Silicon Valley Season 1: Blu Ray Review

Silicon Valley Season 1: Blu Ray Review

Rating: M
Released by HBO and Roadshow Home Ent

Focusing on a computer programmer in Silicon Valley, and skewering the likes of Google with its rip off company Hooli, this comedy series from HBO and directed by Mike Judge is perhaps one of the freshest surprises of 2015.

Thomas Middleditch channels his inner awkwardness as the Zuckerberg-type programmer Richard whose algorithm to compress files sparks a bidding war in the Valley and puts him on the map as a geek to watch out for.

Turning down millions and sticking with his mismatched and misfit crew of programmers who have their own social issues and working under the boorish been-there-already-done-it-lost-it boss Erlich (played with Emmy nominated brilliance by T J Miller),  Richard finds his company facing all kinds of problems as it squares up against the big players of the Valley.

Wisely choosing to go for smaller comedy moments rather than full-on eccentricity, Office Space's Judge's created a comedy that gets under your skin and demands you binge it all in one go. Funny, without being overtly OTT but occasionally being smart enough to use slapstick, Silicon Valley is a rare find, given that it's played on cable both here and abroad.

Clever without being alienating, funny without resorting to broadstroke stereotypes, it displays the smarts that you would want from a great legendary comedy.

It remains to be seen whether season 2 reaches the highs of the first, given the possibility of bringing in more characters, but as long as Judge retains that eye for his characters and character moments, Silicon Valley is the first must-see TV of the year.

Rating: