Entourage has always been about the boys. Vinnie Chase, Eric "E" Murphy, Turtle and Johnny Drama make their way in the dog-eat-dog Los Angles world, just trying to find something in the stardom and having a good time too. Always adding his input is Vince's agent Ari Gold who tries to get movie deals for his client, but manages to come along for the ride. Topics of the episodes stem from award shows to casinos to the
playboy mansion; Entourage is a show that one should definitely not take seriously.
The boys all have their personalities and ambitions in
the "entourage". Vince is the laid-back leader who specializes in flirting with girls and acting as Ari puts it "like a moviestar." Eric is Vince's right hand-man, who handles most of the busywork and is usually more cautious when it comes to making decisions. Turtle is the entourage's resident loafer who for four and a half seasons has just lived on the other four's lives. Turtle had a few short stints as a rapper's manager, driver and is currently looking for a job. Then there's Drama, a mostly out of luck TV
star, who finally got his deal for a serialized show 5 Towns. The problem? Drama thinks he's a much bigger star than he is and has the ego of one--hilarity ensues.
One thing the boys share is their love for women. Of course, they all handle their relationships in a different way. Vince has the short flings or hook ups. Eric is more dedicated to relationships. Turtle will take whatever he can get. Meanwhile, Drama always ends up having the strangest relationships: both partners are usually crazy.
(Ari with Lloyd)Lloyd, Ari's secretary, is different from every other character. Lloyd is gay. And he is not afraid to show it. Throughout the series there is a Lloyd-Ari subplot in which Lloyd sticks up for his beliefs against Ari, who continually makes fun of the fact that not only is Lloyd gay, he's also Asian. It is interesting to see how the show contrasts the way that Lloyd and the boys act when it comes to their relationships. While there is a variety of options for the Entourage, Lloyd has one partner and their relationship for lack of a better term is "flamboyant."
Take for example, the episode Tree Trippers in which Lloyd "housesits" Ari's house. The show portrays the homosexual gathering as out of the normal and different and in the end, everyone ends up swimming in the pool naked. It is a bit overdramatic and added-just-for-the-sake of shock factor. I mean Entourage is not a show to be taken seriously so there is very few "serious moment." Entourage overall is a show about living in the moment and enjoying wherever life takes you. There is a continuity overall and character growth spread out over each of the five seasons. You have to look deeply to find it because the show has very basic beginnings.
Each character in the show is given some sort of stereotype (Vince = laid-back, E = worrying "older brother, Turtle = lazy bum, etc.) but the characters have moved away from these basic traits as the show has grown longer. The writing in Entourage is actually helpful in this aspect. The way each of the character's speak has actually changed and grown. Vince at the start was pretty basic in his thoughts and only wanted to live the Hollywood life. E knew very little about the L.A. lifestyle (he was manager of a Sbarro's in NY) and had no idea how to manage clients, but after five seasons he's opened a firm and is a well-versed expert. On the flip-side (just to add a little perspective), Lloyd's growth has not come in such great jumps, although to be fair: Lloyd is a minor character and didn't appear until Season 2.
I think that Lloyd will have some growth and the show has actually given the character a lot more screen time. I'm wondering if it will ever get to the point where Lloyd's life and relationships will be used as more than just a tool for more jokes and antics. I think one should watch the Ari-Lloyd relationship especially. The writers have begun to expand it in the later seasons so this is probably going to continue to build up. Entourage as as how has come so far from the first season, from just a show about having fun to a drama involving Hollywood. In some ways, it still has a lot of development to go but the show has definitely made huge leaps in character progress since its initial broadcast.
I appreciate that you gave an overall summary of the show, it helped me to better understand the place that Lloyd is in. I have never watched Entourage but I applaud it for having a character like Lloyd while still being friends with "the boys". I only hope that the writers will, like you said, develop his character more instead of using him as a tool for comedy.
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