Rescue Me ramps up for a scorching season finale while Entourage goes out with a whimper.

In my opinion this has been a bit of a bumpy year for HBO’s Entourage. Last year the show was hot as a pistol, leading up to the Aquaman movie, but this season things seemed to flounder. I thought things were going to take off with the arrival of Dom from the old neighborhood, but he was gone as fast as he arrived. Martin Laudau’s riff on Bob Evans was fun but it was too little too late.

I’ve expressed in an earlier listing my disappointment at HBO prematurely cutting the legs out from under Deadwood, leaving the show to swirl to a clumsy end like a school play lacking adult supervision.
The pleasant surprise of this television year has been FX’s Rescue Me, which continues building up a full head of steam for the upcoming season finale. The secret to the show’s success is Dennis Leary’s willingness to share the screen with a bombastic supporting cast of characters.