Entourage Season 6 Review

Entourage (2004-2011)
Season 6 - 12 Episodes (2009)

Entourage Season 6

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Created by: Doug Ellin
Starring: Kevin Connolly, Adrian Grenier, Kevin Dillon, Jerry Ferrara, Jeremy Piven
Rating: TV-MA

Plot: 
Movie star Vince Chase navigates the road to stardom with his agent and group of friends.

Season six isn't really about Vince. It's about Eric and Turtle's romantic relationships.

Verdict
This season is easily my least favorite. It ignores the Hollywood setting and instead provides crazy capers and a focus on relationships. Halfway in I thought, "This show had a good run." This season feels like they ran out of ideas or just decided to wing it. The final episode felt like a conclusion to the entire show.
What have been side stories in previous seasons become main plots this season, and Vince is just a side character.
Season 7 is better, and once you're five seasons in, it's hard to put down a show that's been so good. This season isn't outright bad, but it's always been a combination of friends hanging out against the movie industry. This season lacks the movie industry.
Watch it.

Review
This season is about everybody but Vince. The film industry setting is ignored focusing on Eric's pining for Sloan, Turtles relationship with Jamie-Lynn Sigler, and Ari's problems with an agent's infidelities.
This isn't a bad season, but it lacks the backbone of the setting and an end goal for this season. The closest link to Hollywood are the celebrities we see in Ari's office or at Eric's new job with Murray. The characters and the setting are integral, and I wanted more insight into Hollywood.

I wondered if this season marked the descent of the show. While season 7 is better, I haven't seen 8, and it seems the glory days may have passed.
Vince and Turtle's gun plot line felt like something from Always Sunny in Philadelphia. What made this show unique as far as plotting and setting is missing this season. The final episode felt like the series finale with the way it wrapped everything up.

Read my previous Entourage season reviews.

The three main plots lines this season are Turtle dating Jamie-Lynn Sigler still, Eric infatuated with Sloan while dating Ashley (what could go wrong with that), and Ari's home and work becoming difficult due to employee Andy's affair.

Vince at The Great Gatsby premiere.

Vince has bought his first house back as a pseudo reboot and he's finally taking a driving test since he's doing a movie about Enzo Ferrari. That gets pushed back which gives Vince very little to do this season. The first episode skips right past The Great Gatsby movie from the final episode of season five, starting just before the premiere.

Eric and Sloan.

Eric is awkwardly juggling multiple girlfriends, but asks Sloan to the Gatsby premiere which ignites all of his old feelings. He continues dating Ashley, but is keeping Sloan on the back burner.
Sloan puts Eric up for a job at her godfather's agency, which irritates Eric and he then calls Ashley Sloan. Oops.
He loses Ashley by lying about Sloan. The love triangle is played for maximum drama, as Eric's decision on which girl wavers.

Turtle gets a lot of press with Jamie-Lynn on his arm at the premiere. When Jamie-Lynn and Vince get him a Porsche and a Ferrari for his birthday, Turtle decides to go back to school, self conscious that he's just a mooch.

Mark Wahlberg, Johnny Drama, Vince Chase, Tom Brady.

At a celebrity golf tournament in episode five, Ari is stuck with Jeffrey Tambor, who is amazing. He subtlety cheats to impress his disinterested children, aggravating Ari.
Mark Wahlberg and Tom Brady are paired with Vince and Drama, though Tom Brady turns Turtle from Giants loving enemy into a fan. Wahlberg is great as he picks at Drama.

Drama may cost himself his Five Towns job by trying to protect Turtle's girlfriend Jamie-Lynn from a studio exec. Drama is often comic relief, but he is loyal to a fault. He attacks the studio exec, but they aren't going to fire him, they plan to torture him.

Ari gets Drama out of Five Towns, but he fumbles a Melrose audition. Drama considers his future as an actor, again.

Bob Saget's cameo is amazing. You have to see it in episode seven. Eric takes the job at Murray's firm, but he isn't meshing with his coworkers. Scott (Scott Caan) is set up as his rival. Eric is trying to be a team player and help land Saget, but Scott tells him to back off, until he drops Eric's name to further his own agenda.

Turtle and Vince get a gun.

When Vince's underwear is stolen, he and Turtle get a gun. It's such a silly arc that feels out of place in this show. It's just a few shades too over the top, and it leads to nothing. Where is the Ferrari movie?

Ari's been dealing with an employee and friend, Andy, whose affair leads to a total meltdown, landing Andy in jail. Ari and Aaron Sorkin visit Andy in jail where Sorkin agrees to sign with the firm. It's just a bit hard to buy. While Hollywood can be a crazy place this season more than any other broke the illusion of what I could credibly believe.
Ari has a chance to buy his old firm. He wrestles with the decision before finally agreeing, going to the old firm and firing employees by marking them with paint balls.

Turtle and Jamie-Lynn.

The last couple episodes felt like a conclusion to the show. Turtle chase Jamie-Lynn to New Zealand, who broke up with him "for him." Eric gets engaged to Sloan, and Vince gets "Jason Bourned" by Matt Damon, agreeing to contribute a large sum of money to charity. Drama has a studio that wants to develop a show around him.

Entourage has always been about movies, but provided insight into television through Johnny.  This season lacked that insight. There are plenty of shows about friends and their relationships, and the Hollywood setting made this unique. This season could almost be set anywhere.