“One Last Shot”: The third episode of season 8 begins at a Narcotics Anonymous meeting where Vince is talking about his new screenplay about a group of Romanian miners trapped underground. He plans to develop that work into a TV movie with his brother Johnny as the star. Carl Ertz, a fellow addict and a film producer, hears about the film at the NA meeting and approaches Vince about helping him out.
In the meantime, superagent Ari returns to the dating game with a young woman but finds that he is ill-prepared to date someone new. His date insists that they take shots to calm down his nerves. The couple eventually have a good time together but when Ari arrives at her apartment and meets her obnoxious roommate, he leaves her place and instead finds himself spending the evening
with his ex-girlfriend, Dana Gordon. Meanwhile, after Vince’s brother Johnny and his cartoon co-star Andrew Dice Clay ask about pay increases even before their show has started airing, they are rejected and Clay is eventually fired from the show, leaving Johnny with a new co-star.
Again, this episode focuses on Vince’s rehabilitation and the serious side of Hollywood. I might enjoy the serious material elsewhere but it still seems like an abrupt departure to what ”Entourage” is really about. Episode three ends with a major shocker when Ertz kills himself in his bathroom after he’s rejected by Vince for another project. Entourage has never tried to be a serious drama and when he tries to focus on serious things, it often fails and that is abundantly clear in this dour episode.
Final Grade: C-
“Whiz Kid” : Episode four begins as Ertz’s body is being removed from his home. Vince and Turtle were outside his bathroom door when he killed himself so both are sent to the police station for questioning. Vince, who is still on parole from his problems with the law last season, is forced to take a drug test after drugs are found on Ertz’s property.
Unfortunately, Vince has smoked pot a few days before so he’s worried about the upcoming urine test. Johnny gets a few bottles of vinegar for Vince to drink to clean out his system but Vince believes that it’s too late. Looking for any possible solution to pass the test, he meets with his friend Billy Walsh, who gives him what looks like a male appendage to use during the test that will dispense clean urine. Eventually, this trick works and Vince passes the drug test.
Episode four also finds Ari trying to make his wife jealous by bringing Dana to the restaurant that his wife’s boyfriend works at. Once his plan is revealed, both Dana and Ari’s wife lash out at him leaving him alone once again. Watching Ari at his manipulative best is usually a hoot and the reaction from the two ladies is great fun but this show’s focus on the drug test was unfunny and a massive waste of time. With only a few episodes remaining, Entourage should be at its peak resolving old storylines but instead, it’s just floating along.
Final Grade: D
TRR TV Revue by John Hanlon
