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 aired on The WB from September 12, 1997, to May 21, 2004. During its original run, the program spanned seven seasons, with 149 episodes, in addition to a 2005 feature film aimed to wrap up the series after its unexpected cancellation.

The series revolves around Black Mesa physicists Gordon Freeman (Eric McCormack) and Alyx Vance (Fairuza Balk), as they 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 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 2004. 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, a feature film was announced the following year.

Seasons 1-4 (Resonance Cascade)
The series begins with Gordon Freeman, a young physicist working at the Black Mesa Research Facility, 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 series progresses, 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)
The final three seasons of the Half-Life series 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.

Development
On August 24th, 1996, 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."

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, the studio behind acclaimed sci-fi dramas The X-Files and Millennium. 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 5-7.

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 5-7 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 1970s, is built around a government conspiracy to hide the truth about alien existence and Black Mesa's connections with The Combine.

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.

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 by The WB. However, they would only renew the show if it underwent 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.

On February 7th, 2004, 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 November 2004, it was announced that a 2-hour film to wrap up the series was in development titled Half-Life: Nemesis which was released on June 24th, 2005.

Several factors contributed to Half-Life's 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.

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.
 * Colin Cunningham as Barney Calhoun, security guard at Black Mesa.
 * Terry O'Quinn as Dr. Issac Kleiner (seasons 1-4), scientist at Black Mesa.
 * Laura Prepon as Caroline / GLaDOS (seasons 5-7), assistant to Aperture Science CEO, Cave Johnson.
 * Patrick Gilmore as Mark Rosenberg (seasons 5-7), former scientist at Black Mesa.
 * 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.
 * 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; 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.
 * Brad Dourif as Grigori (guest season 2; recurring season 3); the only surviving occupant of Ravenholm.
 * 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.
 * Stephen Merchant as Wheatley (recurring seasons 5-7); a former Aperture Science Personality Construct now a human.