TV Watch: Entourage

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HBO's "Entourage" boys are back for another go at Hollywood

Last Sunday marked the debut episode for the 5th season of the HBO hit series 'Entourage', a show that has sometimes been tabbed as a male 'Sex & the City'.

The show focuses on the life and career of Vincent Chase, a hot rising young actor played by Adrian Grenier.

Vinnie is a kid from Queens with great looks and some acting chops who goes to Hollywood and quickly makes it big.

He is helped by the three guys in his 'entourage': Eric 'E' Murphy is played by Kevin Connolly and is Vinnie's best friend since childhood who takes on the role of managing Vinnie's career; another longtime friend known only as 'Turtle' is played by Jerry Ferrara and is the gopher of the group; and finally there is Vinnie's older brother, Johnny 'Drama' Chase played by Kevin Dillon.

'Drama' had some limited fame from a TV series in which he starred years ago, and is always trying to get back into the acting game and out from under the considerable shadow cast by his kid brother.

The 5th wheel in this dramedy is Vinnie's agent, Ari Gold, one of the great characters in television history as played by Jeremy Piven.

These five largely stick together through the thick and thin of Vinnie's turbulent acting career.
They receive assists from a number of repeat characters in bit parts such as Ari's gay Asian assistant Lloyd, played by Rex Lee, Ari's wife played by Perry Reeves, Vinnie's publicist Shauna as played by Debi Mazar, and Ari's rival Dana Gordon as played by Constance Zimmer.

The acting troupe is ably produced by Mark Wahlberg and a strong supporting crew that suck you into the rarely-if-ever seen in this detail, behind-the-scenes world in which a major Hollywood celebrity lives his full life.

From home and personal lives to the show business world, from the nightclubs to the beaches to the film festivals, "Entourage" takes you to both the glamorous and sleazy places that no other show on television has ever gone, and does it very well.

If you've never watched it, try to pickup the series from the beginning through Amazon or some other such source. As with all new series that you begin following, give it 3-4 episodes so that you begin to 'get it'. It won't take long, believe me.

Part drama, part comedy, all entertaining, Entourage is simply one of the best series in the history of cable television, which makes it one of the best of series of all-time, period, and the boys are back with all-new episodes now every Sunday night at 10pm on HBO.