Entourage

The last time Vince did a big film we skipped the entire duration of his filming. When he was having problems doing one movie we got to see them acted out of the screen. In this episode the ten week production of his new movie was shown in a documentary style with behind the scenes interviews with problems from the set with Billy Walsh and all that. It was a different, change it up style, but it didn't work for me. I thought some of the interviews felt forced, like no one would have ever question about certain things. The show wasn't really funny. Drama continues to be the same, boring character he has always been. Always asking for a job and never getting someone to give it to him. Reminds me of Lucy from 'I Love Lucy' which is not why I turn to watch Entourage when it comes out on DVD. I have heard season 4 is by far the worst season ever and this is a pretty rough start though I'm trying to be as objective as possible.

The boys are back! Well kinda as this episode focuses not on the boys traditional return to LA but in Colombia where they are filming Medellin. Since this show is supposed to be about an actor it always seemed a little odd (though understandable) to never see Vince actually film anything. The documentary style of the episode was great in allowing us to fly through the 6 months of production seeing all the drama and none of the boring stuff!



Things I liked:



Eric producing- he fit really well into the role

Ari's commentary from the safety of his office

Turtle being "Vince's Assistant"

Drama managing to get into the movie's final scene whilst still being successful back home

The fact that Billy didn't actually manage to sleep with the girl- was a lot less clichéd.

The movie scenes were amazing. It would be an excellent movie if it was real!

Nicky Rubenstein arrested for trying to smuggle cocaine into Colombia



Things I didn't like:



I'm not a huge Billy Walsh fan so having him dominate the episode wasn't the best for me

Vince's costume just looked ridiculous

Not enough Turtle and Drama

I’m a big fan of Entourage, please keep that in mind.

Anyway they get it all wrong this time, no research, no investigation, all they know about Medellin and Escobar seems to be that Escobar used to live in Medellin.

OK, Vince seems like Escobar, so the make up was great, but what about the little town? It looks like a ghost town from Mexico or something… You can ask yourselves this question: Why a man with all that power and money will live in a town like that?



Just use google search for images about Medellin or Bogota (where the movie was “Filmed”) and you will see great cities, filled with cars, buildings, shopping malls, highways, etc. and no horses or other animals hanging around.

I had the pleasure to know these two cities, and for sure I’m disappointed with their point of view about them.

This has to be one of the oldest and most widely used cliches in Hollywood. You would think that by now writers and studios would stop using it. When supposedly filming in Colombia, this episode shows what can only be described as a third-world hellhole, a country living in the dark ages, with streets full of peasants walking barefoot, dirt, and old beat-up cars. Not only is this a gross misrepresentation of 1980s and early '90s Colombia, but also a historical inaccuracy from the point of view of the Pablo Escobar story.



On the other hand, Entourage does try to portray modern-day Hollywood. Having said that, it is not surprising that this episode contains such a historical aberration. However, you would have expected a litle more research and work from the Entourage production team. I am surprised that Sofia Vergara participated in this.

After watching season 3 - which was awesome - I found it hard to see how season 4 should follow up on it. But after watching the season premiere I am very positively surprised. It was great to see Billy taking a bigger part in an episode and I think it was interesting to see so much from the set - compared to how little we saw of Queens Boulevard.

I am not sure if I liked the documentery-thing, but I can live with that and maybe more Ari would have been nice - but I'm sure we will see more to him in the upcoming season. Jeremy Piven for the win! ;)



Anyways, great start and I am looking forward to the rest of season 4 - even more than I expected.

This was a strange way for Entourage to start their fourth season. The documentary type style episode was an interesting idea, but it seemed tacked on at the last minute. If your making a documentary of a multi-million dollar film why would you interview an assistant or Vince's agent back in LA? Otherwise, this episode contained the show's patented humor as well as making Billy seem a little human (but him saying "suit" all the time is really starting to annoy me). He's a great guest but too much bogs it down. Overall the first episode of the season was good but not great, and I'm happy the Medellín story line is closing (finally).

To kick off the season "fresh" and to quickly cover the movie production storyline, they decide to use a documentary-style episode. Or.. at least they start off that way. However, as the episode goes forward, the documentary point-of-view disappears. It was a great idea and I wish they stuck with it all the way through. I'm sure it would have been difficult to work in enough character development, however I believe falling off the idea hurts this episode.



Ari's one-liners from his office back home were funny. Drama's involvement with the movie, as he continues to earn a role, were funny. Vince in the fat suit gives that slice of movie magic and back-stage view I'd like to see more of on this show. And Walsh's directing style was well illustarted and was an enjoyment to watch. (You begin to wonder if real directors act like him).



A great idea, a good episode, but they should have followed through on the documentary. Maybe even presented it has an HBO "Behind the Scenes" 30-minute episode of the fictional movie Medellin.

I don't think this episode managed to please everyone. From what I can tell it left some people very upset, and with that I mean the horny teenage boys who want to see Turtle score some tail.



This episode was well-structed, well-educated, and a fine example of how TV shows should be. It's as if Billy Walsh himself filmed the thing. Switching from 'normal life' to the shooting of the film was done superbly, and if it wasn't for Drama and his unnecessary jokes I would have firmly believed that this episode was actually a real Making the Movie.



Gotta love Entourage.

This episode was average at best. I hope the show isn't headed in the wrong direction settling for a documentary type season premiere. I refused to believe that the bad reviews this season got were actually merited but now i have to say I'm worried. Drama, as usual, had some funny scenes but where the hell was Turtle all episode? Whatever they were trying to accomplish with this episode, they completely failed to deliver. Next week's looks just as bad but I'm hoping I'm proven wrong cuz I luv the show.

I loved the format of this episode a complete change of pace and a breath of fresh air. Not that this series needed a breath of fresh air of course. A great series of in-jokes for the fans of the show to pick up always scores well (with me at least). The nod to Martin Landau's character Bob Ryan was an extra special one in my book.



Plus you got to see what the character's would say to a behind the scenes DVD commentary. Turtle's wise cracks and Drama's desperation were so in charactor. You couldn't ask for a more from an episode that changes so much of the format.



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