With Vince's star expected to rise even higher in the Hollywood firmament as a result of his starring role in a potential blockbuster titled Aquaman the boys must find a way to keep stroking their golden goose while making sound decisions for a long-lasting career in a world of fleeting fame.Running Time: 320 min.Format: DVD MOVIE Genre: TELEVISION/SERIES & SEQUELS Rating: TV-MA UPC: 026359394522 Manufacturer No: 93945

The third season of HBO's inside-showbiz comedy kicks off with a familiar anxiety for Tinseltown's best: your film's opening-weekend box office. In the case of Vince (Adrian Grenier) and company, it's Aquaman, Vince's big break that took up most of last season and elevated the group to even bigger perks and tchotchkes. Luckily, the numbers are good (creator Doug Ellin reveals in the commentary that the episode was inspired by his friend who was with Tobey Maguire when he first heard Spider-Man's opening numbers) and Vince uses the leverage to chase his dream project, a biopic of Pablo Escobar called Medellin. But first he has to schmooze the film's eccentric producer who's strangely attached to his Shrek doll (Bruno Kirby, in his last role before his death in 2006) and juggle scheduling conflicts with the Aquaman sequel, which leads to an ego war with Warner studio chief Allen Grey (Paul Ben-Victor). Meanwhile, Turtle's (Jerry Ferrara) management of upstart rapper Saigon takes some sharp turns; Eric (Kevin Connolly) finds his relationship with Sloan (Emmanuelle Chiriqui) on shaky ground; and Johnny "Drama" Chase (Kevin Dillon) gets to audition for a television pilot directed by Ed Burns (playing himself). But the overarching storyline for season 3 involves Vince's agent Ari Gold (Emmy winner Jeremy Piven), who was canned last season by his agency. Taking his flamboyant, hilarious assistant Lloyd (Rex Lee) with him, Ari goes about setting up his own firm, but not before drawing fire from the mafia of other agents and threatening his relationship with star client Vince. The only weak storyline involves an old childhood pal (Domenick Lombardozzi), fresh out of prison, trying to nudge his way into Vince's gang. But otherwise the show's inside look at the baptism of the newly famous continues to tickle the funny bone.

As usual, Entourage sprinkles in cameos, including Crash director Paul Haggis hilariously playing himself as a wound-up neurotic ("If I let contracts run my life, I'd still be doing The Facts of Life rather than hanging with my boys," he says as he points to his Oscars). James Woods filches Aquaman premiere tickets for his friends, and Seth Green gets in a rumble with Eric in the episode "Vegas Baby Vegas." Extras are still scant: just three commentaries and a featurette on their Vegas-location episode. --Ellen A. Kim

I don't have HBO but I love this show. I bought a bunch of the DVD's after I gave birth to my daughter and needed something to watch while she was sleeping/nursing. It reminds me of Sex in the City in some ways, except more for guys but I simply adore Ari, one of the main characters. I love this show.

My husband and I ration episodes because we enjoy this show so much. The characters (esp. Drama and Turtle) are likable and the stories are witty.

Personally, this is the beginning of the flourishing of the careers of all those crazy guys (except for Ari). What I don't fully understand is how they would sell this season in two parts like that. To make more money? Still, this is a great addition to a wonderful series.

I Own The Other box sets of the show before this and this one but the show seems to be losing some of its ingenuity for entertainment no disrespect still a good show just seems to have started to fall back on already established sitiuations and perdicaments.

Season 3, Part 1 continues the trend of exceptional writing, great locations, and excellent (yet relevant) guest appearances that 'Entourage' viewers have come to expect in this series.

Season 3, Part 1 begins where Season 2 left off. Since shooting James Cameron's 'Aquaman', Vince has reached a level of stardom reserved for the Pitts, Cruises, and Clooneys in our "normal" world. As promised, the lucrative offers have reappeared for Vince in the wake of Aquaman's success, as has a certain movie about a Columbian drug lord.

Like its predecessors, Season 3, Part 1 is filled with witty dialogue, Hollywood in-jokes, memorable moments, fantastic locations, and everything in between. What sets this particular season apart from the others for me is the character development and progression of the show's major characters. Entourage is a fantastic show, yet a show dedicated solely to a mega-movie star it is not. As such, the shows "other" characters have time to develop, and they do this no better than in this season. When Turtle's rapper finally makes it big, when Drama gets cast for a pilot, when Eric gets the opportunity of a lifetime with Sloan and Tori, you feel genuinely happy for them.

However, for me the biggest character improvement from season to season is Vince. Adrian Grenier has become a fantastic actor, a role that he perhaps was born for. However, Season 1 Vince and Season 3 Vince seem to be two completely different persons; while Season 1 Vince lacked any real depth and came off a bit shallow, Season 3 Vince exists for a much deeper purpose, (he even steals a few scenes along the way), all the while coming off much less dim-witted than he did in Season 1.

Jeremy Piven reprises his role as Ari; little needs to be said, other than it is very evident why he won an Emmy for this role. He has some of the very best scenes and lines in this season of any comedy series (a certain Carmen Electra comment in 'The Release' comes to mind).

With its cliffhanger (though, perhaps, this is still not a strong enough term) of an ending, I am thoroughly awaiting Season 3, Part 2's release on DVD tomorrow so that the many questions left unanswered become resolved.

Overall, Season 3, Part 1 is fantastic. For me, I still rate Season 2 above it due to its thorough storyline and the split nature of Season 3, however this does not diminish the qualities that made this season an absolute joy for me to watch each Sunday night.

A must have DVD set.