ENTOURAGE
Season 4 Episode 4
“Sorry, Harvey”

Drama is taking the mayor of Beverly Hills out for the night, as he wants his condo (presently right at the border of L.A. County and Beverly Hills) to be part of an annexation that’s up for a vote. Johnny’s sucking up to the mayor, who wants to meet Vince. So Drama ropes Vince in, to help his cause.
Meanwhile, E girds his loins for his face-to-face with Harvey, who is under the impression that they’re all going to Cannes together, in glory. E has to face the notoriously volatile Hollywood power player, and tell him, “Well, we’ve screwed you again.”

At a club, Drama sets the mayor up with Anika, who as it turns out, is a transvestite. When Drama tells the mayor, he is at first shocked, but then asks for discretion from Drama, as he feels a “connection” with Anika, and doesn’t really care what’s under the skirt.
But when the mayor leaves with Anika, exactly what’s under the tranny’s skirt is caught on camera, and pops up on the Internet the next morning, effectively sounding the death knell on both the mayor and Drama getting a nine-oh-two-one-oh zip.
And E’s attempts at telling Harvey keep on getting aborted, until Drama gets tired of the song-and-dance and blurts it out, sending Harvey into an apoplectic fit.


There’s also one of the best guest turns on the show thus far, as M. Night Shyamalan has Ari read his next script. (The details are just too much fun to disclose here. Try and watch the episode if you haven’t seen it yet!)

Parting shot: One wonders what the Entourage writers have against Harvey. (The real Harvey, I mean…)

(Episode image courtesy of hbo.com; M. Night Shyamalan image courtesy of ifmagazine.com.)

ENTOURAGE
Season 4 Episode 2
“The First Cut is the Deepest ”

The boys finally get back from a break in Italy, since Billy claims Medellin is finally ready to be screened (for Vince’s and E’s eyes only). At the offices, Ari makes it clear that because of the bad word on the street regarding Medellin’s “troubled shoot,” no one wants to dangle an offer in front of Vince till it’s established that Medellin isn’t the next Gigli.
Meanwhile, Turtle and Drama prep the welcome back party, to be held at Drama’s condo (as Vince is currently staying at a hotel, much to Marvin’s very vocal dismay).
And meanwhile still, Ari and Mrs. Ari go on red alert as it looks like their boy may not get into the school they’ve poured so much effort into.

So while Vince and E meet Billy, only to have him flee the scene with the only completely-edited print of Medellin, Drama orders Porta-potties and padlocks his bathroom (among other drastic steps to ensure his place isn’t trashed). And in Ari’s quest to get his son into school, he finds out his son isn’t the problem; it’s Ari the foul-mouthed, cell-phone wielding maniac the school doesn’t want any more of.

At the party (where Drama insists on the use of coasters and has everyone take off their shoes), E finally gets a message through to Billy, stressing that Vince’s career—and bank account—are on the line with Medellin. So a nervous and insecure Billy finally agrees to a screening, asking only that Vince “Be gentle.”

As Vince and E finally see Medellin, the party moves to Vince’s hotel room, where Anthony Michael Hall pisses over the balcony, getting them all thrown out.
Exiting the screening room, Vince and E congratulate Billy on a great film. In the car though, E reveals he was only being nice to Billy, and while Vince apparently thought the film was great, E thought it sucked.

(Image courtesy of hbo.com.)

ENTOURAGE
Season 4 Episode 1
“Welcome to the Jungle”

The making of Medellin unfolds before our eyes in the form of a behind-the-scenes doc, as the boys (Five Towns is on hiatus, so Drama's on for the ride) tromp through Bogota to shoot their dream movie, with neurotic enfant terrible Billy Walsh at the helm.
Tension between E and Billy spikes and fluctuates throughout the process, sparked as early as pre-production by a discussion over the number of extras in a scene. Billy then just keeps on going, ranting about sex and cell phones and obsessing over a local actress playing “the Village girl.”
Meanwhile, we see Ari’s reactions from Stateside, as he deals with the Tinseltown perception that Medellin is a “troubled shoot.” Things come to a volatile head when Billy insists the script’s ending is crap, but can’t focus enough to actually do the re-write. So he wants Steven Gaghan, but Gaghan’s an Oscar boy, and he costs, a bill which Nicky Rubenstein can no longer foot, as he apparently got arrested on the way to the airport with a cocaine baggy in his car.
But in a great scene, Billy asks for E’s help, and E pulls it all together, FedExing Gaghan the script and a check. But even as Gaghan is flying to Bogota, Billy is at his typewriter readying his notes for the Oscar-winning screenwriter. He ends up doing a brilliant re-write, and Gaghan ends up getting paid to read Billy’s re-write, and give it his thumbs-up.
Having reached an understanding with Billy, E steers the shoot to a triumphant close, even as Billy makes a comment which foreshadows the turbulent waters ahead.

Parting shot: Yay! Mrs. Ari’s finally in the opening credits.
But now, Shauna’s gone! Shaunaaaaaa!!!

(Image courtesy of hbo.com.)

ENTOURAGE
Season 3 Episode 19
“The Prince’s Bride”

Drama gets a call from Brett Ratner’s people. They want to offer him a part in Rush Hour 3.
Stoked, Drama gets to Brett’s digs (which look like the Playboy Mansion on a more modest budget), but there’s been a mistake. Someone misread the Five Towns credits, and they actually wanted to offer the part to the kid who plays Drama’s younger brother.
But Drama’s already bragged like he’s got the part in the bag, so he refuses to leave till he gets a part—any part—in the movie.
Which he does. Kind’a.

Turtle gets his first date with Kelly, but an afternoon alone goes bust when Rufus, Mrs. Rufus, and Kelly’s brothers get back early.
Rufus goes down somewhere during Are We There Yet? and Mrs. Rufus tells Turtle to take Kelly and have a nice time.
They have lunch, and Kelly gets Turtle to take off his cap. (“I must really like you a lot,” he muses.)

Meanwhile, the Aquamansion’s been sold and E and Vince need someone to finance Medellin, so Ari finds Prince Yair and his ex-Ukrainian soap star wife, Nika.
And though Yair wants Sly Stallone to play Pablo Escobar’s father in the film, he’s also willing to pony up $60 mil. But Vince’s Spidey sense kicks in and he knows Nika wants in his pants. Ari and E don’t see it, but Vinnie’s convinced.
And it turns out he’s on the money, and Yair just wants to keep his wife happy, even if it’s to pay a hot Hollywood actor $60 mil to sleep with her…

(Images courtesy of hbo.com.)

ENTOURAGE
Season 3 Episode 18
“The Resurrection”

It’s the day of the premiere of Five Towns on NBC, and the reviews are out, but Drama wants nothing to do with them, so he spends the day trying to relax. But it’s as he’s getting a “massage” that he succumbs to checking out the Variety review, much to his aggravation.
One confrontation with a TV reviewer later, and Drama’s in a proper funk.

Meanwhile, Turtle picks up Drama’s car, which the boys have had restored at Rufus’ Body Shop (Rufus, who got them their home system in Season 2, is now into cars, apparently). While waiting at the shop, Turtle meets Kelly, Rufus’ daughter, who’s also a sneaker freak. (Turtle later describes her as “… like me, but with tits.”)
One minor car crash later, and Turtle’s got himself a date.

Meanwhile still, Vince and E head into Ari’s office, and though Ari thinks the boys are back, they’re really only there to tell Ari to resuscitate Medellin. Knowing this is the one way he can get Vince back as a client, Ari ropes in Joe Roberts, producer of Matterhorn, the film Vince passed on way back in the Entourage pilot.
Apparently Matterhorn hasn’t gotten made yet, as Colin Farrell (who signed up to star in it) broke his arm weeks before filming was to start. So, seeing Vince’s fervent desire to do Medellin, Joe proposes a back-scratching: Vince does Matterhorn first, then they do Medellin.
But Vince still doesn’t want to do Matterhorn, and Roberts announces he’s considering buying the Medellin script. So Vince does what he can do: he decides to buy the Medellin script, with the long-term plan of producing the film himself. In what is one of the best scenes in the episode, E puts up every penny he has behind Vince’s scheme, once again confirming the depths of his friendship with Vince, and his faith in him.
And Vince is willing to put the Aquamansion up for sale just to buy the script.
One call to Roberts later (in which he talks about his days as a P.A. on Apocalypse Now), and Vince is the proud owner of 150 pieces of paper, and Ari’s got the prodigal client back.

Oh, and one pilot premiere later, and Drama’s in a hit TV show.

(Image courtesy of hbo.com.)

ENTOURAGE
Season 3 Episode 17
“The Return of The King”

The whole Medellin thing comes to a head (as Ari said it would 4 episodes back) on Yom Kippur, of all days; and we all know how many Hollywood types are circumcised, right?
It seems Benicio’s walked away from the project (as has Paul Haggis, as we find out later on), and the producers need a star in place before sundown, or the project collapses.
But it’s Yom Kippur, and the fasting and the moratorium on business deals has to remain in place… till sundown.
With Ari’s regular cell phone as well as his BatPhone confiscated by Mrs. Ari, Ari slinks around with the producer’s son, making deals with Amanda in the back alley of Temple by the dumpsters!
Ari does his best to pull the deal together (ostensibly representing the co-producer, as he’s no longer Vince’s manager), but in the end, the deal falls apart.
Agreeing with E that Ari would have never let the ball drop on this one, Vince confronts Amanda, and though it’s made clear that this really wasn’t her fault, they still go their separate ways.

Meanwhile, there’s a subplot involving Johnny Drama and a race horse who happens to be the grandson of a horse that Johnny bet on years ago, and from whose winnings he bought a Lincoln that the whole gang remembers.
Though the horse loses, Drama ends up buying him as it looks like the owner’s about to send “King” off to the glue factory. But Drama spends a whole lot more than he bargained for on King’s upkeep, so he gives the horse to Ed Burns as a gift, much to Burns’ daughter’s glee.
And though that subplot is serviceable enough, the meat of the episode is in the Medellin subplot, as it picks up the thread of the long-running storyline, becomes the catalyst for the end of Vince’s professional and personal relationship with Amanda, and paves the way for next episode’s goings-on.

(Image courtesy of hbo.com.)

ENTOURAGE
Season 3 Episode 16
“Gotcha!”

It’s the morning after Amanda and Vince’s one time thing, and they’re in the tub together, with E trying in vain to get in touch with Vince. Afterwards, Vince sends her flowers. (Yup. Definitely a one time thing.)

Meanwhile, Drama gets into a verbal altercation with UFC champ Chuck “The Iceman” Liddell over a parking spot and ends up in the octagon with him (all part of the long-range, two-fold master plan of Drama’s arch-nemesis Pauly Shore—their history stretching back to Season 2’s “Aquamansion”—for his new hidden camera show, Gotcha).

And on the Ari front, Ari’s frat brother Scott stays over with his hot fiancée and Ari finds himself getting jealous of this ex-loser’s success. The subplot winds down with Ari and Mrs. Ari having hot monkey love anyway, so it’s all good. (It’s great that Mrs. Ari is getting some.)*

Before the episode wraps up, E finds out about Vince’s “one time thing” and ends up talking about it with Amanda, who admits she may like Vince after all. And when Vince hears this, he says he may like Amanda after all too…
I’ll say it again: Complication, anyone?

* Seriously though, it’s one of the great things about this show, Ari’s loving relationship with his wife. I mean, they have problems, but they really do sincerely love each other.

(Image courtesy of hbo.com.)

ENTOURAGE
Season 3
Episode 15
“Manic
Monday”

As Mrs. Ari and Lloyd worry about Ari (he’s not eating and he’s sleeping in a little too much), Babs senses something amiss with her partner (he’s “weak” and “nice”; he isn’t himself).
And unknown to them all, he’s tearing up at the sight of wallpaper showing him and Vince in happier times.
An impromptu session on a golf course with Therapist No. 7 (or 5, according to Mrs. Ari) makes shrink and client realize that the break with Vince has really affected him, and that he’s “evolving.”
Of course, Ari doesn’t wanna evolve. He needs his anger and his edge, so he goes back to the office and does what he sees as a wonderful perk of his job: he fires someone.

Meanwhile, Amanda demands face time with Vince to find out why she’s getting the run around, a meeting that gets Vince to admit that he thinks she’s “cute.” And when Amanda confronts Vince and asks whether that means he wants to get in the sack with her, he says “Yes,” and they arrange for a one-time thing, after which, they can return to a strictly agent-client relationship. (At least that was the plan…)
Complication, anyone?

(Image courtesy of aol.com.)

ENTOURAGE Season 3
Episode 14
“Dog Day Afternoon”

Vince continues to dodge Amanda’s calls, holding out for Medellin, while Sam Mendes expects an answer soon.
With that biz bit as backdrop, this episode is pretty much relationship stuff: Eric tries to plan a vacation with Sloane without Vince as tag-along; Turtle and Drama pick up girls at a dog park, with Arnold as bait (finally! A subplot with Arnold playing a pivotal role); Ari gets Lloyd to help rope in a gay client.
It’s that last subplot that’s probably the most interesting, as not only do we see Ari maneuvering his way through a crowded dance floor in a gay club (“No touching! Civilian!”), but he surprises once again, showing us his humanity by rescuing Lloyd from a compromising situation.
All this, catalyzed by a Donna Summer song about a hooker!* Brilliant.
Ari whips out a fantastic metaphor, Lloyd has a great scene at the club, and we see Mrs. Ari. Yay!! (I love Mrs. Ari.)

* Did I say “hooker”? Sorry. I meant “waitress.” (Heh.)

Parting shot: I may have initially missed Emily after she moved on to work with James Cameron, but I didn’t miss her for long. (Sorry, Samaire.) Lloyd is such a great character, and is a fantastic counter-balance to Ari. Given that the boys’ camaraderie is often something that we take for granted in the show, the Ari-Lloyd relationship is actually the most fascinating one to watch, and this episode brings that pairing further.

(Image courtesy of aol.com.)

ENTOURAGE
Season 3
Episode 13
(WARNING:
SPOILERS)
“Less Than 30”

After, what, a four month break, the boys are back, and look who their new hottie agent is: Amanda, played by Carla Gugino!
And speaking of breaks, that’s sort of the way Vince and Ari are acting, as if they were once an item and now they’re on the outs. (E makes an interesting point: outside of Mrs. Chase and the guys, Ari’s is the longest relationship/friendship Vince has had.)
All this tension (and yes, jealousy) comes to a head when, ostensibly as a birthday gift, Ari gives Vince the script for Medellin (which was once a bone of contention in light of the Aquaman franchise; of course, Benicio Del Toro ended up with Medellin, and Vince was passed over for Aquaman 2). Amanda’s understandably annoyed by that, and Ari makes his pitch at Vince’s party.
It’s a great scene, where it’s pretty clear that beneath all the agent schmooze, this is really just a friend reaching out to another, hoping to salvage the relationship. And the thing is, with Ari, his friendship with Vince is all wrapped up and intertwined with their being agent and client. (Perhaps not the best set-up, but there you have it.)
And though Vince says all they really can be at this point is friends, he holds back on signing a deal to make an Edith Wharton adaptation with Sam Mendes, just to see if the whole Medellin thing pans out the way Ari claims it will.

Parting shot: It’s too bad the Carla Gugino-headlined Threshold was cancelled. One of the Lost clones to storm the network schedules in 2005, Threshold was a great X-Files throwback I enjoyed.
Maybe that was its downfall, though. Classic case of damned if you do, damned if you don’t. If it had come out during the whole X-Files boom, it would have been a rip-off. In 2005, when it premiered, it was probably a little too late, given that the boom had already gone bust. (Invasion—another show I enjoyed—was a fresher and more involving approach to the X-Files idea of aliens among us, but even that couldn’t get past its freshman year.)

(Image courtesy of aol.com.)