By Ethan Tan

Staff Writer

4 stars

After popular demand, Home Box Office (HBO) decided to renew its popular comedy “Silicon Valley” for a sixth season. Currently in the middle of its fifth season, the series brings a lot of the table with its creativity, humor, and the ability to shed light on the tech industry located in Silicon Valley.

“Silicon Valley” follows the journey of a new technology startup, Pied Piper, in the stages of creation, funding, promotion, and sustaining the company. The show is rather accurate in showing the “nasty” competition that is seen in the actual technology industry such as the fighting that occurs between two venture capital firms that want to invest in Pied Piper.

The accuracy that the the comedy brings to the table is refreshing to see. Comedic shows are usually not accurate with their storylines in order to attract viewers who would prefer not to see an accurate depiction over the fear of getting lost in the jargon and lingo, and thus not being able to comprehend the story.

Creator Mike Judge also keeps the story accurate by drawing inspiration for his show’s episodes from existing technology companies and the latest technology news. For example, Judge draws inspiration from companies like Apple and Google for Hooli, the show’s technology conglomerate, by mimicking their behavior and business philosophies. In addition, in light of the recent scandal with Facebook and Cambridge Analytica selling personal information of users, a recent episode was about data mining and collection and other illegal practices of companies in the industry.

After watching “Silicon Valley” for the past five seasons, I think it is safe to say that the show leaves a lot to be desired. The episodes, which are usually 30 minutes long, end with cliffhangers that do are not resolved until the rising action of the next episode. Although this is a great move to attract viewers to the next episode, it creates a drag on the plot, as Judge and his team have to fill the rest of an episode with smaller subplots that get repetitive.

The repetition is not only in seen in the structure of each episode but also in the plot, as I now expect a specific character to mess up and make a critical error, only to have it fixed by a miracle happening. I am not against this type of plot, but when viewers are guessing what the miracle event is going to be in instead of enjoying the show for what is it is, then it becomes a problem for all.

Judge and his producers also create an experience for viewers and fans of the series. Judge along with HBO updates the websites for the show’s companies after each episode on Sunday night. Updates include press releases about a buyout of a company to a release of a new product, information about products launches on product pages, and interviews with Bloomberg Businessweek, a technology industry publication. This new layer of interaction with a show is rather unique as it allows viewers to actually interact with the fake companies that Judge has created.

Overall, the show is rather holistic in the sense that it covers all aspects of the technology industry. From buyouts, releasing of new products and attending trade-shows, the show provides a real-life perspective into the technology world in Silicon Valley.

“Silicon Valley” has new episodes airing Sunday nights at 10 p.m. on HBO and on the HBO Go streaming service.