Banking on success
Being a tech whizz is hazardous to your health and bank balance. Just ask the nerds in season 4 of Silicon Valley.
Silicon Valley Season 4 Fridays (from 16 June) M-Net (*101) 23:30
They’re back! And the Bill Gates and Steve Jobs wannabes of cyber comedy series Silicon Valley (2014- current) mean business. “Richard isn’t thinking millions,” says lead actor Thomas Middleditch. “He’s thinking billions. He thinks he’s really going to do it [with his algorithm]. He’s not like any of the other pretenders.” Could’ve fooled us, because season 4 starts with keyboard king Richard in more than just a spot of bother: he’s lost his company and the plot! “Richard flirts with the dark side and he enjoys it,” says Thomas. And he’s not the only character changing this time…
THE BOYS BREAK OUT
Dinesh (Kumail Nanjiani) is king from episode 1 as CEO of PiperChat. By episode 2 (23 June), he gets a $21 billion fine because the Ts & Cs don’t protect minors from predators. He starts as… a cocky coder who won’t be the boss or get the girls. And he becomes… a one-time CEO who lost billions. At least he had sex. Billionaire tech boss Gavin Belson (Matt Ross) is fuelled by revenge in episode 1 after his billionaire employee Jack (Stephen Tobolowsky) tricks him into wasting money on a not-sosamll private plane flight detour. He starts as… tech company Hooli CEO who’s still after Richard’s code. And he becomes… jobless in episode 3 (30 June) after Jack recommends he take PiperChat from Dinesh. Not that Dinesh minds palming off his fine…. And mild-mannered admin guy Jared (Zach Woods) tries to help Richard get back on his feet with his episode 2 dreams of a “new” internet. He starts as… the go-to-guy when the guys are in a bind. Especially legal-wise. And he becomes… a foul-mouthed raging bull in episode 4 (7 July) when he sees Richard being walked over again.
INTERNET REVOLUTION
Richard’s plan for a new internet is feasible. It’s a combination of Mesh Networking and P2P networking but would require “unimaginably massive resources and brainpower to get right,” say tech experts.