By Joe Osborne
Another season of one of the coolest shows on TV has come to an end, and it’s pretty obvious that the series is on its last legs. Next season will be its last, which is great, because it seems like they’re running out of ideas. This past season had some big time highlights as well as some serious low lights. It lacked the silliness of Johnny Drama and the pot head antics of Turtle, but maybe that’s a sign that the characters are moving in a different direction. Overall, it wasn’t the best season, and it certainly wasn’t the worst. Here’s what I hated and what I liked.
What I hated
– The abundance of cameos, especially by athletes: In the first few seasons of the show, celebrities playing themselves popped up here and there, and usually didn’t play a large role in the storyline. The casual appearances were cool, and gave us a glimpse of life in Hollywood. This season was different, as we were pretty much smothered by random celebrities popping up all over the place. The thing that stuck out was the roster of superstar athletes and sports personalities like Jerry Jones and Mark Cuban. While performances by Brian Urlacher and even Cuban were believable, performances by Adrian Peterson, Chris Bosh, Shawne Merriman and Mike Tyson stuck out due to their sever lack of acting skills. Entourage should be a little more picky about who they put in the show, rather than just plugging famous people into an episode just because they can.
– Sasha Grey: You’ll be hard pressed to find many guys that will complain about too much of a porn star, but I think this storyline went on for a little too long. Yes, the chick can act, but we all knew where this was going and it took too long to get there. They could have at least threw in a few more full frontal nude scenes! In all honesty though, she became a leading character in episodes five though ten, which was a little much. I would have preferred more Sloan.
What I liked
Cocaine is a helluva a drug!
– Vince’s storyline: The thing I liked about the storyline is that it allowed Adrian Grenier to show a little bit of range with the character, especially in the last two episodes of the season. Watching someone throw their life away because of drugs is always fun. That’s why the show Intervention is so popular. What I didn’t like about the storyline was that it was a few season’s too late. The show already did Vince’s collapse and comeback, and it appears that they’re going in that direction again. Vince getting messed up on drugs was much funner to watch than the depressing season five, where Vince couldn’t get a job. The storyline made it clear that they’re running out of idea’s for the character that the show centers around.
– The return of Billy Walsh and Johnny’s Bananas: The past two seasons lacked one of the series best characters, Billy Walsh. The challenge for the shows writers were how to get him back into the mix and have his character make an impact. Towards the end of the characters first run, his antagonist act was becoming stale, so a change was needed. A more positive and modest Billy returned to create what could be Johnny Drama’s first big hit. Let’s hope we get to see Johnny’s Bananas come to life in season 8.
– Scott Lavin: One thing that’s been consistent throughout the series is that E needs a rival. In the first few seasons he went back and forth with Ari as he tried to prove himself, then there was the power struggle with Billy Walsh, and who can forget about Seth Green. E always needs someone to challenge him, and Scott did a great job at pushing his buttons. The two called a truce, and had another falling out. It looks like they’re on their way to making up again, and it will be interesting to see what happens with their ‘take-over’ in season 8.
Like most successful comedies, the series may have gone on for too long. But it’s still fun to watch, so who cares? Rumor has it that the eighth and final season will be a short, six episodes long. I’m expecting another comeback for Vince, finally some success for Drama and Turtle, Ari will lighten his work load to save his marriage, and it should all end with E and Sloan’s wedding. The end of the TV series won’t be the last we hear from Entourage, as plans for a movie are also in the works. The series entered the TV world as the funnest and coolest shows on TV, so lets hope it goes out like that.
Joe Osborne is a sports and entertainment enthusiast who resides in Halifax, Nova Scotia. To read more stories like this, visit WhatUpSports.wordpress.com, or you can follow Joe on Twitter @TheJoeOsborne.
