TVSquad

Last season on Entourage, when Vincent Chase decided to put his own money into Medellin it was a major risk and he knew it. He was rolling the dice on his career, taking a leap of faith by choosing to do a controversial biography of a vicious Colombian drug lord. In Spanish. Directed by a hot-headed genius/madman named Billy Walsh.

Vinney was playing with dynamite. It wasn't good for Vincent's career, but it was great for Entourage. Failure is always funnier than success, isn't it?

Well, as bad as viewers thought Medellin seemed to be based on the brief scenes we saw last season, in the September 7th premiere on HBO, the media weighs in. At the Movies' critics Michael Phillips and Richard Roeper filmed a fictional review of Medellin to be shown in season premiere of Entourage, and it's not good. In fact, if they were stilling using the thumb-o-meter, Medellin would get two big thumbs-down.

Chicago Tribune's TV critic Maureen Ryan snagged a clip of the show, including Phillips and Roeper ripping Medellin. Incorporating their reviews into the show is the perfect way to kick off the new season, mixing real show business (and isn't that an oxymoron) with the fictional world of Vincent Chase, Ari Gold and the rest of the Entourage world.

I'm looking forward to Entourage getting back in the groove, and that means more Ari interaction with the guys. If Medellin is a bomb -- and that's what I'm predicting -- Vincent's going to need Ari to salvage his career. If he's not careful, Johnny may become a bigger star than he is. Remember, Drama's TV series, Five Towns, was a hit.

One last point -- the inclusion of At the Movies is somewhat poignant. It was done before Roeper (and Ebert who is unable to speak on camera but still had his name attached to the show) ended their version of the program earlier this summer.