We all saw it coming from a mile away, but that didn’t stop the writers of “Entourage” from attempting to make Johnny Drama’s little run-in with UFC champ Chuck Liddell a pure coincidence. Upon hearing that Pauly Shore has personally requested Turtle’s assistance in punking Drama on his new reality series, “Gothca!” (think Ashton Kutcher’s “Punk’d” with even less talent behind it), Drama tells Turtle to sign him up with the hope that it will raise his profile.
Of course, when Drama mistakes a parking incident with Liddell as part of the show, he earns a new enemy in the “WWE wannabe” and comes home to discover a threatening message from Liddell on his answering machine. That was enough to sell me on the concept that maybe this was a coincidental occurrence, but as soon as Turtle suggested they go to Liddell’s charity event to apologize, I knew what was coming. Liddell makes Drama get on his knees and beg for mercy in front of hundreds of people, and Pauly Shore rushes out to tell Drama that he’s just got got. What the hell does that even mean?
Meanwhile, Ari’s old frat brother, Scott Siegel (Artie Lang), comes to town to visit, and while the guy’s apparently always been a bit of a fuck-up, it looks like he’s finally pulled it together. He’s a multi-millionaire (thanks to a website he founded called stamps.com) and he’s got a hot new fiancée (Leslie Bibb) that makes Ari furious. You see, he’s always been the alpha male of the two, so in order to regain a little control of their friendship, he decides to start hitting on Scott’s soon-to-be-wife, because, well, that’s what Scott used to do to Mrs. Ari. It was classic Ari at his best, but none of it was necessary.
In fact, most of tonight’s episode was more filler than usual, except for the aftermath of the Vince one-day pass of unlimited sexual pleasure. It had to happen (how else is Ari going to get reinstated as Vince’s agent?), but now the reunion is imminent. After the scheduled lunch where Vince was supposed to apologize to Amanda for his behavior the night before, it was obvious to Eric what had already happened, and he’s not at all happy about it. Not only does he think it’s unprofessional, but he knows how Vince is when he gets serious with a girl he really likes (ahem, Mandy Moore). And by the looks of next week’s episode, Amanda may be using that weakness to her advantage.
Unfortunately, it’s the audience that’s being taken advantage of the most. Did we really need such a no-frills episode? Sure, I love watching Drama get humiliated more than the next guy, but can we just finally see him in action on the set of his new show? I’m really curious to see if it bombs or not, and whether Drama temporarily becomes the more famous Chase brother. Plus, let’s get this “Medellin” subplot wrapped up before the end of the season. We know Vince is going to do it (he has to, he hasn’t worked in like a year), and I think it would be great if the film earns him a serious nomination. Not some crappy People’s Choice Award, but an Oscar, or at least a Golden Globe fer christsakes!
And you’ve got to love the way they did it. As soon as Lloyd called Vince “Mr. Chase” and said “they’re waiting for you in the conference room,” you knew what was about to happen and you felt damn sorry for Ari. I did anyway. It was painful to watch, just knowing that Ari could’ve saved the relationship had he brought Vince and E into his office, sat down, and admitted that he fucked up. Instead, he threw the flashy corporate presentation at Vince, and he crashed and burned.
Regardless, Ari’s on thin ice. And yes, I saw the previews for next week, but the signs have been there all season. Ever since Ari moved into his new digs, Vince and E haven’t been getting their typical star treatment, which I suppose is understandable considering Vince hasn’t worked a single day this season (seriously). Plus, Ari’s already proven himself to be a snake on several occasions, tendencies that don’t mesh well with Vinnie’s principled nature. This Bob Ryan catastrophe could very well be the final straw, or at least the event that’ll spur the “will he fire him or won’t he” cliffhanger finale next week. My wife said there’s no way Vince would fire Ari because Ari’s too important to the show. Well, duh (don’t tell her I said that), but that still doesn’t mean Vince can’t send Ari packing. In fact, a desperate Ari would be a lot of fun to watch next season as he does whatever he can to get back in with the boys. I say Vince ends it next week, and we’re all left wondering how long the break will last.
