Mike Judge's "Silicon Valley" (HBO Show)

The hard scifi speech is all time

Stevie D: watch Party Down now; at its best it's better than Silicon Valley.

it's not hard sci-fi but I like it

It's mystifying that no one mentioned adventureland when speaking of latter day Martin starr roles, it's a really sweet sympathetic variation on the hardline nerd of party down / Silicon valley

I actually don't think his Party Down character is that similar to his Silicon Valley character - they have things in common but I think they're two distinct types.

This is madness!

[Blind Gossip] When a key cast member leaves a successful show, you have to ask what happened.

No, it’s not creative differences or scheduling difficulties or any other bulls*t you’ll probably hear. It may be hard to believe, but he’s actually more obnoxious than his character. He walked into contract negotiations making demands like he is the biggest star on the show, and he came out with nothing. The hate working with him so it was as good a time as any to can him.

Everybody will make it look like it was a mutual decision so everybody saves face. He does have other gigs lined up, so people probably won’t question it too hard.

On a side note, we hear that now producers have to figure out what to do with the actor whose character was the foil to the departing actor’s character. One possibility is to make him the key player in a real estate transaction that keeps the rest of the cast together.

that seems ... plausible

I hope Jian Yang gets better scenarios and the actor ends up being the breakout star of the show

holy shit I am watching this new one and I forgot how bro Haley Joel Osment is now

this show can survive any departure except middleditch tbh

although if zach woods leaves i will cry forever and then carry on watching it

yeah I don't really think this show is built on great characters or performances (apart from maybe Jared, a truly inspired character) and if they wanted they could trade most of them out.

had to watch the preview for next week several times just to savor Jared's incredible impression of a bro.

i loved tj miller's character though. very real personality

he's just the same grandiose motherfucker stereotype a bunch of other comedians use, even if he's good at it. imo erlich is only really funny when the script has him wistful or attached to some horrible idea, only to somehow break even or come out ahead

middleditch gets on my nerves and it's exactly the reaction the plot is going for, but I feel like they could plug in a number of similar neurotic genius types instead

nah this show will be bad after TJ miller leaves cuz sitcoms always decline after core cast members leave it's the law

reminder that trump illegally tried to build a bunch of his usual crap in cuba https://www.bloomberg.com/features/2016-donald-trump-golf-cuba/

Is he replacing TJ Miller as the incubator owner?

that'd be a twist

whoops I meant the above for the trump thread sorry folks

tj miller has an excellent gurgly delivery that i'll miss

a fraction of the amt i miss peter gregory tho, holy cow remember :( :( :(

he's just the same grandiose motherfucker stereotype a bunch of other comedians use, even if he's good at it. imo erlich is only really funny when the script has him wistful or attached to some horrible idea, only to somehow break even or come out ahead

middleditch gets on my nerves and it's exactly the reaction the plot is going for, but I feel like they could plug in a number of similar neurotic genius types instead

― mh, Monday, May 29, 2017 8:43 PM (yesterday) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

dont agree at all, it feels like a v specific type to me & hes pretty much always hilarious on the show imo

This series has been disappointing really, just treading the same ground as before. GREAT IDEA > GET INVESTOR > HUGE FUCKUP > OR IS IT AN OPPORTUNITY? > GREAT IDEA WHICH IS SUBSET OF PREVIOUS IDEA > GET INVESTOR... maybe it works as a micro-satire of the startup tech industry as a whole, how there are no new ideas and they're just going further and further down the same rabbit holes until they get lucky (which seems to be by dumping the whole vapourware concept on someone with deep pockets).

Some great moments (Jared and the car, Liz' description of sex with Richard - even if the sex itself felt stupid, "you're my best friend") but nothing to stand out as justifying a new season for me.

so are they going to have haley joel osment be their version of palmer luckey, complete with horrible political leanings

the whole endless cycle of implosions is actually something I like about the show- no matter what they end up reseting all the way back to zero

yeah it's an endless churn

Kind of like a sitcom.

"You fucked my wife."
"I fucked your wives."

It's a funny show, but it's really just a nerd "Entourage."

wow no way

*whispers* it's Office Space

I just meant the repetitive arc - group of indivisible guys with not a real care in the world, constantly on the verge of massive success, constantly failing, learning no lessons, paying no discernible price.

Obviously that we are dealing with doofuses and not douchebags makes "Silicon Valley" so much more endearing.

Jared sleeps on a cot in a garage

group of indivisible guys with not a real care in the world

idk this is just a weird reading imo

this show will be way better without Miller

Major difference (among many) between this and Entourage is that SV mocks its characters (oftentimes lovingly, but still) while Entourage treated them all like badassess (except Johnny Drama, maybe). Also everything always worked out in Entourage.

but maybe the last ep will be each of the SV guys getting onto their own private jets with their respective VCs idk

u should replace him, chaki

lol

dude everything always works out in this show too (see the deus ex machina that is haley joel osment coming out of no where) gimme a break.

Jared is not recognizably human. But he's a brilliant TV creation.

These guys are not hurting for cash, not unhappy, sit around the house working on stuff, occasionally meet girls, smoke pot, drink beer. They don't seem to be worried about bills or anything. Their biggest concern, even Martin Starr, seems to be hitching their wagon to something that will make them rich. That's been the goal of every season. I suppose Richard also wants some semblance of independence/integrity, but even he has always had tres commas on the mind. I mean, I enjoy this show a lot, and have really come around to it. But it's not a show I watch to track the characters' personal growth, overcoming challenges, etc. There has yet to be any real fallout from anything that has gone wrong save them not being filthy rich. Save Bighead, I guess, who had money and lost it all, but he seems like the only one who doesn't care about money. Or know what money is.

Is it an accurate portrayal of Silicon Valley? Maybe, but then, I think Entourage was probably a pretty accurate portrayal of that sort of Hollywood life, too. FWIW. I don't know if I ever saw more than a season or two of Entourage, but most of that show was about their collective humiliation, iirc, with the one famous fulcrum guy constantly failing up and bringing the others with him.

hmm yeah I don't disagree when you put it that way. they are p static in a sit-com-y way. They don't seem very happy-go-lucky, which was maybe me misinterpreting your comment about them "not having a care in the world" but that's because they are neurotic, not because they ever encounter serious problems (that then aren't conveniently solved w referenced deus ex machina tricks_)

Yeah, that's what I meant. They are neurotic and so probably can never be "happy," but they have the luxury of being neurotic because they keep getting bailed out and rescued despite it all.

The arcs of the two shows are about careers more than any other kind of growing up. And when the TJ Miller news came out, I thought it sounded like if Piven had left Entourage mid-series. Also the detail and specificity of industry in-jokes and references combined with broad comedy, and both have been pretty delicate in focusing on guys in a pack without slipping into misogyny.

see the deus ex machina that is haley joel osment coming out of no where

he sees VC people

dude everything always works out in this show too (see the deus ex machina that is haley joel osment coming out of no where) gimme a break.

for every do sex machina there's a corresponding twist that brings them back to square one

get on up

I don't think the arc of either show is about careers. Whether it's the actor guy and his buds or the SV nerds, they can always find work/careers. The arc seems to be about getting rich, which in both cases is a queasy thing to root for.