Grid Effect

Sorry for the late post, surprisingly it isn’t my fault this time, as we were having technical issues, a problem I am too inept to resolve myself.

I think I am back to regularly enjoying Entourage. The episodes tend to lack symmetry and the continuity is horrible (why is Eric never asked to explain why he didn’t start up a private company, like, three years ago, or at least after Vince officially declared him his manager?), but there are a number of decent laughs and Ari coliding with the Sklar brothers (whom I normally cannot stand but they made for a good cameo this episode) provided us with the typically heartless Ari, a nice contrast since he left in tears to end last week. I was glad to see Ari get his commeupance when Mary J. Blige went to the rival agency as a direct result of him firing the man whose wife had cheated on him with his twin brother.

Vince, Turtle and Drama we’re pretty obsolete this episode. Little too know humor but very charitable, as Drama agreed to let Gary Busey paint him and Vince agreed to drop $42,000 on a desk (he agreed to the “Walk in The Clouds” film that will pay him six million if you are wondering where he got the money from, not that he couldn’t just charge it to that black card we keep seeing). Personally, after seeing him fucking in that bunny outfit last week, watching Busey splatter him in paint didn’t seem abnormal in any way. The bar has been set to high (or low, depending on your outlook) for me to be flummoxed by anything on this show now.

And Eric is definitely giving it the ol’ college try, but is so incredibly vapid its hard not to feel bad for him, regardless of how illegitimate and entitled he acts. At least he got some validation from Peter Jackson, who, much like everyone, finds Ari to be a soul-sucking parasite with nary a modicum of deceny. And that very well may be true in some cases, but the difference between abrasive Ari and wide-eyed Eric is the former actually gets shit done. To do so, especially in hollywood, requires a tinge of unpleasantness.

Again, this is all moot. Because as long as the show is funny, then I couldn’t give a fuck less about the plot or trite and redundant idiosyncrasies. The one people seem most annoyed with is Vince hooking up with every woman he comes across.

(I concede, it is a little reptitive, but is it really far-fetched? It isn’t all the irregular for women in SoCal to be attracted to wealth and fame. And why do people find it so irritating? Four guys living a charmed lifestyle in hollywood is the foundation of this show. If its so grating, then why did you start watching in the first place?)

However, between all the remarks about twins (or multiples, as Ari would put it), the dismissive comments in Ari’s conference (”if either of you mention it again I’ll kill you both”), Gary Busey having more unsettling dialogue and Eric being shot down at every turn, this episode was hitting on all corners in the comedy department. This “streak” that I was hoping they would keep up seems to be permanent and I was actually looking forward to last nights episode, so that has to indicate a dramatic improvement.

Flight of The Conchords recap possibly coming later.

Well, if nothing else, that ending was certainly unexpected. As far as a humor quotient is concerned last night’s episode was off the charts. Relaxed, unpredictable and at least somewhat original. Not to mention that there were two sound plotlines, one with a humorous conclusion and the other was a surprisingly emotional resolution, as a break from the rest of the episode.

In the age old question as to who amongst friends is more capable of bedding women, Eric was put to the task against Turtle, which actually seems like an even challenge in terms of approachability, but with Vince as a mentor to Eric it kind of tips the scales. The use of Craigslist was apropos of how I imiagine Drama has met most of the women he knows in SoCal, and the revelation that the reasonably attractive woman they met had some twisted fetish (which was rife with material, especially since Drama was so well versed in the underbelly of “Furries”) only further propogated what I thought was a hilarious episode. Kudos to Turtle for not succumbing to the prospect of sex in a bunny outfit.

The Eric and Vince storyline was kind of typical and dull, only because I can’t understand why Eric, who they were treating as a shoe in to win this competition, is considered to be in such high demand without Vince around. I can suspend disbelief for a good while, but to pretend like Eric would be a lock to lay some insanely attractive British girl even if he wasn’t friends with Vince and if he wasn’t so shy, doesn’t really ring true to me. At least we got some closure on the whole Sloane thing, if that’s your bag.

The end of the “where’s Ari’s son going to school at?” subplot finally came to a close, and it was vexing. Watching Ari (and this is a credit to Piven, who completely sold the part) breakdown and start crying in front of the private school’s headmaster after holding back the tears when his son asked him about going to school with a friend, really was unexpected. As is the land of perenially happy endings, Ari bribed the headmaster by giving his son a management position if he granted admission for his. Regardless of how inconsequential or convoluted you may have thought the story was, it was interesting/entertaining watching Ari knocked down a peg.

Some may call this episode, particularly the plot the title references, contrived and desperate. But it came witha bevy of laughs and that is primarily what this series’ aim should be, and this episode matched that. “The Day Fu*kers” is the best episode they have produced in that vein since the Vegas episode in the first half of season three. Hopefully they keep this upward trend they have been on since the unbearable “Malibooty” episode.

Two good episodes in a row? That literally hasn’t happened in a calendar year with this series, and we’re ecstatic here at Grid Effect. For once, we can’t tell you how this plot is going to conclude. Between the unpredictability and the derivative humor (which was top notch last night), this show is once again something worth anticipating.

There really wasn’t anything about this episode that I disliked. Walsh was a little less animated (which was necessary), Piven was spot on in exuding his frustration about the lack of an efficient personal assistant (also liked the call back with the shy mail room kid) and his elation over the deal he made with Dana Gordon’s unnamed studio, to his defense of Vince to his complaints against Eric for not putting his differences with Walsh aside, just an Emmy worthy performance, really. At this rate, Eric is eventually going to kill someone if he keeps getting walked on like this.

The professional ambiguity is something I don’t recall seeing in any series before. There really is no indication if Eric or Vince is right about “Medellin” and Walsh in general. It is quite possible Walsh won’t be able to handle a film with a large budget (since he was losing his mind on the set of “Medellin”) and Eric will be proved right, but for the sake of variety and character depth they need Vince, Walsh and the rest of the film world be in the right on this one. Eric, who has a legitimate complaint about being verbally abused all the time, was as mature about the situation as possible (loved the crack about Ari still getting him $2 million of producer money), has to have higher ambitions. It does require a suspension of disbelief that I might just be incapable of to actually believe Eric really doesn’t want to produce, especially if he’s only going to have one client. Maybe he’ll use the opportunity to expand so he isn’t so reliant on one person.

Even the Turtle-Drama storyline was decent, as it brought a cameo from the same guy who played Big Pussy’s FBI confidante in season two of The Sopranos. The riffing on the abnormal bond fathers and sons have when it pertains to professional athletes was a humorous angle to play off of, much better than bantering about rim jobs (why do I continuously remind myself of that?).

Then there was Lloyd, a crowd favorite whom finally got some noteworthy face time. Of course Piven stole the screen each time, but the varying story threads are a welcomed change and Lloyd has been woefully under-utilized.

Hopefull these two episodes aren’t anomalies and this is a return to a quality half-hour of appointment television, instead of just something we watch because it leads into Flight of The Conchords.

Alright, I have managed to calm down after getting alarmingly inebriated, sexually harassing three female coworkers, beating my boss mercilessly with his own desk chair, passing out, waking up in a jail cell, having bail set and processing when my fed up girlfriend generously went into her own pocket to spring me from my cage. Seven hours later I am back to summarize my thoughts on the rest of the Emmy field, only unemployed and with a splitting headache that would stop an elephant in its tracks. When I am finished with this I have every intention of flying to Vegas, putting all my money on black and being back home with triple my current net worth for a late dinner and in time to watch the Mad Men pilot on AMC at 9pm et (which we will have a review for tomorrow).

(See, anyone can write for 24, you just need to expedite everything in a comedically short amount of time, and do it all with a straight face).

Truth be told, I did find a lot of sanity in the comedy nominations. Though still need to vent about FNL, which was passed over for every acting and writing category. There just isn’t much logic in many of these nominees. Connie Brittion and Kyle Chandler should have both been locks to lose to Edie Falco and James Gandolfini. In the earler post I concurred with Leary’s nomination for best actor, but he was an afterthought when compared to Chandler, who’s portrayal of conflicted, honorable yet flawed high school football coach Eric Taylor, was an acting clinic when compared to the usual swill that is on the broadcast networks. It sure as hell was better than Leary’s third season of Rescue Me, which for the first half of seemed primarily concerned with how many different sex positions Leary could simulate.

Everyone raves about the two leads on FNL, but there is a slew of supporting talent that went unrecognized. Gaius Charles playing the troubled NFL hopeful running back in Brian “Smash” Williams, who spent an entire season bouncing back and forth between Smash the public persona and Brian the well-intentioned but misguided teenager. Or Scott Porter (Jason Street) or Adrianna Palicki (Tyra Collette) or Zack Gilford (Matt Saracen) or Jesse Plemons (Landry)… the list is endless. Maybe its like in heisman voting, when two players from the same school are viable candidates, but they split their region’s votes, and end up cancelling each other out because another player from a diffrerent part of the country was unanimous in his region. Either way, I just felt the need to vent.

But yeah, the comedy portion we have much more laudatory opinions on. If you just take a gander at the best supporting actor category, which features Rainn Wilson (Dwight Schrute), Jeremy Piven (Ari Gold) and Kevin Dillon (Johnny Drama) are all nominated and all prominent roles on series we watch here, in addition to Neal Patrick Harris for his work on How I Met Your Mother, we have a pool of four strong candidates. And it really should be five, as Alec Baldwin is not a leading role and should replace Jon Cryer in this category, but he submitted himself as a lead, so, what can you do? Ego trumps logic, though his field is equally as competitive as well, going up against Steve Carrell and Ricky Gervais.

Also, Jenna Fischer was nominated for her work as Pam Beasly on The Office, Martin Landau was nominated for best guest actor on Entourage and the best comedy field is pretty stiff competition as well, even though we only watch two of them and one of the nominees is Two and a Half Men.

Really, all the comedy nominations did was enlighten us as to how little comedy we have watched recently around here. All the people we wanted to see nominated and had a realistic shot of doing so, were. Otherwise the comedies we have enjoyed over the past few years have either been cancelled (AD), were on hiatus (Curb) or I would have been deluding myself to think they stood a chance in hell (It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, Extras, South Park).

So there you have it folks, your 2007 Emmy nominees. With little to no objectivity exhibited in these two posts so far, let me wish the fine people of Grey’s Anatomy and Boston Legal the best of luck on Emmy night.

Since the inception of this fourth season, this is the first Sunday Entourage has bested the show it leads in to, Flight of The Conchords. Outside of one cringe-inducing scene in Drama’s “Five Towns” trailer (at least we got to see him on set), the show was back to season two/first half of season three form.

Last night was the first time I can recall the Ari/Lloyd storyline intersecting with the Vince/Eric storyline this season, which essentially limited the episode to two focal points: the perceived success of “Medellin” and the public release of the trailer affecting their potential for future work, and Drama trying to gain access to medical marijuana for Turtle in order to get himself a new hat. And that seemed to resonate well, limiting the episode to one story that will have no effect on the arc of this series or season.

This episode also brought back two bit characters I always enjoyed in Josh Weinstein, the boorish former assistant and supposed up-and-coming hollywood agent; and Dayna Gordon, the former love interest of Ari Gold and current studio president (they never give a studio name, made up or otherwise, probably because the concept is so unrealistic). But incorporating these two, whether it added anything or not, harkened back to a time when the masses actually enjoyed this series. When we weren’t force fed inconsequential plots about Ari’s kid not getting into a private school (without ever actually seeing or hearing from the kid), or a dinner with his old college friend/whipping post, or some weird mock-documentary style episode. And that, for this series, is a significant improvement.

The aforementioned cringe inducing Drama-Turtle scene was the only setback, and I’m not sure if it was the bad acting (I think I know why we never see any action on the set of “Five Towns”: everyone involved with it has the timing and believable delivery of a soft-core porn star), poor writing (were we supposed to be laughing at them or with them?), the obnoxiousness of it all (do they really need that girl to bend over and offer to strip for Drama? Or all the non-funny chanting? You know its a bad scene when Turtle is the only participant acting accordingly) or all of the above. Either way, once again I really could have done without the entire Drama-Turtle subplot. One thing that was intriguing was Bob Balaban being the doctor Drama had to prove he was ailing to, and I was really curious as to how they persuaded him to be involved with this dreck.

Never the less, this was definitely an improvement on this season. From Ari’s ruse to the fight between Walsh and Eric (both sides have a point but are absurd in their handling of it. Both sides.) to the unforeseeable ending that left a little room for some future tension, which this show is sorely needing; this was the first time in a while that I watched Entourage and didn’t feel used and exploited when it was over. And that is all I ever wanted.

So at what point do I stop watching this series? Not that last night was particularly bad, or offensive or anything, but therein lies the problem, it just wasn’t entertaining. If an episode doesn’t stand out as at least below average and all the while I’m just waiting for Flight of The Conchords to start, then the issue is obviously more with the series than the single episode.

One benefit of last night, is we got a cameo from Ned Ryerson of Groundhog Day, one downside to that is his character was given virtually no material. Playing the downtrodden, recently divorced mayor of Beverly Hills, Drama invited him out with Vince, Turtle and himself in hopes of getting the mayor laid in order to squeeze his apartment into the 90210 zip code.

After very little struggle shown (but mundanely discussed), Drama found a tall, statuesque looking woman with an interest in politics and conversely, the mayor himself. Only to be informed by the doorman that said woman was a man. Drama reluctantly goes to inform the mayor, whom is feeling such a bond with Anika, decides to take her/him home anyways. Unfortunately for them, TMZ catches them exiting Winstons and her flashing genitals a la Britney Spears as she gets into a car. I understand the satire and pop references here, but all I could think was that this guy, who’s clearly depressed, is now going to lose his job as a result of hanging out with Drama & Co.

(Also, would someone with an esteemed position such as Mayor of Beverly Hills really be that hard-pressed for some companionship? Clearly there are multiple people who would be willing to bribe him for favors, particularly wealthy, powerful people. He is just mayor of a suburb for the most part, but given its location and the size of his estate when they picked him up, it seems like he would be able to find a woman his age. Whatever, according to this series there isn’t a woman over 40 in SoCal, so maybe that’s the issue).

In business news, Ari had to read a 200 page script from M. Night Shyamalan who probably made the most humorless cameo in the history of Entourage cameos. But he has to deal with an engagement dinner for his wife’s friend (for her third marriage) and subsequently the valet switching his car with another Lexus LS hybrid. Some of the jokes here include finding a bag of dildo’s in the trunk, his wife demanding to be taken home before he tracks down his car that has the script in it, and him finally retrieving the car but getting pulled over going 140 mph and him reading the script in jail.

Yeah, it sounds mundane, but Piven can make anything attention grabbing with this character. After an all-night reading session in prison, Ari comes to find M. Night in his office, only to inform him that he altered the entire third act and wants Ari to read it from the beginning. Predictable, dull ending, and I’d like to see Ari concern himself more with the business end of things, but this was arguably the highlight of the episode.

Personally, I think the honor goes to Eric trying to break the news to Harvey that they aren’t selling him “Medellin”. This wouldn’t be an issue if they hadn’t already back stabbed him at Sundance in season 2, and if Harvey wasn’t completely certifiable. But they did and he is, so Eric never really gets around to the task after he threatens a competitor, makes a thinly-veiled threat to Eric about crossing him again and spends thousands of dollars on a dinner.

Later when they meet the rest of the gang at Winston’s, Drama, ecstatic that the leveling with the mayor went so smoothly, screams at Harvey as he is being dragged out by security for berating a waiter that they are taking the film to Canne and he will have to bid on it like everybody else. It probably sounds uneventful, but when Harvey threatens to pluck out a guys eyeball I can only claim boredom for so long.

Could this have been worse? Yeah, by a long shot. But I watched it, wasn’t terribly surprised by any turn of events and it was yet another isolated episode with no plot development. If they are going to continue making episodes that stand apart from the arc of the rest of the season, then they have to be funnier than they currently are. Because the few laughs I got last night wouldn’t warrant the half hour of consumption if Conchords wasn’t following it.

Speaking of which, back with a Flight of The Conchords recap.

So, did anyone feel like they could do without half of that story last night? One half was phenomenal, I couldn’t fall asleep as a result of the latter half. But at least we saw Eric and all his insecurity on full display and Vince gambling with money he doesn’t have to appease an acting legend.

As far as Eric once managing a Sbarro, for a kid that grew up with limited means in New York City and was somewhat troubled in high school (we always get references to his violent tendencies), there are much worse things he could be doing with his time than managing a fast food restaurant. He could be Dom, for example. But he is definitely hesitant to let hollywood players know about his career history, and when Vince calls attention to it, the cuts are that much deeper. Vince didn’t even call him pizza boy, he referenced it to make a point about his limited experience in producing films.

At the very least, he was being proactive. He saw a potential problem, looked for a resolution and sold a movie to a distributor that hated him on a trailer for $25 million. Again, he was a little too proactive and may have a verbal agreement with the hollywood equivalent of Elaine’s dad from Seinfeld, but the fact he was able to accomplish what he did was impressive. Even if it was ill-advised.

I also enjoyed that look he flashed Billy Walsh as he walked off, I get the impression the devolving partnership between those two will result in multiple missed punches and a screaming match while several onlookers restrain the two stubborn, opinionated hot heads.

Oh, and the Dennis Hopper cameo, how bizarre was that? I assume he just wanted to promote soccer in a mainstream US venue, because the entire scene wasn’t about much else other than Vince spontaneously gambling with money he doesn’t have, and illustrating that Dennis Hopper still hangs out with the production crew from Easy Rider as well as the muscle bound Italian from OZ that was raped by Adabisi.

Also, I like Vince claiming he was having a “hard day” in this episode as a reason for lashing out at Eric. Look, I live a pretty relaxed lifestyle, I never really have any complaints. But if a hard day for me ever consists on gambling with money I don’t have, then through an extenuating set of circumstances actually winning when I should have lost, then presumably sleeping with a beautiful woman I barely know based solely on name credibility, I suspect I would consider the droll I do now a little more tedious than it already seems. But Eric had been busting his ass all day getting chewed out by Walsh, then Ari and now Vince. Seems like Vince doesn’t have much room for complaint.

As for the other storyline that I refuse to rehash in detail here, all I will say is this, I would rather watch Turtle and Drama party plan than banter about rim jobs from fifty year-olds. Maybe I’m in a the minority on this one, but I would hope I’m part of at least a plurality, if not a majority.

Its really hard to quantify the strength of these episodes when half of it is so immensely enjoyable and the other half makes me want to take a shower based on a vicarious horrific experience. All in all, it has been the best episode of this short season, and a little over half of it was quality material. I geuss that says something about the direction the series is taking.

Flight of the Conchords post coming later today/early tomorrow.

Finally, an opportunity for some long term consequences for Entourage’s entourage. It’s been a long time coming for them to produce a conflict that exceeded two episodes, this may be the closest we get. Of course it could be a red herring, just in case any of us weren’t fully mourning the death of The Sopranos.

The determination of whether or not a film will turn into a success has always lied on Eric. That’s why he is Vince’s manager, after all, because he has “instinct”; or at least that is the reason they kid themselves into believing, so he can assume a position he is utterly unqualified for. But he has always been right in the past… in the interest of consistency, and to even further rationalize Eric having an authority position at all, I suggest they have this film bomb. Next week looks promising as they investigate detaching Walsh from the film’s post-production.

Which is also recommended, I have always found Walsh to be more interesting than the four main characters, but the archtype of the capricious director is really grasping at straws now. When Walsh flew out of his production studio on a bike, an over the top stunt with no real plausibility that commanded our attention, they could have at least had the film reel that Vince and Eric were there to see in plane site, because as far as I could tell, they just forgot about it and Walsh left the studio without it in hand.

One thing about this episode I loved was the return, if only a brief one, of Marvin the money manager. One, whay are they still employing this guy? Because, as he put it, “You (Vince and Eric) never listen to a fuckin’ word I say”. Still, any appearance, cameo or otherwise from an actor who had a role in Goodfellas is welcomed.

Speaking of cameo’s, did anyone else recognize Dr. Katz as the headmaster at Ari’s kids school? Not nearly as timid in this role, is he? The decision for them to withhold admission from Ari’s son because of his antics and constant undermining of the school as well as Ari immediately pulling his daughter out of class made sense from both angles. Also, it wasn’t entirely predictable. I thought the outcome would result in Terrence (his former boss, played by Malcom MacDowell) being on the other end of little Ari’s barring, but it ended up just Ari’s personality was detrimental to his kids enrollment, a little occam’s razor for Entourage, certainly did not see that coming.

In a plot line that is inconsequential to the rest of the series, it ended up stealing the episode. mainly because while I am interested in the inner-workings of Vince’s career, i’d rather it consist of more than chasing an self-absorbed, insecure director around town. You know there’s a problem when Eric is the most grounded person out of the group. At least with Ari, while he may be temperamental, he recognizes when his shortcomings are worthy of consequence and when they are not. For a school so prestigious I am not surprised they would kick his family out for such a minor infraction, but for the amount of money Ari was giving in tuition and donations, not even waiting for his daughter to get out of class to pull her out of the school was an appropriate decision.

Also, Eric and Sloane are on a break? Is he out of his God damn mind? I guess she ended up objecting to him spending six months in Colombia. With that said, at least her objection took place off-camera, to make it somewhat applicable, because her putting up a fight because someone is doing their job would have been a little out of character.

What else? What else? Oh, the Turtle-Drama storyline, as always is supposed to generate humor, but this week I didn’t find it particularly funny (not that it was offensive or anything, just too simple) or believable. Drama is always eccentrically stubborn, but honestly, why not just throw the party that your brother doesn’t even care about at his hotel room? You know, the temporary living quarters where nothing needs to be kept in mint condition. The issue here just wasn’t legitimate, effectively drowning virtually all of the humor out of the premise.

Really not the best episode, more quality lines than usual but since I’m at work and cannot remember most of them specifically, you’re either going to have to watch the episode yourself or simply take my word for it. Back with a Flight of the Conchords recap later.

A good start to season four and probably the best season premiere other thean season two (in which the “gang” returned from New York to find that offers weren’t coming in quite as steadily as before they left). Maybe it was the new setting, maybe it was the mock documentary setting (actually, I know it wasn’t that), maybe it was the fact Billy Walsh was prominently involved and we actually saw some on set work; whatever it was this season ahead looks promising.

Reportedly, Johnny Drama is supposed to have a love interest this season. My guess would be that Sofia Vergara turns out to be that love interest, which at least makes for some decent eye-candy. The revelation would also be somewhat ironic considering how everyone was so quick to dismiss Drama’s chances with her. Drama seems crassly over-confident, conventional wisdom would tell you it came from somewhere and at some point in the series Drama would demonstrate exactly that.

One thing I am thankful for is the absence of Turtle’s quasi-girlfriend, his role in this episode was marginalized, which is appropriate being on a film set and all. Turtle doesn’t serve much of a purpose in this setting, or in LA, or at home, etc. Honestly how does he fill the hours on a film set in Colombia?

Vince’s acting, how shall we say… left something to be desired. It’s doesn’t really have any bearing on my overall opinions of the series, its not that difficult to mask good drama with bad drama, especially in such small doses. Other than that he was kept on the sidelines in generic makeup and waiting to utilize a horrendous accent. The scene where he kicked the soccer ball and yelled “Goooaaaalllll!” while that kids father was simultaneously being executed was a bit much, especially when Vince began eating a bag of chips afterwards.

Eric, as usual, played peacemaker. Usually keeping Billy from going ballistic on the film crew and from self-destructing. Even “E” was at his wits end with Billy, whom he threatened to beat him senseless to Vince. I really want to know what its like to be the only character on this series who never has a decent punchline. Seriously, this must be a visceral experience for Kevin Connolly.

But really the central figure in this episode was Billy Walsh, who’s portrayal as a run of the mill pretentious film director really shines through. Some might say he is trying too hard to sell the role, but since he’s there for comedy’s sake, I thought it was pitch perfect. From tackling the photography director after the questionable DP that made it “look like an after school special” to demanding the film crew abstain from sex when he was worried Sofia Vergara was sleeping with someone (”show me a woman who just wants to be friends and I’ll show you the guy fucking her”) to scoffing at practice readings (particularly Drama’s), he Jeremy Piven and Adam Goldberg made the episode (what else is new?). Just the concept of this guy is funny enough in and of itself, like passing out while writing all night in a small hub with the door open, immediately after bringing Stephen Gaghan (wrote Traffic, Syriana) for a brief cameo.

My only qualm really had nothing to do with the episode but what the episode indicated about the season in general. That is, I didn’t think they would fast track the film making process in a half hour, I was under the impression that it would be stretched out over the course of a few weeks before they returned home. On the other hand, given that this is Entourage, therefore it’s inevitable the film is made and to a successful result; and they decided to use that tired mock documentary formatting, it’ not such a bad thig they got this out of the way. One episode with multiple camera interviews is enough, this isn’t Survivor. Also, this episode was Piven-light, when it comes to Entourage, the more Piven we get the better the episode tends to be.

All in all, a suitable opening that gives the new season a proper starting point. For a series or season premiere, isn’t that all you can ask for?

A review of the hilariously funny Flight of The Conchords coming later today or tomorrow. If you do not have HBO, you can watch several clips of it here.

For going two weeks without watching a scripted television series, last night was almost worth the wait. The Sopranos has always relied on the penultimate episode to bring out the double barrels, and last night was no exception. Entourage came back strong as well, any episode that prominently revolves around show business is an episode I am more prone to enjoy.

As given away in the previews last week, Vince declined the investors proposition for sixty million dollars to sleep with his wife, which I actually enjoyed. Regardless of what that guy insisted, it was bound to breed resentment over the course of the film making process if Vince had gone through with it. But I would be lying if I said it wasn’t shocking, a morally concsious decision on Entourage as it pertains to a woman, what show am I watching again?

That left the boys scrambling, and wouldn’t you know it, Nick Rubenstein, the fictional son to a fictional hollywood mogul played by Adam Goldberg, just received some sort of inheritence for turning thirty-five. Since he could only supply $25 of the $60 million that every studio projected, Vince and Eric decided to bring in Billy Walsh, the eccentric arthouse director and former collaborator on “Queens Blvd”, who now directs porn to have free reign of his work. At first he was reluctant to take on the project but enthusiastically accepts when he discovers it’s a bio-epic about Pablo Escobar. What did he think a film entitled “Medellin” would be about?

This, of course, led to much infighting over budget, formatting and perceived/actual slights. At least we got another instance of Eric pulling the tough, scrappy Irishman role when he threatened Walsh, who would probably roll Eric up in a Swisher and smoke him had he tried anything. But the ultimate clash, and if the writers are smart they’ll make this an ongoing issue, was between Rubenstein and Walsh over increasing the budget to $30 million, a battle which Nick eventually conceded because he has so much expendable cash. Oh, and apparently they gave Walsh final cut, which means he has all say in the formatting, and he is now shooting the film in Spanish. The phone exchange between Eric and Walsh over this detail exemplified how feeble Eric is when negotiating with him.

Either way it looks like a great starting point for the 4th season, which starts on the 17th.

Other notes:

-Drama moving into a new, high-end condo with a (speaking of feeble) undignified negotiating tactics. Essentially, he succumbed to the will of the real estate agent at every turn. I have never lived in Hollywood nor do I know anyone immersed in the lifestyle, but I have to imagine this brand of over-indulgence is fairly commonplace. First he is content to live in a building that should probably be abandoned, then he is introduced to a smat of luxury and refuses to live in a efficient apartment (in terms of location and cost) because it doesn’t measure up to the second one. Ultimately, I don’t really give a shit where Drama lives.

-Is it just me, or is Eric the more attached party than Sloan? When he cancelled on lunch, he was more guilt filled than she was upset, the entire conflict seems entirely manufactured as opposed to with Emily or Kristen where he or she had legitimate reasons to resent each other. If Sloan protests Eric going to Colombia it will be a horrendous mischaracterization.

-I guess Turtle’s new girlfriend was put on the backburner for more pressing issues. Good. I definitely preferred the Saigon plot to this one.

A strong episode to conclude the season with, though with two weeks until the start of the next season, I feel like I’m just waiting for the finale again (same lapse in time between the two seasons and the most recent two episodes).

Semi-related: Did anyone watch Adrian Grenier’s documentary where I guess he is searching for his long lost father? I caught the very beginning and he was at Yankee Stadium on Fathers Day in 1999 interviewing random fathers and sons? Was it worthwhile or should I ignore it?

Sorry for the incredibly late post, between four hours of sleep and an early meeting, I couldn’t get to the Entourage overview in time. Anyways, here’s a hyphenated post so to speak, I’ll try to make up for it in the oncoming days…

It seems to be a mutual understanding that this show is entirely too sympathetic to the Vince Chase character. Possibly because it’s produced by Mark Wahlberg (though I’m not sure how responsible he is for what ends up on film) and he would have a natural proclivity to regard Vince as just, I assume this is why we get an arrogant movie star portrayed understandingly. However, between his smug disposition combined with his naivete when it comes to film production as a business, we are left with an almost despicable, and at the very least unrelatable character (at least in several ways, an I’m not even sure if anyone involved with the series realizes this).

With that said, they bring along someone like Nika and she is entitled, shallow, manipulative, angry, selfish and apparently hypocritical…between her and her middle eastern husband with his undisclosed intentions, Vince & Co. seem grounded as a result. Honestly, is it that difficult to encompass likeable characters in this series? I would much rather they refuse to do business with the financier because he wanted to cast Sylvester Stallone in a significant role. And of course, they both want Vince to sleep with Nika to finalize the deal. At least it wasn’t predictable, I wasn’t expecting the husband to encourage it as well.

The Turtle date was, for all intensive purposes, exceedingly lame. I don’t mind the direction they are taking with it, but there is no indication as to why either party would be so intent on dating the other. At least Jerry Ferrara is getting some individual face time, usually he’s a catalyst for Drama and always a supporting character.

Speaking of Drama, I actually felt he had a legitimate complaint about the whole Rush Hour III debacle. Not that he should have been spouting to everyone he knows without at least meeting with Ratner, but after all his boasting it saved us the painfully awkward scenes of Drama explaining himself to everyone. We have seen Drama humiliated one too many times this season.

This is the penultimate episode of the third season, with the fourth picking up on June 20th. Two weeks after the third season concludes (Thanks for the material, Ellin). So there isn’t going to be too much downtime between the start of the fourth season and this upcoming episode on the June 3rd (HBO always gives its original series holiday weekends off) and I wouldn’t expect much closure on any of these storylines. At the very least, I hope its Ari-centric.

We thoroughly enjoyed last night’s episode here at Grid Effect. But it was just so expendable compared to the other television that was in full force last night. Never the less, it seems that any episode revolving around showbiz has me fixated, even if I believe the drama is somewhat underwhelming.

Kevin Dillon definitely stole the spotlight last night in his psuedo-tragic/comedic tale of a struggling, poorly received actor. Johnny Drama has finally caught a break, and it was painfully obvious that while the series was dissected critically, it would be welcomed commercially and provide NBC with a much needed hit (Note: they said Drama’s fictional series “Five Towns” scored close to seventeen million viewers. This is almost twice as much as NBC lands for any of its primetime series’). His drive to the Grand Canyon did seem somewhat cryptic, he was so devastated by the reviews one would think he contemplated pulling a Thelma & Louise (And what are the odds this wasn’t coordinated with The Sopranos episode that concluded with Tony cheering over the end of a cliff in a peyote induced trance in Nevada? Like 10,000,000 to 1?)

A phrase that seemed to be repeated many times in regard to the abismal ratings of “Five Towns” was “fuck the critics”. This seemed to be not-so-subtly directed at the TV critics who regularly criticize this series for its simplistic, debased portrait of the proverbial male fantasy. I cannot understand how this series invokes such strong convictions from people. It seems to be just a campy show about hollywood for the 18-34 male demographic. As far as I know it has never claimed to be anything else. And why would the writers on Entourage take it personally?

On the film side of things, Ari’s shameless desperation to get back into Vince’s good graces simply illustrated why I thought Amanda walking out on her client was so improbable. Agent’s are, by nature, shameless. They don’t take moral stances when they are partially at fault. Its like a social tax one must pay for working strictly on commission. Simply put, there isn’t a chance she is passing up $600,000 a picture to “put Vince in his place”. I, much like any rational soul watching this series, wants to see Vince get his commeupence at some point, but this was just contrived and unfounded.

You compare her attitude to Ari’s, who has now gone from attempting to manipulate Vince’s career to assisting him into producing his own film, despite the most certain financial consequences. I enjoyed seeing the artistic concern on the part of Vince and Eric, despite how pompous the two of them were about it. Particularly Eric, who the hell is he to be making demands? Why should either of them feel entitled to anything? I know I have advocated for Ari reuniting with Vince & Co., but part of me was hoping Ari would tell them to go share a bed with Josh Weinstein and fuck off. But alas, this show is an idyllic depiction of a up and coming actor, that portrays the actor extremely favorably, so we got what we got.

For the first time since Saigon was around, Turtle got his own storyline. The only time we’ve seen him show any interest in any relationship interest in any girl is (questionably) with Shauna’s assistant (where the hell has she been?), and he was prudently rejected. Now with Rufus’ daughter (The same guy who sold them there home entertainment system in “Talk Show”, then reinstalled it in season two’s “Oh, Mandy”. Apparently he has his hand in multiple investments because he was running a body shop last night) they share a common interest in “sneakers”. I still maintain that Turtle would make a better manager than Eric, and this episode only helped solidify that position. Did you see how collected he was when Rufus forced him into hitting on his daughter while he stood in observation? Eric would have been traumatized and asked for Ari’s therapist’s number. Like night and day, those two.

All in all, a stellar episode. I am more interested in Drama’s arc at this point than I am in Vince’s (though part of me wants to see how they depict the process of getting a film off the ground) and Ari should be priceless in these last three episodes, Debi Mazar will probably also come back into the fray as they look to put a good public face on this new venture.

We’ll be back tomorrow with a Survivor finale/reunion recap.

This is one of those Entourage episodes that is satisfying on multiple levels, it’s funny, the drama is engaging, it features a healthy amount of Piven and Dillon and gave an insiders look at the petty and overly complicated world that is showbiz.

If this show has taught us anything, its that all complication stems from people’s massive egos. There was no real reason this film didn’t get put together, Amanda didn’t want to consider that Ari might be right about the deadline, the producer didn’t want to be interrupted even momentarily but wanted an agreement by sundown, no one wanted to negotiate Vince’s quote and Vince, ever the spoiled actor, refused to question his own judgment. It’s times like these when Eric stands out as the only sensible party, and most of that sensibility comes from his lack of industry knowledge; which I am glad the writers still touch on. Even though in this instance he was the most logical (just sign the deal, do whatever anyone wants you to do because this film has been a two season goal), he tends to be the most naive character on the show, even amongst his four friends.

Regardless of how ridiculous it transpired, I am glad to see the Gugino character gone. I haven’t exactly made it a secret I didn’t like her presence on the series, particularly since her and Vince agreed to have sex two episodes ago. It’s just been so horribly cliched and stereotypical, “wealthy, empowered female sleeps with her clients in an ill-advised attempt to keep things simple because they cannot concentrate or have a rational conversation as a result of her stunning beauty”.

Truth be told, all this could have been tolerable if we knew anything at all about Amanda. she wasn’t fleshed out in any significant detail. To this day, all we know about her past is she’s divorced. And I don’t think she was a comedic foil or anything, there wasn’t a single well-constructed joke with her in the shot. Was she strictly eye-candy? A male-fantasy character with nothing more than superficial qualities to offer the series? If that’s the case, there has been a plethora of other bit characters who have successfully filled that void, we didn’t need someone integral for it.

I guess we were led to believe that this wasn’t the first client Amanda had slept with, based on the whole “I hate sexual tension” conversation that concluded “Manic Monday“, either that or she’s never had a male client. Never the less, it was never made clear. And considering the direction they took with her, it should be explained whether or not this is her regular approach to half her clients, give or take. Also, are we really supposed to believe that any agent is going to simply walk away from a client as big as Vince? I suppose Ari did with the writer a few episodes back, but it was an isolated moment of morality that he seemingly regrets. If Vince is getting six million a picture now, that is $600,000 that goes into her pocket with the standard commission for hollywood agents. Something tells me she isn’t storming out of the restaurant like some scorned schoolgirl, despite her being justifiably pissed off.

I have always contended with this series that I only watch it for a few laughs or absurd plot lines that are rife with humor. Because when they try to amp up the dramatic overtones, there is just never that much at stake. If Vince doesn’t get this movie, he’ll get the next and all will be right with the world. But if they are going to force feed us some of these temporary characters, then at least do it for a reason. Amanda was the worst of the pack, even Dom only lasted for two episodes. If he had been around for five, with the assumption that we all knew he wasn’t long for the series, it would have been a bit distracting.

But as it is, this episode seemed to be the the climax of the Amanda’s presence on the series, and just in time for Yom Kippur. The deal got trashed not only because everyone’s inflated sense of self-importance got in the way, but there was two too many parties trying to force their hand. The thing that made this story great, was it illustrated Ari’s work-obsessed nature. Even his wife (Whom I thought was gentile but based on her demeanor this episode I am thinking otherwise) was taken aback with his persistence, but his charismatic nature makes him virtually impossible to dislike.

Most of the humor in this episode stemmed from this chasing the tale storyline. That is generally when the show is at its best, when their isn’t some contrivance setup for cheap laughs but rather the jokes are organic and are a result of the issue at hand. We did have Drama going all Lisa Simpson on us with the horse, but that was explainable: if someone has simplistic as Drama has a sentimental attachment to a aging racehorse and has the resources to save it, he will irrationally do so. Pawning it off on Ed Burns as a “gift” just made for an unexpected cameo.

Definitely the best episode this (half) season, and in contention for best episode of this (full) season with “One Day In The Valley” and “Vegas Baby, Vegas!”. With the focus back on Ari and his relationship with Vince as it pertains to the business, I’m optimistic it will stay that way.

Typically, cameo heavy episodes seem to serve as a distraction for lazy writing, and the end of this episode was a little too flamboyant, leading my friend to ask, “Is Entourage jumping the shark?” It certainly seemed like one of those unfortunate watershed moments, but this series has always relied on sensationalism (it is about hollywood), so while having Johnny Drama get in a UFC ring with Chuck Liddell is definitely off beat, it’s not unfathomable.

I actually preferred this episode, much more in fact, than last weeks snoozefest between Vince and Amanda, and Ari’s bout with a concsious. This week, we at least had a healthy dosage of Drama, who’s face while watching one of Liddell’s UFC matches was priceless. Even if it was completely implausible that anyone (even someone as arrogant as Drama) would pre-emptively assume any and every unorthodox situation would be a stunt for a hidden camera television show (even if he knew it was coming), it set up about ten minutes of Kevin Dillon face time, who’s story arcs are always top notch.

The Ari story line was somewhat inconsequential but entertaining none the less, and that’s all I watch this show for: a few laughs. I’ll have to admit, I was expecting more from Ari Lange, instead he essentially played the reformed straight man who struck it rich with stamps.com and simply provided material for Ari. The entire thing was fairly shallow and probably fairly indicative of a hollywood induced lifestyle. Initially, Mrs. Ari resents Ari’s old fraternity brother for all his unwelcomed colorful advances and obnoxious banter. Then upon discovering he’s worth $45 mil, suddenly the unwelcomed advances are flattering and the obnoxious banter is charming.

Also, a Harvard graduate is relegated to working at a Hooters? Nevermind that this requires suspending disbelief enough to agree that Artie Lange is an Ivy leaguer, but the fact he went there in the first place somewhat mandates that he can maintain a job better than Hooters. Those Harvard degrees, even with grade inflation and all, they still come at a premium.

Ari’s reluctance to accept his friends unexpected success was unsurprising, but it was conveyed so awkwardly. First of all, wouldn’t he have potentially heard about the guys fortune? It’s not something your everyman pays attention to, but over a decade later and Ari had no idea that a presumably good friend from college is an internet multi-millionaire, seems unlikely. And the way Artie announced his financial status (as an explanation for his attractive wife) seemed a bit delayed. Wouldn’t he be eager to announce to his new found fortune to his college mentor? Even if it was off-kilter, listening to Jeremy Piven mock his friends monoslavic diction was worth the uneven execution.

In the episodes main storyline, Eric did the first agreeable thing he’s done all season…he hung up on Amanda after her admission that she “liked Vince”. To be honest, this arc is killing the series. She just isn’t interesting, and she’s certainly not amusing (she takes herself far too seriously for that), has she been credited with one decent joke in the past four episodes?

The meeting between Eric, Vince and Amanda was interesting, but Amanda added nothing to it other than being the agent/girl in question. I liked the look Eric and Vince shared during the obviously rehearsed speech from Vince and Amanda. Eric’s face read, “how could you sleep with your agent? fucking idiot”, and Vince’s face responded, “Fuck you pal, look at her. And besides, how many agents are there in this town? You know Gugino’s only contracted for a couple more episodes so this is obviously short term. You self-righteous fuck.”

If nothing else we need Ari back with Vince so he has Eric as a whipping boy again. The series was much funnier in those days.

So, was I the only one bored senseless by last nights episode? Honestly, after a significant binge the night before and a day full of yardwork leading up to the HBO Sunday night block, I damn near fell asleep during “Manic Monday”. Actually, I am probably pinning too much responsibility on the activities preceding Sunday’s viewing. Considering The Sopranos kept my attention even with its probing, often stand still pacing, I was fully engaged for the entire hour.

But despite the total runtime of last nights episode, 21 minutes after recap and opening credits, somehow I still felt like I was watching Roots. If there was anything about Amanda that interested me other than her looks (and even then, she’s expendable, much like LA this show is chock full of female eye-candy, it’s never ruined the series before, not sure why it should now) it might be redeemable. But what do we know about the character? She is divorced and her ex-husband wants the dog, and… well, now she prostitutes herself to gain favor with clients (can’t imagine why the husband would be vindictive).

Not a whole lot of substance there. Also, she’s tempremental, annoying and overtly literal. All the time. And given her lack of development it begs the question, is her contribution to the series dramatic or comedic. It can’t be dramatic, because nothing is really at stake. Vince and her could part ways right now and they would both go onto live relatively comfortable lives with no regret. So I guess she’s around for comic relief, but why the hell do I watch it if I never laugh?

I imagine the character is still somewhat peripheral (even though her or conversation about her ate up at least half the screentime in this episode) because she isn’t in it for the long haul. But if I wanted to watch all of the male leads being overly complacent with their female counterparts, I would watch every series on CBS and ABC.

Ari was kind of going through the same painstaking minutia that Vince & Co. were. Answering to his therapist, his wife, Babs, at least there was an explanation for why he was so behaving so abnormally: he’s depressed. And when a megalomaniac such as Ari has a bout with depression, he tends to be fairly dysfunctional (ask anyone on involved with The Sopranos). He did have a few solid rants, however (twice directed at his psychiatrist, one of those also congruently at his wife), which helped to make the episode tolerable, but hardly saved it.

Honestly, is the demo for this series so shallow where even the agent has to be superficially entertaining? It’s a distinct possibility, but being a card-carrying member of said demographic, maybe the producers/writers are mistaken. When it comes to a character as integral as “agent”, comedy should trump aethsetic appeal. Especially when the series is billed as such.

Other notes:

-Drama’s prevailing misogynistic wisdom speaks to his age.

-Ari’s line during his first rant, “First off, I didn’t go to the Lakers game because they were playing the fucking Bobcats!” Is perfectly applicable. As having been to a couple Bobcats games, I can assure you its worth staying home.

-Has any one note character been as derailed as the Lasik guy? That was brutal.

Anyhow, next week looks like a vast improvement (something I haven’t said about the previews for the past two episodes), which is almost necessary at this point to keep me awake.