I’m rarely ever successful when trying to predict the future of my favorite television shows, but I sure am glad I was right about this week’s episode of “Entourage.” Dumping the Eric-Walsh feud for something a little more interesting earned both my respect and my attention, and it looks like the series is building to something before the end of the season. Plus, everyone likes celebrity cameos, and tonight’s show had three pretty big names, including Mary J. Blige, Peter Jackson and the return of Gary Busey.
With the decision to act solely as Vince’s manager, Eric has decided to expand his horizons by renting an office, putting out an advertisement in Variety magazine, and going after some deals of his own. The new digs aren’t meant exclusively for landing more jobs for Vince, but his first order of business is finding his best pal a way to make some quick cash. For those who don’t keep track of the video game industry, Academy Award-winning director Peter Jackson (along with a few other bigwigs like Steven Spielberg) is making the best of his talents by working on a new video game based on the popular “Halo” franchise.
In the world of “Entourage,” however, he’s simply working on a new video game, but Eric wants to get Vinnie involved. Unfortunately, no one has a clue who the fuck Eric Murphy is, but he gets some much needed help from Shauna (yeah, you remember her?) when she directs him to a friend at Variety who will do a profile of him for free. The article doesn’t end up quite how Eric had expected – she basically calls him out for using Vince as a launching pad for his own career – but it lands him an interview with Jackson nonetheless. Could this be an exciting new time for Eric, or is this just another Saigon detour that will be eventually left in the dust?
Meanwhile, Ari is prepping for one of the biggest days of the year – Mary J. Blige’s annual visit to the agency – when he’s forced to deal with feuding co-workers at the office. Actually, they’re twin brothers, which makes the situation that much stranger when Ari hears all the details. Jeff has just discovered that his brother Jim slept with his wife, and wants Ari to fire him. Unfortunately, Jim just so happens to bring in six times as much money as brother, and so Jeff is the one that’s let go. Not exactly how Ari would have handled things had the tables been turned (despite constantly making comments about cheating on his wife, Ari is one faithful dude), but when it comes to business, numbers are numbers. It’s unlucky for him, then, that Mary J. Blige just so happens to like the guy he fired, and as a result of her leaving the agency, Ari promptly fires Jim as well. Not exactly gripping material, but still one of the better subplots that have been shoved his way since the beginning of the fourth season.
Hopefully that’s all about to change, because if I have to watch Johnny Drama make an ass of himself one more week, I may just go crazy. First, it was getting high in his trailer. Then, it was having sex in a pink bunny suit. And now? How about letting Gary Busey paint on his body in trade for an office desk? Sure, it was meant as a gift for Eric, and yeah, it’s cool that it once belonged to Robert DeNiro, but who in there right mind spends $42,000 on a freaking office desk, antique or not?
Busey has cameoed before, but this was certainly his weakest appearance. I do love the fact that he intimidates Turtle so much (“It’s the reflection in the mirror that scares you”), but the subplot seemed much too forced for his personality. Plus, we’ve already seen the whole crazy artist persona before. It’s not that I don’t like the guy, but when you’ve got Gary Busey at your disposal, and the dude is so batshit crazy that you could practically ask him to do anything, well, you ask him to do anything. Maybe he can guest star on an episode of “Five Towns,” or maybe get stranded somewhere with Turtle. I’m having thoughts of a “Brokeback Mountain” parody as we speak, but that’s for the writers to figure out and for us to enjoy.
