Join the Entourage
The pitch for this show must have been easy: "The story follows a young, hot shot movie star's life in L.A. Girls, parties, fast cars, the lot". What's not to like?
As proven before by series like The Sopranos and The Wire, HBO, the US cable channel, is home to some of the finest TV shows. It also, very crucially, has the benefit of not having to censor anything because it is paid for, which is therefore assumed to deter under-aged viewers.
This is why Tony Soprano could swear like he did, and why The Wire could 'keep it real' by never having to bleep over any f-words. And why Jeremy Piven has been able to pick up an Emmy three years in a row for taking on the role of the unspeakably foul-mouthed agent, Ari Gold, in Entourage.
With the sixth season now airing on ITV2, we examine whether anyone's time is well-spent in the presence of a way-too-good-looking movie star (played by Adrian Grenier) and, as the title suggests, his entourage.
This entourage consists of three friends who have been with him from the start in New York, and who he has kept around (and financially afloat) while he embarks on an initially stellar movie career in L.A. They feed off his fame to get what they want, which is usually sex, and enjoy the high life his status delivers.
While this sounds like the setup for some cheap celebrity-lifestyle bashing, the show turns out to be more than that.
There is no denying the show mocks celebrity and the Hollywood lifestyle. But real-life celebrities are happy to cameo, often amusingly over-stretching their perceived public persona. And very often the show draws a picture of Hollywood that one is tempted to believe. Every girl is happy to go home with the movie star, or, failing that, somebody close to him.
But that joke would quickly run out if the show didn't have its heart in the right place.
Over the course of the last five seasons, the main characters have grown on the viewer. The main star has seen his career go up and down as he goes from a film with the biggest grossing opening in history to a straight-to-DVD release. His friends, the driver and serial pot-smoker Turtle, his half-brother, part-time actor and full-time cook, Drama, and his best friend-cum-manager, Eric, have also had their crises which they made it through because, despite all the swearing, skirt-hunting and dissing, they always remember that it's their friendship that matters.
This is all topped by a stellar Jeremy Piven who is playing the actor's agent and teaching his star (and the audience) how the Hollywood game works. Apparently, it works almost exclusively by swearing and abusing your assistant. Which would make him unbearable, had we not learned over the years that he, as all of them, can be humane when it matters.
With Season Six promising to offer more of the well-stirred mix of glamour and outrageousness, we are willing to believe that fame, as the show says, is better with your friends around.
This is why Tony Soprano could swear like he did, and why The Wire could 'keep it real' by never having to bleep over any f-words. And why Jeremy Piven has been able to pick up an Emmy three years in a row for taking on the role of the unspeakably foul-mouthed agent, Ari Gold, in Entourage.
With the sixth season now airing on ITV2, we examine whether anyone's time is well-spent in the presence of a way-too-good-looking movie star (played by Adrian Grenier) and, as the title suggests, his entourage.
This entourage consists of three friends who have been with him from the start in New York, and who he has kept around (and financially afloat) while he embarks on an initially stellar movie career in L.A. They feed off his fame to get what they want, which is usually sex, and enjoy the high life his status delivers.
While this sounds like the setup for some cheap celebrity-lifestyle bashing, the show turns out to be more than that.
There is no denying the show mocks celebrity and the Hollywood lifestyle. But real-life celebrities are happy to cameo, often amusingly over-stretching their perceived public persona. And very often the show draws a picture of Hollywood that one is tempted to believe. Every girl is happy to go home with the movie star, or, failing that, somebody close to him.
But that joke would quickly run out if the show didn't have its heart in the right place.
Over the course of the last five seasons, the main characters have grown on the viewer. The main star has seen his career go up and down as he goes from a film with the biggest grossing opening in history to a straight-to-DVD release. His friends, the driver and serial pot-smoker Turtle, his half-brother, part-time actor and full-time cook, Drama, and his best friend-cum-manager, Eric, have also had their crises which they made it through because, despite all the swearing, skirt-hunting and dissing, they always remember that it's their friendship that matters.
This is all topped by a stellar Jeremy Piven who is playing the actor's agent and teaching his star (and the audience) how the Hollywood game works. Apparently, it works almost exclusively by swearing and abusing your assistant. Which would make him unbearable, had we not learned over the years that he, as all of them, can be humane when it matters.
With Season Six promising to offer more of the well-stirred mix of glamour and outrageousness, we are willing to believe that fame, as the show says, is better with your friends around.
Here Is The Writer : Billy No Box
Billy No Box has worked in the city for six years, and currently works in Derivatives for a North American bank. He enjoys playing golf, reading books by Umberto Eco, singing "Copacabana" in the shower and at karaoke bars, and occasionally updating his blog about London and everything else.
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