New on DVD: 'Halt and Catch Fire,' 'Masters of Sex'

The chemistry crackles among Scoot McNairy, Mackenzie Davis, and Lee Pace, the three stars of AMC's Halt and Catch Fire, a quirky drama set during the early years of the home-computer revolution.

Halt generated disappointing ratings in its debut season, but AMC    has stood by its drama and ordered a second season, which will debut May 31. Catch up with the first season on disc and digital download.

It's 1983. Two years have passed since IBM changed the world forever with the introduction of its personal computer. The market is controlled by corporate giants who set the agenda and the high prices.

Halt follows the travails of a visionary former IBM exec who strikes out on his own. He recruits a neurotic engineer (McNairy) and a very young prodigy (Davis), who can write code like there's no tomorrow.

The trio set out to do the unthinkable: To reverse-engineer IBM's operating system and use it to create a new line of affordable PCs. (www.anchorbayentertainment.com; $49.98 DVD; $59.99 Blu-ray)

Silicon Valley: Season 1. Beavis and Butt-head creator Mike Judge takes on the tech world in this HBO sitcom about six young geniuses who found a start-up company in Silicon Valley to develop a revolutionary thingamabob (a data-compression algorithm) they've created. (www.hbo.com; $39.98 DVD; $49.99)

The Legacy ("Arvingerne"). How do all these new Scandinavian imports manage so thoroughly to haunt viewers' imagination? We blame Stieg Larsson for getting us all hooked on the stuff. The latest entry in the genre is a stunning 10-episode Danish offering about a world-famous artist who is virtually on her deathbed when she finally tracks down the daughter she gave away as a baby two decades earlier. Left with more questions than answers after her mother's death, the young woman must navigate an entirely new world and deal with the three strangers who happen to be her siblings. (shop.mhznetworks.org; $49.95)

Sons of Liberty. Due May 26, this 270-minute mini-series about the early days of the American Revolution isn't the most accurate (star Ben Barnes' sexy Sam Adams is a good 20 years younger than the real Sam). But it's fun. (www.lionsgateshop.com; $26.98 DVD; $29.99 Blu-ray)

Masters of Sex: Season 2. Michael Sheen and Lizzy Caplan sizzle as sex scholars and lovers Masters and Johnson in Showtime's fact-based historical drama. (www.sonypictures.com; $55.99 DVD: $65.99 Blu-ray)

Covert Affairs: Season 5. Piper Perabo returns for the final season of USA Network's exciting and witty drama about a young, hot CIA officer who speaks about 19,000 languages and develops a remarkably deep relationship with her handler, a recently blinded former Special Forces he-man (Christopher Gorham). Sad to see this one go! (www.universalstudiosentertainment.com/; $39.98)

Orange is the New Black: Season 2. Due May 19 from Lionsgate, Netflix's remarkable adaptation of Piper Kerman's memoirs offers the most enjoyable way to experience life in a low-security women's prison. (www.lionsgateshop.com; $39.98 DVD; $39.97 Blu-ray)

The Mentalist: Season 7. Simon Baker, who was born on the Australian island of Tasmania (now, how cool is that?) is brilliant, funny, irritating, insufferable, and lovable all at the same time as a genius con-man-turned-crimefighter in this wonderful, breezy drama from Rome creator Bruno Heller. Costars Robin Tunney. Savor the final season. (www.wbshop.com; $39.98)

Unforgettable: Season 3. She retains with crystal clarity anything she's ever seen, heard, smelled, tasted, and so on. She's played by Poppy Montgomery and she catches killers. (www.paramount.com/movies/home-media; $59.99)