My Life and 'Entourage'

If you’ve ever seen HBO’s flagship series, Entourage, there’s a good chance you have been able to relate to one of the characters. Maybe you’re Vincent Chase, the teen heartthrob slash acting phenomenon. You could consider yourself to be Eric “E” Murphy, a small in stature but confident talent manager and Vince’s best friend. The cockier match up with Johnny “Drama” Chase, Vince’s half-brother and neurotic longtime TV star. The immature waiting for that coming of age moment would love Turtle, especially if they’re shorter and cuddlier. And finally, no one will match up to the personality of Ari Gold, Vince’s agent, though every viewer wishes they could be Ari in reality.

Having grown up with the same group of friends since kindergarten, I’d be a terrible friend if I couldn’t describe them with an adjective on the spot. Vince and the gang can do the same. We have equivalents, or at least comparisons, between my friends and the characters. Some of my friends hate their roles. Others embrace them. However, we aren’t living in Beverly Hills worrying about a blossoming limousine service, a friend in rehab or the success of a TV pilot. Instead, we share a collective forthcoming chapter in our lives: college.

In my mind, I like to think that series creator Doug Ellin chose to make this season, the eighth, its final because of my friends and our undying devotion to the show. It makes sense, considering that both the characters in the show and my group will use the next few months to start moving on.

Entourage defies the laws of television. The on-screen chemistry between the four closest friends (Vince, E, Drama and Turtle) actually feels sincere, as if the actors grew up together before filming. Such a trait is fitting, considering each actor has ties to New York City, the hometown of the characters as well. The show has brought out camaraderie between my friends and me. It’s something you’ll find between any group of “bros” that obsess over the show. The final season will be a challenge to watch; the bittersweet moments of the final eight episodes will make us wish that HBO signed off on another 20 seasons. The show is actually that good. It makes guys come together and not only fantasize about living the American Dream, but think about how good we have it, even in an upper-middle class lifestyle.

My friends and I will be able to watch the first half of the season before we start packing our bags and heading elsewhere. Three of us are lucky enough to be living down the street from one another at Mizzou, and can still watch together. My other two friends will study at Dayton and Washington University, though, an impossible gap to bridge every Sunday night. I don’t think we need to physically be sitting down to experience the Entourage effect, though. Those Sunday nights will allow us to remember the good times back at home. Even at college, a television show will bring us together despite the major distance.

The eighth season of Entourage premieres on Sunday, July 24^.