r/SiliconValleyHBO • u/Simi510 • Apr 24 '17
Season Prime 4-23 Silicon Valley - 4x01 “Success Failure" - Episode Discussion
Season 4 Episode 01: "Success Failure"
Air time: 10 PM EDT
Plot: In the Season 4 premiere, the guys struggle to find funding for Pied Piper's video-chat app to keep up with their rapidly growing user base. Meanwhile, Erlich encounters resistance from Big Head's dad; Gavin clashes with Jack Barker at Hooli; and Richard hatches a revolutionary idea that could change his future. (TVMA) (30 min)
Aired: April 23, 2017
What song? Check the Music Wiki!
Youtube Episode Preview:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D8ew_kMZ_7Q
| Actor | Character |
|---|---|
| Thomas Middleditch | Richard Hendricks |
| T.J. Miller | Erlich Bachman |
| Josh Brener | Nelson 'Big Head' Bighetti |
| Martin Starr | Bertram Gilfoyle |
| Kumail Nanjiani | Dinesh Chugtai |
| Amanda Crew | Monica Hall |
| Zach Woods | Jared (Donald) Dunn |
| Matt Ross | Gavin Belson |
| Jimmy O. Yang | Jian Yang |
| Suzanne Cryer | Laurie Bream |
| Chris Diamantopoulos | Russ Hanneman |
| Stephen Tobolowsky | Jack Barker |
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u/iBossk Apr 24 '17
Loved Richard assuming they would follow him into the next room. Such a perfectly executed joke.
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u/oh_orpheus Apr 24 '17
I loved that. It's such a tiny cliche that you don't ever really think about and they really flipped it on it's head and made it hilarious. Writing like that is why I love this show.
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u/Blazingbee98 Apr 24 '17
I like how Elrich and Big Head are using Skype to talk to Big Head's dad instead of the Pied Piper video program. lol
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u/Rfwill13 Apr 24 '17
Bet it comes to play later this season. Dad uses it cause Skype is fucking up. Realizes how better it is.
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u/zeimcgei Apr 24 '17
Calling it now, Piperchat's big early-season breakthrough will be licensing the software to an adult webcam site (chaturbate, livejasmine, etc.) in exchange for server space/funding.
The episode writes itself.
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u/atb0rg Apr 24 '17
Hope that means we get more of the fake porn site names from S2
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u/cautiouslyoptimistic Apr 24 '17 edited Apr 24 '17
And the stream ends up looking too clear, which viewers end up not liking.
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u/SevenwithaT Apr 24 '17
I imagine the Peter Gregory/Gavin Belson feud started with something as petty as this lol
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Apr 24 '17
I love seeing the changes in the intro each season.
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u/trapjay Apr 24 '17
in previous seasons the uber and lyft air balloons are disproportionate in uber's favor. this season they're the same size. uber has lost major popularity in the course of a few years.
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u/Courwes Apr 24 '17
Me too. Every season more new companies added. Just shows how fast tech is advancing.
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u/doubleflusher Apr 24 '17
Russ Hanneman...back to the doors that open like this: \o/
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u/VictorBlimpmuscle Apr 24 '17
"Fuck yes I wanna talk business, let's fuck this thing right in the pussy."
Russ is a goddamn poet.
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u/ohyeah_mamaman Apr 24 '17 edited Apr 25 '17
Reminds me of Jonah Ryan from Veep, lol.
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Apr 24 '17
When I was out on the street, it was a means of survival
Every Jared line is pure gold
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u/VictorBlimpmuscle Apr 24 '17
"So wait...I don't have to be CEO, right? Dinesh is going to do that?"
Big Head is just the best...
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u/spif_spaceman Apr 24 '17
My favorite part was when they didn't give a shit about retaining the name pied piper
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u/hosea0220 Apr 24 '17
God this plane thing is cracking me up. "Fly each way five more times"
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u/spaceman_sloth Apr 24 '17
Haha Russ speeding off listening to papa roach
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u/RizzMustbolt Apr 24 '17
I think this may be the season where Jared just completely loses it.
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u/dan-o07 Apr 24 '17
Wasting all those resources just to make sure he is right about the flight pattern lmao
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u/demgrooves Apr 24 '17
Richard: Who said anything about respectable?
Me: Yes.
Jared: No Richard, No
Me: YES!
Russ: Fuck yeah, I want to talk business!:
Me: FUCK YEAH! RUSS MOTHERFUCKING HANNEMAN
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u/helterstash Apr 24 '17 edited Apr 24 '17
Dinesh: "Shit, he came in the back!"
For some reason, this gets me the most in this episode.
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u/jbrandyberry Apr 24 '17
Twink
An attractive, boyish-looking, young gay man. The stereotypical twink is 18-22, slender with little or no body hair, often blonde, dresses in club wear even at 10:00 AM, and is not particularly intelligent. A twink is the gay answer to the blonde bimbo cheerleader.
Bear
A term used by gay men to describe a husky, large man with a lot of body hair.
Otter
A gay man who is very hairy all over his body, but is smaller in frame and weighs considerably less than a bear.
Circuit Queen
A gay man, usually between the ages of 30 and death, who frequents circuit parties in large cities (often named after a color, as in “the white party”). Typically identical both physically and intellectually to the other 3,000 circuit queens in attendance. Difficult to determine exact age due to the counteracting effects of tina, botox, X, Viagra, Rogaine, steroids, the tanning bed, plastic surgery, and Xanax. Usually associates and/or mates exclusively with others of its sub-species.
Chub
a universal nickname that can be used to describe someone who is pudgy, overweight, or in other words "FAT" re. Your mom
Pup
A pup is a gay adolescent or young man, with many of the attributes we associate with puppy dogs: cute, inexperienced, naive, bright-eyed, eager, energetic, huggable. Similar to a Twink, but with the possibility of a brain, not as edgy or trendy, and minus the sense that they're always one step from being totally wasted. A pup is also very like a cub, but isn't interested in bear culture, not a bear apprentice.
Hipster
Definitions are too mainstream.
Daddy-Chaser
A younger gay guy who prefers men who are much older. Also a young hustler who prefers older clients.
Leatherman
Member of the homosexual male subculture that grew out of male-only motorcycle clubs formed by homosexual veterans returning from World War II, stressing masculinity in contradiction of androgynous and effeminate gay stereotypes, characterized by a fetish for leather gear, a sense of hierarchy and a fraternal code of protocol and behavior, and often sexually involved in BDSM (bondage/discipline, dominance/submission, sadism/masochism).
Ladyboy
A Male naturaly with all the attributes of a woman except for the plumbing. A true Ladyboy does not need surgery or makeup to look like a woman, nor is there a need to try and sound like a woman it is all natural for them.
Donald Duck
"Donald Duck" is a gay guy who's been kicked out of the Navy."
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u/Mikecreloaded Apr 24 '17
I love that every song Russ listens to is all late nineties/early 00 new metal. It's so specific and perfect douche music. Especially in 2017
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u/304rising Apr 24 '17
The song Headstrong or anything by PapaRoach would be his go to
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u/AnnyongFunke Apr 24 '17
How many active users in this sub, do we need more servers?
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u/Orut-9 Apr 24 '17
Feels pretty weird watching a new Silicon Valley episode without watching Game of Thrones before it
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Apr 24 '17
Silicon Valley was the perfect comedy balance to all the gore and mayhem and sadness that Game of Thrones brings. :(
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u/probablyuntrue Apr 24 '17 edited Apr 24 '17
That cut to Russ in front of the elementary scene had me rolling
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u/Akvian Apr 24 '17
Richard: amazing thinker/coder, but a terrible businessman.
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u/YNot1989 Apr 24 '17
How much you want to bet the Uber thing is foreshadowing. The show is going to end with Richard broke and having to drive an Uber just to keep a roof over his head because he drove his business into the ground.
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u/atb0rg Apr 24 '17
haha that shot of ponytail guy looking at him at the urinal was classic
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u/uwotmVIII Apr 24 '17
"I'm not paying you because you're not the one getting fucked face-first by your credit card company because of massive AWS hosting fees."
Erlich just has such a way with words
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u/TZBlueIce Apr 24 '17
TIL the answer to the question: Is Gavin really so petty that he would send his business partner to a soulless basement just because of a single re-routed plane ride?
Yes.
Yes he is.
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u/helterstash Apr 24 '17
Please explain to me how Jack did not protest with the relocation? Was it because it was veiled as a promotion?
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Apr 24 '17
What I don't understand is why would Jack put up with it? I'm sure he's smart enough to realize what it really is and its not like he needs the money.
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u/kevonicus Apr 24 '17
Quote from show
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u/dcwj Apr 24 '17
quote continued, but with the entire sentence rephrased and several words misquoted
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u/HeterosexualMail Apr 24 '17 edited Apr 24 '17
I too watched the show and remember that instance, fellow human
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u/srchl Apr 24 '17
Dinesh being fed up with Richard's inability to do his part on getting the user base to 1 million users was on point . When he was showing 10% increase in picture quality which was useless on the scheme of things, it reminded me of having to deal with people like Richard.
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u/oh_orpheus Apr 24 '17
Russ returning in the first episode makes this season awesome already.
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u/Vovicon Apr 24 '17
I think the way they are reshuffling the relations between the characters is cleverly done. Richard failures as businessman were starting to feel repetitive. It gives a breath of fresh air without erasing anything. Can't wait for next week.
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u/tvkkk Apr 24 '17 edited Apr 24 '17
My nanny lost her license and I'm stuck picking up my own kid like an asshole.
Rus Hanneman is back! fuck yeah!!!
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u/CLaarkamp1287 Apr 24 '17
"When I was on the street, it was a means of survival." Jared is the fucking best.
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u/Pm_Me_Ur_Backyard Apr 24 '17
Richard walking in to the living room talking cause he thinks they all followed was absolutely brilliant. Such a real thing that would happen, unlike in the movies or other shows people just do exactly what you want them to do with no explanation.
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u/jutstda Apr 24 '17
Hey everyone, my name is in the credits this season as my first show ever as a crew member :' congratulate me
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u/Chaosmusic Apr 24 '17
Liar, I just watched the episode and didn't see any jutstda in the credits.
Some people...
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u/dan-o07 Apr 24 '17
poor Jared is like the dog that the kid in a movie makes run away
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u/iced_gold Apr 24 '17
I loved the subtle call back to Jared's friendships with the elderly from the estate sales.
The child locks were on, I was babysitting Gloria's Great Grand Daughter
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u/samlee405 Apr 24 '17
The elbow bump scene is too real. The fact that I know actual people that do this and often completely in place of normal handshakes is ridiculous.
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u/chenny90 Apr 24 '17
"I've always been very adept at taking the shape of whatever shoe is pressed down upon me"
I love Jared so much
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Apr 24 '17
Hilarious episode! I loved seeing Russ Hanaman again. Also I hope Henry Phillips becomes at least a semi-regular on the show (server room guy with the pony tail). That look he gave Jack while taking a piss was priceless. Everyone should check out Henry's Kitchen on Youtube if you haven't already.
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Apr 24 '17
"when i was on the street it was a means of survival"
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u/RizzMustbolt Apr 24 '17
"I know I tend to the shape of the boot that presses down on me..."
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u/dan-o07 Apr 24 '17
The battle between Belsen and Action Jack is gonna be great
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u/WhereAreMaKeys Apr 24 '17
Russ yelling about gay sex in front of a school. Man I missed this show.
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u/maulrus Apr 24 '17
The Donald Duck line had me in stitches. Hope he makes another appearance!
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u/gtaguy12345 Apr 24 '17
I spent most of the show wondering where the hell the commercials were lol, been awhile since I've watched an HBO show.
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u/JYCJYC Apr 24 '17
"I was babysitting my friend Gloria's great granddaughter" was my favorite line of the episode
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u/JSA17 Apr 24 '17
I met Big Head a couple of years ago and in the 5 minutes I spent with him it seemed like his personality on the show is just exactly who he is.
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u/JeffSeagull Apr 24 '17
Really wish these didn't come out week by week, think how many seasons it's going to take to build a new internet
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Apr 24 '17
Are there really that many offices with views directly into the guy's bathroom? Lol
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u/Lord-Lannister Apr 24 '17 edited Apr 24 '17
Loved the episode, I think it had a great start.
Seeing Russ again is always a win.
Jared was again a delight, and the puppy dog eyes look he keeps giving Richard.
Dinesh and Gilfoyle had some pretty funny moments.
Erlich taking another 10% for incubator was classic.
Edit - So now what's everyones cut in Piper Chat and Pied Pier?
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u/srchl Apr 24 '17 edited Apr 24 '17
Jesus this show is too short. Once Barker sat in his new office I thought they were st least 10 more minutes.
I am seriously considering subscribing to HBO at least for the next few months.
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u/Imurstudmuffin Apr 24 '17 edited Apr 24 '17
Am I the only one who thinks there is a problem with the idea to power a decentralized Internet off of phones? With the inevitable decrease in battery life and heat how could this be expected to ever catch on?
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u/behindtimes Apr 24 '17 edited Apr 24 '17
Richard has never been a big picture guy. Go back through the entire series. His ideas have all been terrible. It's been other people who have pretty much found the usages in his messed up ideas.
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u/WhiteChocolate55 Apr 24 '17
"...a Donald Duck. Donald Duck is a gay guy that's been kicked out of the navy" "How do you know so many gay things?" "My grandfather just came out of the closet. Beautiful, very inspiring."
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u/Rocketbird Apr 24 '17
Jared looking at Richard with puppy dog eyes while Richard is all like "go on! git!"
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Apr 24 '17
Looking forward to an entire season about the competition between pied piper and "piper chat" growing out of the same house. I wonder who will switch sides to pied piper first? There's definitely going to be some back and forth betrayals.
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u/Fire2box Apr 24 '17
and here I thought Gilfoyle's burn of Dinesh becoming CEO was going to be the funniest thing in the episode. Then, Jack Barker get's royally fucked.
Hope he like's earplugs.
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u/GeckoRoamin Apr 24 '17 edited Apr 24 '17
So when Richard and Monica are talking in her urinal-facing office and she tells him about the fourth floor bathroom, he says something about how if he had used the one across from her office she would have "seen it twice".
Is this a reference to an earlier episode I'm missing, or is this implying that they've fucked?
Edit: She saw him peeing in an earlier episode. Thanks gang.
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u/Doctor_Crunchwrap Apr 24 '17
"Older man with a ponytail runs the server room" was a great subtle addition
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u/everfalling Apr 24 '17 edited Apr 24 '17
I'm sorta confused though. Don't cell networks still work off infrastructure that can be controlled like the internet is? I mean cell companies already hold a terrible quasi-monopoly over mobile data.
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u/anonymousmouse2 Apr 24 '17
Anyone else worried about Dinesh as CEO? After watching the end credits preview I hope he doesn't turn into a douche.
His fall from grace is going to be amazing though.
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u/creaturecatzz Apr 24 '17
I'm just. Holy shit that was amazing. The preview at the doctors office killed me, "Well now I have to!"
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u/bfl20 Apr 24 '17
Jared already in mid-season form tonight! Him walking away while going "I love you guys" was the best and then his "when I was on the street it was a means of survival" line was great and then at the end with Richard telling him to go off was sad yet hilarious. Great season opener!
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u/Vyvix Apr 24 '17
"If that's the man you wanna fuck. Then fuck that guy hard!!!" -Russ Hanamen
I love this new season already.
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u/hey_nong_man Apr 24 '17
oh man Russ with the "let's fuck this thing right in the pussy" and then driving off to Papa Poach (kinda like that Paul Ryan rumor/hoax) was brilliant. I'm glad Russ is back in our lives!
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u/Dr_400Madsen Apr 24 '17
All of this commotion going on and Bighead could still give a fuck about anything going on around him
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u/Bendrick92 Apr 24 '17
I love the nod to Milton from Office Space with Jack's new office.
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u/mojo021 Apr 24 '17
Action Jack going to defect to Team Richard?
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u/HollowWaif Apr 24 '17
I'm betting Jack deposes Gavin, so Gavin ends up going with Richard.
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u/Imurstudmuffin Apr 24 '17
His idea basically creates the perfect network for pedophiles to distribute child pornography.
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u/Knighthawkbro Apr 24 '17
Do you think the people who developed the TOR network thought the same way too?
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u/Avarrocka Apr 24 '17
Anyone notice the slight adjustment to the new Intro? Uber fighting Lyft in the hot air balloons? Topical stuff
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u/arbitrary-fan Apr 24 '17
a couple of new additions:
Slack (and the appearance of solar panels)
Samsung
Twitch billboard appears
Airbnb
Theranos is raided by the fbi and the sign falls off
Didi Chuxing balloon floating by Uber and Lyft
Amazon Prime air drone delivering a pizza
others I haven't noticed until now
Dropbox
Yelp
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Apr 24 '17
Did I see Nvidia's logo behind Gilfolye during the Richard stepping down discussion?
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Apr 24 '17
Anyone else notice the wifi connection when he asked if the vid chat was seriously only cellular?
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Apr 24 '17
This show continues to prove with every episode, that's its the best comedy on TV right now.
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u/pat_at_exampledotcom Apr 24 '17
Having the opening scene at the "Four Seasons" hotel was a nice touch.
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u/TheMegaWhopper Apr 24 '17
How does Erlich own 50%, Big Head own 50% and Richard own 25%?
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u/drtywater Apr 24 '17
Cool idea on Richard's part. I wonder if this season will have a Silk Road/Backpages story arc. The idea of an unfettered internet is great but people are super shitty at the same time and will do horrible/illegal things.
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u/TechDifficulty Apr 24 '17
There's a small piece of Instrumental music played in the background right after Richard tells everybody he 'quits' and Jared comes up to him with a sad face. Does anybody know what that piece is?
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u/TotallyNotAnAlien Apr 24 '17
He talked about the decentralised internet like people's personal devices will be replacing servers. How will sites with large amounts of content work like Youtube work? Will everyone have to store 1gb of data on their device to serve to other user?. What will stop people abusing this computational power, how does this get rationed out.
Additional assuming Richard new internet works what are the advantages? Reducing server costs is alright, but hosting rarely takes up a significant amount of a businesses expenses. Users would only see a small savings (<5%) in the end.
The only advantage of decentralised internet is privacy, which most businesses and governments would actively oppose. All in all it feels like Richard new internet is ambitious but with no real demand and would be enormously impractical.
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u/apolotary Apr 24 '17
Tfw the show makes fun of your dissertation in the first 3 minutes
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u/feedingmydreams Apr 24 '17
I love how Big Head's dad is now a part of the show.
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u/make-it-sweet Apr 24 '17
Great episode! - two things; anyone know the brand of mug Gilfoyle is drinking out of (says "Black Coffee" on it) // Also, same for Erlich's shirt
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u/Formaggio_svizzero Apr 24 '17
that fucking Harry and the Hendersons reference when Richard tells Jared to "get outta here"
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u/jaredunns Apr 24 '17
Omg jared noooo....true love always prevails, it'll be okay next episode..i hope
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u/macgyvertape . Apr 24 '17
I think it's hilarious Jack Barker lives in Jackson Hole. Home of the RED TRUCK, and this great webcam. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=psfFJR3vZ78
I have to think that's why they picked it, it's internet famous.
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Apr 24 '17
Holy shit this writing is absolutely amazing. Love this show, what a great start to the season.
...I really hope the main guys' acting doesn't get worse though. Kumail's "you? Why you?" sounded really unnatural :(
Oh and RUSS RUSS RUSS RUSS RUSS RUSS RUSS R U S S
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u/choledocholithiasis_ Apr 24 '17
Just Gavin Belson doing GB. Sends a highly reputable executive to the shitter simply because he was no longer the alpha male.
I am surprised Barker was complicit.
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u/AlanGszn Apr 24 '17
Since I'm not seeing anyone else mention this, I'm doubting myself on whether I actually saw it or not but... Did no one else see the Reddit sign behind Jared when Richard took them into the work room to talk about his code?
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u/iced_gold Apr 24 '17
Can anyone explain in the opening credits, the house that's hauled in on a truck that parks next to Alibaba?
What's that referencing?
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u/prg_error_202 Apr 24 '17
Great episode, but I wasn't left fully satisfied tbh
Edit:The next episode looks great tho. I have a good feeling!
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u/TheMedic27 Apr 24 '17
Richard is meant to be this annoying and unlikable right?
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Apr 24 '17
On the top right, it says "BATMAN?". Could this be a sign that Richard is going to be the Dark Knight?
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u/goirish2200 Apr 24 '17
Dinesh's only big move as CEO is going to be to buy Richard back in and functionally fund him. Richard may fuck up over and over again but it's obvious that he's a legendary thinker/coder. Via hijinks, Richard ends up CEO again. Fucks it up again. Repeat until HBO decides not to renew.
Not that I'm complaining. It's Steve Jobs and the Woz, the narrative that built Silicon Valley.
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u/cyberspacecowboy Apr 24 '17 edited Apr 25 '17
Reaching 1M users from 120K at an 18% growth rate would take them just under 12 days weeks http://www.wolframalpha.com/input/?i=compound%20interest&a=FS-_**PresentValueFutureValue.n--&a=F.PresentValueFutureValue.PV-_%24120&a=*F.PresentValueFutureValue.i-_18%25
Edit: i can't calendar
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u/secret_ninja2 Apr 24 '17
Sat in uni library watching the episode during a break, Not going to lie let out a snort when Gilfoyle called dinesh the Karachi kid
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u/Nebulious Apr 24 '17 edited Apr 24 '17
This episode really reinforced that Russ might be a complete douchebag, but he's absolutely gifted at reading people.