Entourage: The Complete Second Season DVD: Review By Brian

What you can say about Entourage that hasn't already been said? This is yet another top notch show from the HBO camp that deserves tons of respect for thinking outside of the box. And how could this show not be a hit? With executive producer Mark Wahlberg steering the show based on some of his own experiences as he traveled the road to fame, the show fires on all cylinders as it explores the seedy underbelly of the entertainment capitol of the world, and has loads of fun with process as it has the unique ability to laugh at itself.

In Entourage: The Complete Second Season we see Vincent Chase (Adrian Grenier), Eric Murphy (Kevin Connolly), Johnny "Drama" (Kevin Dillon), Turtle (Jerry Ferrara) and Ari Gold (Jeremy Piven) move through the murky waters of Hollywood trying to establish their guy Vincent as a real tinseltown acting great. There are celebrity cameos by people like Ralph Macchio and Hugh Hefner, visits to places like Sundance and even Comic-con. All of this is wrapped by a gigantic Aquaman subplot which has director James Cameron in the captain's chair helming the picture in which Vincent has been picked to star.

Favorite moments from this season of the show have to be the crew's trip to Sundance, the Playboy Mansion visit with Ralph Macchio and of course any scene with Vincent's rep, Ari Gold (Piven). My only complaint, as is with all HBO series, is that each season only consists of 12 or so episodes instead of the network standard of 22. But hey, with quality like this, I suggest we all take what we can get!

The Mark Wahlberg Sessions

Only one special feature here, entitles "The Mark Wahlberg Sessions." This little feature is a great behind-the-scenes look at the show as executive producer Mark Wahlberg interviews the cast and crew one-on-one. What ensues are some very relaxed interviews between friends which play much like the show itself. There are some shining moments here in this doc*mentary as the actor's talk about their characters and what the show has done for their personal lives. Great stuff, and well worth a look.

Served up in a nice 1.33:1 full screen aspect ratio, the show looks fantastic. While this season wasn't shot in HD, we can look forward to the third season being presented this way. Nonetheless, the show looks crisp and clear on my Sony widescreen LCD projection TV.

English, Spanish and French - 2.0 Dolby Digital. Nothing special here, and it doesn't need to be. The Magic is the writing and what's going on in the scene!

The crew is showcased on the front yucking it up in tinseltown. Taken from the season's intial promo poster, the look of the packaging is fitting for the show's overall demeanor. As far as the physical package goes, the show is encased in a very unique box, much like the first season. The bad thing is that the box is smaller this time around causing a bit of a misalignment when your owned seasons of Entourage are showcased together in your collection.

Everyone in Hollywood wants to be a part of this show, and that's gotta tell you something. I mean, any show that gets James Cameron, one of the world's biggest directors, to cuss and rant about a fictional big screen adaptation of "Aquaman" is going to turn some heads.

For anyone that thinks Entourage is a fictional show glamorizing the excesses of Hollywood, well it is. But at the same time, this little HBO show couldn't be more spot on, and therein the genius of this whole experience.