By Mark La Monica
As I live into my 30s and reminisce more and more about the good ol' days with college friends, it grows more obvious that nothing lasts forever. Same goes for television.
The sad reality is that there can only be a handful of seasons left for "Entourage."
But, dang, the series in Season 3.5 is still going strong and showing no sign of slowing down. In fact, it can only grow its audience now that the longest hour of the week, the 60 minutes leading up to the first airing Sunday nights at 10 p.m., is filled with what is known in some circles as "The Sopranos." In this circle, it's known as "that pesky little pregame workout."
Ari Gold is still a conniving wiseass and brilliantly funny. Vince is still care-free. Turtle is still hustling. Drama is still Drama. And Sloan still makes me mad for being so ridiculously beautiful.
The start to Season 3.5 had everything we've grown to expect, along with a few new wrinkles. Vince's new agent, Amanda, played by Carla Gugino, seems tough and tender. She's the antithesis of Ari as an agent, but can scratch and claw just like him.
Ari is on the outside looking in. That's a new dynamic. It was almost too painful watching the awkward (but perfectly acted) scenes between him and Vince in the first episode.
Drama's got his own show, "Five Towns." It remains to be seen how he'll screw it up, but the guess here is that the 18-34 population in Cedarhurst, Hewlet, Inwood, Lawrence, and Woodmere will double in three months. (Non-Long Islanders and New Yorkers can read about the Five Towns.)
The first episode of the new season (OK, technically, it's part of Season 3, but a seven-month hiatus makes it feel new) has to handle setting up new storylines while maintaining the continuity of the previous seasons. It's not an easy task. But this opener move the series forward while looking back just enough.
P.S. Check back here on Friday for a BPL big announcement.