HBO Sunday Night - 6/27/10

The season premiere of HBO's Entourage and Hung began this past Sunday and repeat viewings are available for the next several days. No new episodes will air until 7/11 so you have a few days to get it together.

Entourage: Stunted
Season 7, Episode 1

Vince (Adrien Grenier) is back on top and filming an action movie where the director (Nick Cassavetes) wants him to do his own stunts. His masculinity is put into question while his agent Ari (Jeremy Piven) and best friend Eric try to get him out of it behind the scenes. Meanwhile, Drama (Kevin Dillon) is having trouble landing a TV deal and Turtle (Jerry Ferrara) has started a limousine service . . .

The best episodes of Entourage always centered on Vince's celebrity status and how others reacted to it and used it. It helped when all of the 4 principles could bounce off each other. Since seasons 5 and 6, we have less interesting characters (Turtle and Eric) eating up valuable minutes and every character essentially separate from the others, bringing in more and more tertiary characters. It's too much to deal with in 30 minutes. Only Dillon and Piven (as in seasons past) breathe life into their underwritten roles (although Piven isn't quite as spunky since his serum mercury level has dropped). The first episode of the season is admittedly a tough one, setting up character arcs and a plot that extends through 10-12 episodes. Let's hope the guys will have more scenes together and the writers stop pretending Turtle and Eric are interesting, let alone poonhounds. B-

Hung: Just the Tip
Season 2, Episode 1

Speaking of poonhounds, high school gym teacher (and part-time ho) Ray (Thomas Jane) has been thinking about his ex-wife Jessica (Anne Heche) since he was hired to satisfy her (ultimately declining) at the end of last season. He still has one too many pimps: the hilariously aggressive Lenore (Rebecca Creskoff) and the hilariously self-conscious and quirky Tanya (Jane Adams). Meanwhile, Ray's kids are struggling in high school and Jessica's new dermatologist husband (Eddie Jemison) is cheating on her (with his patients).

This episode was cluttered in the first 10 minutes with viewers who missed out on Season 1 probably lost. There was a lack of flow and fluidity (remember when TV shows had establishing shots?), but by the time Tanya sat down at a donut shop with an actual pimp for advice, the show settled down nicely doing what it does best: showing desperate characters doing what it takes to survive and get what they want for themselves and their families. This perfect pace continued to the very end when Ray and Jessica meet at a bowling alley. The show gave its characters room to breathe and the actors time to act.

The Detroit-based show nails the current recession atmosphere and Ray's speech to his baseball team was quite inspiring. There was more nudity than usual (Ray's neighbor goes full frontal), but looking past all the sex and nudity, you'll find lots of heart, guts, and soul. B+