THE BORE

General => The Superdeep Borehole => Topic started by: The Fake Shemp on March 16, 2008, 05:25:53 PM

Title: Question for those who have watched Entourage
Post by: The Fake Shemp on March 16, 2008, 05:25:53 PM: The show is very frustrating. At times, it's entertaining, but it's totally unbelievable - Vince would be run out of town after the decisions he and his posse have made. Not only that, they retconned Ari's character after season one. What's up with that?
Title: Re: Question for those who have watched Entourage
Post by: FlameOfCallandor on March 16, 2008, 05:53:35 PM: Well we dont all have the deep insight into the industry that gamestop employees share.
Title: Re: Question for those who have watched Entourage
Post by: The Fake Shemp on March 16, 2008, 05:56:49 PM: I think even someone who was dumb enough to waste their time supporting a candidate like Ron Paul is probably smart enough to realize that you don't screw over two studio heads multiple times and still get work.

Or maybe not!
Title: Re: Question for those who have watched Entourage
Post by: demi on March 16, 2008, 06:11:13 PM: wtf?
Title: Re: Question for those who have watched Entourage
Post by: The Fake Shemp on March 16, 2008, 06:20:59 PM: I'm not expecting realism, but I'm not expecting high fantasy either!
Title: Re: Question for those who have watched Entourage
Post by: TVC15 on March 16, 2008, 06:34:12 PM: Quote from: Willco on March 16, 2008, 05:25:53 PM
The show is very frustrating. At times, it's entertaining, but it's totally unbelievable - Vince would be run out of town after the decisions he and his posse have made. Not only that, they retconned Ari's character after season one. What's up with that?

Yeah, that's one aspect of the show they never get right. It gets kind of ridiculous when Vince is buying his friends all sorts of new toys and he hasn't worked in like 2 seasons. Luckily, the events and end of season 4 make it seem like this is being addressed at least a little bit.

Quote from: Forgotten Ancient on March 16, 2008, 06:20:09 PM
So I was supposed to be expecting believability when watching this show? :-\

There's a difference between "believability" and "not being stupid," though.
Title: Re: Question for those who have watched Entourage
Post by: The Fake Shemp on March 16, 2008, 06:40:13 PM: What about Ari GOLD STANDARD, though? He is portrayed as a womanizing asshole in Season 1 who constantly screws other women, but then is magically retconned to a sympathetic cutthroat agent who is a good husband?
Title: Re: Question for those who have watched Entourage
Post by: TVC15 on March 16, 2008, 06:42:32 PM: That's another good complaint: Ari is portrayed as being some super mega agent, but we never actually see him do anything super mega whatever.

I had the same issues, too, Will. The biggest problem with the show is that it doesn't know whether it wants to be a raunchy comedy, or if it wants to pursue a narrative, so it thus does each kinda half-assedly. I still enjoy it though, for the fact that it has fun characters and there's nothing really like it.

I eventually got over it. The key is to not go into the GAF threads where people praise it as the best thing evar. Probably the same dumbasses that think Swingers is a good movie.
Title: Re: Question for those who have watched Entourage
Post by: The Fake Shemp on March 16, 2008, 06:56:45 PM: Yeah, he's supposed to be a super mega agent but up until Season 4, it didn't seem like he had any other clients - then they gave him a client base like M. Night, Mary J. Blige and such. I like the Ari Gold stuff (trying to get Lloyd's boyfriend back, the twins episode, etc.) more in Season 4, but everyone else a lot less. It's like, the "entourage" itself is a background story to Ari Gold.
Title: Re: Question for those who have watched Entourage
Post by: Mandark on March 16, 2008, 08:03:36 PM: I've spent a lot of time hashing through Entourage's problems, mostly with TVC. I think I've got a grand unifying theory on its flaws, but it's kind of a long read and involves the later seasons, so don't check unless you don't mind some spoilers.

spoiler (click to show/hide)
ENTOURAGE IS A POORLY WRITTEN TELEVISION SHOW
[close]
Title: Re: Question for those who have watched Entourage
Post by: The Fake Shemp on March 16, 2008, 08:08:37 PM: :lol
Title: Re: Question for those who have watched Entourage
Post by: TVC15 on March 16, 2008, 08:10:08 PM: It's always almost really good, though. Most of the problems with the show could easily be plugged up, but it's like they don't care to put in the extra effort.
Title: Re: Question for those who have watched Entourage
Post by: The Fake Shemp on March 16, 2008, 08:18:59 PM: Yeah, at times, it can be very entertaining, but it's a very frustrating show to watch. It feels like it's had different showrunners throughout its four seasons, actually.
Title: Re: Question for those who have watched Entourage
Post by: Mandark on March 16, 2008, 08:36:25 PM: You know how hard it is for me to talk about Entourage and not make a gigantic, old skool Loki at GAF type post?

I already have an urge to analyze every TV show I watch like it was a miniboss in a sidescroller, reducing it to its plot algorithms (37 minutes into Law and Order? Motion to suppress!). Entourage is like crack, because it has several formulas that come and go and because they're all so damn obvious.

It's a wonder that they haven't had Drama say "Hey Vince, me and Turtle are gonna go do a B plot involving weed or chicks" at the beginning of an episode.
Title: Re: Question for those who have watched Entourage
Post by: The Fake Shemp on March 16, 2008, 08:42:38 PM: I guess I must be square, but I really don't find the humor or the hipness in Turtle or Drama or Vince ALWAYS doing weed.
Title: Re: Question for those who have watched Entourage
Post by: Mandark on March 16, 2008, 08:52:56 PM: See: lifestyle porn.

I think TVC once said that at its worst, it can be a "fictionalized Cribs". My catchphrase is "male Sex And The City".

It's a pretty narrow fantasy, targeted at Maxim readers. Easy sex, expensive cars, home theatre system, weed, designer clothes, not having to work, etc. It's easier to enjoy if you share the exact same fantasy and don't mind indulging in some really naked wish fulfillment.

edit: "Doing *the* weed" would be even better.
Title: Re: Question for those who have watched Entourage
Post by: Van Cruncheon on March 16, 2008, 09:02:56 PM: when we all get off work from gamestop, let's play smash brothers and smoke the weed!
Title: Re: Question for those who have watched Entourage
Post by: Cormacaroni on March 16, 2008, 10:13:37 PM: Once Bill Simmons pointed it out, I can't get over it: E kills the show. He eats up so much screen time, but he's hideously dull. He just can't hang with Ari, with whom he's thrown into conflict every 5 minutes. He's the audience's viewpoint character but he's so fucking incapable of emoting anything other than 'mildly stressed' that it actively dissuades rather than engages. Replace E with anyone halfway interesting and this becomes a solid show. As it is, it's just an occasionally amusing piece of fluff, that's mostly fun for the fantasy aspect.
Title: Re: Question for those who have watched Entourage
Post by: AdmiralViscen on March 16, 2008, 10:29:59 PM: Quote from: FlameOfCallandor on March 16, 2008, 05:53:35 PM
Well we dont all have the deep insight into the industry that gamestop employees share.

:lol
Title: Re: Question for those who have watched Entourage
Post by: Mandark on March 17, 2008, 04:02:36 AM: Huh. The guy who plays E apparently directed a movie (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0403057/) written by the writer of Just Friends (the awful Ryan Reynolds vehicle that got mentioned in rodi's romantic comedy thread).

imdb's plot outline?

...

"Young man on the wrong track, suddenly finds purpose and love when he captures a serial rapist."

How has TVC not seen this yet?
Title: Re: Question for those who have watched Entourage
Post by: TVC15 on March 17, 2008, 04:04:47 AM: Quote from: Genghis Cohen on March 16, 2008, 08:54:33 PM
Hey guys I just scored a lid, let's go out to my dad's shed and do the weed.

DO YOU HAVE ANY LUUDES DUDE?
Title: Re: Question for those who have watched Entourage
Post by: Howard Alan Treesong on March 17, 2008, 04:08:47 AM: Quote from: Genghis Cohen on March 16, 2008, 08:54:33 PM
Hey guys I just scored a lid, let's go out to my dad's shed and do the weed.

oh my god I'm laughing so hard I'm choking, I hate you
Title: Re: Question for those who have watched Entourage
Post by: TVC15 on March 17, 2008, 04:19:55 AM: DAVES NOT HERE
Title: Re: Question for those who have watched Entourage
Post by: pilonv1 on March 17, 2008, 06:29:58 AM: I like Swingers :( And Entourage, and I don't mind E's character until he started fucking round on his girlfriend in season three/four.

I don't mind the change in Ari's character, as Wilco said some of his best stuff comes in season three/four with Lloyd. After watching the whole thing the first series feels like a pilot.
Title: Re: Question for those who have watched Entourage
Post by: drozmight on March 17, 2008, 06:47:53 AM: This show makes me want to become a member of an entourage all bad like.

A friend of mine trains in martial arts competatively... I made him promise me that should he ever become a UFC fighter he'd make me a part of his entourage.