JH Lillevik

In the last few years, being a bit nerdy has become more and more trendy. Smart is the new sexy. People like Chuck Lorre has tried to cash in on this trend with shows like The Big Bang Theory and I don’t think there is anything wrong with that, but it is still a little flat and it still has a lot, and I mean a LOT, of stereotypes. The smart, but social awkward nerds with interests in comics and with no chance with women, are really popular.

Don’t get me wrong. I do not mind these comedies. Hell, I love Revenge of The Nerds, so I actually like The Big Bang Theory. But it has now been passed by the brilliant new show Silicon Valley.

Silicon Valley follows a group of inhabitants of the technology Mecca in California, five good friends, who spend their days developing apps, websites and programs. Richard Hendrix is an unassuming website designer who is building a website called Pied Piper. He does not think it is worth anything and he is afraid that Erlich, the leader of the house he is living in (Erlich calls it his incubator), will kick him out because it will not contribute anything to his community. By day Richard and his friend, Big Head, works at Hooli, a cult-like technology company, which could be the Apple of our universe. One day he shares his site with some of the programmers in the company and then his journey begins.

It is developed by Mike Judge, who made the brilliant Beavis and Butt-Head and Office Space. I love this show. It is intelligently written. The characters are deep and varied. It gives a realistic image of the technology world and its inhabitants. I hope the pilot is a good indicator of where the rest of the show is going. Erlich is brilliant character and Richard is someone I can see being a really great character as he grows. Anyway I can see this being my new favorite comedy show.