Silicon Valley, one of HBO’s top shows decided to poke fun at a tech giant in the most recent episode. That tech giant is Samsung and yes phones were exploding. This jab from Mike Judge and the creators of Silicon Valley may have been missed by the masses, but not by us.
With memory of Samsung’s exploding Galaxy Note 7 fading away, Silicon Valley has subtlety brought it back up. In the episode titled “Hooli-con”, there is an eerie resemblance to the Galaxy S7 launch Samsung did last year. When the Galaxy S7 was debuted, Samsung had all of the audience reach under their seats and pull out a Gear VR. When the crowd takes off their Gear VR headsets, they are greeted by a special guest, Mark Zuckerberg.
In “Hooli-con”, the overall premise is the same, but unfolds slightly differently. VR guru Keenan Feldspar joins Hooli CEO Jack Barker on the stage. This leads leads to the CEO telling the audience to check under their seats. They find a VR headset that “automagically” pairs with their Hooli phones. Now this is where it gets interesting.
Once the VR scene begins playing, Hooli phones within the crowd start exploding one by one. The similarities to Samsung’s VR push and their exploding Note 7 devices and the scene in “Hooli-con” are undeniable. It is unknown if Mike Judge and company deliberately made fun of Samsung’s exploding phones, but it was definitely the inspiration for the final scene. The full scene can be seen below.
Image courtesy of HBO’s Silicon Valley