Silicon Valley (HBO comedy)

That makes sense. If Richard DID remember he used a Hooli computer, and was just taking the high road, that makes the most sense.

By the way, "I am not a lawyer."

 

But I don't think he does remember. Didn't he say as much when Guilfoyle brought up the "girlfriend" stuff the night before? I don't think his admission is a solid recollection that he did, just that he feels he must have. I'll have to watch it again

 

Good stuff and some great character moments. However, it's a little sloppy that the team keeps undermining their own position, like with Richard continuing to feed Seth information and Bachman blurting out critical information. You want to root for team Piper, but then they do this kind of stuff and it makes you feel "well it's your own damned fault"!

 

What's very funny is that this entire episode kind of replayed the whole "Lost iPhone 4" incident with Gizmodo back in 2010, where a slightly tipsy Apple engineer left behind a prototype in a Silicon Valley bar, and a tech reporter eventually got hold of it. Apple went nuts, actually sending police to break the guy's door down and trash his apartment while trying to get it.

Clearly, they're setting up a great final episode given that soon, many thousands of people will be watching the injured museum camera technician at the bottom of the cliff. And let's not forget that Hooli doesn't have a working streaming/compression engine.

The stuff with the lawyer/attorney had me on the floor. Man, that guy's a good actor, just sharp as a tack in the courtroom scenes. I love this show, but I get that it's too technical, strange, and inside for a lot of people.

 

The way I remember it is once the lawyer brings up the 3-day window where the computer was in the shop, Richard seems to have one of those "oh crap, I forgot about those 3 days" moments. Then later on the stand he seems to be pretty specific when detailing exactly what he did during that time. To me, that suggested that he did remember using the Hooli computer. Truthfully, it only matters as a plot point if they return to it in the next episode.

 

Maybe it'll turn out that Hooli lease their computers, but hadn't paid the bill covering the period Richard was using the computer. Or the actual computer Richard had on his desk turned out to be a stolen one. Or something.

 

If Richard did the test during Hooli worktime, then the compression algorithm would still be Hooli IP. It's not really about the provenance of the gear that was used.

Glad I can comment about this -- and not complain about the mass deletion of files over FTP and system lockout from a bottle of bespoke tequilla in last week's episode. Now that was a little far-fetched.

Although 'it's just TV', Silicon Valley is one of the few shows I watch. Does anyone know if it's coming back in the fall?

 

I was dying from laughter when Erlich was on the stand...

Only 1 show left this season....

It will probably be back next spring. HBO doesn't do fall/spring shows.

 

Thanks, it was a knee-jerk statement baked into my brain. Way back when, 'back in the fall' was the term.

Looks like I have an answer: http://hbowatch.com/silicon-valley-season-3-is-confirmed/

 

Well year two is done and they do not have a marketable item..just some theory. Story/plot (!) sorta chugs around in circles. Is this the techie gag??

 

Well, the great Pied Piper compression algorithm was seen working in the last episode (even Laurie (the venture capitalist character) commented on the quality of the stream), so I'd say it moved from the MacGuffin stage to an actual plot device in the last few episodes.

So does it remain a techie gag? Only sort of. There are any number of tech company start-ups built on a single idea -- maybe that single idea is just an 'evolution' from what exists out in the market already. As the series has progressed, the great algorithm that drives the plot seems to have multiple possible applications -- which sort of occurs in real life. It's entirely possible that the market application of that algorithm may morph when season three begins.

 

Wild turn of events there at the end.

Another solid season of laughs.

 

Dang, that was a short season.

 

My son showed me a clip of the actor who plays Richard (the geeky genius CEO) on a talk show. I think it was Conan.

His real life personality seemed even nerdier than his character.

He was talking about a strange game called "Hey Fred Schneider" where you imitate the male singer from the B-52's


I don't think anyone in the audience had a CLUE who he was talking about - LOL

 

Funniest moment for me this season has been the guy complaining that he's "only a 986-ionair" and his anger about being forced to scale back to a car where the doors go left/right and not up/down.

Also his description of how he learned that he joined the three comma club, and his reaction to same.

Plus - everyone knows "ROI" isn't "Return on Investment"

 

Looks like we may have seen the last of him

 

Wow - that could be the ultimate party game. I want to see the rules -- right now.

 

I need to go find this on YouTube right now.

 

Really good interview with Mike Judge about this season and where the show may go in season 3.

http://www.ew.com/article/2015/06/12/silicon-valley-creator-mike-judge-season-2-finale

 

ALERT- Season 2 SPOILERS follow...

As a displaced Valley native and someone who works in tech, they just seem to get everything right, right down to the litigation. The "work for hire" stuff and developing things on company systems/time/etc. is super legit, to the point where I once declined to sign an agreement of that nature when I was presented with an engineering job (they ended up forgetting about it and there was never an issue). The idea that a big company gets so arrogant that their overly broad noncompetes render entire populations of employes' agreements invalid also strikes me as COMPLETELY plausible in the way it was presented.

The thing that impresses me so much is that it actually occurred to someone working on that show to put those things in in the manner that they did. With the exception of the first two episodes, which in hindsight were probably a little ponderous out of necessity, they just put me in stitches and keep me there. I need to do more SWOT analyses.

 

In the interview I linked above, Judge mentions that their writing is often pulled from real stories they find.

 

That doesn't surprise me at all because from personal experience, 99% of the scenarios do have a ring of truth about them (even if exaggerated for comedic effect). The Big Bang Theory is similar in that when they mention scientific papers or some esoteric research, it's always based on actual research papers and theories.

Loved the final episode, from the cavalier attitude towards the stranded dude's life threatening situation because the compression algorithm is actually doing a kicka** job, to Gilfoyle doing a Scotty-take (the engines canna take much more - I'll have to vent the plasma through the drywall), the oh-so realistic bickering about what's at fault, hardware or software, etc.

Also the ending decision about Richard's position I thought was entirely justified, as he was the cause of a lot of the problems that befell PP, despite his honorable intentions. He's a great coder, but not so much a company CEO. It'll be fun to see how this is addressed next season. Outstanding series.

 

So...anyone catch season 3 yet? Three eps in, it's been an exceptionally good start IMO. The show still combines a mix of realism, hyperbole and comedy in perfect proportion. Such a great show!

 

The ending of last night's episode had me in tears. I can't remember the last time I laughed so hard. I am loving this season so far.