FogCreek commissioned a documentary about their summer intern project named Aardvark which ended up releasing Copilot, a product to help your mom with her computer woes.

I think it’s intriguing in the voyeuristic sense in that I like the idea of taking a look inside how other companies manage their software projects. But at $19.95 a pop, It’ll have to be picked up by NetFlix for me to watch it, which doesn’t seem likely.

It makes me wonder if I should buy it as a show of solidarity to say there is a demand for documentaries and movies that provide a realistic view of software development.

Perhaps not surprisingly, software development doesn’t get much respect nor recognition in Hollywood. The depictions out there that do exist are typically ludicrous (Swordfish anyone?). Neither do television shows address the subject.

There are plenty of shows about lawyers and doctors, but what about the software developers? You can’t sit there and tell me that open heart surgery is more exciting than completing a refactoring on a method and getting green bars on your unit tests. Ok, maybe it is a tad bit more exciting as a life is on the line as opposed to someone’s butt, but the interesting part of such shows such as Grey’s Anatomy and Law and Order are the backstories, not the medicine nor law being practiced.

Comics like Dilbert give a hint at the comedy potential for a show depicting software developers. So c’mon Hollywood, copy this idea (since that is the modus operandi). I saved you the trouble from having to think of it yourself.