HBO Sunday Night - 8/7/11

Entourage - One Last Shot
Season 8, Episode 3

Vince tries to reach out to a narcotics anonymous colleague; Ari goes on his first date in years; Turtle loses his job and his girl; and Dice stands by his threat to quit without a pay raise. Immediately after a brief exchange about Ari getting his groove back, the series actually does when Ari turns on a blues song in his car and then calls an old friend. The show would go on to feature a depressed Billy Walsh in a hoodie, a Jamie Kennedy self-parody, and a ballsy, stunning ending. Vince's earnestness is growing tiresome and definitely less engrossing than his previous cocksure swagger. Kevin Dillon remains the consistently best actor of the main four, reacting believably to all the bad news around him. Now that they've completed the laborious set up for the season, let's hope they can continue the surprising turns. B

Curb Your Enthusiasm - Vow of Silence
Season 8, Episode 5

Jeff and Susie are moving to New York for the summer while their dog Oscar is on death's door. Larry has issues with people who park their car outside the lines and those who "chat-and-cut". He's got even bigger issues with Tessler (Michael McKean) - who wants Larry to participate in a fundraiser for special needs kids. And then there's Vance (Michael Hitchcock), who's taken a vow of silence and will no doubt break it at some point due to Larry's shenanigans . . .

Larry getting caught in a lie is always hilarious and it happened several times this episode. Also memorable was Larry's quick dismissal of Eat Pray Love and the stylized Pinkberry flashback. David has had 3 co-writers this season for the first time and they seem to be following his patented story structure (perfected on "Seinfeld") with multiple, seemingly unrelated, topics brilliantly brought together. Some have complained that it makes the show less real, but I prefer a well-thought out premise over ideas that go nowhere. And it never hurts to end an episode on an exasperated, dejected Richard Lewis. A-