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Silicon Valley, Ep. 3.05: Richard Struggles to Fill “The Empty Chair”

Silicon Valley, Season 3, Episode 5: “The Empty Chair” Written by Megan Amram Directed by Eric Appel Airs Sunday at 10pm on HBO As funny as Silicon Valley can be, it’s rarely a good times show; Richard Hendricks requires a minimum level of crisis in order to reach peak nervous mania, and the show’s writing is …

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Silicon Valley, Ep. 3.04: Richard Starts to Lead in “Maleant Data Systems Solutions”

Silicon Valley, Season 3, Episode 3: “Maleant Data Systems Solutions” Written by Donick Cary Directed by Charlie McDowell Airs Sundays at 10pm on HBO At the end of last week’s very funny but somewhat stuffed episode, Richard’s plan to circumvent Jack’s wishes had been discovered and he was in danger of being fired for his …

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Silicon Valley, Ep. 3.03: The Pied Piper Crew Slow Down the Momentum in “Meinertzhagen’s Haversack”

Silicon Valley, Season 3, Episode 3: “Meinertzhagen’s Haversack” Written by Adam Countee Directed by Charlie McDowell Airs Sundays at 10pm on HBO The end of last week’s episode of Silicon Valley was the biggest blow to Richard’s original Pied Piper vision yet; the new CEO Barker had gone all in on the presumably misguided advice of …

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Silicon Valley, Ep. 3.01/3.02: Pied Piper Returns Just as Strong

Silicon Valley, Season 3, Episode 1: “Founder Friendly” Written by Dan O’Keefe Directed by Mike Judge Silicon Valley, Season 3, Episode 2: “Two in the Box” Written by Ron Weiner Directed by Mike Judge Airs Sundays at 10pm on HBO The great success of Mike Judge’s Silicon Valley has been how effortlessly it manages to mock the …

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Silicon Valley, Ep 2.09: “Binding Arbitration” thrives without all the clutter

One day, someone is going to have to write a small episode recap of “Binding Arbitration” for the info card on a cable network, and it is going to read “On this episode, Richard tells the truth, and Jared may have killed a guy.”

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Silicon Valley, Ep. 2.06, “Homicide” highlights the show’s talent with details

Justice is nice and all but it’s not really dramatic. Want audiences really want is poetic justice, that sense that the justice we’re seeing given out has a twinge of retribution to it as well. It’s no fun to watch someone lose out on an opportunity because they don’t deserve it, it’s a blast to watch someone lose out on an opportunity because they don’t deserve it AND because they messed up in such a way that directly led to their losing of said opportunity. Sure, Gavin Belson is an ass and it’s good TV to watch Nucleus sputter and freeze during its big soft opening of a livestream, but Nucleus’ great public plunder is so entertaining because Gavin Belson is directly responsible, through the firing of Richard and surrounding himself with sycophants, for the Nucleus streamers missing the UFC finishing move of the century.

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Silicon Valley, Ep. 2.05, “Server Space” shows how pride drives the show

Silicon Valley is a show about pride. Even with all its expertly dumb gags like the aforementioned monkey spanking the monkey and Richard paranoid that his night sweats are going to turn into bed wetting, the show is following through with this idea that pride is the main motivator for the movers and shakers within Silicon Valley the place. At Hooli, that pride is causing Gavin Belson to give not two shits about one of the brightest minds in the world who has come to work for his company in favor of putting all of his effort into a guy who spends valuable resources making a giant potato cannon that may have to power to kill. For Belson, losing the compression race to Pied Piper, a company started by a guy he used to employ, will be the ultimate blow to his ego and so he, being made entirely of ego and juice cleanses, will stop at nothing in order to prevent that shameful loss. And fear of shame seems to be something of a corporate culture at Hooli, as Belson’s drones working on Nucleus are too afraid to tell their superior how incredibly behind schedule they are.

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Silicon Valley, Ep. 2.01-2.02, “Sand Hill Shuffle” & “Runaway Devaluation” sets up the new status quo

The second season of a show, if it is lucky enough to get one, is its most important. Season two is where the writers, producers, and cast have a chance to build up what works and cut the fat. Silicon Valley’s first season brought the show to a place prime for second season rejiggering, with an established world and tone, cracker jack dialogue, and performances both subtle and grandiose. But the unfortunate death of Christopher Evan Welch, who played the angel investor for the show’s startup, gave Mike Judge and Co. the added challenge of having to move forward without one of its key actors and narrative tools.

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Extract

Extract Directed by Mike Judge As both a cult hero and a criminally under-beloved comedic auteur, Mike Judge has had an interesting career.  Both Beavis and Butt-head and King of the Hill have secured an incredibly loyal fanbase, with the latter managing to air for 13 seasons on Fox despite being endlessly clever and funny. …

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