Five Characters In Search Of An Ending

Entourage has started its eighth and final season.  That's about three or four seasons too many.  The basic premise of the show is an up and coming movie star tries to navigate his way through Hollywood while staying friends with his old pals.  The five central characters are Vince, the star, E, his close friend who becomes his manager, Johnny Drama, his brother who's also in show biz but not at Vince's level, Turtle, the general factotum with his own schemes and Ari, the fast-talking, powerful agent.

The main questions at the beginning were would Vince make it big, and would the gang stick together.  Meanwhile, the audience could vicariously live the high life, especially enjoying the monumental amount of beautiful women the guys get to know (at least male viewers could, and I'm guessing they make up the majority).  Not that this is porn--the show was fairly funny, especially the grasping Ari and the hopeless Drama.  But there are only so many twists and turns before the situation gets stale.  The characters have moved along, in relationships and careers, but they've lost their freshness.  Last season, in an attempt to inject drama, E and Ari both fell out with their women while Vince fell into addiction.  It all feels artificial, with the original fun of the series long gone.

I still watch out of habit, but I'll be surprised if the show has any big laughs, or much else, to offer. There is talk of a movie when the series ends.  Actually, I think that could work--it could be a big, self-contained piece rather than the tired soap opera the show has become.