Mackenzie Davis stars in “Halt & Catch Fire”

One of the greatest things about television is that it allows us to take a step out of our own reality and jump head-first into an alternative environment or era from the comfort of our own homes. Granted, this usually results in a few extremes -- we’re either back in medieval times, in an exaggerated present or in a distant future.

What we’ve yet to see is good television that describes the not-so-distant past of the '80s, when mankind was on the verge of the technology boom and, ultimately, the Internet. If this sounds like something that might pique your interest, you're in luck. AMC has this period covered when season 2 of "Halt & Catch Fire" premieres Sunday, May 31.

For those unfamiliar of its meaning, the show’s title shares a name with a computer command that, when input, would cease all productive operations on a computer. The "Catch Fire" part, well, that’s a bit of an inside joke by those who were well versed in technology at the time. No need for the fire extinguisher, folks.

Perhaps that’s the greatest thing about "Halt & Catch Fire." It sheds light on an industry and technological evolution that not many people are familiar with, let alone aware of. With the ubiquity of technology today, it’s hard to picture life without computers, but AMC does justice in not only identifying this evolution, but accurately portraying it. From the basic depiction of the 1980s' keen sense of style and “think big” mentality to the computer’s code and language, AMC has a winner on its hands.

Holding true to the definition of “Halt & Catch Fire,” we learned over the course of season 1 that the show’s three protagonists -- Joe MacMillan (Lee Pace, “Guardians of the Galaxy,” 2014), Gordon Clark (Scoot McNairy, “Argo,” 2012) and Cameron Howe (Mackenzie Davis, “What If,” 2013) -- have all had that very command executed on their own lives. Joe left an executive position at IBM, Gordon has lost all drive since his last project failed, and Cameron has dropped out of college.

But with each ending, there is a new beginning. Upon meeting Gordon, Joe envisions entering the PC race by reverse-engineering an IBM computer. In order to avoid legalities, he hires Cameron to engineer their new product, which will put them in the same category as IBM and the newly founded Macintosh. But with innovation comes competition. So much so that their masterpiece computer, the Giant, has become obsolete in mere months. Season 2 piggybacks on this failure by inserting the birth of arguably man's greatest feat: the Internet.

"Season 1 revolved around a centerpiece technology, personal computing and that watershed moment in tech history," said co-creator and executive producer Christopher Cantwell in a Q&A with AMC. "Season 2 starts out in March 1985 and deals with the rise of what will eventually become the Internet. This is when people are starting to explore what you can do with both a personal computer and a modem."

Lee Pace as seen in “Halt & Catch Fire”

What further adds to the show's authenticity is the producers ability to mirror today's age of technological innovation to that of the '80s. Now, we see startup after startup accumulate fame and riches, with each company special in their own right. However, none of this would have been possible without the Internet, which we'll see Cameron and her partner in crime, Gordon's wife Donna Clark (Kerry Bishé, "Argo" 2012), pioneering in their own startup company called Mutiny.

The unfortunate reality within the technology realm is that many perceive it as a male-dominated industry -- we're accustomed to seeing the Bill Gates and the Steve Jobs of the world. However, this couldn't be any more incorrect, as the show's producers conducted their own research and were pleasantly surprised at the correction of this ignorant assumption.

"As we were researching season 1, we came across a statistic we found astounding: per capita, more women were working in technology in the era of the show -- the '70s and the '80s -- than now," said Cantwell. "There were more women getting computer science degrees and computing engineering degrees back then than there are now."

Simply put, everything is happening in season 2. While the show isn't packed with generic action scenes and littered with over-the-top graphics and effects, the thrill of the ride is the journey and evolution of not only the technology, but the characters themselves.

So the next time you boot up your computer or check your email from your mobile device, remember: it's been roughly 30 years since personal computers came to be. Shortly thereafter, modems slowly crept into our homes. Now, we have devices in our pockets that are more powerful than your average computer from 10 years ago. The question is: what's next? To catch a glimpse of where it all began, tune into "Halt & Catch Fire" when its second season premieres Sunday, May 31, on AMC.