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How Mike Judge and Co. Are Turning "Silicon Valley" Into the Next "Spinal Tap"

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Re: How Mike Judge and Co. Are Turning "Silicon Valley" Into the Next "Spinal Tap"

#51

Post by toby »

k-mcgrady wrote: post #42
toby wrote: post #22

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm glad I'm not the only one. I was really excited about this show (big fan of Mike Judge in general) but it feels like what someone would think SV was like if they based their entire impression on Techcrunch articles and 80s nerd / guru tropes.

>> "it feels like what someone would think SV was like if they based their entire impression on Techcrunch articles and 80s nerd / guru tropes." It's not a documentary. The aim is to make people laugh while not straying too far from reality that it's completely unbelievable. I think they achieved that. Personally I didn't think I'd enjoy it at all but I found it kind of funny and will probably return for ep 2.

Fair enough, I guess I was hoping for the satire to be a bit more original. It was just the first episode though so I have some faith that there will be some more subtle humor as well later on.

Re: How Mike Judge and Co. Are Turning "Silicon Valley" Into the Next "Spinal Tap"

#52

Post by subpixel »

cjf4 wrote: post #24
sharkweek wrote: post #8

I love the concept and I thought a lot of the jokes were pretty funny but... I'm not sure how they'll keep it funny over more than a few seasons, seems kind of like a one trick pony (and maybe that's just fine). I trust Mike Judge, so I'll likely keep watching, but what made King of the Hill so magical was how he was able to show our changing world through the eyes of a simple propane and propane accessories salesman…

It's all about characters. If they're able to create an audience connection with characters, the show will be long lasting. Entourage (this show's closest comparison) had some pretty stupid episodes (the last season in particular was awful), but I stuck through it all because I liked Ari and Drama.

I agree completely. If The Office and Parks & Rec had you laughing at the paper business, or town governance, they'd both be done after two episodes. But they give you nuanced characters that you laugh at and care about at the same time.

That said, I do wish Adam Scott were in this show - he'd be pretty great (esp. if you saw him in Party Down, where he played a character trapped in the catering industry).

Re: How Mike Judge and Co. Are Turning "Silicon Valley" Into the Next "Spinal Tap"

#53

Post by diminoten »

dailyrorschach wrote: post #44
CGudapati wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Region restricted. Yet they wonder why people pirate content.

They don’t, HBO is acutely aware of the motivations of pirated content, and even more aware of the challenges they’d face being a stand-alone provider. Not trying to single your comment out but I see this sentiment all the time with HBO. They’ve obviously done the math and concluded that at this point they make the most money by subscription fees to cable providers, DVD and Online sales, then they would - if they sta…

It's huge risk mitigation. If they're a stand-alone provider, and one of their shows doesn't draw in the viewership it needs to, they immediately feel that.

But since they've got all this "free" money coming in through deals with various providers, there isn't an as immediate effect.

Re: How Mike Judge and Co. Are Turning "Silicon Valley" Into the Next "Spinal Tap"

#54

Post by sehr »

jff wrote: post #40
drakaal wrote: post #28

Sarah Austin, (from the bravo Silicon Valley reality series) is my CPO. She is very aware that the way "TV" wants to portray Silicon Valley and the way it really is are very different. Founders don't typically drive McLaren's and live in a multi-room suite at the Four Seasons. It is much more typical to do what she does now, crash at AirBnB as she bounces between cities for meetings, and working 10 hours at the offic…

I haven't watched the show yet but I hope they manage to accurately capture this sort of continual shameless self-promotion.

The clinic scene seemed to do a decent job of it!

Re: How Mike Judge and Co. Are Turning "Silicon Valley" Into the Next "Spinal Tap"

#55

Post by nobodysfool »

dodders wrote: post #11

The idea of lossless compression in a smaller file size than anything else on the market spoiled the entire show for me. Call me picky, but...

I haven't watched the show, but wasn't BWT a lossless compression with a smaller file size than anything else on the market? Or are they talking about comparing lossless to lossy?

Re: How Mike Judge and Co. Are Turning "Silicon Valley" Into the Next "Spinal Tap"

#56

Post by isbadawi »

area51org wrote: post #19

When you have billionaires in Silicon Valley comparing the 1 percent to Jews during the Holocaust, and all that shit… So I haven't seen it yet, and I do plan to watch the first episode. But quotes like this — from one of the producers — make me not want to bother. Yes, this quote is justified, because SV is full of billionaires like Tom Perkins, and not struggling, creative people just trying to get by. The reason I'…

It's funny that you use "make the world a better place" -- that's one of the specific phrases (and attitudes) the show makes fun of.

"We're making the world a better place. By constructing elegant hierarchies for maximum code reuse and extensibility."

"Making the world a better place. Through minimal message-oriented transport layers."

Re: How Mike Judge and Co. Are Turning "Silicon Valley" Into the Next "Spinal Tap"

#57

Post by achompas »

toby wrote: post #37
atonse wrote: post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I was chuckling a lot and telling my wife "I feel like I'm watching parts of Hacker News and Techcrunch come to life" It's satire but doesn't seem too exaggerated (unfortunately?). My favorite was the marketing bicycle meeting. It seems like it would be such a silicon valley type thing.

Those bikes do exist, but they're more of a Burning Man thing. I don't think anyone actually has meetings on them.

I wish you were right. :(

http://www.pcmag.com/slideshow_viewer/0,3253,l=238614&a=2386...

Re: How Mike Judge and Co. Are Turning "Silicon Valley" Into the Next "Spinal Tap"

#59

Post by debt »

sharkweek wrote: post #8

I love the concept and I thought a lot of the jokes were pretty funny but... I'm not sure how they'll keep it funny over more than a few seasons, seems kind of like a one trick pony (and maybe that's just fine). I trust Mike Judge, so I'll likely keep watching, but what made King of the Hill so magical was how he was able to show our changing world through the eyes of a simple propane and propane accessories salesman…

I think it'll last quite a bit. So many absurd things happen so quickly out here, I feel he'll have plenty of things to satirize. There'll be an endless supply of fodder for Judge.

Re: How Mike Judge and Co. Are Turning "Silicon Valley" Into the Next "Spinal Tap"

#60

Post by kungfooguru »

area51org wrote: post #19

When you have billionaires in Silicon Valley comparing the 1 percent to Jews during the Holocaust, and all that shit… So I haven't seen it yet, and I do plan to watch the first episode. But quotes like this — from one of the producers — make me not want to bother. Yes, this quote is justified, because SV is full of billionaires like Tom Perkins, and not struggling, creative people just trying to get by. The reason I'…

1) They aren't making the world a better place.

2) SV is full of assholes.

3) The show is hilarious.

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