Silicon Valley’s eight episode pilot run has come to an end. Did Richard and the Pied Piper Co have a happy ending at the end of the Tech Crunch event?

The Pied Piper Co.

I was late to the party when it came to Silicon Valley’s original premiere, in fact I was so late that I ended up marathoning all seven previous episodes a week ago in preparation for the season finale that aired last night. As a Mike Judge fan, I have to admit that I felt pretty ignorant for being so stubborn with Silicon Valley the last few week. I honestly didn’t know what to expect when I decided on finally jumping in, but from the two weeks or so it took me to watch the first season in it’s entirety I have to say that it was some damn good TV.

BK swag!

THE GOOD: From King of the Hill to Daria to Office Space Mike Judge has always been able to show a unique form of comedy using real life as the plot point. His ability to blend comedy into a real life situation always appealed to me, because life actually can be horrible and funny at the same time. With Silicon Valley this use of situational comedy was no different, but this time Judge wasn’t telling the story of an awkward teenage girl or a bunch of Rednecks who refuse to refer to themselves as such. This time Judge was telling a story based on a real time period in his life, when he lived in Silicon Valley as an engineer.

Richard with best friend Bighead.

Silicon Valley tells the story of Richard Hendricks, a former Hooli employee who is looking to create his own start up. This start up is similar to that of Dropbox where it compresses files into a smaller size, but looks to take use of compressing videos and other file formats. Richard began the start up as a music program that could search, download, and compress music files as well as letting a music artist know if their songs had been infringed upon through copyright issues. However due to the algorithm that ?Richard built from the ground up Piped Piper becomes something incomprehensible to the tech world.

New Pied Piper backer Peter Gregory.

Season one provided us with some funny moments. From Richard’s crazy panic attacks to Erlich’s off color behavior. From Martin Starr playing a satanist with a hot girlfriend to Pied Piper hiring an intern who barely speaks English. Unfortunately, actor Christopher Evan Welch passed away last December from lung cancer, however he completed filming of his scenes for his entire first season run. His character as Peter Gregory was quite a unique, giving the impression that he generally didn’t give a shit about, well everything. However, as the series progresses it becomes quite obvious that Peter is a genius certifying why he is a billionaire.

RIP Christopher Evan Welch.

In the end things seem to turn out ok for Richard and his colleagues, having bested his former employer at the Tech Crunch event. Now investors are coming in left and right to fund the new Pied Piper. And at the end of the season finale the pressures of fame were already getting into Richard’s head before it truly even began. With season two coming sometime this year or next, it’ll be interesting to see how this new found fame will effect the characters’ personalities going forward.

Piped Piper co at a Greek themed party, that featured Flo-Rida.

THE BAD: It’s a Mike Judge comedy, so like King of the Hill before it not everyone will be able to appreciate the form of situational comedy.

Richard hard at work.

OVERALL THOUGHTS: Mike Judge may have created something really special here with Silicon Valley. The form of situational comedy combined with realism is similar in vein to his previous series. Though only eight episode long, season one will be in the hearts of many Mike Judge fans, likewise those who never really understood or cared for Judge’s comedy will likely find nothing to enjoy here. Season one provided us with a satisfying ending, and with season two on the way I’m looking forward to see what comes of Richard and the rest of Piped Piper. Otaku Dome gives Silicon Valley season one a 90 out of 100.