The Big Bang Theory is one of the most well-known comedy series of the last 20 years. But MeinMMO editor Nikolas Hernes could never enjoy it. A strong nerd series does it much better.
The Big Bang Theory is very popular, and there are only a few series that have been able to celebrate such success – after all, it has received 12 seasons. However, for me, the series always lacked a bit of substance. Many of the characters were likeable, but the jokes didn’t work for me.
This is usually because the jokes mostly make fun of nerd culture itself. Instead of building a joke with outdated clichés, a joke in the show is, to put it bluntly, something like: Haha, they go to the comic store or medieval market.
Coupled with the built-in laughter, I mostly felt annoyed instead of entertained. When I was looking for a new comedy series, I stumbled upon Silicon Valley on HBO Max – and I can say upfront: They are the much better nerds.
An Absurd Look at the Tech Industry
Silicon Valley aired from 2014 to 2019 and during that time received 6 seasons. It is about Richard Hendricks, who works with other colleagues at the tech giant Hooli. At the same time, he develops a program/app with which the friends want to become self-employed quickly, but they constantly have to deal with competitors and sudden problems.
In a time when the tech world is becoming more and more present, Silicon Valley feels very realistic. This is because the series is just on the boundary of believability. Because of this, the gags and characters are never too absurd, but at the same time, wacky enough that you laugh regularly.
It also helps that there are never direct jokes against programmers or nerds. The series creates situations in which clichés are clearly defined – but never demeaning. You don’t laugh at the protagonists, you laugh at the weird situations in the tech world dominated by big egos.
The characters in Silicon Valley are therefore more relatable than the nerds in The Big Bang Theory, because being a nerd is not their only character trait – they are written characters, not walking caricatures.
What I really liked about Silicon Valley is the humor itself. It is cruder, meaner, and also more vulgar than in The Big Bang Theory, but it doesn’t overdo it. Therefore, the story does not suffer.
However, I still have one criticism: the story structure.
The structure of the narrative can be quite disruptive in Silicon Valley. Usually, a sudden problem arises, be it technical, personal, or business-related, then there is chaos and panic, and in the end, everything is fine again. Sometimes it seems a bit contrived, but for me, it’s just a minor point of criticism because the gags and characters are so convincing and entertaining.
If you want to see a rougher series with a bit more substance and face the believable clichés of the tech industry, you will have a lot of fun with Silicon Valley – at least, the tech nerds convinced me more than the characters in The Big Bang Theory.
Have you seen Silicon Valley or do you know other series that you can recommend? Feel free to write it to us in the comments. If you prefer to explore the action genre, we have a recommendation for you on Netflix: 21 million views in one week: A new action series rightly dominates the Netflix charts
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