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What's The Best TV Show About Working in Tech? (gizmodo.com)

Posted by EditorDavid on from the have-you-tried-turning-it-off-and-on? dept.

An anonymous reader writes: Recently Gizmodo hailed "the best show ever made about Silicon Valley", asking its readers one question: why didn't you watch it? They're talking about AMC's Halt and Catch Fire, which their Senior Reviews Editor says "discovered the fascinating, frustrating human side to the soulless monsters who built Silicon Valley." Unfortunately, "nobody watched it. The show never cracked a million live viewers after the pilot episode. It sat firmly on the bubble every season, getting greenlit only by the grace of AMC."

Today Netflix is making that show's fourth (and final) season available -- but is it the best show about working in tech? What about Mr. Robot, Silicon Valley, or The IT Crowd -- or that short-lived X-Files spin-off, The Lone Gunmen?
Has there ever been a good show about geeks -- besides those various PBS documentaries? Leave your own answers in the comments.

What's the best TV show about working in tech?

197 comments

  1. Dilbert by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Interesting

    They made a short-lived cartoon series. Dilbert is the most accurate depiction of tech life, ever.

    1. Re: Dilbert by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      True, true. Tell me more about bump stocks.

    2. Re:Dilbert by msauve · · Score: 3, Insightful

      You're forgetting about The Walking Dead.

      --
      "National Security is the chief cause of national insecurity." - Celine's First Law
    3. Re:Dilbert by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Has there ever been a good show about geeks...

      No.

      And for good reason.

    4. Re:Dilbert by Tablizer · · Score: 1

      Amen! The office is an illogical place.

      --
      Table-ized A.I.
    5. Re:Dilbert by Darinbob · · Score: 2

      Also Office Space, which is technically a theatrical movie, but has been on TV.

      Any TV series about startups is absolutely nothing like real tech companies.

    6. Re:Dilbert by NicknameUnavailable · · Score: 1

      They made a short-lived cartoon series. Dilbert is the most accurate depiction of tech life, ever.

      I'd agree. A longer running one might be The IT Crowd; it's British, but in spite of its terrible flaw it's not bad.

    7. Re:Dilbert by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      If you add animated series then Code Monkeys is a contender.
      Several known developers voices themselves on that show. (Nolan Bushnell, John Romero and Steve Wozniak among others.)

    8. Re:Dilbert by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Code Monkeys was too unrealistic. I mean, what kind of manager would actually pay enough enough for a game programmer that he could afford an entire house in Sunnyvale?

      Damn shame they killed the show after only 2 seasons.

    9. Re:Dilbert by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      A majority of sitcoms on US TV were first run in some form on BBC and then co-opted. Some (like Coupling) were really funny on British TV and miserable failures on US TV. Just sayin'...

    10. Re:Dilbert by furry_wookie · · Score: 1

      Agreed. There is no more accurate fictional account of what working in technical careers is really like than Dilbert.

      --
      -- Given enough time and money, Microsoft will eventualy invent UNIX.
    11. Re: Dilbert by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Bob Bastard. Classic tester.

    12. Re: Dilbert by Brickwall · · Score: 1

      Really! Where can I buy bump stocks? Do they trade on the NYSE or the NASDAQ? What are some ticker symbols?

      I mean, I missed the boat on Bitcoin, but I wanna get in on the ground floor with these bump stocks!

      --
      What was once true, is no longer so
  2. The IT Crowd by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Interesting

    It's funny because it's true.

    1. Re:The IT Crowd by DontBeAMoran · · Score: 5, Interesting

      Another vote for IT Crowd.

      They covered a lot of things us nerds have to deal with, such as bad operating systems, people who don't know how to use technology or even people who have no idea what the Internet really is.

      I wish they made all of this up, but you can be sure that each of these situation happened at least once, somewhere.

      --
      #DeleteFacebook
    2. Re: The IT Crowd by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Nick Burns is more relevant than any of these new shows...and that was just some skits.

    3. Re:The IT Crowd by ffkom · · Score: 1

      "The IT Crowd" is a great depiction of typical "desktop support" staff (and their supervisors and colleages) in typical non-IT companies.

      But it is not at all about technology startups, neither the "true" ones founded upon excitement over a new technology, nor the "false" ones that are just money-drains for gullible investors.

      Actually, a TV show on such "false" startups is actually missing (not counting the one SouthPark episode "Go Fund Yourself").

    4. Re:The IT Crowd by Vulch · · Score: 3, Informative

      Channel 4, not the BBC. Written by Graham Linehan of Father Ted fame.

    5. Re:The IT Crowd by fermion · · Score: 2
      I think it is very best parody of the stereotypes we think of as tech. Alphas is another one.

      The fact is that there is no good show. They are all stereotypes. Every tech worker is a stereotype on any show I have seen.

      --
      "She's a scientist and a lesbian. She's not going to let it slide." Orphan Black
    6. Re:The IT Crowd by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Isn't the entire point of "here's what it's like to be one of these people", stereotyping? Sometimes stereotypes are wrong.

      Sometimes they're dead on. IT Crowd for the win.

    7. Re:The IT Crowd by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Can't get nibbers, border-jumpers and Trotsky-ettes to watch people creating. Bangerbros can take all Soros nickles without producing a single copper penny. Productive activity ... that's what they ... cannot conceive and thusly cannot enjoy imagined.

    8. Re:The IT Crowd by rklrkl · · Score: 2

      The IT Crowd was good in its first few seasons when it actually did stuff about, you know, IT. Later seasons were nowhere near as funny as the IT angle almost completely disappeared. By the time they brought it back for the one-off finale, I managed one smile throughout the entire last ever episode (and you've guessed it, it wasn't an IT-related laugh either).

      For consistency, it has to be Silicon Valley, which still has hilarious moments in every episode, even after 4 seasons.

    9. Re:The IT Crowd by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Best IT job I ever had was working in a basement but then we got a new manager and they wanted everyone to be "customer facing" and forced us up to the 3rd floor. Wouldn't want executives on the 4th floor to have to see IT everyday, just the 3rd floor with accounting and what we dubbed: "little India". When we were in the basement we had ample space for imaging systems and doing actual repairs, when we got moved up we had a cubicle and a 3 drawer cabinet (each) to cram everything into. We went from being able to image 24 systems at one time to being able to image 6. Not so fun when you're in the middle of an overhaul of every system to get everyone off of XP and onto 7.

    10. Re:The IT Crowd by AlanBDee · · Score: 1

      I cannot think of a show that made me laugh as much as that bad operating systems clip.

    11. Re:The IT Crowd by geowar · · Score: 1

      If you Google "Google" you'll bring down the internet ;-)

    12. Re:The IT Crowd by Chelloveck · · Score: 1

      I about choked on my coffee the other day when one of our IT guys was called to fix someone's computer in the middle of a meeting. He said, without the slightest trace of humor or irony, "Have you tried turning it off and on again?" Which, of course, fixed it.

      --
      Chelloveck
      I give up on debugging. From now on, SIGSEGV is a feature.
    13. Re: The IT Crowd by Brockmire · · Score: 1

      When my colleague and I have problems and ask the other if they're having the same problem, if we don't, we reply, "have you tried turning it off and on again?" Solves a nontrivial amount of problems. Dish Network has been using that for decades.

    14. Re: The IT Crowd by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Get off your pedalstool and stop being a damp squid, IT crowd is by far the best IT related comedy series ever made!

    15. Re:The IT Crowd by ayesnymous · · Score: 1

      What a stupid show. I couldn't make it through S01E01.

  3. HCF was not about working in tech by SuperKendall · · Score: 4, Interesting

    HCF was just OK, I can see why it didn't pick up a lot of viewers. It was more about the emergence of tech and what that meant to more traditional companies, but the thing was it just was not that gripping for whatever reason. I don't know by what metric you could possibly claim is was a great show. I only made it through most of season one before I grew too bored and stopped watching.

    I've not yet seen Mr Robot but I have seen all of Silicon Valley so far, and THAT is by far the best show about working in tech. If you are not in the valley the crazy stuff around startup culture is not AS pertinent, but the personalities of coders are honestly not too outlandish compared to the real thing. As everyone on Slashdot probably already knows, the whole spaces vs tabs thing is all too real where a causal viewer would probably think that part was absurd... also just sheer arbitrariness of developing any software for a large company is well portrayed.

    --
    "There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
    1. Re:HCF was not about working in tech by Scutter · · Score: 3, Interesting

      HCF went from an interesting show about the emergency of tech to a generic soap opera that had nothing to do with tech beyond "these dull characters work in the tech field".

      --

      "Tell me doctor, with all of your defenses, are there any provisions for an attack by killer bees?"
    2. Re: HCF was not about working in tech by c6gunner · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Mr Robot is about working in tech the same way that Die Hard is about working in law enforcement.

    3. Re:HCF was not about working in tech by DontBeAMoran · · Score: 1

      We all know that people who use spaces instead of tabs are just a bunch of tnetennba's anyway.

      --
      #DeleteFacebook
    4. Re:HCF was not about working in tech by ArchieBunker · · Score: 1

      The show is praised by many people. Perhaps you should give it another watch.

      --
      Only the State obtains its revenue by coercion. - Murray Rothbard
    5. Re:HCF was not about working in tech by Scutter · · Score: 1

      I made it two episodes into season four before I went "I don't know why I'm still watching this. It's not coming back to how interesting it was in season 1."

      --

      "Tell me doctor, with all of your defenses, are there any provisions for an attack by killer bees?"
    6. Re:HCF was not about working in tech by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Silicon Valley is a cartoon of working in tech. The IT Crowd is a sitcom with little relation to actually working in tech. Halt and Catch Fire is actually the greatest show ever made about working in tech. It is a masterpiece. If you didn't grow up in the 1970's and 1980's then you just wouldn't understand or appreciate Halt and Catch Fire. It was absolutely brilliant writing, amazing cinematography, and it perfectly immersed the viewer (those with an attention span longer than a facebook post) in the world of computers/tecj and business in the late 1970's, 1980's, and 1990's.

    7. Re:HCF was not about working in tech by Xest · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Actually I think Halt and Catch Fire's problem as you describe was exactly the reason it was the most accurate portrayal - it's blandness was a recognition of reality. I actually watched all 4 series for what it's worth, it was watchable, and it did a good job of compacting the rise of the modern computing industry, but if you're looking to be on the edge of your seat then that show isn't it. Whilst the real world industry isn't devoid of the sort of humour you see in Silicon Valley and the IT Crowd, it certainly isn't like that every minute of every day - that's what the Half and Catch Fire captured, the reality of the day to day, the complex egos, the fact that for every billionaire Bill Gates that made it there were hundreds of others who were on the cusp of getting it but just missed the target. That becoming a silicon valley billionaire was as much about the right idea at the right time with the right people working on it being sold to the right people, and that plenty of people had the time and idea, but the wrong people, or the right people and the wrong idea and so on and so forth - that success in the computing industry that's led to the current giants was largely about the luck of stars aligning for the right people as much as it was anything else and that the valley is full of many thousands of equally talented people who had the ideas but just didn't get lucky enough for the rest of it to align - Halt and Catch Fire captures that, it recognises the reality and dispels the myth of the Zuckerbergs, Gates, and so on and so forth as being unique geniuses - it's an ode to those who were equally as talented and innovative but who simply just did not have quite so much luck on their side.

      Silicon Valley is funny, but it's an over the top comedy, so whilst it does indeed touch on real arguments, it of course uses an absurdist form of humour which doesn't match day to day reality. That is of course however what makes it enjoyable to watch.

    8. Re:HCF was not about working in tech by NewtonsLaw · · Score: 1

      I loved the show... although it got a bit "soap opera" ish part way through.

      Although I wasn't in Silicon Valley at the time I was very much involved in the microcomputer scene so it was a real nostalgia trip watching that first season -- although I expect I'm in a very small group who'd feel that way.

      I think that four seasons was probably enough though and in reality, if you watch only the first season then you'll have seen almost everything you need to.

    9. Re:HCF was not about working in tech by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I have tried twice to make it through Episode 1 of Season 1, because I keep assuming that it will derail into a boring soap opera. Thanks for saving me from trying again. (I try because there have been shows that I eventually really loved after a couple of attempts).

    10. Re:HCF was not about working in tech by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Just FYI, the spaces vs tabs thing is absurd if it becomes anything more than a "hey, this project uses spaces" thing.

    11. Re:HCF was not about working in tech by Blymie · · Score: 2

      ROTFL -- I made it to the end of episode 1.. maybe you're just a tad more optimistic then I ("It'll get better!").

      I suspect that the low ratings, gave 'power' to the suits who immediately tried to add all forms of conflict. Sexual, general interpersonal, marital.

      The first season was good. The second was... palatable. But, down it spiraled. I barely made it through season #3.

      Shame, really.

      FYI -- Mr Robot is nothing like Silicon Valley or HCF. Give the first episode a spin.

    12. Re:HCF was not about working in tech by Blymie · · Score: 1

      The first season was good. Even the second. The third lagged.

      I don't care about 'relationships' and 'soap operas'.

      Take The Walking Dead. It's just a soap opera now, with about 4 minutes of action per episode.

      HCF seemed to move that way. More drama, less tech. It sells! :P

    13. Re:HCF was not about working in tech by SuperKendall · · Score: 2

      That sounds like a great description of what HCF was, the thing is I don't exactly need something to grab me to watch and find it interesting, but four seasons of HCF is too large of a time commitment for something I would happily watch compressed into a miniseries. Maybe that was the problem, too many small moments which all were interesting enough, but it was just too many of them.

      --
      "There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
    14. Re:HCF was not about working in tech by AmiMoJo · · Score: 1

      I think HCF could have done more with the tech culture side of things. That history is interesting and something not really covered much in mainstream TV. They did some of it but could have gone further.

      I mostly enjoyed it, the only really off-putting thing was l33t hacker Cameron's hunt-and-peck one finger typing. Her portrayal of the nerd who cares more about the tech than anything else was spot on though.

      --
      const int one = 65536; (Silvermoon, Texture.cs)
      SJW, n: "Someone I don't like, and by the way I'm a fuckwit" - AC
    15. Re:HCF was not about working in tech by omnichad · · Score: 1

      Just started it this week for the first time (now that it's Netflix-complete). Episode two is way better than episode one. It gets soapy here and there, but most of season 1 is fairly solid. I'm not sure it will hold up, though - on the beginning of season 2 now and it's hard to say.

    16. Re:HCF was not about working in tech by Pseudonym · · Score: 1

      Just started it this week for the first time (now that it's Netflix-complete).

      Bingo. The reason why I didn't watch it is that it was never released on a service that I had. The Australian cable/streaming TV market is insanely fragmented.

      --
      sub f{($f)=@_;print"$f(q{$f});";}f(q{sub f{($f)=@_;print"$f(q{$f});";}f});
    17. Re:HCF was not about working in tech by mmdurrant · · Score: 1

      LOL username checks out.

      --
      I see my shadow changing, stretching up and over me...
    18. Re:HCF was not about working in tech by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      it's an ode to those who were equally as talented and innovative but who simply just did not have quite so much luck on their side.

      Luck. That's what you think unequal opportunities are about? Luck??? *facepalm*

    19. Re:HCF was not about working in tech by NicknameUnavailable · · Score: 1

      Silicon Valley isn't even close to Dilbert or The IT Crowd. It's not even about tech, it's about Silicon Valley culture - which is the culture of marketing people pretending to work in tech, not tech.

    20. Re:HCF was not about working in tech by 91degrees · · Score: 1

      A good mini series on largely the same topic was the BBC's "Micro Men". Covering the British side of the home computer revolution. Shame it's so difficult to get hold of.

    21. Re:HCF was not about working in tech by mcmonkey · · Score: 1

      The show is praised by many people. Perhaps you should give it another watch.

      I enjoyed the first season, and think the show deserved all the praise it received at the time. But then every season after that was downhill. The final season sits on my DVR unwatched.

      For the details the show got right, it just wasn't entertaining. I'm reminded of a Shirley Jackson quote: "[an] accurate account of an incident is not [a] story."

    22. Re:HCF was not about working in tech by Shirley+Marquez · · Score: 1

      The typing aspect was off. The elite hackers I have known (I'm spelling it correctly because these people would have disdained 13375p33k) had serious keyboard skills.

      Bob Frankston, the guy who actually implemented VisiCalc (his partner Dan Bricklin, the company head who came up with the idea, is far better known), is the best typist I have ever met; he could type CODE at 100 WPM in his prime. (That's faster then all but a small number of people can type standard English text, and typing code is harder because of all the punctuation.) Richard Stallman was no slouch at the keyboard before carpal tunnel syndrome took its toll; sadly there was a period when he was almost completely unable to type.

      Those people, and the other serious hackers that I have had the pleasure of observing, were not one finger typists. They had taken the time to learn how to type, not just for speed but because it makes the process of typing effortless. It removes some of the friction between thought and its realization, an important skill for somebody who wants to get code into the computer.

    23. Re: HCF was not about working in tech by Brockmire · · Score: 1

      You don't even really have to learn, you use it so much muscle memory takes over. If the thoughts come fast enough, she'd naturally speed up. So yeah, pigeon typing does not compute for this elite hacker. Or no wonder it took her so goddamn long to do things.

    24. Re: HCF was not about working in tech by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I lost my job over the spaces vs tab argument.

    25. Re:HCF was not about working in tech by Brickwall · · Score: 1

      that was my feeling. Girl was cute, though.

      --
      What was once true, is no longer so
  4. Nobody watched it, only 1+ million! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Subject

  5. The IT crowds by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

    UK version. Nothing else is close.

    1. Re:The IT crowds by martinX · · Score: 1

      There's a US version?

      --
      When they came for the communists, I said "He's next door. Take him away. Goddam commies."
    2. Re:The IT crowds by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Doesn't exist. There is no German version either.

    3. Re:The IT crowds by Krishnoid · · Score: 2

      Attempt number three, coming right up.

    4. Re:The IT crowds by antdude · · Score: 1

      Yeah. The US' pilot version sucked. NBC is retrying too: http://www.darkhorizons.com/nb... ... Argh!!

      --
      Ant(Dude) @ Quality Foraged Links (AQFL.net) & The Ant Farm (antfarm.ma.cx / antfarm.home.dhs.org).
    5. Re:The IT crowds by omnichad · · Score: 1

      Two failed pilots. Joel McHale was a TERRIBLE choice for Roy.

    6. Re:The IT crowds by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Beg to disagree. I just watched the dm video and I have to say I really prefer the "original" cast from the UK version.

    7. Re:The IT crowds by choko · · Score: 1

      At least this time the original creator is involved. Perhaps there is hope.

    8. Re:The IT crowds by antdude · · Score: 1

      Yea, we'll see...

      --
      Ant(Dude) @ Quality Foraged Links (AQFL.net) & The Ant Farm (antfarm.ma.cx / antfarm.home.dhs.org).
    9. Re:The IT crowds by Shark · · Score: 1

      TFA says 'about Silicon Valley' though. I agree that The IT Crowd is a wonderful show but it's about computer geeks/IT, not Silicon Valley.

      --
      Mind the frickin' laser...
  6. Obviously by should_be_linear · · Score: 2

    Matrix

    --
    839*929
    1. Re:Obviously by PopeRatzo · · Score: 1

      Matrix

      There is a heroic aspect to The Matrix that is not found in the tech industry. This is a problem with using any movie to depict tech work.

      If a movie were to depict tech work accurately, no one would see it because it would be too depressing.

      --
      You are welcome on my lawn.
    2. Re: Obviously by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Shows...boo.
      Watch Louis Rossmann on YT. Does board repair live and is entertaining.

    3. Re: Obviously by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Like Office Space :)

    4. Re:Obviously by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      It'd be a smash in Eastern Europe, those guys pretty much thrive on depressing cinema.

  7. Not sure I follow by SuperKendall · · Score: 1

    So how to bump stocks relate to working in IT again exactly? Seems like if I were to investing in anything, "bump stocks" have a great sounding name, I may have to go buy some. Thanks!

    --
    "There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
    1. Re:Not sure I follow by Patent+Lover · · Score: 2

      You've failed the troll test.

    2. Re: Not sure I follow by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Never feed the trolls

    3. Re:Not sure I follow by amiga3D · · Score: 1

      They make your accuracy go to shit. If you want to kill something for sure you aim and hit it. Bump stocks are only good if you've got a big bunch in one area that can't get away. Then you just spray bullets and figure the odds are in favor of you hitting something.

    4. Re: Not sure I follow by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Sounds like something a bomb would be much better at handling.

    5. Re:Not sure I follow by LynnwoodRooster · · Score: 1

      You obviously never saw the movie Falling Down...

      --
      Browsing at +1 - no ACs, I ignore their posts. So refreshing!
    6. Re: Not sure I follow by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Those are harder to buy though.

    7. Re: Not sure I follow by ShanghaiBill · · Score: 1

      Sounds like something a bomb would be much better at handling.

      Not really. The Vegas shooter killed 58. The Boston Marathon bombers killed 3.

      An active shooter is almostly always going to be more effective than a bomb. Even the Virginia Tech shooter killed 32, and that was with a handgun. Very few bombings get anywhere near that.

      The Oklahoma City bombing killed 168, but that was with a truck bomb, which was logistically difficult even at the time, and would be much more so today with additional restrictions in place. Also, like the Madrid and London tube bombings, it involved multiple perps.

      Anybody can buy a bump stock, and they are easy to use. Building a bomb requires much more expertise, and if you do it wrong, you often don't get a second chance. Explosives are not very forgiving.

    8. Re: Not sure I follow by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Not comparable.
      A marathon is a lot of people running and is miles. Comparing it to a small area, packed in, standing room only concert is misleading at best.

      A bomb would have worked and the dude could have just stayed in his room and probably never got caught. They didn't even notice he planted cameras until they got in the room and saw the monitors.

    9. Re:Not sure I follow by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      So how to bump stocks relate to working in IT again exactly?

      What, you've never fantasized about shooting the printer?

    10. Re: Not sure I follow by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Heck theyâ(TM)re even easier to make than buy.

    11. Re: Not sure I follow by ShanghaiBill · · Score: 1

      A marathon is a lot of people running and is miles. Comparing it to a small area, packed in, standing room only concert is misleading at best.

      The bombs targeted the crowd at the finish line.

    12. Re: Not sure I follow by mmdurrant · · Score: 1

      And significantly harder to wield from a distance without fancy radio shit.

      --
      I see my shadow changing, stretching up and over me...
  8. The IT Crowd by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Insightful

    The IT Crowd was produced by the BBC. You can find it online. It followed a company's "technical support" geeks who'd been banished to the basement. Very funny!

  9. Re: Obviously: Code Monkey by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    The only show about working in Tech that anybody should care to see :)

  10. IT Crowd 4 Ever by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    These are all good shows. But my background is years in Help Desk support. IT Crowd nails it every time. The nuance of the job, the culture, the clueless users, the whims of tyrannical and ignorant CEOs, the repeated same questions over and over - have you tried rebooting your computer? Absolutely, perfectly encapsulates Help Desk life as a low-level techie.

    1. Re:IT Crowd 4 Ever by MightyMartian · · Score: 0

      I seriously pondered recording me saying "Have you turned it off and on again?" and playing it every time my phone rang when I worked in support.

      --
      The world's burning. Moped Jesus spotted on I50. Details at 11.
  11. Moloch by PopeRatzo · · Score: 2

    The most accurate filmed depiction of working in tech is Fritz Lang's Metropolis. I am not joking.

    https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-hpI...

    --
    You are welcome on my lawn.
    1. Re:Moloch by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      If you hate tech that much, get out of the business for your own sake.

  12. halt and catch fire - it isn't! by sittingnut · · Score: 1

    "the best show ever made about silicon Valley ...They're talking about amc's halt and catch fire"
    really?!
    i watched 1st two seasons, started out promising, but it was clear writers had no idea about the techs they were speaking about (or more likely deliberately dumbed things down quite a lot). actors, for example, mackenzie davis, obviously did not study or was nowhere near a good coder, like she was portraying, you can tell by the way she was literally banging on her keyboard

    1. Re:halt and catch fire - it isn't! by Shirley+Marquez · · Score: 1

      Typing well takes a lot of practice. It's difficult at best to fake convincingly, though the actors on Mr Robot do a better job of it than the H&CF people did.

      Most actors haven't learned how to type because they haven't had much incentive to. I know, not all actors; some are also serious academics who developed their typing skills for their school careers, there are some whose side job before becoming successful was as a secretary rather than the usual waitstaff jobs, and there are the geeky actors like Felicia Day and Wil Wheaton who probably do some coding themselves.

  13. easy answer by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    the people who the shows are about don't watch tv. and boomers don't understand silicon valley, only big brain theory

  14. Netflix? Since when? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Reading TFS made me double check, and I can confirm that this is not on netflix Australia. Which is why I've not watched it: I'm too lazy to torrent these days, the DVD is too expensive for a probable watch-once, it has never been on free-to-air here, netflix in their wisdom have chosen to not make it available, and I'm not going to waste money on multiple subscription services.

    By contrast: IT crowd is constantly repeated on ABC, pretty sure silicon valley is on netflix, and I got lone gunmen in the cheap bin at at an actual store.

    tl;dr it comes down to availability, or lack thereof.

  15. The show.... by Rick+Zeman · · Score: 0

    ...that to me is most reflective of life in IT in a metaphorical way is The Wire.

    1. Re:The show.... by indi0144 · · Score: 1

      IDK The wire is better that most think but related to working on IT industry? Metaphorically speaking The wire is all about politics, a credible and not overblown representation of how the human is a politic animal even in the hood'. So many brilliant natural actors, such disregard for loved character's life. A recommended for sure but for other reasons.

  16. IT Crowd by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Have you tried turning it off and on again?

  17. The Big Bang Theory by seoras · · Score: 2

    If you remove the fact that they are academics working on psychics then you basically have a good basis for life in the SF Bay.
    When I was working there I got taken along to a Friday afternoon premier of one of the Star Trek movies at Mountain View's Shoreline Multiscreen cinema.
    Sandals, shorts, pony tails and awful T-shirts. Beards if you can grow one. It's like a uniform for the geek crowd. This was the 90's, I doubt they've changed.
    A couple stand up at the front and they shout out "hey everyone, excited?". The crowd goes wild.
    "Hey, who here is from HP?". A small patch of the crowd woop and cheer.
    "Hey who here is from Apple?" Another small patch of the crowd woop and cheer.
    They repeat this with all the big names until finally..
    "Hey who here is from Microsoft?". The room goes silent and then everyone starts booing. Then we all laughed.
    I do miss that place sometimes...

    1. Re: The Big Bang Theory by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Then a lone Microsoft cheer went up. That guy was immediately pinned down and raped in the ass throughout the movie.

    2. Re:The Big Bang Theory by AmiMoJo · · Score: 1

      TBBT should have ended a long time ago. They ran out of ideas and most of the actors have no sense of comic timing whatsoever. Only Amy and Howard seem to know what they are doing.

      The characters were too thin to begin with and they couldn't really grow them into anything interesting. Plus they were pretty much the worst nerd stereotypes possible - the letcherous Howard with his low level sexual harassment, endlessly mocking the sensitive Raj, and Sheldon... At best you could say he was hit or miss. And of the women, Penny never developed beyond the dumb blond B movie actress, and Bernardette's "nasty little woman" character just completed Howard's toxic man-child gimmick.

      If they had developed Amy a bit it could have worked, but she ended up being Sheldon's foil after Lennard moved on.

      --
      const int one = 65536; (Silvermoon, Texture.cs)
      SJW, n: "Someone I don't like, and by the way I'm a fuckwit" - AC
    3. Re:The Big Bang Theory by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      TBBT. I agree. To a point. Once they introduced Bernadette and Amy, the show became Friends and left all the fun geek stuff of season 1 & 2 in the dust.

    4. Re:The Big Bang Theory by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      TBBT is poorly written and acted. It is from the same producers of TAHM, which was another poorly written and acted show. TBBT is top rated, as was TAHM, and proves most people are stupid.

    5. Re:The Big Bang Theory by NicknameUnavailable · · Score: 1

      If you remove the fact that they are academics working on psychics then you basically have a good basis for life in the SF Bay.

      A) A marketing hub is NOT tech.
      B) The Big Bang Theory isn't remotely nerd related, it mocks nerds in a manner meant to create "geek culture," which is a marketable audience, unlike nerds.
      C) You don't belong here.

    6. Re:The Big Bang Theory by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      People enjoy making fun of nerds. We like it when self-obsessed dorks with no real life are forced to face the reality, that we see them as buffoons. I have stopped watching TBBT a long time ago because frankly I don't find nerds funny. But if it gives you losers so much pain, I hope it lasts.

    7. Re:The Big Bang Theory by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I have stopped watching TBBT a long time ago because frankly I don't find nerds funny.

      He said, posting anonymously in the comments section on a news bulletin for grognards first thing on a Monday morning.

  18. Stewart Cheifet by Known+Nutter · · Score: 1

    If you have to ask, you weren't there.

    --
    Beware of the Leopard.
  19. Women in Halt and Catch Fire are not realistic. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    Women I've known in tech who were good programmers were very in control of their emotions. I've met people like the main female character in Halt and Catch Fire at nightclubs and such, but usually, they come from rough backgrounds and have substance abuse problems and barely can get a job working retail.

  20. Dilbert the series by vlad30 · · Score: 1

    IT Crowd, Big Bang Theory, three I could continue to watch. HCF stopped after a few episodes probably binge watch when I get sick for a few days and catch up on everything else

    --
    Your'e all thinking it, I just said it for you
  21. 24 by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Itâ(TM)s like being Pretty much anyone from whom Jack Bauer is trying to extract info.

  22. Star Trek! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Funny

    The original series of course.

  23. OFFICE SPACE by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Is there anything this movie gets wrong about "working" in IT?

    Moron bosses who know nothing about what you actually do? Check.
    Multiple pointy-haired types hounding you about your work because they "have to be involved"? Check.
    Consultants? Ugh, check.
    Outdated tech that needs replacing but its "not in the budget"? Damn it feels good to be a Check sir!

    So much more. This is the penultimate look at what working in IT is like. The only thing close is The IT Crowd.

    1. Re:OFFICE SPACE by edi_guy · · Score: 1

      +1 for Office Space. TPS reports, the Bob's, co-workers with a case of the Monday's....and more. Still true 17 years (?!) later for IT in 99% of the country. And for the 1% living in the SV bubble, the TV show Silicon Valley covers it for you.

    2. Re:OFFICE SPACE by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I never realized that Office Space was a TV Show. Was that actually just the pilot and it was cancelled after the first episode?

    3. Re:OFFICE SPACE by Darinbob · · Score: 2

      It's not even tech really. All office jobs are like that. Someone who thinks that the day to day workings in a tech company are different than say an accounting firm, has bought in to a media portrayal. I'm in a tech company, but I talk to HR, legal, executives, I sit down at lunch next to manufacturing employees, and so forth. If you'll notice, Office Space only is only peripherally about technology; it goes out of its way to be a rather generic company.

    4. Re:OFFICE SPACE by houghi · · Score: 2

      Nice that you point all these things out that it is close to working in IT while it has nothing to do with IT.
      It could also be used as working in the Sales department or accounting or in any other department.

      It makeit clear that the IT department is not special. It is just another department that is needed to run a company. If it would not be needed, it would not excist, just like any other department. Even the ones you hate.

      --
      Don't fight for your country, if your country does not fight for you.
  24. Lone Gunmen showed 9/11 attack, thus was cancelled by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Either they let it slip, or the show was only needed in order for them to project what they're going to do to you (so that they can say, "but we warned you what we were going to do").

  25. Binge Watching Opportunity by theodp · · Score: 2

    Computer Chronicles

    1. Re:Binge Watching Opportunity by indi0144 · · Score: 1

      Thanks. Also, the Archive needs us, make sure to donate.

    2. Re:Binge Watching Opportunity by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Boo-fucking-YA! CC was the best tech program ever. Too bad all of the losers outside of the bay area didn't get to watch it.

      And for "indi0144", make sure to eat shit. Don't tell people what to fucking do, asshole.

  26. The show never cracked a million live viewers by cdxta · · Score: 1

    Because tech people leaned long ago you don't have to watch stuff live.

    1. Re:The show never cracked a million live viewers by omnichad · · Score: 1

      Yeah - literally started HCF this week. Now that all four seasons are on Netflix.

  27. The most accurate one by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    This one., because of "... difficult, strange, disgusting, or messy occupational duties alongside the typical employees. ... working hard to complete every task as best he can despite discomfort, hazards, or repulsive situations - and, at times, all three."

  28. Better Off Ted by NetFusion · · Score: 2

    I think Phil and Lem sum up the strife of corporate nerdom well working under the management pressures from Ted and with morally bankrupt of leadership of Veronica.
     
    I miss that show

    http://www.imdb.com/title/tt12...

    1. Re:Better Off Ted by ChoGGi · · Score: 1

      I'm saddened it's only mentioned this far down.

  29. Star Trek, are you kidding? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    It's not even close, unless you consider the Star Trek copycat The Orville.

  30. HCF wasn't enjoyable by jader3rd · · Score: 1

    There was so much self inflicted drama in Halt and Catch Fire. I tried watching it, but after the first few episodes I honestly didn't care what happened to the characters, or what gender they were, or what sexual orientation they may or may not have.

    1. Re:HCF wasn't enjoyable by KingDaveRa · · Score: 1

      This was why I got bored of it. I didn't get beyond about half way through the first season. It was basically a soap opera that happened to be set in Silicon Valley. The storylines just seemed - goofy. Silicon Valley is far more believable, and more what I'd expect a series about Silicon Valley to be about.

  31. Re: Lone Gunmen showed 9/11 attack, thus was cance by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Person of interest wasn't cancelled until season 5, so that's clearly a lie.

  32. I don't know by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    How 'bout "Lost in Space"? I mean, really, here we are, stranded on a planet in the middle of nowhere, probably millions of light years away from home...

  33. None, The problem is by oldgraybeard · · Score: 5, Interesting

    User land tech is just an office type drama. Exception Office Space, for the humor ;) was just funny

    Entrepreneur tech is just crazy, social, rich individual type drama.

    Actual Software Development, can not be put in video because it is thought, the ah ha moments, looooong periods of typing, doing, executing, reading, thinking, testing, a few Got Ya Sucker! moments ;) All of which are, for the most part very hard to visualize let alone record in video in a way that someone who does not do it would understand or even care about.

    So what they always end up with is, the side stories, social interactions, drama, etc, etc. with a little poorly done tech mixed in, to try and make it look techie ;)

    What it all comes down to is, to present most parts of IT, you need to understand that sub section of IT, which those not doing it can not do.

    Example, On numinous occasions I have been sitting at a bar/where ever chatting with a friend/my son-in-law/etc (someone in the business) and people sitting next to us will just kind of look at us, shake their heads and move down the bar/go elsewhere ;) And it was not because we were loud or anything ;) Our conversation was so alien, I think it just ruined their piece of mind ;)

    Also, the IT/Tech fields are not special in this regard, there are many areas like this. I think that is why things always end up going back to the old formulas, drama, humor, social interactions, sex, violence, crime, etc. all packaged in an environment.

    Just my 2 cents ;)

    1. Re:None, The problem is by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Insightful

      "ruined their piece of mind".

      What a fabulous typo. It's like you shot them in the head.

    2. Re:None, The problem is by iCharles · · Score: 1

      Actual Software Development, can not be put in video because it is thought, the ah ha moments, looooong periods of typing, doing, executing, reading, thinking, testing, a few Got Ya Sucker! moments

      The short-lived TV series "Limitless" did leaned into this. One character was learning to be a hacker (cracker), for reasons. He explicitly stated that it is just a bunch of typing and coding and OMG BORING, so, while doing that, here's a bunch of cat videos my mom sent me. He did a similar joke later in the episode.

  34. Curb Your Enthusiasm by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Curb to me represents the constant frustration of being misunderstood when I was just the messenger between the tech and the staffers. Right before I left it all went a bit Office Space

  35. I watched the first episode of Silicon Valley. by AbRASiON · · Score: 1

    It was several times better than The Big Bang Theory.
    Note: That's still an _incredible_ insult.

    Closest thing is Office Space I would say.

  36. Is 'Halt and catch fire' about US auto industry? by mz721 · · Score: 4, Funny

    Never seen it; just going on the title.

  37. Dilbert! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    After 30 years in electronics engineering and manufacturing I found Dilbert covered all the HR fads, management types, rain-man like programmers and smarmy sales people. We had a boss that once asked us to "make everything the same high prioriy", not realizing it was already a Dilbert cartoon.

    1. Re:Dilbert! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      To this day, the production schedule where I work has priority 1A, 1B, 1C, 1D (as many as deemed necessary), then 2, 3, 4, 5, etc.
      Naturally these simultaneous priorities aren't assigned to different teams... teams, haha. like there's enough people to have teams...

  38. Small wonder by nospam007 · · Score: 1

    "Unfortunately, "nobody watched it. "

    We, who would have been interested, lived it.

    Just while we are ironing our business shirts, we don't want to watch a show where somebody is ironing shirts.

  39. The Orville by cstacy · · Score: 1
    Can't decide between The Orville, or Discovery.

    Of course all Star Trek's feature "This must be done in the next 6 minutes or we're all dead! But I canna change the laws of physics!!" meme...

    1. Re:The Orville by freeze128 · · Score: 1

      You think The Orville or Star Trek Discovery is the best TV show about working in Tech? Where the heck do you work?

  40. The answer is Swordfish by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Hacking the encryption with a gun to your head while Halle Berry poses topless. Yeah, it's exactly like that.

    Second place goes to Hackers.

  41. Office Space by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    After spending 25 years living in San Jose, Cupertino and Sunnyvale working at tech giants and startups, the last thing I want to see is a sitcom glorifying the ensemble of douchebags, assholes, and nabobs one encounters over a few decades there.

    Office Space was pretty close, except in reality there isn't just one Lumbergh: the valley is 95% lumbergh.

  42. Translation by Comboman · · Score: 1

    HCF was just OK, I can see why it didn't pick up a lot of viewers. It was more about the emergence of tech and what that meant to more traditional companies

    Translation: It was about the Gen-Xers that created tech, but Millennials aren't interested in anything that happened before 2010 when they started working.

    --
    Support Right To Repair Legislation.
  43. No profession is EVER shown realistically by petes_PoV · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Has there ever been a good show about geeks

    There has never been a "good" show about being an IT worker. Nor about being a doctor, cop, president, soldier, spy, lawyer, detective, scientist or any other job that comes to mind. Even the "reality" shows are completely artificial.

    They are all depicted as disneyfied caricatures, since all jobs are tedious, unimaginative and dull. But people don't want realism on TV - that is what real life is for. TV only ever offers the concentrated, accelerated, no natural ingredients, version of "life" in whatever way it claims to reflect it.

    If anyone thinks TV offers a "window" on peoples' lives, they are either being obtuse or have no actual clue.

    --
    politicians are like babies' nappies: they should both be changed regularly and for the same reasons
    1. Re: No profession is EVER shown realistically by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Right. This is a job for Mike Rowe( no not a stupid MS joke ) from Dirty Jobs.

      It's time to change the old switch rack that hasn't been touched in 20 years and is buried in dust!

      Oh the bosses computer stopped working? He smokes a dozen cigars in his office every day. Good luck!

    2. Re:No profession is EVER shown realistically by mapkinase · · Score: 1

      Tv shows are entertainment, and that's what they should be: entertaining.

      Nobody needs "realism". Some "realism" always present in the depiction even in the worst shows, but it's not the paramount component, it's just one of the things that could be sacrificed for the sake of overall entertainment.

      --
      I do not believe in karma. "Funny"=-6. Do good and forbid evil. Yours, Oft-Offtopic Flamebaiting Troll.
  44. Re:OFFICE SPACE (Penultimate?) by flatulus · · Score: 1

    If Office Space was the penultimate, what would you say was the ultimate?

    (hint: You might want to look up the definition of penultimate)

  45. Office Space by bwanagary · · Score: 1

    The original movie.  Still a cult classic!

  46. me.beam(c_spatial.Const.directions.relative.C_in); by Hognoxious · · Score: 1

    Star Trek. No fucking contest.

    --
    Confucius say, "Find worm in apple - bad. Find half a worm - worse."
  47. Person of Interest by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    It focuses on how software os starting to define itself.

  48. Not a TV show, but realistic by mnemotronic · · Score: 1

    This is kinda what it's like....

    --
    The Russians have won. They have made the world a cesspool of distrust, greed, fear and hate.
  49. Startup on Krackle network by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Decent

  50. Fart and catch fire by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Awful and annoying show.

  51. Re:A whacko loon's impersonating me by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    It might be harder to impersonate you if you got an account. Barring that, you could consider cryptographically signing your posts.

  52. Hyperion Bay - inadvertently funny by Software · · Score: 1

    Hyperion Bay only ran for one season in 1998-99. I remember it because they tried to dramatize the process of finishing up a release. The managers were screaming at the tech guys to "FIND THE BUG!!" and they showed screens of text flying by too fast to read. 10 seconds before the release window closes, they find the bug (presumably using "grep --recursive BUG *.c") and remove it and ship the release. It was hysterical.

  53. The Secret Life of Machines by AHuxley · · Score: 1

    Re "What's the best TV show about working"
    A series that covers the history of and working with Television Set, Quartz Watch, Video Recorder, Photocopier, Fax Machine, Telephone.
    The Secret Life of Machines
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/...

    --
    Domestic spying is now "Benign Information Gathering"
  54. Bad Title by Lucidus · · Score: 1

    Why would anyone choose to watch a show called 'Halt and Catch Fire' without additional information? The name isn't catchy or poetic, and doesn't convey any information concerning what the show is about.

    1. Re:Bad Title by omnichad · · Score: 1

      It's a pretty obscure nerdy reference - I get why the mainstream didn't pick up on it, but I did - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/...

    2. Re:Bad Title by Lucidus · · Score: 1

      I figured it had to be a reference to something, but I didn't know what. FWIW, this is one of the very few times in my life that I have been considered insufficiently nerdy.

  55. Re:OFFICE SPACE (Penultimate?) by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    Actually working in IT.

  56. Re:OFFICE SPACE (Penultimate?) by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    (hint: You might want to look up the definition of penultimate)

    It means a really, really nice Biro (or Bic, depending on your cultural background).

  57. Re:Is 'Halt and catch fire' about US auto industry by omnichad · · Score: 1

    If you've been around tech long, you may have heard the phrase.

  58. Amazon Betas by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Amazon created a great show about Silicon Valley called Betas that can be seen via Amazon Prime.

  59. STARTUP on Crackle network by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Surprised with all the cryptobunnies on this site, nobody has mentioned this favorite.

  60. Star Trek! by RhettLivingston · · Score: 1

    What we want tech work to be is much better than the reality.

  61. Better Off Ted by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Better Off Ted is pretty much the winner here.

  62. born between 1981 and 1997 by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    If you graduated high school between 2000 and 2015 you are a millennial.
    I don't care if you identify with them or not, but go find another disparaging term for the young people you seem to hate.

    Gen X-ers spent all their money on crappy cars that all rusted and houses that are now falling apart, caused the drug war and the severe penalties for drunk driving, bought a ton of now useless CD's and VHS tapes, and destroyed the housing market thinking they were going to flip houses like they saw on the TV.

  63. How about "J-pod"? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Anyone else see J-Pod back in 2008?

  64. Better IF ted by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    That is a gem among tech shows

  65. No one mentioned... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    ...Mr Robot? It's about the only show I've ever seen that accurately represents IT tech in general (rather that crappy 3D).
    It was great, except for the last episode of 1, then it became average.

    +1 for the IT crowd until it got too stupid to be funny.

    Collected quite a few for my to-watch list from the comments, thanks.

  66. Code Monkeys by pikester · · Score: 1

    We could finally laugh at ourselves instead of crying.

  67. They do not exist by houghi · · Score: 1

    These type of shows do not exist. Not for IT, not for anything else. Brooklyn 99 is NOT about the Police in Brooklyn, NY. NCIS is not about the NCIS. All those hospital shows are note about hospitals.

    They are just there to have some place people get together to interact.
    Not enough people identify with IT people, so they do not care.

    All shows are about human interaction. If you would need to name one, take "Chuck" or any other and just change the jobtitles.

    --
    Don't fight for your country, if your country does not fight for you.
  68. I watch them all... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I just binged the final season of "Halt and Catch Fire." I also binged "The IT Crowed." I am up to season 2 of "Mr. Robot" and am also caught up with "Silicon Valley." I just think we are too small a group and tend to also be cable cutters and not counted. I was extremely disappointed last year when I found out that season 4 would be the last for "Halt and Catch Fire."

    If they make it I will watch!

  69. Why do you need one best? by mapkinase · · Score: 1

    Watch all of them, all of them get _some_ aspects of geek life right. Accentuate the bloody positive.

    --
    I do not believe in karma. "Funny"=-6. Do good and forbid evil. Yours, Oft-Offtopic Flamebaiting Troll.
  70. stereotypes exist by mapkinase · · Score: 1

    And the reason is not: "because writers are stupid".

    The reason is: "because watchers are stupid".

    --
    I do not believe in karma. "Funny"=-6. Do good and forbid evil. Yours, Oft-Offtopic Flamebaiting Troll.
  71. None by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Nobody is interested, period. Comparing "Mad Men" to "Halt and catch fire" isn't even comparing apples to oranges, it's comparing cake to shit. The world of advertising, especially in the changing cultural environment of the '60s, is rightfully perceived as engaging and glamorous. The world of IT is about a disgusting bunch of badly-dressed, foul-smelling, awkward-looking social outcasts with terminal halitosis. No-one is interested. No-one that matters, anyway, and nobody wants an audience made up by nerds.

  72. A whacko loon's impersonating me by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    See subject: To whom it may concern - the freak I'm replying to has some dumb scheme in impersonating me folks - ignore him.

    APK

    P.S.=> You're a whackjob freak - no questions asked - this has to be the 20th time you've impersonated me this week alone!... apk

  73. SV by jf_moreira · · Score: 1

    Silicon Valley, no doubt. Can't wait for the next season.

  74. Mr. Robot by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I'm a Network Engineer and I've been in the IT field for over 30 years. I'm a generalist, but currently specializing in information security. Penetration testing and computer forensics, white hat hacking.

    Without any doubt, the best IT tech related show is "Mr. Robot". It's the most realistic in terms of hacking, using real code, real tools, real techniques and tactics.

  75. I loved that show by nullhero · · Score: 1

    maybe it's because I lived that history. My first computer was an Apple ][e in 1983. I programmed it and learned so much. I've watched the show and remembered so much. It was great. I loved the characters, and how they left and came back to each other all because of technology that they wanted to create. The show embodied that spirit of just making something and turning that passion into a business or to try to. This still happens and will continue because we will continue to want to make something. Why did no one like it? Maybe it had more geek spirit than the general audience cared for.

    --
    Save Pangaea!! Stop Continental Drift!!
  76. HBO - Silicon Valley by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I am a fan of HBO's series Silicon Valley.

  77. Re:Stop dump articles like this. Go ban bump stock by anomalous3 · · Score: 1

    Good point. Slashdot needs to go all bumpstops, all the time. Lets cut out the silly news aggregation aspect of it and turn it into a single-topic soapbox, as it was originally intended to be.

  78. Only in movies by Not-a-Neg · · Score: 1

    First, there has never been a TV show that got the tech industry in Silicon Valley right, the shows tend to be skinny 20-somethings living in huge lavish apartments with amazing views and outgoing lifestyles which is the exact opposite of reality. There have been several shows set in San Francisco that gets the feel of that city correct but don't show the tech industry at all, and most people that work in Silicon Valley don't consider San Francisco to be a part of it, just a fringe out-lie'r (hint: San Francisco is an hour drive outside of Silicon Valley.)

    To date, the only media to get it right has been two movies: Grandma's Boy which did a good job capturing life in the world of videogame testing and Office Space which got the soul-devouring cubicle hell correct. I've personally worked in a wide variety of Silicon Valley companies, including: Symantec, Nvidia, Electronic Arts, IBM, Applied Materials, Dionex, countless hole-in-the-wall places that do data management, insurance companies, school districts, and computer retail.

    --
    -==- Buy a Mac and leave me alone!
  79. The Carol Burnett Show by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    (1967-1978), parallels all the p00p that happens in society today. Beside, Carol was a Cutie !!

  80. Adam Curtis by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I find Adam Curtis documentaries do a great job of explaining the rise of tech and the forces within and behind tech which shape our world.

  81. best sci-tech ever? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I've seen the four seasons of Hell and catch fire. The last was boring. Leaving the tech side to a kind of family sitcom.
    Mr robot is still great
    About Silicon Valley, i quit at the end of S01E03.

  82. I quit watching after a few episodes by robkeeney · · Score: 1

    I quit watching Halt and Catch Fire after a few episodes. The presentation of the tech was OK, but I found all of the characters unlikable. Not one of them seemed to have any sense of humor. It was all just constant stress and drama.

  83. thewebsiteisdown by raluralu · · Score: 1

    THIS Stuff is The best series - 3 episodes only -> http://www.thewebsiteisdown.co...

  84. Betas - also - Freaks and Geeks by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Not the best, but relevant to the discussion:

    Betas
    http://www.imdb.com/title/tt30...
    https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wik...

    Freaks and Geeks
    http://www.imdb.com/title/tt01...
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/...

  85. Halt and catch fire by skovnymfe · · Score: 1

    I really liked the first season. All the obvious drama aside, it's a fun story about people working in ye olde tech explosion era.

  86. Sounds like Mr Robot. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Had a few cool hacks in S1, but then it turned into a fight club-esque psychological thriller about Elliot's battle with his alternate personality, while dictating it all to a third personality (you, the viewer) while a bunch of other psychologically abused people get murdered/go off the rails as a result of his actions.

    The drug dealer from S1 who had his neighbor/drug dealer murdered being the example that seals next season's plot and lack of tech hacks.

    captcha was codfish.... Elliot's backdoor equivalent of 'swordfish'?

  87. Interesting by Publicdebate · · Score: 1

    The Walking Dead.