Entourage 7×09: I didn’t catch the episode title because I was watching the Emmys when this came on and was switching back and forth. This ep pushed several of the storylines further along (finally) and seems like it’s setting up for a big season finale. I liked that Vince is so messed up now that he doesn’t care about being high in front of E anymore — but that he’ll still deny it and act outraged at the mere suggestion of drug use. I wonder what’s going to happen. I can see him causing big problems on the new movie set, costing the studio tens of millions of dollars, and then having to start his career over again.

Speaking of E, I can believe he’s a millionaire! That throwaway comment from Vince about making E millions over the years kind of got my attention. I knew E was well off, but a millionaire? Hmmm.

At the opposite end of that scale is Turtle, who is still trying to find a way to make money on his own. I don’t understand why the tequila company owner was so up in arms about Turtle trying to secure financing. That’s what the guy needs, right? So why is he always such a jerk? I loved how Mark Cuban said maybe he’ll just buy the whole operation! I could totally see him adding tequila wholesaler to the long list of titles on his resume!

And Drama finally agreed to do the monkey cartoon show. As we knew he would, of course. After all, he’s completely out of cash, is losing his house, and desperately needs to be in the spotlight somehow. I hope this show embarrasses him.

Burn Notice 4×12 — “Guilty as Charged”: This was the summer season finale, and it was a pretty good one. The producers promised that Michael would be in a very bad situation at the end of the ep, which they certainly delivered on. He was shot through the shoulder, survived a car wreck, and had the Simon Escher Bible stolen by an as-yet unknown person. Yikes! Obviously Michael will survive, because there wouldn’t be a show without him, but they still managed to work a cliffhanger in there. I just wish Sam hadn’t explained about Jesse shooting through Michael to help him. That would have been a nice little mystery to ponder until the series returns in November.

I was surprised they included a job-of-the-week — until I remembered that they always do this during finales. The case itself was kinda boring, but it was fun to see Danny Pino. I remember him from when I used to watch Cold Case. Even though they tried to scuff him up a bit for this role, I recognized him right away. It was also cool that he mentioned Barry. I always picture Barry as hanging out by the outdoor chaise lounges near the pool at a fancy hotel, sipping Mojitos all day long while he casually moves millions of dollars between off-shore accounts. Of course Barry knew this guy’s clients!!

It felt like Fi and Sam didn’t have much to do in this ep. Here’s hoping they’ll have a big part in Mike’s rescue, though!!

It’s been a long time since I cracked open my M*A*S*H DVDs. I purchased the entire series collection back when I was ambitious enough to think I could watch all 11 seasons in order. What I didn’t realize was that M*A*S*H is a very uneven show in terms of quality. Some eps are great, but some are pretty bad. This makes it kind of hard to watch everything, ya know?

Anyway, I recently went on a mini-marathon and watched 8 eps over the course of a single weekend. They were: “The Moose”, “Yankee Doodle Doctor”, “Bananas, Crackers, and Nuts”, “Cowboy”, “Henry, Please Come Home”, “I Hate a Mystery”, “Germ Warfare”, and “Dear Dad”.

None of these were particularly memorable, but the two I liked best were “Henry, Please Come Home” and “Dear Dad”. I enjoyed the first one because anytime Hawkeye and Trapper try to outwit Frank, it usually leads to a few laughs. The second one was interesting because we got to hear how Hawkeye described the camp to a total outsider (though I have to say, would he really have gone to the front lines to operate on someone without bringing any friggin’ medical equipment with him???).

The other eps were kind of lame, especially “Yankee Doodle Doctor” and “I Hate a Mystery”. Oh, well — even when the eps are bad, I can at least ponder other facets of the show, such as how those soldiers lived in tents all year round. Korean winters can get very COLD and uncomfortable, so I don’t envy the 4077th at all. I didn’t expect them to have insulated cabins with king-sized beds, down comforters, and Elkay sinks with gold-plated fixtures, but those flimsy tents must have been unbearable — especially for a surgical unit full of doctors unused to rough conditions.

At any rate, I can’t believe I haven’t even finished season one yet. It’s gonna take a couple more marathons to get through the last 12 eps here!!

Entourage 7×08 — “Sniff Sniff Gang Bang”: Is it just me, or is this entire season progressing very, very slowly? It seems that each week we barely inch forward with the various storylines. Seriously, how long is the “Drama doesn’t want to be a monkey” crap going to drag on? All that guy has been doing is bitching about being out of work since “Five Towns” ended. You’d think he’d be a little less picky about what comes his way. Sure, I think the show looks like crap too, but it would be a paycheck, ya know?

Speaking of doing things for the paycheck, I HATE the Vince/Sascha storyline. Why is it that every single storyline in the history of film involving strippers/dancers/porn stars comes down to a new boyfriend demanding that the woman stop doing whatever and/or offering to pay the same amount of money for the woman to turn down the job. As soon as this came up in Entourage, I thought back to West Wing where Sam Seaborn offers to pay Cuddy (forgot her name on the show) to give up her escort gig. I’m sure there are countless other examples as well. Ugh, so overdone!

I don’t get what Mrs. Ari’s problem is. Why are they in marriage counseling? If anything, Ari should be taking anger management classes, not sitting through therapy sessions where his wife just tramples all over him like that. Yes, he’s a loud, obnoxious, pompous ass, but those sessions really are dumb — especially when they occur RIGHT IN THE MIDDLE OF THE WORKDAY!!!!

Burn Notice 4×11 — “Blind Spot”: This episode seemed kind of choppy and uneven, so when taken as a whole, I didn’t really like it. But I did enjoy certain parts, including the job of the week and the final minute when Jesse confronted Fi about the burn. I love it when Sam and Fi work together because they’re just so funny as they play off each other. They had several good moments this week too, and I thought this (from Fi) was hilarious: “The guy’s a sleazy womanizer — clearly a job for Sam Axe.” And I like how there was some continuity in terms of Fi getting worked up over men taking advantage of vulnerable women.

The Bible stuff was kind of boring, if only because it seemed like a bunch of filler until Robert Patrick could get into town. I am curious, though, as to what the coded message in the Bible says. A guy as powerful as John Barrett wouldn’t just drop everything and rush down to Miami unless it was for a VERY good reason.

Ha! to Maddie smoking Morley cigs!

Can’t wait for the finale next week!