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 The cast of Entourage (left to right): Kevin Connolly as Eric, Kevin Dillon as Drama, Canada’s Emmanuelle Chriqui as Sloan, Jeremy Piven as Ari, Adrian Grenier as Vince and Jerry Ferrara as Turtle. The sixth season kicks off tomorrow night on HBO Canada. |
Entourage is a TV rarity in this regard: Everyone who knows it likes it.
Granted, there are people out there who simply never have seen Entourage, a premium-cable phenomenon which returns for its sixth season tomorrow night on HBO Canada.
But honestly, we don’t believe we ever have met a single person who is familiar with Entourage but dislikes Entourage.
And that’s quite a commendation, considering that even the most popular and influential TV shows of all time have had their detractors.
Seinfeld? We know several people who just never got it. And as much as we love them, the same can be said for current classic comedies like The Office and 30 Rock.
The Sopranos? We know people who were turned off by the language and the violence.
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The Simpsons? Some people just don’t like cartoons.
The X Files? We know people who reflexively balked at the subject matter and thought the whole thing was stupid.
The reality genre? There are as many haters as there are lovers of American Idol, Survivor, Dancing with the Stars, etc.
You know, thinking back to various classic shows, perhaps M*A*S*H comes closest to Entourage in the “anyone who knows it likes it” category.
But admittedly, we clearly can recall an aunt of ours saying, “That Hawkeye is annoying — no one is ready with the perfect quip ALL the time.”
Alas, Entourage is in rarefied air, at least in our personal experience.
For the uninitiated, Entourage — which is about 90% funny and 10% serious — tells the story of four longtime buddies from Queens, N.Y., one of whom (Vince Chase, played by Adrian Grenier) has become a famous actor in Hollywood.
The other three — level-headed Eric, played by Kevin Connolly; attention-starved Drama, played by Kevin Dillon; and loyal hustler Turtle, played by Jerry Ferrara — form Vince’s all-purpose “entourage.”
Completing the scene is Vince’s shark-like agent Ari Gold, played by multiple Emmy Award-winner Jeremy Piven, and Ari’s assistant Lloyd, played by Rex Lee.
And we’re delighted to see that Eric’s former girlfriend Sloan — played by Canadian Emmanuelle Chriqui — has re-emerged with a major role in the new season.
There are some who would say Entourage’s best years are behind it, but we’re not sure we’d agree with that.
Surely, the show is closer to the end of its run than the beginning, but that doesn’t mean the situations can’t be as interesting as ever, especially as the four-man unit starts to break down.
If the first episode of the sixth season is any indication, that will be one of the main themes as Entourage moves forward. Vince actually finds himself alone from time to time, horror of horrors. Despite putting up a brave front, it’s scary and perplexing to him.
As he says to Eric at one point, “What do you have to do that’s more important than watching me get my (driver’s) licence?”
We always have loved the snappy dialogue in Entourage. Like this exchange from the sixth-season debut, when a disapproving Lloyd catches Ari having a celebratory alcoholic beverage in the middle of a work day.
Ari: “They do it on Mad Men all the time and they’re pretty successful.”
Lloyd: “That was in the ’60s. By the time they get to season four in the ’70s, they’ll all have liver and heart disease.”
Entourage loosely is based on the real-life experiences of co-executive producer Mark Wahlberg back when he was an up-and-coming young star. But the biggest irony of Entourage is that, in real life, entourages are not particularly funny.
Ask anyone — ANYONE — who works in the entertainment business and regularly has to deal with stars, “What is the biggest pain in the butt about your job?”
The answer is shockingly consistent: “The entourages. They all think they own the place, they’re rude and crude, and they have a disproportionate sense of importance.”
Take that, Drama.