Silicon Valley

Silicon Valley remains one of the funniest, darkest, smartest shows about the attraction, and limitations, of the American Dream, but by resetting itself, it also manages to stay strangely gripping.

Pick a character--the laughs are there. Maybe this season we should give more credit to the intricate plotting. But no matter your preference, Silicon Valley is back and the world has once again been made right, at least for the moment.

It’s been a subculture critique of a decidedly hilarious sort. That hasn’t changed for its fourth season, which once again locates the dark, ridiculous heart of the tech industry through the saga of its clownish wannabe-moguls.

The shape of the shoe always changes, but Silicon Valley is as adept as ever in its ability to morph into what it needs to in order to be the biting, clever, and truly funny series it still is four years in.

The splintering of the group enables the series to open new channels of competitiveness between the principal characters while also continuing to do what it does best: develop admirably intricate story lines about high-tech-sector politics as well as the inevitability that those who either possess or covet power will engage in petty behavior.

As Judge seeks a fresh formula for success through Richard’s own quest, Silicon Valley becomes a bit more thoughtful and a bit more ambitious itself. Time will tell if they’re too crazy for their own well-being, but the series is plenty fun to watch as it figures things out.

There’s a sense that we’ve traveled down this road paved with silicon once or twice before, but the ride is still smart, engaging and highly informative.

The challenge for Valley in its fourth season was to somehow parallel the nonstop innovation that occurs in the real-life Silicon Valley while retaining the elements that have made this comedy a success--primarily, the constant, abrasive interactions between brilliant losers Dinesh, Richard, Gilfoyle (Martin Starr), Jared (Zach Woods), and Erlich (T.J. Miller). Based on the three episodes made available for review, Silicon Valley has innovated to just the right degree.