Entourage-Complete Second Season (2005)

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General		Extras
Category	Comedy	Main Menu Audio & Animation Featurette-The Mark Wahlberg Sessions
Rating
Year Of Production	2005
Running Time	347:18 (Case: 345)
RSDL / Flipper	No/No Multi Disc Set (3)	Cast & Crew
Start Up	?
Region Coding	4	Directed By	None Given
Studio Distributor	Warner Home Video	Starring	Kevin Connolly Adrian Grenier Kevin Dillon Jerry Ferrara Debi Mazar Jeremy Piven
Case	?
RPI	?	Music	David 'Permashine' Aguirre Natasha Perez

    It would've been really easy for Entourage to have rested on it's laurels after the great introductory first season. The producers wisely chose to build on the foundation laid by Season 1 and take the show to the next level. Characters are developed, relationships blossom (and disintegrate) and the behind the scenes, wheeling and dealing of Hollywood is examined even further.

    There are a few things about this season that I really like;

    - The commercial vs. artistic trade off in Hollywood is shown through Vince's struggle to get excited about big budget projects. After choosing something small and artistic like Queens Boulevard, Ari is urging him to do something big. Although Vince would rather keep doing smaller artistic movies, he realises that they will not pay the bills and fund the lifestyle he has grown accustomed to.

    - Relationships are examined a little more than the promiscuous first season. Eric meets Sloane, the daughter of Ari's boss, Vince gets back with the only woman he has ever loved (I won't spoil it for you) and Ari's relationship with his long-suffering wife is shown.

    - Whilst the first season focused more on Eric and Vince, this season brings more balance across the story telling. Ari becomes more of a focal point (Piven shines in this role and deserves the acclaim he has received) and even Drama and Turtle get interesting storylines separate from the others.

    The celebrity cameos and guest stars continues this season with Malcolm McDowell, James Cameron, Mandy Moore, Hugh Hefner, Ludacris, Ralph Macchio, Bob Saget, Brooke Shields & more.

    The first season was an all too short 8 episodes. This time round there are 14 episodes over 3 discs.

    The show hits its stride this season. Highly recommended.

    Disc 1

    201 The Boys are Back in Town (25:40): The boys return from NY after Vince wraps filming on Queens Boulevard. Ari is pushing Vince to do a more commercial film like Aquaman.

    202 My Maserati Does 185 (24:44): Eric is having girlfriend problems and Drama is looking at getting plastic surgery in the most unlikely of places.

    203 Aquamansion (26:27): Despite cash flow being tight, Vince is looking to buy a house. Highlight: a pyjama party at the Playboy mansion, but Drama has been banned by Hugh Hefner.

    204 An Offer Refused (22:51): Ari is still pushing Vince to do Aquaman and Eric is starting to worry about Vince's career plan.

    205 Neighbors (23:56): Vince and Eric are trying to get a meeting with James Cameron, but his new assistant previously worked for Ari and they didn't get along well with her.

    Disc 2

    206 Chinatown (26:46): Eric is trying to get a copy of Queens Boulevard for James Cameron, but the director doesn't want to turn it over. Turtle enters an Xbox tournament.

    207 The Sundance Kids (28:01): The guys head to snowy Utah for the Sundance Film Festival.

    208 Oh, Mandy: Mandy Moore (24:25): An ex of Vince's is in the running to be his co-star.

    209 I Love You Too (28:50): The guys go to Comic-Con to promote Aquaman & Drama has his time in the limelight for an old cult TV show he used to be on.

    210 The Bat Mitzvah (27:22): Ari's boss starts causing him grief. The guys attend Ari's daughter's Bat Mitzvah.

    Disc 3

    211 Blue Balls Lagoon: Vince is trying to go all out for Mandy's birthday. Drama starts working on a TV movie with Brooke Shields, but manages to stuff it up.

    212 Good Morning Saigon: Ari is worried that Vince is going to screw up his career over Mandy. Turtle looks to start managing a young rapper.

    213 Exodus: Vince gets his heart broken and Ari's scheming gets him into a lot of trouble.

    214 The Abyss: Vince is looking to drop out of show business, Drama has agent problems and Turtle is busy trying to get work for his rapper.

Video

    The shows are presented in their original broadcast ratio of  1.33:1 and is presented in PAL.

    The video quality is generally very good, but probably not quite as good as last season's transfer.

    The show definitely does not have an 'on set' feel to it. There are a lot of restaurant, shopping, outdoor scenes that add a sense of life that is often lacking in many shows.

    For the most part the transfer is clear and sharp, but there is varying quality between episodes with some appearing a little softer than others. The softer episodes/scenes tended to be more noticeable than last season's.

    Colours tended to be vibrant, reflecting the nature of the show and the way it is filmed. Black levels were good, and skin tones were natural.

    There is a little grain in a few scenes (again recurring more than last season) but still nothing too major. Thankfully, there were no other artefact issues.

    Overall, it's a good transfer, but a little disappointing considering the same problems occurred last time around.

Video Ratings Summary

Sharpness
Shadow Detail
Colour
Grain/Pixelization
Film-To-Video Artefacts
Film Artefacts
Overall

Audio

    The audio track is English Dolby Digital 2.0 (192Kb/s).

    There is nothing really stand out or disappointing about the track - it is fairly middle of the road and probably what you would expect for a modern TV show. It's pretty much identical to last season's audio.

    Entourage is a very dialogue driven show and thankfully it comes through sounding clear. There are no sync, click or pop-out issues.

    Music is mixed quite well and adds a lot to the show. It always comes through relatively well (for a 2.0 track.)

    There was no surround use or sub-woofer.

    There is also a French 2.0 (192Kb/s) track.

Audio Ratings Summary

Dialogue
Audio Sync
Clicks/Pops/Dropouts
Surround Channel Use
Subwoofer
Overall

Main Menu Audio & Animation

    Featurette: The Mark Wahlberg Sessions (22:32)

    A very laid back, but very enjoyable range of interview excerpts conducted after the conclusion of Season 2. Wahlberg is shown interviewing all key cast members discussing how they joined the show, favourite episodes and scenes from the season, as well as their favourite celebrity cameo. It's obvious it is a pretty fun set and that everyone gets along very well.

    Whilst the interviews are enjoyable, it is definitely a step backwards for special features from last season's set. Season 1 had 3 commentaries and a brief 10 minute featurette. This season we get one featurette and not a single commentary! What's up HBO?

    Very disappointing.

    Identical to the R1 version, so let's call it a tie.

    Overall, a fantastic second season for what is one of the best comedies on TV.

    The video is pretty good, but the same issues as last season stand out.

    The audio is pretty good.

    A great interview featurette but no episode commentaries.

Video
Audio
Extras
Plot
Overall