"Adult Supervision"
September 9, 2015 8:14 AM Subscribe
Mozilla Firefox cofounder Blake Ross couldn't wait for the season 3 premiere of HBO's Silicon Valley, so he did the next best thing and wrote his own script which is pretty much indistinguishable from an actual episode.
The author does a surprisingly good job of capturing the speech and mannerisms of the individual characters. He also manages to make it exactly 30 pages (~= 30 min. episode length).
posted by lucasks at 8:46 AM on September 9, 2015
posted by lucasks at 8:46 AM on September 9, 2015
So, this is still FanFic, right? Even though it was written by a rich white dude and not some random teenage girl?
posted by jacquilynne at 8:49 AM on September 9, 2015 [32 favorites]
posted by jacquilynne at 8:49 AM on September 9, 2015 [32 favorites]
This is probably the best "leaving facebook to pursue other interests" outcome I can think of.
posted by srboisvert at 9:00 AM on September 9, 2015 [2 favorites]
posted by srboisvert at 9:00 AM on September 9, 2015 [2 favorites]
Fanfic is fanfic even when hordes of authors from amateurs to professional reuse established cultural characters from Sherlock Holmes to Jesus Christ.
posted by Apocryphon at 9:55 AM on September 9, 2015 [5 favorites]
posted by Apocryphon at 9:55 AM on September 9, 2015 [5 favorites]
The ending sort of reminded me of the "Programmers travel in groups of 5" monologue from Season 1. This was good! Had a very "start of a new season" vibe going for it.
posted by brecc at 9:57 AM on September 9, 2015
posted by brecc at 9:57 AM on September 9, 2015
This was a lot better than I thought it would be. The ending is perfect.
posted by inthe80s at 10:16 AM on September 9, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by inthe80s at 10:16 AM on September 9, 2015 [1 favorite]
Come on, not ALL fanfic is like "50 Shades of Gross". I dread the day when copyright lawyers figure out how to kill it (and you KNOW they're working hard in it).
posted by oneswellfoop at 10:54 AM on September 9, 2015
posted by oneswellfoop at 10:54 AM on September 9, 2015
Sure, I like some FanFic. I've even written some FanFic. I have no particular problem with FanFic. I just think it's really interesting that this thing has been going viral all over the place (I'd seen it multiple times before it showed up on MeFi) but I'm seeing most of the stories I see on it characterize it as a "spec script" or a "tribute" or simply "unofficial". There seems to be some reason why people are avoiding calling it FanFic, and my suspicion is that that reason is not unrelated to privilege.
posted by jacquilynne at 11:28 AM on September 9, 2015 [3 favorites]
posted by jacquilynne at 11:28 AM on September 9, 2015 [3 favorites]
(Mefi's own) Matthew Baldwin has also done the TV episode script as fanfic thing. Contains spoilers for The Office (US) seasons 1–5.
posted by mbrubeck at 11:43 AM on September 9, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by mbrubeck at 11:43 AM on September 9, 2015 [1 favorite]
I read this earlier this week, and oh my god is it spot on. The list of terrible interview questions is exactly the kind of thing the show would do, and I totally lost my shit at the Cauc Cave ("where we hire white people"). Bonus points for flawlessly capturing Dinesh and Gilfoil's dynamic.
The only thing I thought was so-so was his Laurie, who comes off as more... mean? in this script than she does in the show. In the show she's brusque and to the point, but not cruel, and she seemed overly jerky here.
posted by Itaxpica at 12:30 PM on September 9, 2015
The only thing I thought was so-so was his Laurie, who comes off as more... mean? in this script than she does in the show. In the show she's brusque and to the point, but not cruel, and she seemed overly jerky here.
posted by Itaxpica at 12:30 PM on September 9, 2015
No, no, no. Silicon Valley is the FanFic. Blake Ross is the real deal.
posted by effugas at 12:34 PM on September 9, 2015 [8 favorites]
posted by effugas at 12:34 PM on September 9, 2015 [8 favorites]
Fanfic? In a different context, this would be known as a spec script. And while I don't have a lot of experience reading spec scripts, I think this one reads really well. A good handle on the characters' voices, lots of jokes that land just right in the context of the show, and a bunch of very plausible plot developments. If this guy is looking for a career change into TV writing, this script wouldn't be the worst start.
posted by mhum at 1:03 PM on September 9, 2015 [2 favorites]
posted by mhum at 1:03 PM on September 9, 2015 [2 favorites]
Blake Ross was on MetaFilter previously for a satiric article about Las Vegas taxi scams.
posted by mbrubeck at 1:07 PM on September 9, 2015
posted by mbrubeck at 1:07 PM on September 9, 2015
jacquilynne: "I'm seeing most of the stories I see on it characterize it as a "spec script" or a "tribute" or simply "unofficial". There seems to be some reason why people are avoiding calling it FanFic, and my suspicion is that that reason is not unrelated to privilege."
My suspicion is that that reason is because it's in script form instead of prose form. Which I highly doubt is related to privilege.
posted by Bugbread at 7:32 PM on September 9, 2015 [1 favorite]
My suspicion is that that reason is because it's in script form instead of prose form. Which I highly doubt is related to privilege.
posted by Bugbread at 7:32 PM on September 9, 2015 [1 favorite]
Also, it's a “mainstream” show, rather than My Little Pony or Ranma ½ or something. On the other hand, even if you're a white male techie with a high concept for your Harry Potter fic, it's never going to escape the fanfic label.
(I know there’s plenty of fan fiction out there for mainstream TV from Mad Men to The Brady Bunch, but it’s not what the word brings to mind for most people, in my experience.)
posted by mbrubeck at 7:58 PM on September 9, 2015 [1 favorite]
(I know there’s plenty of fan fiction out there for mainstream TV from Mad Men to The Brady Bunch, but it’s not what the word brings to mind for most people, in my experience.)
posted by mbrubeck at 7:58 PM on September 9, 2015 [1 favorite]
My suspicion is that that reason is because it's in script form instead of prose form.
Maybe, but there's plenty of ScriptFic out there in the FanFic universe. It is possible, though, that the broad spectrum of people covering this story just aren't familiar with it, though, it's certainly a minority of Fic, even Fic about TV shows.
posted by jacquilynne at 5:22 AM on September 10, 2015
Maybe, but there's plenty of ScriptFic out there in the FanFic universe. It is possible, though, that the broad spectrum of people covering this story just aren't familiar with it, though, it's certainly a minority of Fic, even Fic about TV shows.
posted by jacquilynne at 5:22 AM on September 10, 2015
That wouldn't surprise me. I'm not into fanfic, though I don't have anything against it, per se. And in a certain academic sense I guess I would believe that fanfic can exist in any written form. Maybe there are fanfic haiku, I don't know. But if you showed me a haiku about Firefly it wouldn't occur to me to call it fanfic, regardless of the gender of the writer. And, likewise, for scripts. I wouldn't challenge the assertion that it was fanfic, but it wouldn't occur to me to categorize it that way on my own unless someone specifically primed me with that idea.
(Now, what's weird is, if you showed me a play, then I might categorize it as fanfic. Perhaps it's because prose and plays are old media, while TV and movie scripts are new media? I'm not sure. Interesting.)
posted by Bugbread at 7:05 AM on September 10, 2015
(Now, what's weird is, if you showed me a play, then I might categorize it as fanfic. Perhaps it's because prose and plays are old media, while TV and movie scripts are new media? I'm not sure. Interesting.)
posted by Bugbread at 7:05 AM on September 10, 2015
Wow! A man wrote fiction based on his favorite show! What a novel concept! We should tell everyone about this because it's so cool and never done before. Ever.
S I G H.
posted by FunkyHelix at 10:10 AM on September 10, 2015
S I G H.
posted by FunkyHelix at 10:10 AM on September 10, 2015
jacquilynne: "most of the stories I see on it characterize it as a "spec script" or a "tribute" or simply "unofficial". There seems to be some reason why people are avoiding calling it FanFic, and my suspicion is that that reason is not unrelated to privilege."
I'm not sure how I missed this comment before but upon further reflection I'd have to agree that privilege very likely plays a part (how large a part is of course up for discussion) in how this is being broadly perceived as something other than fanfic.
Of course, this raises the question of what is really the difference between a spec script and fanfic. I would say one of the biggest differences is motivation. Broadly, I think fanfic is done out a love of the material or a desire to explore the boundaries of a body of work while a spec script is done out of a desire to land a paying job. You pick a show for a spec script not because you (necessarily) love the show but rather because you think that it would do the best to showcase your writing abilities to the relevant people.
I'd like to think that what made me think "spec script" rather than "fanfic" (aside from buying into broader cultural baggage) was three things: format, style, and topic. Yes, while fanfic scripts certainly exist, they seem to be a much less prominent format. Moreover, this script was formatted Final Draft-style into an exact 30-page episode. In terms of style, this script stuck so close to canon that it is basically indistinguishable from a real episode. Even the newly introduced characters, Charlie and Jack Dorsey, are treated with the right amount of focus. Personally, I tend to favor fanfic of a less canonical variety. And finally, while there does seem to exist Silicon Valley fanfic, it's not super common -- somewhat more than Entourage but an order of magnitude less than Orphan Black on AO3).
posted by mhum at 1:26 PM on September 10, 2015
I'm not sure how I missed this comment before but upon further reflection I'd have to agree that privilege very likely plays a part (how large a part is of course up for discussion) in how this is being broadly perceived as something other than fanfic.
Of course, this raises the question of what is really the difference between a spec script and fanfic. I would say one of the biggest differences is motivation. Broadly, I think fanfic is done out a love of the material or a desire to explore the boundaries of a body of work while a spec script is done out of a desire to land a paying job. You pick a show for a spec script not because you (necessarily) love the show but rather because you think that it would do the best to showcase your writing abilities to the relevant people.
I'd like to think that what made me think "spec script" rather than "fanfic" (aside from buying into broader cultural baggage) was three things: format, style, and topic. Yes, while fanfic scripts certainly exist, they seem to be a much less prominent format. Moreover, this script was formatted Final Draft-style into an exact 30-page episode. In terms of style, this script stuck so close to canon that it is basically indistinguishable from a real episode. Even the newly introduced characters, Charlie and Jack Dorsey, are treated with the right amount of focus. Personally, I tend to favor fanfic of a less canonical variety. And finally, while there does seem to exist Silicon Valley fanfic, it's not super common -- somewhat more than Entourage but an order of magnitude less than Orphan Black on AO3).
posted by mhum at 1:26 PM on September 10, 2015
If Biden wrote West Wing fanfic we'd all be talking about it.
posted by Apocryphon at 1:52 PM on September 10, 2015
posted by Apocryphon at 1:52 PM on September 10, 2015
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...except for the fact that you read it instead of watching it.
posted by I-baLL at 8:39 AM on September 9, 2015