Entourage: Let's Blog It Out

At the spot. Drinkin' with the boys. Seeing the family. Rolling with old neighborhood friends at old neighborhood hangouts as if no time had passed.

Oh the joys of coming home again.

The Season 5 finale of "Entourage" nailed that sentiment, and at the perfect time of year. I've always been a huge proponent of the parallels between when a show airs for the first time and the actual time of year it is.

The first four seasons of "Entourage" aired during the summer and it completely enhanced the show's carefree, live-life-to-the-max attitude. When Season 5 was delayed because of the writer's strike, I wondered how that would affect the way we subliminally compute this season in our brains.

Continue reading "There's no place like home" »

It took all of 0.8 seconds to know this episode wasn't going down in Hollywood. Hello, "Me Myself and I" by De La Soul. A Long Island-based rap group from the late '80s/early '90s. Another strong soundtrack choice by the producers (and I think that just might be the start of a new category for Season 6).

With that, it's time to channel my "thinking like a New Yorker" bias that I just claimed didn't exist a few minutes ago.

Does anyone else want to see more episodes shot in New York? Not a full season or anything like that because that would change the dynamic of the show, but maybe three or four episodes in Season 6?

I didn't care when Barry Bonds took the cream and the clear, and I wouldn't care if "Entourage" did the same thing here. There's such a different energy in New York than Los Angeles, and the Season 5 finale proved that. The photography of this episode felt different, too, but again, I'm a lifelong Long Islander and New Yorker, so I'm probably completely biased on this.

But filming a few episodes in New York City could reinvigorate "Entourage" among those who may not have enjoyed this season's overall story arc. Of course, we think those viewers are crazy, but five seasons is five seasons, and with the way people consume television these days, no show is above minor tweaking and storyline expansion.

Still, I'd love to see Johnny Drama have a meltdown in his own bar and then storm off into the streets of Queens. I'd like to see Turtle ride the subway. I'd like to see Vince play a plastic bucket drum with a street musician. Maybe E ordering a coffee and danish from a breakfast truck on the street? And can you imagine Ari Gold being approached by a bum on the street? Hello, future Joshie Award for Best Scene!

Despite the star power that is/was Vincent Chase, "Entourage" really centers around E. He's the true lead of the show, at least conceptually, even though the ensemble cast makes "Entourage" what it is.

Thus, we'd be shocked if Vincent Chase ever took home the Big Knish for the most Best Printable Lines in a season. But every now and again, the writers throw him a bone. As do we.

Vince smoked the competition and scored the BPL in the Season 5 finale. Sitting on the stoop talking to Ari after being harassed by his mother (how many New York natives can relate to Mercedes Ruehl's performance as Mrs. Chase?), Vince drops this bomb:

"My mom's all over me. She's treating me like she usually treats Johnny."

Great line. Of course, Ari locked up this season's Big Knish last week, his second straight and third overall. Watch for the Big Knish ceremony on Wednesday afternoon.

Continue reading "Entourage 5/12: Best Printable Line" »

This episode had nothing to do with Ari Gold. These things happen.

But when you commit to the Ari Gold Mine during the first episode of the season, you still have to find the AGM. Such is life when chronicling our favorite TV show.

Seeing Ari in Queens was awesome. He made it even awesomer (not a word) by delivering Martin Scorsese on the phone, flashing that smug "Look how I awesome I am" grin and then calling E "a little McNugget."

Ari the Savior is occasionally more fun than Ari the Slayer. Occasionally.

I was tempted to give every New York City scene and reference Writer Props this week. But then I'd be guilty of that East Coast media bias people love to talk about. And I'd be found guilty of an even greater charge of "thinking like a New Yorker."

But once the phone sex scene between Turtle Sal and Jamie-Lynn Sigler arrived, I put all that aside. Turtle using his mother's land line to talk naughty with his girl Jamie-Lynn and getting caught doing is exactly why we love "Entourage."

Well played, Mr. Ellin. Well played.
Victory

Turtle deleting all logs

OK, folks, it's Joshie Award nominee season.

In the past, I've "studied" all the season's episodes and come up with the categories and nominees for the Joshies, which honor excellence in "Entourage."

I will do the same again for Season 5, but in the interest of character/plot development, I'm opening up the nominee suggestion box to readers.

Below you will find the Joshie categories for Season 5. If you don't know what the Joshies Awards are, you better ask somebody. Feel free to use the comments here to suggest scenes for each category worthy of Joshie consideration. Heck, you can even suggest new categories.

No guarantees, of course, but my hunch is you might be able to sway the academy.

As for the voting schedule, it goes like this: We'll post all the nominees on Tuesday, Nov. 25. The polls will be open for one week, closing at 11:59 p.m. Dec. 2. Then, on Thursday, Dec. 4, the Joshies will be unveiled to the world.

Fire away!

Best Best Printable Line

Best Johnny Drama Moment

Best Random Hot Chick

Best Storyline

Best Location

Best Guest Star

Best Character You Want to See More of

Best Comeback

Best Overall Performance

Best Ari Gold Moment

Best Scene

Best Episode

Relive past Joshie Awards

No doubt this episode will be in the running for Best Episode when the Joshie Award nominees are announced next week.

Continue reading "Entourage 5/11: Best episode so far" »

In an episode where every Ari Gold moment on screen was fantastic, it's hard to pinpoint the actual AGM. But alas, I have a job to do.

Continue reading "Entourage 5/11: The Ari Gold Mine" »

Sal!

Say it with me now: Sal! Sal! Sal!

And we've got ourselves a first name for Turtle. It only took 65 episodes. This is the biggest character development for Turtle -- oopsies, Sal -- since he met Ari to have the suits back him getting Saigon a record deal.

Are we surprised it's an extremely Italian name? Nope. Are we surprised it took a sweet girl in a romantic arc to get him to reveal it? Nope.

But I was always of the belief his first name would be Anthony.

Isn't it funny how when even the hardest or most wiseassest of men will confess just about anything to a woman they really like, especially in those early stages of courtship? I think Turtle is falling for Jamie-Lynn Sigler pretty hard right now, at least based on what we've seen so far. His guard is dropped down lower than Roy Jones Jr. in his prime.

Next up: Mrs. Ari!

(HBO Photo of Jerry Ferrara as "Turtle," oops "Sal.")

With one episode left in Season 5, Ari Gold locked up his second straight Big Knish and third overall.

Here's how he did this week. Vince has just been fired from "Smoke Jumpers" and Team Chase is going through a mini-meltdown. Drama was ready to throw Verner, the crazed German director, a Queens-style beatdown. E was doing his usual over-reacting. Vince was actually angry.

Ari Gold arrived on the set in Big Bear and tried to calm them all down in Vince's trailer. He assured them that he would handle everything and fix it for Vince. They asked how.

Ari responded:

"Because the Jew has arrived and he doesn't like Germans."

Outstanding wording, outstanding delivery.

We'll celebrate Ari's Big Knish Award next week in a special blog ceremony.

Continue reading "Entourage 5/11: Best Printable Line" »

We've all been there, in that groggy state of "I'm still asleep but for some reason I answered the phone."

We're our most honest, natural selves at that point. So when Jamie-Lynn Sigler called Turtle at 4 o'clock in the morning, it came as no surprise to see Turtle be his usual smart-ass self.

"Are you sleeping?" Sigler asked.

"No, I'm fly-fishing," Turtle responded.

Props to whichever suggested fly-fishing as the activity of choice to use in that situation. Absolutely hilarious. Go ahead and try to substitute another action in its place that would be as funny.

"No, I'm walking the dog."
"No, I'm swimming naked in the lake with Drama."
"No, I'm cooking a peanut butter and jelly calzone."
"No, I'm washing my car in the rain."

See, fly-fishing was the perfect choice. Well played.