HBO presents

Entourage: Season Three, Part 1 (2006)

"I'm not the same old Dommy. I'm a new Dom. I've been rehabilitated by the State of New York."- Dom (Domenick Lombardozzi)

Stars: Kevin Connolly, Adrian Grenier, Kevin Dillon, Jerry Ferrara, Debi Mazar, Jeremy Piven
Other Stars: James Cameron, Seth Green, Paul Haggis, Bruno Kirby, Martin Landau, Penny Marshall, Mercedes Ruehl, James Woods
Director: various

MPAA Rating: Not Rated for (adult language, nudity)
Run Time: 06h:00m:00s
Release Date: 2007-04-03
Genre: television

Style Grade	Substance Grade	Image Transfer Grade	Audio Transfer Grade	Extras Grade
A	A	A-	B+	B

 

DVD Review

On April 8 the wryly funny Vincent Chase, Ari Gold, Eric, Turtle, and Johnny Drama are back, as the second half of Entourage's third season kicks off. HBO's decision to split up the season is becoming a common one, but you don't have to wait for the entire season to air before enjoying the DVD release of this season's first half. Spread out over three discs, the first 12 episodes are here in all of their uncut glory. The season begins with Aquamom, which centers on the opening of "Aquaman", and the guys' attempts to get Mrs. Chase (Mercedes Ruehl) to Hollywood for the premiere. Ari is also scrambling to adjust to tight money and his new office, which is far less posh than his old digs. In One Day in the Valley, Eric and Ari are worried about rolling blackouts that could hinder the movie's opening weekend. While they spend most of the episode trying to keep this potentially disturbing news from Vince, there's a great payoff here that sets the tone for the rest of these episodes.

Dominated introduces an old friend from New York, Dom (Domenick Lombardozzi). This guy is nothing but a brute who stomps his way back into the boys' life, thinking of himself as Vince's bodyguard. It isn't long before Vince is the only one that can stand his antics. Ari's problems mount as his daughter, Sarah (Cassidy Lehrman) meets child star Max Ballard (Cole Petersen) and falls in love. Dom continues his reign of terror in Guys and Doll, when a priceless Shrek doll goes missing from producer Phil Rubenstein's (the late Bruno Kirby) house. Rubenstein is behind the casting of Vince's dream role in "Medellin", but his chances of landing that gig go south when Dom is suspected of stealing that prized possession.

With Dom out of the picture, the focus shifts to a scheduling conflict between "Medellin" and "Aquaman 2" in Crash and Burn. Turtle's blossoming career as a rap mogul is featured, with his discovery, Saigon, about to take off. Three's Company and Strange Days focus on a proposed threesome between Eric, Sloan (Emmanuelle Chriqui), and her friend Tori (Malin Akerman). The former focuses on the event's build up, while the latter features some interesting twists involving Eric's new feelings towards Tori.

The Release brings "Queens Boulevard" back to the forefront as its nationwide release is announced, while the best episode of the bunch is Vegas Baby, Vegas! when the crew travels to Sin City for some much needed down time. Vince's luck at the tables changes as often as his girlfriends, but it's a cameo by Seth Green, playing himself, that is most memorable. I Wanna Be Sedated introduces us to senile agent Bob Ryan (Martin Landau), a Robert Evans clone who works with Eric on a perfect project for Vince. Things don't go so well when that project is pitched in What About Bob? and Ari faces the consequences in the last of these episodes, Sorry, Ari.

Splitting a season with a long break doesn't usually work (see the ratings for Lost this season), but it actually works for Entourage. At the end of Sorry, Ari, there's plenty left to ponder, and fans are chomping at the bit for the next round of episodes.

Rating for Style: A
Rating for Substance: A

 

Image Transfer

	One
Aspect Ratio	1.85:1 - Widescreen
Original Aspect Ratio	yes
Anamorphic	yes

Image Transfer Review: For the first time, Entourage appears on DVD in anamorphic 1.78:1 widescreen. Everything looks amazing, with crystal clear images that exhibit incredibly sharp detail. The colors are rendered well, with vibrant hues and accurate fleshtones throughout. I didn't notice a single bit of dirt or grain, which is to be expected from such new transfers.

Image Transfer Grade: A-
 

Audio Transfer

	Language	Remote Access
DS 2.0	French, Spanish	yes
Dolby Digital 5.1	English	yes

Audio Transfer Review: We also get Dolby Digital 5.1 for the first time in the series' DVD history. These tracks are dynamic, with liberal surround usage and nice directional effects. Some bass adds punch to the music cues, with ambient sounds creating a welcome realism via the rear speakers, and crisp, clear dialogue rounding out the mix.

Audio Transfer Grade: B+ 

Disc Extras

Full Motion menu with music
Scene Access with 60 cues and remote access
Subtitles/Captions in English, French, Spanish with remote access
1 Featurette(s)
3 Feature/Episode commentaries by Creator/executive producer Doug Ellin, Kevin Dillon, and Jerry Ferrara.
Packaging: Box Set
Picture Disc
3 Discs
1-Sided disc(s)
Layers: dual

Extra Extras:

1. Season 1 Recap
2. Season 2 Recap

Extras Review: The extras are a nice step up from the previous seasonal releases, thanks to the inclusion of audio commentaries for three episodes. The participants are Kevin Dillon, Jerry Ferrara, and creator/executive producer Doug Ellin, who talk about the episodes One Day in the Valley, Vegas Baby, Vegas!, and Sorry, Ari. They cover quite a bit and seem to have a lot of fun together, spending just as much time on the technical aspects of shooting as they do on funny, very candid stories.

Disc 1 also features brief video recaps of the first two seasons, and the option to view previews and "previously on" footage of each episode. There is an 11-minute featurette about the making of Vegas Baby, Vegas! This piece has some nice on-set footage, along with the cast and crew talking about how it was inevitable for Vince and the boys to eventually take a fun-filled trip to Vegas.

Extras Grade: B
 

Final Comments

Refresh your memory before the next new installment with HBO Video's Entourage: Season Three, Part One set. This series has never been better, and this sampling of episodes is the ultimate proof. The audio and video are as good, if not better than broadcast quality, and a decent smattering of extras are included as well.

Chuck Aliaga 2007-04-04