... I am obsessed with Silicon Valley culture. I'm in my 50s and grew up on black & white TVs. When the 26 lb 'portable' Kaypro computer came out with its MS-DOS CP/M combination OS, well, I'd never loved an inanimate object so much, nor have I since. Unfortunately, being a tech crazy doesn't save you from being tech-impaired. I don't know why I hang around in forums I only half understand or spend money on toys I tweak till they're bricked (I always go that one tweak too far). I'm not an idiot -- I have my own areas of expertise. But like minds don't interest me. Yours do. That said, some of you are really over-thinking this show. You've heard the expression 'inside baseball," when a certain breed of fan analyzes the game to the point where it's not fun anymore (particularly to those around them?) Even I know that you can't destroy data at the server level by putting your Tequila bottle down on the delete key. So what? You don't think there were mobsters who took issue with Tony Sopranos? This isn't a documentary. This is character-driven entertainment and on those terms, there isn't a false move. It's a dream ensemble. I don't know when or if I have ever seen actors complement each other to the degree they do here and I'll bet I've seen more filmed, televised and live drama than anyone who reads this (granted, it's a stale thread so no one will read it) Were the show dreadful in every other respect, it deserves love just for Thomas Middleditch (Richard Hendricks), who was particularly fine in this episode. His plastic face reminds me of Gene Wilder's, except with Middleitch all you register is the emotion, not the performance: shock, regret, guilt, defeat -- all there and gone, in the split instant between his mis-impression that Russ gave him the orange sports car and his realization that no, Russ hadn't, Russ had suckered him again. It's a cliché, but the performers here really do inhabit their characters completely, redeeming whatever stereotypical liberties were taken by the show's creators. They get the flavor right, even if they substituted some ingredients. And of course, it's easier to define what's wrong on a show (and in life) than to fix it. Try rewriting the episode, substituting the tequila-on-the-keyboard plot-point with a data-destroying scenario that could really happen. Can you cram it into a 30-minute episode without hijacking the plot and do it in such a way that I don't have to Google to get it? The show may be set in Silicon Valley but it's made (metaphorically) in Hollywood -- if the producer doesn't know what you're talking about, you can't say 'Google is your friend.' (if anybody still says that to anyone --like I said, I'm old). PS: This particular episode was very funny. I loved the Duane SWOT Board -- made me laugh out loud.
