S03.E04: Maleant Data Systems Solutions

[ElectricBoogaloo]

Quote

The Pied Piper guys struggle to phone it in; Erlich faces competition; Monica takes a stand; Gavin makes a decision about Nucleus

Promo:

[chocolatine]

That's Big Head in the fancy house, yes? I can't help it, I'm just really fond of the character, so I'm glad he's still on the show. It looks like he blew all of his $20,000,000 Hooli severance on that house (a "normal" 2000-sqft house in Palo Alto goes for $3,000,000 these days), so unless he's charging cash for participation in his incubator, he's not going to have any money left.

Edited May 9, 2016 by chocolatine

[Muffyn]

And I'm happy again.  They remembered what our team is good at. 

[Shriekingeel]

Good episode but the Ehrlich coughing/hacking bit went on too long and was more annoying than funny. 

[RabbitEars]

The dog being rolled back and forth killed me. 

[Accidental Martyr]

Big Head!

[chocolatine]

I almost fell off the couch laughing when Gavin started talking to the EndFrame folks as if they were new employees, completely oblivious to the fact that most of them had been on the Nucleus team, because of course he is. 

Loved the pizza slice pool float at Big Head's new house (which I still think was too expensive for him even after the $20M payout; he only had about half of it left after taxes, and a 9-bedroom house with pool must have cost him at least $7M). I hope at least one of the startups in his new incubator is a success and he just keeps getting richer. Sure, he's not the brightest bulb in the chandelier, but he's so endearingly guileless that I keep rooting for him.

I'm happy Jack's gone, but I did not expect Laurie to leave an "empty chair". I thought she'd keep a closer eye on Pied Piper until they hire a new CEO.

[hincandenza]

4 hours ago, RabbitEars said:

The dog being rolled back and forth killed me. 

Yeah, I was surprised, but this episode had a few really good laugh out loud moments.  The whole bulldog rant from Gavin had me laughing my ass of- "Roll him back!"- as did their welcoming of "fresh blood" to Hooli (although now I'm curious how those two guys who went to EndFrame with Richard's algorithm on a silver platter made out in the $250M sale; they would have held out for an ownership stake given what they brought in, and thus at least have made BigHead money, no?).  The earnest corporate stupidity of Hooli is one of the funniest things about this show satirizing SV.

3 hours ago, chocolatine said:

I almost fell off the couch laughing when Gavin started talking to the EndFrame folks as if they were new employees, completely oblivious to the fact that most of them had been on the Nucleus team, because of course he is. 

Loved the pizza slice pool float at Big Head's new house (which I still think was too expensive for him even after the $20M payout; he only had about half of it left after taxes, and a 9-bedroom house with pool must have cost him at least $7M). I hope at least one of the startups in his new incubator is a success and he just keeps getting richer. Sure, he's not the brightest bulb in the chandelier, but he's so endearingly guileless that I keep rooting for him.

I'm happy Jack's gone, but I did not expect Laurie to leave an "empty chair". I thought she'd keep a closer eye on Pied Piper until they hire a new CEO.

Depending on if/how he hired a financial planner (not that any of the idiots on this show ever think to do things like hire lawyers or accountants), BigHead could easily afford leasing/buying this home, since surely he didn't just pay cash for it.  In any case, I agree with you that he seems to have the plot armor of always failing upwards; if this show and its writers had earned more credit, I'd suggest Erlich's "savvy businessman" comment about BigHead was yet another clear foreshadowing.  They haven't, so I won't go that far.  Still, he's sort of the passive Chauncey Gardener of this show, and there has been a lot of not-so-subtle hints that BigHead will go a loooong way regardless of what he actually does.

I don't know why Laurie- or Jack- would ever agree to such a crippling contract with Maleant; projections or no, they're not idiots and they've worked in Silicon Valley.  You might be revenue positive, but you'll have little valuation since you just gave up 5 years of earnings to another company.  Still, it worked out least, and Jack is now quietly exit stage left.  I also agree it's damned odd to do a no-CEO thing just after Hooli has helpfully given your startup a minimum market price: this is now one of the more valuable assets in the Rivega catalog, and a genuine unicorn, surely!  On the other hand, we could choose to read that as Laurie subtly giving a vote of confidence in the tech people: you've been proven right, so no more meddling from the suits, as you are free to build your platform however you want.  But probably not. :)

On the downside, the opening sequence and turn of events suggests all the "Haversack" speculation that I was a part of last week amounted to... absolutely nothing.  Yep, turns out Richard really was that stupid. Again.  Huh.  Well, at least they finally had a big win: on paper they've all become quite wealthy, and in practice even more so since we the viewers know that EndFrame/Hooli can't actually match PP on their platform.  Gosh, can't wait to see how they inexplicably and improbably screw everything up next week! :)

[ElectricBoogaloo]

Deng from the design team was killing me!

I know I shouldn't have laughed, but I did when Gavin called Richard to gloat and then they got sidetracked about the ad he couldn't click past.

Run, Big Head! He is so laidback that I hate to see Ehrlich bully his way into his incubator and start taking advantage of him. Loved the pizza slice pool raft though.

[Should Be Working]

6 hours ago, hincandenza said:

 Well, at least they finally had a big win: on paper they've all become quite wealthy, and in practice even more so since we the viewers know that EndFrame/Hooli can't actually match PP on their platform.  Gosh, can't wait to see how they inexplicably and improbably screw everything up next week! :)

Before EndFrame was acquired by Gavin at the end of episode 4, I thought the point (based on Gilfoyle's report back to the PP team) was that the combined EndFrame and Nucleus team he interviewed with had successfully replicated all parts of Richard's algorithm. Granted he was just looking at numbers on a whiteboard, not a working platform.  But, unless Gavin entirely screws up his new EndFrame/Nucleus acquisition with his erratic and dictatorial management style, I'd imagine they're still hot on PP's heels. 

Also glad to finally see an episode where PP made some real progress instead of falling backward. So far, it's been about a 1:10 ratio.

Edited May 16, 2016 by Should Be Working

[swimmyfish]

11 hours ago, Shriekingeel said:

Good episode but the Ehrlich coughing/hacking bit went on too long and was more annoying than funny. 

I respectfully disagree. The longer that went on, the funnier it got. And that he took a second hit after finally finishing coughing really was amazing. That was serious commitment to a bit.

[MaggieG]

12 hours ago, RabbitEars said:

 The dog being rolled back and forth killed me. 

Right! If Gavin thinks he's ugly, I will gladly adopt him, he was adorable

[Traveller519]

I liked seeing this version of Laurie. Very little eccentric behavior, she didn't take Jack's shit, and she acted rationally on all fronts. While Jack was pushing a short term windfall, which would make sense for him given his position, he obviously wasn't willing to gamble on the long term. And the monetized value represented too much to Laurie in that instance, but once freed from it, she kicked some ass.

It will be interesting to see who decides to fill that empty chair. I was half expecting Laurie to state that she would be acting CEO. I think it would  be hilarious if Jared got the position, as he doesn't seem to have a need to fill with the engineers if there is proper management in place.

Big head continuing to fail up in fantastic too. I can't wait for one of his incubator apps to hit. The whole Erlich interaction was great right from "Where is this place?... Because I want to send the owner a gift basket obviously!"

[guilfoyleatpp]

I liked seeing Laurie's non-reaction reaction as well.

The entire time that Jack was talking over her and speaking for her I was getting mad. But of course she was just approaching it in her non-reactive way. I was glad that he was gone at the end and she decided to leave the empty chair for a while.

The pied piper boys did what engineers do...but they actually succeeded, which is unusual (from what I've seen). They really are quite clever and I liked how the show did that. 

And Deng. With his music. A couple of times I forgot he turned it on and thought it was the background music and then Richard told him to turn it off. Nicely done!

[riverheightsnancy]

17 hours ago, RabbitEars said:

The dog being rolled back and forth killed me. 

Me too. He was sooo cute and just sat there. Very funny. Best episode in a long time. I hate Ehrlich's hair so short. I think he looks better and younger with his hair a little longer (I know superficial).

[KnoxForPres]

6 hours ago, swimmyfish said:

I respectfully disagree. The longer that went on, the funnier it got. And that he took a second hit after finally finishing coughing really was amazing. That was serious commitment to a bit.

Yeah I'm with you. I couldn't stop laughing. It was so well done and what could have been "easy" humor came off hysterical and original due to the subject matter  

I also liked the (paraphrased) "it's a gazelle, but I don't care" conversation. 

I'm late to this and marathoned it at a speed I would not reveal to my future husband but I'm so damn glad I found it. 

[RCharter]

14 hours ago, riverheightsnancy said:

Me too. He was sooo cute and just sat there. Very funny. Best episode in a long time. I hate Ehrlich's hair so short. I think he looks better and younger with his hair a little longer (I know superficial).

I thought it was so funny because gavin was just so mad at the dogs very existence!  And the dog was just chilling!

[Maysie]

Quote

I thought it was so funny because gavin was just so mad at the dogs very existence!  And the dog was just chilling!

Perfect description. It's even better that the bulldog is one of the most popular breeds in the country (#4 according to the AKC) and that you'll spend over $1,000 for a purebred - all Gavin sees is a defective dog.

Gavin is hilarious with how/what he values as important or worthwhile and how utterly clueless he is. And unless I'm mistaken, a lot of this comes down to the fact that Gavin's guru lost his parking space and was about to be cut loose because Gavin lost his mojo. That's some butterfly effect!

I am so glad that we didn't have an entire season of Jack fighting everyone. It seemed pretty obvious when he was introduced that he was too good to be true and I'm happy the writers didn't drag it out.

[dcalley]

That loud breathing, though. I can't disagree with that being a defect.

[hoodooznoodooz]

6 hours ago, dcalley said:

That loud breathing, though. I can't disagree with that being a defect.

(Ducking) I am pretty sure that I am the only person in the nonfictional world who thinks bulldogs are repulsive. 

[Rinaldo]

Not really. I don't lose any sleep over the breed, and I would try to be tactful if asked to admire one, but I find them very unappealing. But the rant in the episode was so excessive as to be hilarious.

Edited May 18, 2016 by Rinaldo

[candall]

Finally!  A thread topic I can speak to with some authority.  I advocate for all dogs, but due to their popularity and high price tag, English bullies are churned out by puppymills as quickly as possible, with an astonishing laundry list of genetic defects. And it's getting worse, not better.  Have an extra $5k ready to go for vet bills.

************************

When Richard bled on the papers, I felt quite smug about being on top of the Mergeneiser Havensack protocol.  Bring on the Japanese gardener co-conspirator!  Ha, fooled again. 

>Smile<

 

This episode was a nice upbeat respite.  I liked the "vision correlation slideshow," which made more sense to me than some of the other eyeroller scenarios on this show. Strange to make this the point where Richard finally runs out of patience and responds with rudeness.  Does this mean Richard will no longer be trying to give away the whole store because he's such an amiable joe?  That would be refreshing. 

 

I like it when Erlich carries his own weight with an insight here and there.  The first season, he was nothin' but leech and I didn't like him.  His avarice will pair nicely with ingenuous Bighead--it will be hilarious if Bighead just keeps amassing wins.

[hoodooznoodooz]

Thank you! I remember a long time ago there was a NYT magazine cover story about bulldogs and all the defects. I sat next to one at an outdoor concert near Columbia University.  It was panting and/or wheezing and there were so many substances oozing from various orifices. Not pleasant to witness. 

[riverheightsnancy]

OT: Like others have said, while I find the personality of the Bulldog cute, they are fraught with defects that have been purposely bred by unscrupulous breeders (So Gavin was right about it, maybe the show runners were trying to make a point about dog breeding in general?). They cannot even mate because of the penchant for the wide legs by buyers which makes them unable to mate. In the real world of working dogs, this dog would not make it. I like French Bulldogs better, as I think is more what a bulldog should look like. We used to have Boston Terriers, which have similar issues with the breathing if they have an exaggerated pushed in nose, which some buyers want (I am more of a cat person myself, but learned all this when we had our Bostons). RIP Barney & Buddy. :(

[babyPhat279]

Why is he called Big Head again? I know his name is Bigetti, but why the "head" part? His head doesn't seem unusually large for his frame.

[hincandenza]

On 5/21/2016 at 4:04 PM, babyPhat279 said:

Why is he called Big Head again? I know his name is Bigetti, but why the "head" part? His head doesn't seem unusually large for his frame.

I think it's literally just that; it's like if you knew a kid named Costanza in school, and you started calling him "Can't Stand Ya"... well, only not as malicious. :) Richard and Bighead have known each other for years, so this was just a friendly nickname from their school days.  Bighead is not dumb, he's just jovially incurious and pleasant.

[ElectricBoogaloo]

I would prefer a bulldog to a pug any day. One of my ex-boyfriends had a pug and I swear I could hear that thing wheezing from the other side of the house. At least a bulldog looks slightly more dignified. Pug faces look like they're either freaking out or confused. But I did laugh at how worked up Gavin got about that bulldog just sitting there totally chill getting rolled in and out of the room with not a care in the world.

[hincandenza]

4 hours ago, ElectricBoogaloo said:

I would prefer a bulldog to a pug any day. One of my ex-boyfriends had a pug and I swear I could hear that thing wheezing from the other side of the house. At least a bulldog looks slightly more dignified. Pug faces look like they're either freaking out or confused. But I did laugh at how worked up Gavin got about that bulldog just sitting there totally chill getting rolled in and out of the room with not a care in the world.

Of course! The bulldog = Bighead.  You heard it here first! :)

[guilfoyleatpp]

This episode reminds me of why I love this show. Love.

The nosebleed, the code enhancement, Bachman coughing through his revelation...it's all just so good when it's good

[Camera One]

After last episode, I was worried, but this episode had some nice payoff.  I liked the guys getting inspired working on the box.  I had to laugh when Gavin was giving that pep talk to those ex-Hoolie employees who hated his guts.  I hope they eventually self-destruct and they better not do any more frustrating storylines of the characters blabbing their ideas to the competition.

[Jordan Baker]

On 5/21/2016 at 7:04 PM, babyPhat279 said:

Why is he called Big Head again? I know his name is Bigetti, but why the "head" part? His head doesn't seem unusually large for his frame.

I've just started watching this show (several years late), but I thought the "head" part came from the idea that Bigetti sounds a bit like BigHead-y.