Silicon Valley

     A sign of a good serialized tv show is that the premise is not what the show is about. Silicon Valley on HBO, as one can imagine, is about a small start up in California's technology cradle. The show follows Richard, played by Thomas Middleditch, a geeky and soft spoken programmer who has developed an algorithm that compresses files at an alarming rate. With his programming friends Richard develops this company, Pied Piper, 

     Silicon Valley is set in the world of technology but it's about finding confidence and reaching success. Richard has to balance working with his high strung, out of touch boss Peter Gregory and his competitor Gavin Belson of Huli. Belson being a thin caricature of Steve Jobs and Huli being an amalgam of Google and Apple.   

    The main cast is mostly comprised of comedians in acting roles. They truly do a great job, the show is ridiculous but not slapstick. Points of tension arise because of characters desires rather than whacky antics. People familiar with comedy will recognize Middleditch and costars Kumail Nanjiani, and TJ Miller as up and coming stand ups. It's only fitting they get their first major acting roles as start ups.

     The production quality is high and showrunner Mike Judge, of Office Space fame, has said it's based off his own experience in Silicon Valley in the late 80s. The series is funny and entertaining and is everything you would want from a situational comedy. Plus it has the best dick joke in the history of television.

     Check it out.

American: The Bill Hicks Story

This week I watched American: The Bill Hicks Story for the first time. Several friends had been recommending it to me for a few weeks so one night before I went to bed I pulled it up on netflix and watched it. Coming from a background of limited knowledge about Bill Hicks I was excited to learn about the man who was referred to as the finest comedian America ever produced. The thing about this documentary that stood out to me the most was not the story, which was amazing, but the visual style. All of the narration is done over animated pictures of Bill and his friends throughout their lives. You don't even see the people talking until the end of the doc. Bill HIcks The visual style is stunning and draws you into the mesmerizing story. You feel like you know who Bill Hicks was as a person by the end of this doc. I would highly recommend this to anyone who is a fan of animation or comedy.