hear voices and see visions of those in need.
* Ron Rifkin as Dr. Wallace Breen (seasons 1-2); former administrator at Black Mesa who later becomes connected with The Combine.
*
* Anna Gunn as Judith Mossman (seasons 1-3); scientist working with Eli Vance who is revealed to be a triple agent.
* Brent Spiner as Arne Magnusson (season 5; guest seasons 6-7); leader of White Forest who seeks an rebellion against Aperture Science.
* Brad Dourif as Grigori (guest season 2; recurring season 3); the only surviving occupant of Ravenholm.
* Cristin Milioti as Colette Green (season 7); former Black Mesa scientist.
* Jennifer Love Hewitt as Gina Cross (season 7); former Black Mesa scientist.
* Brian Krause as Adrian Shepherd (recurring season 5; guest seasons 6-7); a US Marine Corporal.
* Stephen Merchant as Wheatley (recurring seasons 5-7); a former Aperture Science Personality Construct now a human.
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