Silicon Valley - Season 4 (HBO) (1 Viewer)

[joshEH]

True -- as Monica mentions in the episode, Ed dumped this all back on her in a panic after the disastrous restaurant-scene, but since Monica never technically actually pitched this to Laurie in any official capacity, she could very easily claim that Ed misheard (fuck, he eavesdropped on) her "phone call," and that she has absolutely no idea where he got this notion from.

And speaking of that restaurant-scene, courtesy of a super-dedicated, Mandarin-speaking Internet fan:

Jian Yang, 這個非常重要, 你一定要給我們一個有利可圖的 app!
沒有阿, 我根本沒有做過 demo.
沒有??? 為甚麼?
我想做的, 是一個章魚食譜.
章魚食譜.
我聽得到的這, I'm a biga fata fucking asshole.

 

[Adam Lenhardt]

*Andy Daly's doctor character grappling with the exam table paper roll, which he apparently never ever replaces*
"How the hell does this thing work?"

"Oh, you're doing great work by the way."
"Fuck you."
"Definitely! Thank you."

 

[joshEH]

Searching through dick-pics for work for the next year (at least)...damn, poor Dinesh.

"Dick...is up."
Checkmate, Jian Yang.

Other awesome moments:

"Jian Yang, I gave you the ability to spin gold, and instead you spun pubic-hair with SHIT IN IT, and gravel...and corn..."

"What was that?"
"...Oh, just three months of runway being driven off by 90 pounds of asshole."

And finally:

"When you don the skin of the beast, the man inside dies. One of the boys at my group-home said that. HE DIED."

...God, I love Jared. I hope his backstory is never explored. Jared is like wholesome memes mixed with a 12-year-old.

 

[joshEH]

Was just rewatching this latest episode:

"I've read a number of disparaging articles about your generation, in the Atlantic and Slate.com summaries. And it's all true. Trigger warning: Fuck you!!"

 

[TravisR]

"Trigger warning: Fuck you!!"

I've actually said that before. Admittedly, Erlich said it more wittily than me.

 

[Adam Lenhardt]

Did Gavin Belson have a giant photo of Adolf Hitler in a track suit framed on his wall?

 

[Hanson]

Not Hitler, but Belson. Close but no cigar.

 

[joshEH]

So...looks like T.J. Miller is getting the boot from the cast:

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/live-feed/tj-miller-exiting-hbos-silicon-valley-1007767

"The producers of Silicon Valley and T.J. Miller have mutually agreed that T.J. will not return for season 5," the pay cable network said in a statement. "In Erlich Bachman, T.J. has brought to life an unforgettable character, and while his presence on the show will be missed, we appreciate his contribution and look forward to future collaborations."

News of Miller's departure comes just hours after HBO renewed the comedy for another season. The tech-spoofing series, created by Mike Judge and Alec Berg, has been a critical hit since its debut in 2014, winning two Emmys along the way.

What a bummer. Although I suppose that Miller's career has gotten a boost recently, thanks to his work in Deadpool. Maybe he wants to use that heat as stepping stone to leading his own show, or maybe there are ego- and money-issues at play here. I won't pretend to have any unique insight into what is happening here, but all I know is that Silicon Valley will be a lesser show without him.

A big part of Erlich's appeal lately has been his partnering up with Jian Yang. But I always hoped Jian Yang would get more involved in the A-story. Hopefully this bumps up his status in Season 5.

 

[TravisR]

The one 'good' thing is that they won't have to keep inventing reasons to keep Erlich involved with Pied Piper/the rest of the guys. I hope I'm wrong but I think the timing of this announcement means that Erlich isn't going to be written out at the end of this season and they'll have to have some awkward exposition to explain his disappearance at the beginning of next season. I'll definitely be sad to see the character and actor go though. Hopefully, he can pop up in guest spots every now and then.

 

[joshEH]

Monica: "I shotgunned a warm beer, and even watched 40 minutes of snowboard videos set to Diplo remixes..."

Erlich: "...Good on you." <look of amazement, pride, and being deeply, deeply impressed on his face>

I don't know why, but that scene made me laugh so hard last episode. He said "good on you" with a look and that beard, and I busted up laughing. Maybe because I used to be that guy showing a girl a snowboarding video, but also 'cause T.J. always finds a way to add something extra to nearly every scene he's in.

Was just thinking, the producers could now make Russ Hanneman a main (or semi-main) character again to fill the void.

 

[joshEH]

According to Kate Aurthur of Buzzfeed, Miller was definitely kicked out, due to incidents like slapping an Uber-driver last December. Too bad.

I actually kinda hope they kill off Erlich in some totally bizarre manner. Not that I don't love Erlich (I do), but if they are writing him off, do something crazy. Oh wait...better yet, have him go to prison for some super-bullshit business reason. Or drugs.

 

[Hollywoodaholic]

The reports I read say Miller was leaving on his own choice because he has a big movie career now. Maybe they want to spin it differently for contractual purposes, but he just had a standout role in Office Christmas Party and is in the next Deadpool 2, Spielberg's Ready Player One and other high profile projects. My hope is that he will show up for one episode next season so they can properly find a way to end his character's participation.

 

[joshEH]

"FUCK YOU, Richard Hendricks, fuck you right in your little asshole!! And not in a beautiful way like Grandpa and Pedro!!"

Russ Hanneman's driving soundtrack is my middle-school soundtrack.

 

[joshEH]

"I fucked your wives. Plural. Both of them."

...Holy shit, I'm going to miss you, Erlich. You savage.

 

[joshEH]

End-credits track:



So, so much Jared-awesomeness in this episode:

"...In order to avoid being thrice made a cuckold."

"Can I mark this deliverable 'complete'? Is our child a dancer?"

"Richard, this is no time for false humility. You're a catch...deal with it."

"I'm SO GLAD this is over...I've felt like Gibraltar in World War II -- both crucial and inert."

I swear this episode felt 10 minutes long. This show needs to be an hour.

 

[TravisR]

Russ Hanneman's driving soundtrack is my middle-school soundtrack.

I can only imagine how many bad 90's and 00's songs they go through before landing on one.

 

[joshEH]

One of the great things about summer break having just started on Friday is that I now have ample time to do rewatches, including this show.

My God, Erlich's "pitch" to Laurie and Monica:

"I'm saying I very much respect what you’re doing here; almost revere it. I wanted to offer my services as an associate, and I will not phone it in. I'll be the first one here at 10:30 A.M., and the last one to leave a smidge after four. I'll of course need an office, an attractive personal assistant, paternity leave if that goes well, and an umbrella insurance-policy if that does not go well. What do you say? I'd like a job, dears."

 

[Adam Lenhardt]

A fat ass Haley Joel Osment with a pubic hair beard was everything I didn't know I needed from this show.

 

[joshEH]

My God, Jared was absolutely on fire this week:

- "Sometimes it's a Wheat Thin..."

- "We've leapt from bat saliva to humans, and we've just killed our first few villagers."

- "...Ennhnnnhhhh, that's as high as we go, homo -- 'till next time, rook!!"

- "Well...Larry Flynt did it. And so did Walter Raleigh."

- "...So, we just ate the Wheat Thin, didn't we?"

And finally:

"...Um, speaking of, Richard, I need to tell you something...um...I had to let 'Ed Chambers' go."
"Who...??"
"My fictional supervisor. He bragged to a sales-rep at Delacroix about 'doing it' to Sonia Sotomayor, so...Ed is no longer with us."

I predict Jared is gonna have a Fight Club-moment with Ed Chambers.

 

[joshEH]

Also, the Bream/Hall corporate website just added a new partner-bio after tonight's episode:

Erlich Bachman

Executive Consulting Employee

Aviato. The Hacker Hostel. Pied Piper. Code/Rag. Bachmanity. Not Hot Dog. Bream/Hall. What do these all have in common? They are all words. But they are also semi-precious minerals in the brightly colored mosaic that is Erlich Bachman. After mastering the fields of incubation, compression, tech journalism, and frankfurter detection, he once again turns his gaze to the world of venture capital. Do not dare look away. Do not.

https://www.breamhall.com/