"Entourage" Season Six, Episode One: A Recap

While the current buzz about HBO centers around the ratings success of vampire drama "True Blood," last night saw the premiere of the sixth season of "Entourage." Many have criticized the show for dull, stale stories that all seem to resolve themselves the same way, but if the first episode is any indication, things are going to get a little uncomfortable for Vincent Chase and the gang. [WARNING: This recap is full of spoilers, so if you haven't seen the show yet, do not read on.]

The show opens with Vince back at the top of his game after starring in Martin Scorcese's adaptation of The Great Gatsby. As he, Turtle, Drama, and Eric attend the film's premiere, the four friends reflect on how far they've come from their blue collar roots in Queens: the rise, the fall, the rise again, the other fall, the re-rises, and the falls that seem like they will be serious, life-altering falls but turn out to be easily resolved by having a famous person play himself and offer Vince a job. Vince is pensive: Now that he's a big star again, how many episodes will it take before the inevitable recurring difficulties temporarily make him question whether or not he can maintain his dream of fame? Vowing to be proactive this time around, Vince decides that he's not going to wait for something bad to happen to him and takes matters into his own hands, phoning Robert Downey, Jr., (who delivers a winking, knowing performance as himself) and asking him to set him up with his heroin dealer.

Meanwhile, things are going well for Turtle and the girl who played the daughter on "The Sopranos," until she realizes that she's actually dating "Turtle" from "Entourage," which will at best get you a guest spot on whatever "Law & Order" series needs a little stunt-casting that week. She dumps him. Despondent, but still determined to partner with someone from another successful HBO show of the past, Turtle takes up with Sandra Oh from "Arli$$," who delivers a knowing, winking performance as herself. (The two are rumored to be a couple in real life.)

Kevin Dillon plays Johnny Drama, Vince's brother; Dillon is actually Matt Dillon's brother. Kevin Dillon starred in Platoon with Willem Dafoe, who shared the screen with Madonna in Bodies of Evidence; Madonna made her debut in Desperately Seeking Susan, which featured Rosanna Arquette; Arquette made a cameo in Joe Dirt, in which Fred Ward portrayed Joe's dad; Fred Ward was in Tremors with… Kevin Bacon!

Back at Vince's mansion, his heroin use is spiraling out of control. When Eric tries to intervene, Vince delivers a lengthy monologue about the beauty of heroin and the way it subdues his anxieties about being a character cast adrift in a world where things are utterly predictable. Adrian Grenier gives some of the best work of his career in this scene; when he quotes William S. Burrough's oft-repeated line about the state of intoxication heroin delivers being "the all-you-can-eat buffet where your ass and your elbow exchange business cards," I swear I felt shivers.

Vince's erratic actions and desperation for money to feed his habit results in his accepting a role in the movie adaptation of photographer Terry Richardson's coffee table tome The Big Book of Naked Alanis. This sets up a very funny scene in which Ari, having just learned about the deal, berates Vince of the phone in increasingly graphic terms and suggests that "no one wanted to see naked Alanis back when she was young; who the hell is going to pay one fucking dollar for that shit now?" The camera pulls back to show Alanis Morissette (winkingly delivering a knowing portrayal of herself) sitting disconsolately outside Ari's office. Then Ari calls Lloyd a "faggot."

So, indeed, this was not the "Entourage" I expected. I am totally excited about this new season; it seems like things are going to get really dark. Will it eventually all work out for Vince in the end? The beauty of "Entourage," which may now very well be the best show on television, is that you never know.