In it’s fifth season, HBO’s Silicon Valley continues to be a fresh, fun and cleverly-written comedy set in the high tech world of Silicon Valley. The fifth season picks up shortly after the events of the fourth. Richard Hendricks (Thomas Middleditch) is once again the CEO of his company, Pied Piper, but is struggling with his new responsibilities, starting with leasing new office space and hiring coders to work on his New Internet venture. Richard’s plan is to create an entirely new, decentralized, peer-to-peer based internet. His hesitance in hiring staff has partially been impeded by the pickiness of his top coders, Gilfoyle (Martin Starr) and Dinesh (Kumail Nanjiani), but also due to his dwindling self-confidence. Eventually, Richard ends up acquiring two different teams of engineers, each with its own eccentricities and customs. Even more problems arise each time Richard tries to get these teams to come together as one. He has issues even summoning up the courage to talk in front of his new employees, let alone give some sort of rousing speech to unite and inspire them. Richard is going to need some help if he’s going to step up and be the leader he needs to be.
Meanwhile, Pied Piper faces threats on many fronts. Last season Hooli CEO Gavin Belson (Matt Ross) just handed over his patent to the idea for the New Internet while he was in a peaceful, Buddhist state of mind. Now he fully regrets that decision and wants revenge. Gavin is currently focused on releasing the next version of his Box, an elite signature edition that will literally feature his signature on the front…even if it does resemble a phallus. However, he is also interested in getting even with Pied Piper, so he plants a mole in the company so he can learn their secrets and plot his attack. At the same time, Pied Piper housemate Jian-Yang (Jimmy O. Yang) decides to have Erlich declared legally dead so that he can assume control of the house, incubator, and all of Bachman’s assets. But when that doesn’t quite pan out as he expected, Jian-Yang heads to China, where the rules against patent infringement are a little big looser, to work on launching a competing New New Internet.
Each episode of the fifth season ends in some big reveal or cliffhanger. When I originally watched the season as it aired on HBO week-to-week, I was so anxious to see what happened next, but had to wait until the following Sunday to find out. This DVD release makes it so easy to binge the entire season, without having to wait to see the resolution of each cliffhanger. I thoroughly enjoyed the season this second time around. This is a highly rewatchable series. The layered writing and ample physical humor provide lots of laughs with every viewing, no matter how many times you’ve seen the episodes.
The fifth season has some really great side storylines as well. Dinesh and Gilfoyle are still constantly bickering, teasing, and trying to one-up one another. This season, that banter often revolves around Dinesh’s new Tesla. Their behavior also leads to some awkward situations with the new Pied Piper employees. Jared (Zach Woods) is his usual self-deprecating self, and this leads to some hilarious one-liners—often just mentioned in passing—where he reveals some darkly disturbing details about his past. However, we do see Jared grow a bit this season. He tries to help inspire Richard to become the leader he’s destined to be, and at one point even tries to set up a meet-cute for a bromance between Richard and another CEO. In addition to trying to inspire his employees, Richard must also get partners on board for his New Internet and Richard is constantly putting his foot in his mouth, saying the wrong thing at the wrong time. And finally, Gavin’s complete ineptitude and narcissism leads to many hilarious situations this season.
Silicon Valley‘s fifth season is the first without Erlich Bachman (T.J. Miller). I was worried that the show was going to feel like it was missing something due the absence of such a huge presence. However, As I watched the season, I didn’t find myself thinking about or missing that character at all. The writers did an excellent job of pulling in other characters to fill the void, whether that be Jian-Yang’s increased presence, or some of the new Pied Piper employees and partners. Financial investors Laurie (Suzanne Cryer) and Monica (Amanda Crew) also seemed to have a reduced presence this season, but they do play a major role in the latter half of the season, and provide some fun interplay with the Pied Piper guys whenever they show up.
Unfortunately, HBO has chosen not to offer a Blu-ray release this time around, so the fifth season is only available on DVD. The picture quality of the DVD still looks quite good, just slightly duller and less crisp than the original HD airings on HBO. Those interested in watching in HD can still utilize the included digital copy, which redeems in HD. The audio quality is pretty much the same as the original airings. This is a dialogue-heavy series, and this remains clear throughout. The stereo and surround channels are using sparingly, but really noticeable whenever the end credits of each episode kicks in and a song starts playing.
All eight episodes of the fifth season reside on a single DVD disc, which offers a Play All option. Unfortunately, no bonus features are included. The disc is packed in a standard DVD keepcase without a slipcover. Inside is a sheet with digital copy redemption instructions.
What’s Included:
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Episodes: (3:54:08)
- All 8 episodes of the fifth season:
“Grow Fast or Die Slow”, “Reorientation”, “Chief Operating Officer”, Tech Evangelist”, “Facial Recognition”, “Artificial Emotional Intelligence”, “Initial Coin Offering”, “Fifty-One Percent” - 480p / Widescreen 1.78:1
- Audio: English Dolby Digital 5.1, French Dolby Digital 5.1, Spanish Dolby Digital 2.0
- Subtitles: English SDH, French, Spanish
- Ultraviolet Digital HD Copy redeemable via Vudu or FandangoNow.
- HD Digital Copy redeemable via iTunes or Google Play.
Digital HD (Redemption Deadline 12/31/2023):
Extras:
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There is no bonus material included on this release.
With the digital copy, there is a Season 4 recap and a Season 5 trailer.
Final Thoughts:
Silicon Valley continues to be at the top of its game in the show’s fifth season, providing interesting storylines, fun characters, and lots of laughs. Unfortunately HBO has released the season as a barebones, DVD-only release with no bonus material. While the video presentation is still quite good, it’s disappointing to see an HD series get a DVD-only release with no bonus material. It is also a inconvenience to TV-on-Blu-ray collectors who will have difficult time displaying the fifth season on their shelf next to the first four seasons, if their bookshelves have been sized for Blu-ray cases only. That said, this release still comes recommended based on the quality of the series itself. And at least the included digital copy provides the ability to watch the episodes in HD.
