‘Betas’ Should Have Never Left the Test Phase
By “The Reviewer”
We ranked it:
In Amazon’s latest original “Betas” people have names like Trey, Nash, and Hobbes. In “Betas,” people say things like “BRB is a PowerPoint piggybacking on an illegal hack of Facebook.”
If you pine to reach the golden halls of some abandoned warehouse turned communal workspace nestled in Silicon Valley, you will love “Betas.” However, if hashtags, Vine, hacking, apps, and the word algorithms send you spiraling into a well of rage, stay away, my friend.
“Betas” in this post, post, post-ironic world cannot seem to figure out whether it hates itself. We are introduced to characters who are the embodiment of the Silicon Valley tool and expected to laugh when they are humiliated. But almost in the same breath, our characters whisper names like Sean Parker with a reverence usually reserved for Grecian demigods. As viewers, we are expected to somehow differentiate between Silicon wag #1 and Silicon wag #2. Their differences are negligible, yet Silicon wag #1 is wealthy, and successful, and he wears a nice suit. He must be cool, right?
As “Entourage” placed fast cars, big homes, and beautiful women on a pedestal, “Betas” does its best to convince us that work lofts and Red Bull vending machines are the signature of any young, hip CEO with a really good idea for an app. We’ve all met this guy, and chances are that you probably don’t like him. He’s probably wearing Google Glass and telling you about the latest tech summit he just attended. His business card has a QR code, and he name drops. If you need a clearer picture, just watch “Betas,” the main character — “Trey” — is that dude, except he’s handsome and charming. The rest of the cast is a mashup for loveless nerd, another loveless nerd, and a loveless deadbeat. There’s also a beautiful legal consultant who hides her heart of gold beneath power suits and a stone exterior. Not much is notable here.
“Betas” seems to have been built solely for a demographic that places a premium on Twitter followers and unique hits. It’s meant to be enjoyed with an iPhone 5 in one hand and a craft beer in the other. The show is for a sect of people who follow the trades and give a damn about Mark Z’s hunting trip in Iowa. For everyone else, unfortunately, “Betas” is easily skippable.
