| Triumph of the Nerds | |
|---|---|
| Genre | Documentary |
| Based on | Accidental Empires by Robert X. Cringely |
| Written by | Robert X. Cringely |
| Screenplay by | Robert X. Cringely |
| Directed by | Paul Sen[1] |
| Narrated by | Robert X. Cringely |
| Theme music composer | Nitin Sawhney |
| Country of origin |
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| Original language | English |
| Production | |
| Producer | John Gau |
| Cinematography | John Booth[1] |
| Editor | Michael Duxbury[1] |
| Running time |
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| Production companies | John Gau Productions for Channel 4 and Oregon Public Broadcasting |
| Original release | |
| Network | |
| Release | 14 April 1996 |
| Related | |
| Nerds 2.0.1 | |
| Infobox instructions (only shown in preview) | |
Triumph of the Nerds is a 1996 British/American television documentary, produced by John Gau Productions and Oregon Public Broadcasting for Channel 4 and PBS. It explores the development of the personal computer in the United States from World War II to 1995. It was first screened as three episodes between 14 and 28 April 1996 on Channel 4, and as a single programme on 16 December 1996 on PBS.
Triumph of the Nerds was written and hosted by Robert X. Cringely (Mark Stephens) and based on his 1992 book Accidental Empires. The documentary comprises interviews with important figures connected with the personal computer, including Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak, Bill Gates, Steve Ballmer, Paul Allen, Bill Atkinson, Andy Hertzfeld, Ed Roberts, and Larry Ellison. It also includes archival footage of Gary Kildall and commentary from Douglas Adams, the author of the science fiction series The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. The title Triumph of the Nerds is a play on the title of the 1984 comedy Revenge of the Nerds.[2]
Cringely followed the series with Nerds 2.0.1 (titled Glory of the Geeks in the UK), a history of the Internet to 1998. In 2012, Cringely released the full interview that Steve Jobs gave in 1995 for Triumph of the Nerds as Steve Jobs: The Lost Interview.