You have to give the producers and writers of Entourage one thing; they shook things up this year. Instead of sticking with the tried and tired formula, they switched it up, giving the side characters their own arcs and making Vince a side character. Unfortunately, it seems like they've gone a little too far with their changes and the show is onto its worst start yet.

So what went wrong?

1. No Core: Vince (or more precisely, Vince's Career) provided the focal point of the show. Now and then there would be side ventures but the anchor was getting Vince his next job. Now there's nothing really keep the show together. There are three completely separate arcs and none of them have been all that interesting. This last episode (and the Drama arc from the week prior) was the first time that things really started to get going and there was actual conflict. Why they didn't do they start off with these episodes is beyond me but it would have helped immensely. For instance, E working at the new firm would have given the throwaway Charlie storyline some heft. They could have upped the stakes to being: either Charlie gets the credit/lead role or E has to dump him as a client. Instead, it's a stupid b-story of E calling an exec a racist and then, in true Entourage style, Charlie just disappears. Perhaps the core of this series could have been the Brothers Chase helping E get his own career started. He could manage both Vince and Drama (which would add more stakes to his fuckups). I'm not sure how many episodes there have been this season but it's felt like only two weeks worth of actual material. If they had focused on E (and honestly, they could have lost the entire Turtle going to UCLA extension angle), the show would have had something holding it together. Hopefully the show will be heading in the right direction with E and Drama's stories (even if they are separate) but after the last couple of season, I'm not that hopeful.

2. Where's Ari?: A year or so ago, I suggested that the show consider spinning Ari off into his own show. His storylines were becoming more and more unrelated to the Boys from Queens. Now that he is almost completely cut off (since Vince doesn't seem to need help), it's all the more reason to try it. Right now, Ari's completely wasted in pointless mini-arcs. The one major arc he has is the awful Gary Cole storyline. This storyline started off as potentially interesting with Cole looking like he may be a bad influence on Ari but it's since spiraled into the Dom-Zone of annoying story arcs. Meanwhile, the Ari-Lloyd storyline completely disappeared. They can even consistently throw in random sight gags of Lloyd doing menial labor (like in the golf episode). So not only is Ari out of it because Vince isn't doing anything but now he's not even able to really be Ari since we have to see him dealing with Cole's infidelities. It's all pointless, none of it is funny, and it really adds nothing to the show. They should probably dump Cole's character and maybe give Ari a new client, perhaps a young up-and-coming star who could steal some of Vince's thunder (and someone who always listens to Ari's advice so he feels a bit more needed). If not, spin him off into a show about being the king of the Miller Gold Castle. They need to do something because they are wasting Jeremy Piven by having him just sitting in his office, yelling randomly about stories nobody cares about.

3. Girls, Girls, Girlzzzzzz: The ladies of Entourage are only interesting if they are naked or involved in a bigger storyline. (And honestly, the nudity is getting more and more gratuitous. But I'll take it.) Case in point, most of the Turtle/Jamie Lynn stories are tedious however once you get her involved somewhere else, like in Drama's career, she suddenly has a purpose. It's always been like this. Kristen (E's ex in season 1) was annoying but Emily was interesting because she kind of caused friction with E and Ari. Anna Faris affected Vince's situation and Silo. Sloan... honestly, I can't even remember what Sloan did. Something with her dad. Ashley has been probably the worst because her storyline was a lot like Kristen's, she added nothing to the other stories, and she was just kind of annoying, like a teenager. Hopefully, Kate Mara's character (E's new assistant) will add some spice to the storylines and fit in well. 

4. Follow Through: The worst part about the show having so much filler is that you know it's probably never going to pop up again. The gun storyline was lame and pretty much ended this episode. Why waste our time with it; why not go straight to the Security Team storyline? Why bother with Vince taking driving lessons? Vince saying on national TV that he bribed his driving instructor? Vince making a sex tape? Is ANY of this going to come back? Probably not. If these storylines are going to be completely one-and-done, they need to be funny. This season's simply haven't been. The Turtle stories, especially, have been lame sit-com level situations.

5. The Life: One of the draws of the show was that it showed the Hollywood life. Now it's showing the life of a settled down actor (well, somewhat settled down) and there's nothing there. They eat at the same places. They go golfing. Vince doesn't even need to flirt anymore, girls come to him. Even worse, they come to him... and then go to their rooms. In the past, they'd pick him up and head to hang out with Dennis Hopper or some weed guru played by Val Kilmer. The show is slowly becoming a workplace sit-com (and a drab one at that). The direction they're going, Vince will have a baby this time next season.