I finished watching Silicon Valley today. Though I loved it so much, I always get to a point of why The Office is and will always be the best show in my life. I know loving something so much is subjective, but there are a lot of reasons why The Office is that way. So, I wanted to make this a series.
The Office is adapted by Greg Daniels for US television from the UK version created by Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant. Though everyone was skeptical that the show would fail for US television, Greg Daniels had a lot of faith.
One piece of advice by Ricky Gervais was crucial for the success of the show. When he went to the US for the early stages of developing the show and seeing the audition process, he said if you adapt the David Brent character (the leading role of the UK version) exactly as it is, it will fail. The only way to make Michael Scott lovable is by making him very good at his job (sales), then as an audience you can kind of tolerate his behaviors, and also show that he has no clue that he is a terrible person most of the time. He thinks he is a friend of everyone, caring, and funny.
I had that problem with Richard Hendricks, the main character of Silicon Valley. Yes, we get it that he is a brilliant programmer, but he is also a CEO, and that is where all of the struggles come from. But the show lacked that turning point at the end of episodes or even the seasons. It makes you angry at how incompetent he is, but there is no reward. He doesn’t give you something that makes all the struggles worth it.
That’s it for today.
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