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Entourage: Season Three, Part 2
R4 - Australia - Warner Home Video Review written by and copyright: Noor Razzak (13th April 2008). |
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The Show
 In the last several years we’ve followed Vincent Chase’s (Adrian Grenier) star rise gradually, from his break out hit “Head On” in season one the actor became the next “it” male, cast in projects like the independent flick “Queens Boulevard” to the giant summer blockbuster “Aquaman” Vincent is now in prime position to pick and choose whatever project he wants. The only problem is that the only film he really wants to do has been an elusive endeavour to capture. That film is the Pablo Escobar biopic “Medellin.” Throughout the three seasons this has been Vincent’s ultimate prize and in this, the second half of the series’ third season, Vincent gets his shot at making the movie he’s always wanted. In previous seasons the deal has been close but never gained, from studio interference to his own agent, Ari (Jeremy Piven), messing things up for him, “Medellin” seemed like the type of project that would never get made. But after persistence and finally getting Ari on their side again Vincent ends up buying the script and producing with everyone’s favourite director Billy Walsh (Rhys Coiro) in the driver’s seat. Over the years we’ve seen these characters grow and develop, even Turtle (Jerry Ferrara) seems to be getting his act together in this season, Johnny Drama (Kevin Dillon) has finally broken the bad luck streak and landed a successful TV series, the first since his ill fated “Viking Quest” was cancelled and Eric (Kevin Connolly) steps up as a fellow producer on his and Vincent’s latest film enterprise. As a fan of the series right out the gates, what makes this show appealing are the main character interactions. These guys play lifelong friends but what transpires on screen feels real. It’s a credit to the fine writing and the performances of these four talented cast members. The series is, of course, populated by other characters that add their own stamp to the mix. I’m talking about the irrefutable Ari Gold. Vincent Chase may be the focus of the series but Ari is the wizard behind the curtain; he’s the real magic man that makes each episode a real treat to watch. Chances are if you’re reading this review then you’ve already sampled a taste of what this series has to offer; otherwise you’d be trawling through the season one review. So how does this season stack up against the rest? Well, it’s bolder, brasher, and bigger in the sense that you’re getting more episodes, therefore the decision to split the series into two parts (ala “The Sopranos” (1999-2007) final season). In part one of season three Vince has left Ari as his agent, but as expected they return to each other. In a sense some of the plotting was rather predictable, but to look at it another way – the producers gave the audience/fans what they wanted, trust me when I say this, you’ll not get more satisfaction from any other comedy series than what HBO has to offer (that includes “The Flight of the Conchords” (2007-present)). As with previous seasons we also have our fair share of guest stars that include producer Joel Silver, actress Carla Gugino plays Vince’s new agent, Amanda, additional guests include Pauly Shore,Edward Burns and Brett Ratner among others. “Entourage” continues to deliver it’s goods season after season, and I’ll glad Vincent finally got his hands on “Medellin,” if you enjoy this show as much as I do picking up this set is a no brainer. This Season Three, Part 2 DVD set contains 8 episodes that include: - "Less Than 30" (25:18) Vince's new agent makes her first pitch; Ari lobbies for a lunch and Turtle plans Vince's birthday blowout. - "Dog Day Afternoon" (28:03) Eric and Sloan try to go on a romantic weekend sans Vince; Turtle and Drama scope out the hottest singles spot in town and Ari asks Lloyd to 'take one for the team.' - "Manic Monday" (27:13) Amanda makes Vince an offer he can't refuse and Ari experiences a troubling emotion: compassion. - "Gotcha!" (30:17) Drama gets Punked; Eric guesses Vince's and Amanda's secret while Ari is jealous of a former slacker frat brother. - "Return of the King" (27:45) Ari must broker a deal before sundown and Drama saves a horse from the glue factory. - "The Resurrection" (29:29) Eric and Vince fight for a plagued project; Drama avoids reviews of "Five Towns" and Turtle bonds with an auto-shop girl. - "The Prince’s Bride" (24:00) Drama gets an offer from Brett Ratner; Ari finds a backer for "Medellin" and Turtle's date has a curfew. - "Adios Amigos" (26:20) Eric gets flack for staying with Sloan; Drama gets fixated on a pricey condo and Billy Walsh is approached to direct "Medellin."
Video
Presented in the show's original broadcast ratio of 1.78:1 these anamorphic transfers are rather solid for a TV series. Previous seasons were broadcast in full screen so this is the first time we get a widescreen presentation. The image is nice and sharp, colours are striking and bold especially the black levels. The image is clean of any dirt or compression related problems, and this is a plus considering the amount of episodes that Warner's has crammed onto this two disc set. Overall this is an excellent presentation for the series.
Audio
Four audio tracks are included, all of which are in Dolby Digital 2.0 surround. They are in English, French, German and Spanish. I chose to review these episodes in their original English soundtrack. While the show has never been released in anything more elaborate than a 2.0 surround track I feel that a 5.1 mix would be a great addition to this series. There's a lot going on at times in many episodes that a little depth couldn't hurt. But in saying that this soundtrack does a fairly good job, the dialogue is clear and distortion free and the musical cues are nice and vibrant. Optional subtitles are included in English, English for the hearing impaired, French, French for the hearing impaired, German, German for the hearing impaired, Spanish, Dutch, Croatian, Danish, Finnish, Hebrew, Hungarian, Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese and Swedish.
Extras
Warner Brothers have released this set as a 2-disc set with three episodic audio commentaries, a featurette and a Q&A session. Below is a closer look at these supplements broken down per disc. DISC ONE: The series includes three episode commentaries, these tracks feature the cast and crew and are all fairly similar in tone. These tracks are very easy to listen to and feature some enjoyable banter from those involved. They comment on many aspects of the product from critical reaction, influences for characters, situations and plot lines as well as comments on various scenes and people involved. There's some minor technical stuff spoken about, but mainly they focus on the episode and how much fun it was to make it. Occasionally the participants will talk about their favorite moments from the season and also some back-patting is handed out, but otherwise these are interesting and fun tracks to listen to. The first audio commentary track is on this disc and is for the episode "Manic Monday" by creator/executive producer Doug Ellin and cast members Kevin Dillon and Jerry Ferrara. This is the only extra on this disc. DISC TWO: Two more audio commentaries are featured on this disc for the episode "The Resurrection" by creator/executive Doug Ellin and cast members Kevin Dillon and Jerry Ferrara. And a second audio commentary is featured on the episode “Adios Amigos” also by creator/executive producer Doug Ellin and cast members Kevin Dillon, Jerry Ferrara and also Kevin Connolly. These tracks are in the same vein as the previous one. Also featured on this disc is "Anatomy of Entourage" a behind-the-scenes featurette of the season finale which runs for 11 minutes 36 seconds, this takes a look at the filming of the finale, from the cast perspective as we follow the key cast throughout the day until the final shot of the season is filmed. This is a great little clip which could have been much longer in length. Rounding out the extras is the "Museum of Television & Radio Panel" a Q&A with the cast and creative team of the series and runs for 50 minutes 59 seconds. This clip features the participants at a screening of a couple of selected episodes from the first season, after the screening they answer questions from the host as well as form the audience. If you've listened to the commentaries on previous seasons you'll hear from repeated information especially concerning the characters and how the cast plays off each other, influences and the writing among other things. Regardless this is a welcomed addition to the DVD and worth checking out.
Overall
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