The show has certainly lost a lot of what made it so great in seasons 1 and 2. Sadly, though, that seems to be the case with a lot of the HBO shows I watch. The Sopranos and Curb Your Enthusiasm were brilliant in the beginning and started to drop off as the years passed by. :frowning:
I think the first season was OK at best (the episodes credited to Larry Charles were better than the others). For me, it wasn't until the second season that the show actually got good. And I think this season is leaps and bounds above Season Three.
I hope that other people in the 'Entourage' universe start to realize how bad Walsh is. Even though Ari put together a deal for the guy to direct another movie with Vince, I can't see any serious project keeping him on. Ultimately, it doesn't matter how "brilliant" you are, it's whether you can deliver the product on time and on budget, and I can't see Walsh doing that, much less passing muster for the production to get insurance or a completion bond...
It always appeared to me that the show tried to make everything somewhat believable, but I think now that everyone's so familiar with the characters, they're letting loose and making it more broad. They have to dump Walsh though, it's getting absolutely ridiculous. But two things give me comfort. First, plots tend to arc quickly on the show and second, E even called attention to the fact that Walsh is behaving more recklessly than ever. I think he's due for a dramatic exit from the show.
Walsh's hallmark is that he makes a great movie on a very thin budget. Queens Blvd, Medellin and the first movie Vince and the boys screened before they got him on QB were all low budget. That has to make the studios happy. It's not like Hollywood is an atmosphere that frowns on outlandish behavior. Pretty much anything goes as long as you can sell tickets and make money. Kicking Billy off a project because E doesn't like him won't ever happen. I suppose E now has some cred as a producer, but still, that won't be the reason.
I agree with you that Billy has been overdone and it's time for the plot to move on. I just don't think that continuing to hire him after what he's done is all that unrealistic.
After reading more of the inevitable "this show has gone downhill just like the Sopranos, etc." I have to ask - is there any series you thought was good for more than one or two seasons? Seriously. I read the same comments on at least the Lost thread, the Sopranos thread, the Entourage thread, ad nauseum. I'm not baiting here - I'm entirely (and earnestly) serious.
Disclaimer - this is NOT directed at any one person (as Lebowski might say - I'm using the collective "you", you know, the editorial "you")
Well, even though this is off topic in the Entourage thread, I'll bite since I made the comment about the HBO shows all going downhill after a couple of seasons. I thought Seinfeld was great all the way up until the final season which was horrible. Cheers is a show that I think stayed great for almost the entire run. "24" had its first bad season this year after 5 stellar installments. The Shield has also been consistent for all six seasons and is a show that has actually gotten better in some respects as it has gone on. One HBO show that never "jumped the shark" IMHO was The Larry Sanders Show, it was great from start to finish. I'm sure there are a lot more I'm missing or shows that I haven't watched that could be on this list. These are just examples off the top of my head.
The HBO show "The Wire" is a show that has not slipped at all. It is by far my favorite show of all time, and it has had 4 seasons. I would have to say that season 1 is my least favorite, (although I obviously loved it because it got me hooked). Seasons 2 and 4 were about equal and the standout season was #3. It only has one more season to go, and I'm sure it will be outstanding.
Normally I think that's a dead-on assesment but, as I sort of alluded to in my last post, I feel that in the case of Entourage some of the criticism is justified since the quality of the show is up and down.
This season, if an audience member isn't into the Walsh character or wants to see all four guys together as a group, I can see how they wouldn't be enjoying the episodes as much. Although I think this season is easily the best year (so far anyway) except for S2.
I should also point out that as a whole, I don't think Entourage is worse than it was season one, in fact I'd say season one was easily the worst season overall. I was just pointing out that I didn't like the direction the show took in the last 3-4 episodes with regard to the E/Walsh thing. The episodes were still funny and had a lot to offer though.
As for shows that didn't fall apart after one or two seasons, definitely agree with The Wire and The Shield (season 2 was easily the weakest), and would also throw in 'Six Feet Under' (probably the most consistently good show over 5 seasons of any show ever. The Wire could surpass it with a solid fifth and final season though.)
I laughed out loud when E said that Walsh's best days were behind him. Considering that he feels that Queens Boulevard is a masterpiece but didn't like Medillin, that sounds like the type of brilliance that someone would say on Aint It Cool News.
My biggest (intended) laugh was when Walsh said "They don't fuck, do they?"
David Simon, created and writes The Wire. Its arguably the best show on TV at any given time. You need to pick it up and start watching it and when you're done watch, "The Corner" and "Homicide: Life on the Streets" also by David Simon and also set in Baltimore.
It was a Saleen S7. A very limited edition supercar that costs somewhere in the neighborhood of $450,000. Seemed completely out of character that he'd be driving it, though.