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"We may be fine. We may be totally fine. We may also be fucked. I'll let you know either way."
―Erlich

Proof of Concept is the seventh episode in season 1 of the HBO series Silicon Valley. It originally aired on May 18, 2014.

Plot[]

At TechCrunch Disrupt, Richard feels the pressure to finish his demo, but finds himself distracted by a girl he dated briefly who's spreading rumors about him. Jared worries that Monica is taking his place in the company; Dinesh develops a crush on a girl at a neighboring booth; Erlich's scandalous past connection to one of the judges threatens Pied Piper's chances. [1]

Synopsis[]

It’s almost time for the TechCrunch Disrupt startup competition. Gavin Belson and the Hooli brogrammers are celebrating: Nucleus is done and “optimal.” The mood at the Hacker Hostel isn’t quite as celebratory, as Pied Piper isn’t quite done.

Monica meets Richard, Gilfoyle, Dinesh, and Erlich as they enter TechCrunch Disrupt to distribute both their lanyards and a bunch of advice. Jared is there and seems miffed that she’s seemingly taken over as their business advisor. While looking through the event program, Erlich reveals that he’s had sex with the wife of one of the judges, Dan Melcher. He tells Richard that he may have to present instead if this fact becomes a problem.

Richard heads off with Dinesh to put finishing touches on Pied Piper, while Gilfoyle and Jared set up the Pied Piper booth in the exhibition hall. A girl from a neighboring booth for something called Cupcakely asks Gilfoyle for help with a Java bug, and he obliges. 

On the way to the hotel, Richard runs into Big Head, who’s loving his “rest and vest” life and his current plan to get a boat. Big Head says that the night before he ran into a woman, Sherry, who went to school with Richard. The girl apparently was telling people that after a few dates in college Richard became obsessed with her. Richard seems consumed by that fact, but Big Head has to quickly run off when the Hooli brogrammers appear. 

Erlich sees Dan Melcher, and the judge pantomimes shooting a gun at him, which concerns Erlich. Richard is obsessing over what Big Head told him about Sherry. Dinesh heads back to the booth, and sends Gilfoyle up to work with Richard. Dinesh gets his chance to help the Cupcakely girl with Java. 

Erlich goes on a quest to find Dan Melcher’s wife and discern if she’s told him about their fling, but instead he finds out that Dan Melcher has a new wife. “Problem solved,” Erlich tells the guys. At the presentation run-through, Erlich takes over, and Dinesh tells Richard and Gilfoyle that he met the perfect woman in the Cupcakely gal, Charlotte. Dinesh is in love with her code, but Gilfoyle bursts his bubble when he reveals that he wrote the code. “Just face it, Dinesh: You’re gay for my code,” Gilfoyle says. Later, Dinesh tries to have sex with Charlotte but, with what Gilfoyle said on his mind, he can’t go through with it. 

At the bar later that evening, Richard makes a scene when he runs into Sherry, screaming that he’s not obsessed with her. After she runs off, Sherry overhears Jared telling Monica how dedicated he is to his “partner” Richard. Jared is using the word “partner” in the business sense, but Sherry hears something else. She approaches Richard and apologize for saying that he was obsessed with her -- she thinks he’s gay, but Richard doesn’t seem to fully pick up on that. Gilfoyle, Dinesh, and Richard head off to finish up Pied Piper, but Erlich stays at the bar and runs into Dan Melcher’s new wife. The two start chatting.

The presentations at TechCrunch Disrupt begin, and various nerds parade on the stage awkwardly trying to sell their products. Gilfoyle, Dinesh, and Big Head are backstage about to start their presentation. Erlich shows up at the last second and tells the guys that he had sex with Dan Melcher’s new wife. 

The Pied Piper presentation starts with a dramatic introduction by Erlich, but just as he’s launching into the presentation, Dan Melcher comes out and attacks Erlich.[2]

Cast[]

Main cast[]

Supporting cast[]

  • Jill E. Alexander as Patrice
  • Bobak Bakhtiari as Immedibug CEO
  • Shainu Bala as Yoga Master CEO
  • Ursula Burton as Female Judge
  • Bobo Chang as Flingual CEO
  • Isaac Cheung as BitFlenser CEO
  • Efrain Gomez as Systobase CEO
  • Brandon Higa as HAPPIN! CEO
  • Jason Kincaid as Himself
  • Jimmy O. Yang as Jian Yang
  • Jeremy Rabb as HumanHeater CEO
  • Rogelio T. Ramos as Another Executive
  • Ben Zelevansky as Stage Manager
  • Jake Broder as Dan Melcher
  • Lynn Chen as Grace Melcher
  • Andrew Daly as Doctor
  • Mary Holland as Sherry
  • Aly Mawji as Aly Dutta
  • AJ Michalka as Charlotte
  • Scott Prendergast as Scott
  • Brian Tichnell as Jason
  • Matt Ross as Gavin Belson

Memorable Quotes[]

  • Dinesh: She invited me to her room to watch Cloud Atlas later tonight.
    Gilfoyle: Oh yeah, that means she wants you to lay her.
  • Gilfoyle: It's not her you're sexually attracted to, it's my code.
    Dinesh: Shut the... That is the most disgusting fucking thing I've ever h...
    Gilfoyle: Just face it, Dinesh, you're gay for my code, you're code gay.
    Dinesh: No! No, I'm into her. Her, OK? Fuck your code!
    Gilfoyle: You'd like to fuck my code, wouldn't you? Hey, would you like to masturbate to the subroutine I just wrote?
  • Erlich: Friday, the pool cleaner comes. Do you understand?
    Jian: Yes.
    Erlich: And tomorrow is trash day so make sure all the cans are out front.
    Jian: Yes.
    Erlich: Now, you are under no circumstances to order any movie on demand, adult or otherwise.
    Jian: Yes.
    Erlich: OK, has anything that I've just said confused you?
    Jian: Yes.
    Erlich: Goddamn it!
  • [From outside the van on the highway]
    Gilfoyle: I don't know how you read your screen in the car; it makes me sick as a dog.
    Richard: I'm okay as long as I don't think about it. Besides, the presentation is tomorrow.
    Gilfoyle: So if you just don't think about it, it really doesn't bother you to be staring at the screen when the car's moving and turning and you're all queasy...[Richard sticks his head out the window and vomits]
    Erlich: Gilfoyle!
    Gilfoyle: See, I knew it bothers you. Fucking liar.
  • Gilfoyle: Where the hell have you been?
    Erlich: There's been some developments. You know how I fucked Melcher's old wife? I fucked his new wife too.
    Richard: What?
    Erlich: Don't worry, he's not gonna find out. I left way before he got back last night, and I didn't go back this morning until twenty minutes after he'd left.
    Gilfoyle: You went back?
    Dinesh: How many times did you fuck this woman?
    Erlich: The old wife or the new wife?
    Dinesh: The new wife.
    Erlich: Last night or this morning?
    Richard: Erlich, what were you thinking? This is kind of a big day today.
    Erlich: Relax, he's not gonna find out. She's not gonna tell him.
    Dinesh: How the fuck do you know that?
    Erlich: Because she'd have to be crazy to tell him, and I asked her point-blank if she was crazy, and she swore to me, no, she's not crazy.
  • Doctor: Would you be interested in a device that links to your smartphone and lets you know, even before it happens, whether you're having a panic attack - or a heart attack? OK, here's how Panic-A-Tech works. You wear this on your finger all day and it tracks your vitals. Or if that's too embarrassing, there's also a Bluetooth suppository and that goes right where you think it goes. And that comes with a retrieval kit.
  • Erlich: Seeded quite a few new companies... Spinder, it's like Tinder but for spinsters. Elderly women looking for sex.
  • Gilfoyle: Hey Richard [knocks on door]
    Richard: Don't talk to me while I'm on the bathroom, please.
    Gilfoyle: Well snap it off, we got to go.
    Richard: I know, just don't talk to me while I'm in here, it's weird. Oh my God, Jared's been back from that island for a whole day and he didn;t get any toilet paper?! Are you serious? Is Jared out there?
    Gilfoyle: I thought you didn't want me to talk to you while you were in the bathroom, make up your mind.
    Richard: You know, just get away from the door, please!

Notes[]

  • According to Mike Judge, in the scene where Erlich was tackled on the stage, stunt doubles were standing by but never used. It was the actual actors fighting.
  • According to actor Zach Woods (Jared) the writers planned to have Jared stranded on Peter's automated island for several days and he would be forced to kill a seagull for food. In this episode, the seagull would become a recurring joke as Jared would be haunted by the seagull's face.

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References[]

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