Valley of the Boom

Had to write a review. This series deserves better. Anyone dismissing it due to the unusual manner in which it is told is missing the entire point. If you were a part of this time, or if you work in tech it is a must see. Original, informative and well acted. Fun for all is too be had as long as you approach it with an often mind.

Most of the reviews are a riot over the confusion of documentary or drama. I believe the fact here is, the stories they were able to portray. If you want to learn about the..boom, this is your best bet. It's also the most accurate of portrayals for Silicon Valley. All I ask, leave your mind open to other ways cinema, story telling can be shot.

What a time the 1990's were. Fortunes made and lost in hours, industries created and destroyed overnight, new innovations being created and sometimes eclipsed within days, vaporware and outright fraud being shopped around and making millions. This is the story of a few of the major players in Silicone Valley during this time. The story is intertwined with actors acting out key plot points in both realistic and artistic ways and some of the real players telling us what happened and what it was like. This is a must watch for anyone who lived through this era in computers or anyone interested in what is going to happen to the industry in the future, we all know history is destined to repeat itself.

I lived and worked through this era in the DC area with one of the first nationwide commercial ISPs. It's why I made a point of watching Valley of the Boom and why I really enjoyed it.

I understand some people's confusion or disappointment with aspects of the series but not the number of low stars or the depth of the nasty reviews. It was much better than that, especially as the episodes progressed.

I admit I was a little put off at first by the "breaking-the-fourth-wall" moments and musical numbers, but I grew to appreciate their function. The little math whiz explaining IPOs and the developer explaining open source with the chicken salad sandwich were spot-on and a much better way to explain them to viewers who don't know about those concepts than through standard exposition.

And the interviews with the actual people involved -- especially the secondary players, whom you would otherwise rarely hear from in a documentary -- were worth watching the entire series for. The acting, too, brought their moments to life in a really credible way. (The actor's characterization of Marc Andreessen was so much like a CTO colleague from that time that it triggered some pretty uncomfortable feelings and memories.)

I haven't thought about those moments from my career or, more accurately, felt like that about them in a very long time. For me personally, that's a good measure by which to judge the success of the series.

Subject pretty much sums it up. Great story of the early days of the internet told from varying points and perspectives using a dynamic mixing documentary, interviews and drama to really capture the events that took place, that when done well, which I believe it was, is simply incredible and quite enjoyable.