Coming to DVD and Digital from HBO Home Entertainment is one of the networks most successful series with SILICON VALLEY: The Complete Fifth Season.
Things at Pied Piper are finding its speed but Dinesh (Kumail Nanjiani) and Gilfoyle (Martin Starr) are in the middle of hiring staff. Matt Belson (Matt Ross) isn't happy about what they are doing and attempts to bring over new coders but none of them want to work on his new mainframe box. Monica (Amanda Crew) and Laurie (Suzanne Cryer) are still keeping their eyes on the bottom line. Jared (Zach Woods) wants to jump into a company that is falling by the way side and hire their employees. Optimoji's CEO Kira agrees but wants to bring her staff along.
Duncan isn't going to make this easy but Richard (Thomas Middleditch) has his own idea with Sliceline and it works out with new employees and no old dead weight. Having new employees means Richard is going to have to work on his people skills. That's causing a rift of respect and a walk out with Dinesh and Gilfoyle still standing. All of this in the midst of a little business espionage as a mole has reared its ugly head. Jian-Yang (Jimmy O. Yang) is doing just about anything he can to get a judge to agree that Erlich is dead. Agreeing to take over his problems, Jian-Yang slides right in leaving the gangs belongings outside.
Richard is invited to a party along with Jared and meets Ben Burkhart who works for Quiver and says he's looking forward to seeing what Richard's new project will bring. He also butters up Richard with offering to be the new COO for Pied Piper. Jared isn't so sure this is a good idea given Ben's history with other company's. Belson is still trying to find ways to make a dent in Pied Pipers business by hitting them in the wallet. Ben immediately tries to pit Richard, Dinesh, Jared and Gilfoyle against each other at the same time they agree there is a leak in the company.
Richard goes around to eight other companies and sways them into being part of PiperNet. In the meantime finding the mole is left up to Jared and Gilfoyle who have to decide what to do about what they discover. In other good news Jared puts a dent in Jian-Yang's take over of Erlich's belongings and property but not before the little sneak takes what he wants and high tails it to China with a duplicate of Pied Pipers and Richards project.
Laurie decides to make a decision and bring in a new company to PiperNet which Richard decides is not cool with him. He can't exactly say anything since the investment money is being spent. The new company Eklow and its CEO Ariel are about to pull more on PiperNet when more sabotage happens. Richard isn't about to let any more craziness happen to PiperNet and gets a little creative himself. Belson moves forward with the Box 3 launch even though he momentarily thought he should leave the tech game.
Laurie has taken over as CEO of Eklow Labs when Ariel dashes with the company's big product. Richard is getting nervous that Jian-Yang might launch his stolen ideas before PiperNet has they have a chance to get the jump. He has every right to be nervous when Belson runs into Jian-Yang and they come together to exchange information!
None of this is over when Monica discovers Laurie has been doing what they agreed not to do run ads or sell user data. Richard is not going stand for it and just when you think the parting is amicable – Laurie meets up with Yao in China.
The day has finally come and PiperNet is up and running, but what they don't see coming is who is going to usurp 51% of the company. Laurie and Yao have made it clear that they are going to do whatever they can to keep the team sweating closure. Richard has one more ace up his sleeve – Belson! Working his charm on Belson's ego, Laurie finds herself on the outs and Gilfoyle makes a move that surprises them all.
That's what happens when you keep your eye on the prize and on those who would take down!
The DVD includes the episodes Grow Fast or Die Slow, Reorientation, Chief Operating Officer, Tech Evangelist, Facial Recognition, Artificial Emotional Intelligence, Initial Coin Offering, and Fifty One Percent.
SILICON VALLEY's fifth season garnered seven Emmy nominations including Outstanding Comedy Series and Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series. Brought to HBO by Mike Judge and Alec Berg, this season brings an intensity for PiperNet and the gang with enemies coming from all sides.
The season's half hour episodes pack in an ever changing tech landscape and it is the cast that makes it look effortless. Continuing to jump through the Silicon Valley hoops each season, it is stunning that the storyline keeps moving forward. That is they may keep moving forward but it's not without putting out little fires that are trying to move them back.
SILICON VALLEY has taught me a lot about the tech world along with a vocabulary that I didn't know existed. Of course the series also brought a lot of laughs as well. I constantly tell people if they want to learn about the craziness of it all they should invest in a serious marathoning of previous seasons!
In the end – the future is now!