What to make of 'Silicon Valley'


“These guys built a mediocre piece of software that might be worth something someday, and now they live here. Money’s flying all over Silicon Valley, so how come none of it ever hits us?” — Richard, "Silicon Valley"

It would be hard to find a better spot to launch your show on HBO than the one "Silicon Valley" got this spring. It was sandwiched between "Game of Thrones" — one of the most popular shows on TV and the highest rated show on HBO — and "VEEP" — HBO's critically acclaimed, and best, comedy. That's the plum spot that "Silicon Valley" — the show about nerds trying to launch a computer start up from Mike Judge — landed.

I was amused by the pilot, and I wanted to see where the show would go. "Silicon Valley" wrapped up its first, eight-episode season, on Sunday. Now it's time to see what we've got as we think about where this might go in its already ordered second season.

That leads me to the good, the bad, and the unknown.

The Good:
* "Silicon Valley" has a good cast that seems to work well with each other. And the central characters are, for the most part, likable. That's a key to stick around for this journey.
* There is an affable tone to this show. The characters feel like they've settled into defined roles, and each episode has been amusing. It feels like there is plenty of room to grow here.

The Bad:
* Where is this show going? After eight episodes and a complete first season, I'm still not sure what the point is. What are we doing with Matt Ross' character? Are we supposed to be rooting for Pied Piper? What's the point?
* Where are the ladies? There was, really, only one female character — Amanda Crew — and she not only wasn't in every episode, she wasn't given a lot to do. It might be time to expand the world just a bit.

The Unknown:
* One of the best parts of the first season was Peter Gregory, played by Christopher Evan Welch. It wasn't just his superb delivery, but the way he brought the character to life. In one episode, when Peter is musing about the popularity of Burger King, I was totally sold. Sadly, Welch passed away in the middle of filming the first season. I think the back half of the season suffered for it, and it leaves a big hole going forward. How does "Silicon Valley" deal with an important character that's not there, or worse that gets re-cast.

Overall, I thought "Silicon Valley" had an enjoyable first season, and I can't wait to see what they do when they come back.

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