S04E07 - The Patent Troll

No: 35  |  Season: 4   Episode: 7  |  Air Date: 4-Jun-2017  |  Ratings: 0.86

Summary

Richard stands up to a patent troll, however his boldness causes repercussions. Jian-Yang's new smart fridge causes Gilfoyle to resort to desperate measures. Jared takes on an alter ego in a pursuit to reduce expenses. Erlich makes an attempt to run with the alpha-males.

Director and Writers

Director: Jamie Babbit
Written by: Andrew Law

Quotes

Richard: I would like a... an STD check.
Doctor: What, did you graze your penis against a toilet seat?

Erlich: I will not allow you to make the same mistake that Uber, Palantir, Zenefits, and, in my earlier years, Chipotle made by not hiring me.

Erlich: There is a grotesque gender imbalance in the VC field right now. I can help you navigate the toxicity of this male culture which is encroaching on our feminist island. I mean, for instance, there's something called mansplaining? Have you heard about this?
Monica: We know what mansplaining is...
Erlich: (Interrupting) Mansplaining is when a man will condescendingly explain something to a woman that she already knows.

Glifoyle: Dinesh, the one good thing that came out of you slapping your body against that cyberterrorist in a vulgar parody of the act of love is that we finally have a network with real security value.

Jared: We may not be a global epidemic yet, but... we've leapt from bat saliva to humans and... and we've just killed our first few villagers.

Erlich: I'm not gonna drop that kind of dough on a fridge.
Jian-Yang: I ordered it already. I buy it for myself.
Erlich: Then why are you talking to me about it?
Jian-Yang: To make you feel bad, because you are fat and poor.

Dinesh: Well, try and get a selfie with Steph Curry.
Erlich: I will, assuming she's there.

Ron Laflamme: Limp biscuit's an old frat ritual, where all the brothers race to stroke one out onto a biscuit, and then the last guy to nut has to eat it.
Jared: Right. Sometimes it's a Wheat Thin.

Gilfoyle: This thing is addressing problems that don't exist. It's solutionism at its worst. We are dumbing down machines that are inherently superior.

Fridge: Uh-oh! That yogurt is expired.
Jian-Yang: See? This could've killed me. Now I can give it to Erlich.

Erlich: May I borrow this hammer to pound in these flamboyant little nails?
Gilfoyle: Those are screws.

Jared: Go for Chambers. Ned! I knew it was you. Hey, did that pussy Jared keep you on hold long? I eat that motherfucker's lunch every day. No, man, I literally eat his food. What do you want? Uh-uh, ain't gonna happen. That's as high as we go, homo. Till next time, rook.

Jared: So, we just ate the Wheat Thin, didn't we?
Fridge: Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't see any Wheat Thins. Shall I add them to your shopping list?
Jared: Eh, sure.

Dinesh: Hey, Richard, but you're not seriously gonna defend yourself in court, right?
Jared: Well, Larry Flynt did it. And Sir Walter Raleigh, although he lost and was publicly beheaded. But you could argue that he eventually won in the court of history.

Richard: We now have 20 grand we would have otherwise lost if I had listened to you delicate little snowflakes and settled.

Jared: I had to let Ed Chambers go.
Richard: Who?
Jared: My fictional supervisor. He bragged to a sales rep at LaCroix about doing it to Sonia Sotomayor, so Ed is no longer with us.
Richard: I'm sure we can manage.

Erlich: I believe the future is female... anyone who says otherwise can suck my fat dick.

Erlich: Three-pointer? What, are we in Europe?

Music

"Stretch Your Face" by Tobacco (Opening title music)

"Walking on Sunshine" by Mariachi La Estrella feat. Elio Armas (End credits music)

Notes and Trivia

The "Ed Chambers" plot line is similiar to a deleted plot line revealed in the DVD commentary for S02E08 (White Hat/Black Hat) where Jared pretended to be fictional employee on the phone.

When a closeup of Gilfoyle's code is shown, there is reference to a YouTube video which is a "rickroll". (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQw4w9WgXcQ)

Although Josh Brener (Nelson 'Big Head' Bighetti), Matt Ross (Gavin Belson), Stephen Tobolowsky (Jack Barker) and Chris Diamantopoulos (Russ Hanneman) are credited for this episode they did not appear.

Goofs

When Jian-Yang is loading the fridge with food, Gilfoyle's two beers are on a shelf in the door and positioned one in front of each other. A few seconds later as Gilfoyle reaches in and takes a beer they are now positioned side-by-side.

Locations

The building used as the external establishing shot for the meeting Richard held for the app owners being sued by the patent troll is located at 3rd Street and Mission in San Francisco. (Google)

The scenes shot in the Oracle Arena, in Oakland, represent one of the few times that the series actually filmed a part of the series in the San Francisco Bay area (not Los Angeles).

Cast

StarringThomas MiddleditchRichard Hendricks
StarringT.J. MillerErlich Bachman
StarringJosh BrenerNelson 'Big Head' Bighetti
StarringMartin StarrBertram Gilfoyle
StarringKumail NanjianiDinesh Chugtai
StarringAmanda CrewMonica Hall
StarringZach WoodsJared Dunn
StarringMatt RossGavin Belson
StarringSuzanne CryerLaurie Bream
StarringJimmy O. YangJian Yang
StarringStephen TobolowskyJack Barker
StarringChris DiamantopoulosRuss Hanneman
Guest StarringAndrew DalyDoctor
Guest StarringBen FeldmanRon LaFlamme
Co-starringJoseph BayardGus
Co-starringEdwin H. BravoOracle Arena Security
Co-starringTim ChiouEd Chen
Co-starringIrene Choi
Co-starringJoe GilletteDarren
Co-starringAllan MillerStuart Burke
Co-starringRyan PhillipsJeremy
Co-starringG. Charles WrightFridge (Voice)