Entourage: The Complete Fifth Season deals primarily with Vince's (Adrian Grenier) attempts to get his career on track after his pet project, Medellin, bombs. The fall from hot shot A-lister to one rung below Kathy Griffith isn't an easy one. After discovering a potential career-boosting project, Vince discovers the seedy underside of Hollywood and finds himself used as leverage for other agents looking to snag a bigger payday for their clients.
With the cold dose of Tinsel Town reality, Vince struggles with finding a way to make ends meet, leading him to do everything from modeling to making a personal appearance at a Sweet Sixteen party. The change of pace is good for the series and Vince's character. This is the first time since the series' start that we really get a glimpse of the real Vincent Chase. This isn't the post-Aquaman superstar, but someone who is hungry for success.
Vince's situation also brings out the best in his agents, Ari (Jeremy Piven) and Eric (Kevin Connelly). Ari is, without question, the series' most interesting character and one if its more attractive forces. After taking a bit of a backseat in the previous season, Season Five puts Ari front and center. With Vince's career on the ropes, we get to see him perform some of this greatest wheeling-and-dealing to date. No matter what, he always seems to have Vince's best interests, both professionally and personally, at heart. Ari is still a double-dealing swine, but he's a decent guy.
Eric's growth isn't quite as grand as Ari's, but its good to see him gain a bit more confidence throughout the season. He tends to work the sidelines throughout most of the season, but he takes center stage during "Seth Green Day," an episode dedicated almost exclusively to his rivalry with nemesis Seth Green.
Season Five's two major flubs are Drama (Kevin Dillon) and Turtle (Jerry Ferrara). Drama is one of the few characters to find outright success throughout the season, but between his breakdown on The View over his ex-girlfriend and acting like a general ass towards Turtle, he isn't very likeable. He has a few redeeming scenes, but they are outshined by his other antics.
Turtle's is one of the few characters I've never cared for, and Season Five did nothing to make me like him. With the exception of a potential romance with Jamie-Lynn Sigler, Turtle is mostly around to take up space. I understand he's supposed to be the hanger-on, but Season Five brings him to an all-time high of uselessness.
In terms of extras, each episode comes with a short "Previously On" segment if you need a refresher before jumping into the next episode. Three episodes ("Tree Trippers," "Playin' With Fire" and "Return to Queens Blvd.") feature commentary from the cast, creator Doug Ellin and producer Ally Musika. The commentary is fun if you've seen the episodes already. The series' lone featurette is "The Celebrity Factor," which looks at Entourage's guest stars. Most series save guest stars for big episodes, but Entourage manages to attract them every episode, and not just in big roles. There's no telling when and how someone will show up in an episode, which helps give the entire series a "real" feeling.
Again, Entourage is an incredibly accessible show, thanks in large part to careful writing. The writers seem to go the extra mile to clue newcomers in on what happened in the past. There are few throw-a-way scenes or pieces of dialogue, so these "clue-ins" never feel out of place. Even better, the clues aren't complete spoilers for past seasons. You can easily watch this season, understand everything that is going on and still find a number of surprises in past seasons.
Unless you find nudity or Ari's constant bashing of his gay assistant offensive, Entourage: The Complete Fifth Season is an excellent entry point into a great series.
