The Random Blogger

One of my favourite recent finds in the world of music is a group that has actually been around since 1987 or so: the Gipsy Kings.

Yes, as is often the case, I’m way behind the times when it comes to music, but the fact that their music is still available shows just how popular this group is.

They come from southern France, not far from the Spanish border, and their music, and their voices, are distinctive, but perhaps hard to classify - the nearest I can come up with is flamenco, but it’s more than that.

I first came across them when watching The Heist (a pretty good movie starring Pierce Brosnan and Tom Skerritt), where their version of the famous song My Way is played (except they call it Mi Manera, and, at the expense of upsetting Frank Sinatra fans, I actually prefer it to his version).

Anyway, well worth checking out!

A few posts ago, I wrote about a new TV series “Bored To Death“, where the initial episode very nearly did bore me to death.

Having continued watching this strange series, I am happy to say that it has actually become very enjoyable and entertaining after all (with an episode called “The Case Of The Beautiful Blackmailer” being the highlight so far).

The show follows one main character, Jonathan, who is a pot-smoking, wine-drinking author whose girlfriend has left him (precisely because he smokes too much pot and drinks too much wine) and who decides to become an unofficial private detective.

You can perhaps see, from this, why I was at first not that enamoured of the show.

Jonathan has two main side-kicks - Ray, a cartoonist, and George, the somewhat eccentric owner of a magazine.

However, to call George, played by Ted Danson, a side-kick is a shade unfair because to me, he is what provides the spark that has ignited this series. (It should be noted too that Ted Danson plays a very different character to Arthur Frobisher, the role he had in another great series, “Damages“.)

So, I have no problem in revising my earlier views on “Bored To Death“, which I sincerely hope will continue to at least a second series.

I started watching Entourage almost by accident, probably some time during the middle of Season 4, and I was immediately captivated by it.

The series essentially revolves around an actor, Vincent Chase (played by Adrian Grenier) who’s got one good movie behind him, and his entourage, which consists of his brother, Johnny “Drama” Chase (played by Kevin Dillon), who is also an actor, his manager, Eric Murphy (played by Kevin Connolly), and a hanger-on, Turtle (played by Jerry Ferrara), all of whom grew up together on the East Coast before moving cross-country to LA.

Completing the main cast is his agent, Ari Gold (played by Jeremy Piven), and his assistant, Lloyd (played by Rex Lee).

There are others, of course, but that covers the main characters.

So, what makes it entertaining?

Well, for me, the character of Ari Gold has some of the best lines on TV today, and Jeremy Piven plays the role to perfection.

The interaction between the brusque and often rude professionalism of Ari Gold and the amateurish behaviour of Vince’s friends is also a constant source of both strife and comedy.

Ari’s treatment of his assistant , Lloyd (who is the token gay in this series), is also priceless, although it looks as though this working relationship may be changing in Season 6.

Eric, Vince’s manager and best friend, doesn’t seem to do much to earn his living, and it’s not exactly clear where his money comes from.

One thing is for sure, however, and that is that he’s somewhat out of his depth, and if it weren’t for his enthusiasm and determination, he’d probably be out on his ear.

Johnny, Vince’s brother, is, as his nickname suggests, a real drama queen, and sort of epitomises the stereotyped Hollywood “luvvie”, who I’m sure exists.

Turtle is an odd character - no real job (other than driving Vince around), no apparent skills, and yet he’s one of the better characters, to my mind.

The character that seems more out of place than any other is, IMHO, Vince himself.

While he’s apparently made a big name for himself in a movie called Aquaman, you rarely get to see him doing any acting, and when he does, it fails to convince me.

The lifestyle of Vince and his friends seems vacuous and far from driven, and to me, it highlights the role of luck and being in the right place in the world of entertainment - many so-called stars lack anything special, but they happen to appear in a high-grossing movie, and suddenly they seem to be able to command millions, for no real reason at all.

Anyway, rant over.

If it weren’t for Ari Gold’s character, I would probably skip Entourage, but he more than makes up for any deficiencies in this great show, which I highly recommend you check out.