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"Silicon Valley bounced back from last week's mediocre showing with a standout in episode 5, \"Signaling Risk.\" Interestingly enough, this is largely thanks to its smart take on racial humor \u2014 territory that last week's episode botched.\nFeaturing a clever script by Jessica Gao, the fifth episode follows Erlich (T.J. Miller), as he pays $10,000 to a graffiti artist and \"convicted felon\" to create Pied Piper's logo, while Jared (Zach Woods) tries to improve the company's efficiency. Much of the laughs come via the former plot, which sees Erlich participating in several conversations that inadvertently end up making him look racist. The genius behind these conversations is that they reveal Erlich's ignorance by unpacking his overly careful PC phrasing.\nSee also: 'Silicon Valley' Episode 4 Recap: Vomit-Inducing Stereotypes\nHere's my favorite \u2014 of Erlich admitting that graffiti artist Chuy mistook Dinesh (Kumail Nanjiani) for Mexican \u2014 in all its glory:\nErlich: Don\u2019t be offended, but for some weird reason, Chuy took a look at you and thought you were, uh, Mexican.Dinesh: Why would I be offended by that?Erlich: Wha?Dinesh: Why would I be offended by him thinking I\u2019m Mexican? He\u2019s Mexican, right?Erlich: Yeah, he is. But you\u2019re not. You\u2019re Pakistani.Dinesh: So? Actually, the very fact that you think this might be offensive to me, is offensive. You're the one being racist.Erlich: No, I'm not the one who called you a Mexican.Dinesh: Called me a Mexican? You\u2019re doing it again.Erlich: I\u2019m bending over backwards to not be racist right now.Dinesh: Well, what did he say when you told him I wasn\u2019t Mexican?Erlich: I didn\u2019t.Dinesh: And why not?Erlich: Because I wanted him to paint our garage for cheap.Dinesh: I genuinely don\u2019t know how to respond to that.Erlich: You know, I\u2019m not going to take the bait, here. I am not a racist, all right? I watch a lot of black porn. I mean, a lot.\nErlich figured Dinesh would offended by being mistaken for another ethnicity (i.e. feeding into the stereotype that racial minorities \"all look alike\"). However, Dinesh believes Erlich thought he would be upset at being called \"a Mexican\"  \u2014 as if it's an insult. Eventually Erlich, trapped in a corner, counters with the non-defense \"I watch a lot of black porn\" \u2014 the R-rated, but equally feeble (and hilarious), version of \"I'm not racist ... I have black friends.\" Silicon Valley even touches on the psychology behind Erlich's potentially suspect taste in interracial pornography. (\"In this porn, is the man black, or the woman black, or are they both?\" Dinesh asks him.) \n\nChuy, the graffiti artist, talks to Erlich (T.J. Miller). Video: YouTube, HBOSilicon Valley had what I'm calling its first \"Office Space Moment\" in another memorable scene that pits Hooli CEO Gavin Belson (Matt Ross) against telecommunications devices. Remember that iconic scene involving the printers in Mike Judge's 1999 film? \n\nWell, Gavin trying \u2014 and failing \u2014 to chat with Big Head (Josh Brener) via TeleHuman (a real-life holographic 3D-teleconferencing technology), video chat and mobile phone, respectively, is the 2014 version of that. The epic battle of man versus machine in an office setting is almost always funny \u2014 and even more so with Judge, an expert in workplace humor, at the helm. \nAnother laugh-out-loud moment: the unveiling of Chuy's epically profane and splashy logo, which features Dinesh wearing an Aztec headdress while fornicating with the Statue of Liberty from behind (that's a sentence I've never written before), and is apparently a comment on \"the Latino struggle for justice in America.\" \nDinesh was a major player in episode 5, and as a result, his character developed beyond just a quippy-sidekick persona, which Gilfoyle (Martin Starr) unfortunately still suffers from. Dinesh actually shows expressions other than blank-faced sarcasm when he freaks out while accompanying Erlich and Gilfoyle on a trip to Chuy's sketchy neighborhood. Jared also stretches his emotional muscle when the typically passive, stammering biz-dev guy becomes apoplectic upon learning that Pied Piper got into TechCrunch Disrupt's startup competition. Richard (Thomas Middleditch) also seems to be more assertive, while Monica (Amanda Crew) actually has more than one or two speaking lines. \nFor his part, Christopher Evan Welch (playing Peter Gregory) again proves his comedic prowess in \"Signaling Risk.\" In his final appearance on Silicon Valley (the late actor died last year of lung cancer at 48), Welch's limited screen time still brought on some of the episode's biggest laughs, including one scene in which Peter reacts to Gavin Belson's presence with a guttural noise that can only be described as sounding like Lord of the Rings' Gollum clearing his throat. That viewers won't get to see Welch appear on the show anymore is a tremendous loss.\n\nFinally, Silicon Valley was once again on the mark with its satire, this time poking fun at the tendency for Valley startups to have logos with lowercase letters (e.g. Facebook, Twitter and Google), and to use agile software-development methodologies.\nSilicon Valley airs every Sunday at 10 p.m. ET on HBO.\nBONUS: 10 Mistakes Your Startup Is Making\n\nHave something to add to this story? Share it in the comments."^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://mashable.com/2014/05/05/silicon-valley-season-1-episode-5/>