Entourage wrap up

In season three Entourage did a good job of living up to the hype it generates in the 18-to-35 male demographic. It remains the most deliciously voyeuristic show on television -- a neat trick for a scripted, professionally acted show in the age of reality TV. Entourage might make you hate your own life and curse your friends for not becoming movie stars but, as you watch, you are tricked into having fun doing so.

The key to Entourage is the defiant way the five main characters don't evolve. Rather they are just thrown from one fortunate situation to the next and react exactly the way you would expect them to. A life of hedonism with nary a lesson learned -- it's no wonder the show is such a hit with the audience it attracts.

My favorite development from season three was the increased willingness to separate Vince, Eric, Turtle and Drama from their famous lock-step and let them develop their own plot lines. Los Angeles provides ample venues for the famous and almost-famous to find the type of adventure that doesn't lose any of its entertainment value, over the course of a twenty-five minute episode, when alternated with other adventures at different venues.

As always, Entourage offered up a parade of guest stars to contribute to the beautiful bustle. This season they kicked things off with the disastrous friend-from-the-old-neighborhood Dom, who, in a brief amount of screen time, proved that a violent amoral character can also be painfully unwatchable -- a TV and movie first. I am not sure if the part of Dom was just written and acted that poorly, or if the producers included him for a couple episodes to make everyone appreciate how much better the show is without him.

On the other hand Martin Landau's portrayal of the Robert Evans-inspired over-the-hill producer Bob Ryan was -- along with the continued hilarity of Johnny Drama -- the high point of season three.

With Ryan's "what if I were to tell you . . . would that be something you might be interested in?" catchprase establishing itself as TV's most popular since "I'm Rick James, bitch," it looks like I wasn't the only Entourage fan won over by the lovable codger. (Although Robert Evans certainly isn't on that list.)

Yesterday's finale ended with an intriguing cliffhanger, virtually assuring season four will come on the heels of "TV event of the year" buzz. I will be looking forward to seeing if they can live up to it.