Episode 3 - Dramedy
23 February 2012
Synopsis: Eric finds a showrunner who writes Johnny a sitcom. Even Phil Yagoda thinks it's a good idea and tries to arrange a meeting with John Stamos to star opposite him. Vince continues his thrill seeking ways alongside Scott and Eric begins to become concerned. Turtle's cost cutting leads him into another confrontation with Alex who offers him a way to make money. Lizzie Grant asks to be promoted to head of TV but Ari refuses and she quits.
The Good: Unlike last season these stories seem to have more momentum and consequences than before. Of course that is no guarantee that they will actually go anywhere. But for now this was a pleasing scene setting episode.
Lizzie quitting will presumably come back to bite Ari and it's not clear quite how which is a little intriguing. Ari's refusal to promote her fit his loyalty to Andrew and perhaps his split focus now that he is the "King of Hollywood." Scott played his part well again, keeping his sleazy side under wraps just enough to fool Vince and continue enabling his reckless behaviour.
The Johnny story is an interesting one for sure. The writers have decided to go in the meta direction of turning Johnny Drama into what Kevin Dillon is in real life, a comedy star for playing things straight. As that is very much his character and he would do anything for success it doesn't seem too much of a stretch. But it is important that the writers don't get fixated on how clever an idea it is and focus on creating an interesting story. It was nice to see Turtle cleaning his own cars, an obvious way to demonstrate his cost cutting.
I've said it many times but Entourage does a great job of keeping its recurring characters, Shauna last week, Marvin and Barbara this week. Ari's children too have grown along with the show and have an enjoyable and believable relationship with their parents. It all helps to build a convincing universe. Speaking of which it would be nice to see Eric and Sloan come to some sort of amicable agreement about when it is appropriate for him to ditch her. Obviously one of the major themes of the whole show is Eric slowly transforming into his own version of Ari but it would be nice to see him avoid some of the same mistakes.
The Bad: Alex' suggestion that they go to Mexico before explaining what she is offering Turtle is implausible and could have been scripted differently. Vince's gallows humour about dying on his bike is a touch too on the nose as well. Vince has been cautious for so long he shouldn't lose all his inhibitions in a couple of weeks.
Comic Highlight: It's difficult to look beyond Johnny's ironic assertion that "I don't do comedy. I'm not funny!"
Victory?: A decent scene setter but little to keep you entertained.
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