It’s a good thing Entourage has spent its history creating such a vivid sense of friendship that we just like spending a half-hour hanging out with these guys, because the show really isn’t that funny anymore, and its “plots” are so slim I have to put quotation marks around the word “plots.” This week’s sixth-season premiere found its best moments at Ari Gold’s office, where Lloyd is demanding a promotion. I like Lloyd, and I like Gary Cole playing Ari’s rather weaselly colleague. (Let’s face it, I like Gary Cole in just about everything. Don’t you? Lately I’ve had an urge to watch him again in his terrific 1984 TV-movie Fatal Vision.) But what does it say for Entourage that the non-members of the entourage are more interesting than the entourage these days?

Vince getting his drivers license? Z-z-z-z-z… Vince prepping for a Tonight Show appearance? A Tonight Show apperance with Jay Leno and not Conan O’Brien? Even allowing for the time-gaps in the series’ production schedule, couldn’t the producers have forseen this, and booked him on, say, Jimmy Kimmel? Seeing Vince on the Leno set already feels old, not even nostalgic. This was compounded by the moment when Vince said he’d save a racy anecdote about having a threesome “for Conan” — i.e., for a later hour. No, Vince, you’ll be saving that threesome for Jimmy Fallon.

Now, the good stuff: I’m still tickled by the notion of vacuous Vincent starring in Martin Scorsese’s version of The Great Gatsby. (Who do you guess is his Daisy? It’s probably Scarlett Johanssen, but I wish it was Megan Fox.) And while everyone I know says they’re kinda sick of Johnny Drama and his huffy insecurity, I’m always completely charmed by Kevin Dillon’s total commitment to Johnny’s brash vanity. Dillon never does the cheap actorly thing of showing how much he loves his character; he’s admirably brutal in making Johnny a desperate second-rater even now, when Drama has achieved TV stardom.

Yet I have to say I’m not too invested in Eric’s search for a new place to live, the metaphor for him getting too mature to continue lounging around with the guys. If E is too old for that sort of thing, isn’t Entourage implying that we all are?

What did you think? Did you enjoy last night’s premiere?

Everything came together on True Blood this week, in an episode penned by series creator Alan Ball. Now I almost understand why HBO waited a week to air this after the Fourth of July holiday weekend.

Right off the bat, having Sookie and Bill play surrogate parents to the delightfully bratty Jessica on their trip to Dallas was clever indeed. It displayed a new side of the Sookie-Bill relationship, showing that they’re not just lovers making goo-goo eyes at each other — they can see each other’s strengths and flaws. Sookie may be a tough country gal, but she’s still naive about the nature of both evil and adolescence, and thus prone to being too permissive. (And, really, is there much difference between a teenager and a leeching vampire?) “Two travel coffins instead of one,” sighed Bill, ordering an additional for Jessica even as he knew knowing nothing good can come of this. (OK, beware, hereafter, SPOILERS LURK.)

A pivotal connection was made in this episode, as we found out that the people behind the attack on Sookie upon arrival in Dallas (with the limo driver played by Dean Norris, who’s so good in Breaking Bad), are the Soldiers of the Sun, the elite group of anti-vampire fanatics headed up by Rev. Steve Newlin and whose newest recruit is our dear sap Jason Stackhouse.

Other plot-points Ball was careful to hit during this hour: a recovering Lafayette denying comfort from a concerned Tara; Tara moving in with Sookie and leaving Maryann (“Go, flourish, don’t ever say ‘no’ to yourself” — lordy, I love Michelle Forbes!); and Maryann cranking up the orgy-dervish in Bon Temps to an explosive fervor.

There was some great dialogue scattered throughout. That debate among the Fellowship of the Sun stooges about who was the original vampire, Jesus, Lazarus, or Cain, was priceless, as was the Sookie-Bill exchange that parodied self-improvement cliches: “Hating yourself is a bad thing.” “I am a vampire; I’m supposed to be tormented.”

I also thoroughly enjoyed all the scenes involving Eric, not just because Alexander Skarsgard is such a fine, sly actor but also because, not having read the Charlaine Harris novels, I got a better understanding this evening of Eric’s place in vamp hierarchy and more clues to the nature of this Godric guy.

Oh, and my compliments once again to whoever is picking the country music: the use of Sammy Kershaw’s “Louisiana Hot Sauce” while the reverend’s wife wiggled for Jason was perfect.

In short, I felt this highly satisfying episode may have been the best one of the season so far.

What do you think?

Oh, and we’d also like your thoughts on another matter. I’ve been deputized by Must List major domos Dalton Ross and Jessica Shaw to direct you to the latest edition of Must List Live, where you can weigh in on this all-important question: Who’s hotter, Bill or Eric?

How appropriate a way to start Big Brother 11: with an endurance competition in which the 12 new house-guests hung in the air in giant diapers, clinging onto toilet seats for as long as possible. This just about sums up the grotty appeal of the summer’s goofiest reality-game-show. Crudity is its own reward on this share-the-shower-mold series, and the season premiere did not disappoint.

As Craig Ferguson said to BB host Julie Chen on his own show Wednesday night, this is “a whole new batch of skanks and hos.” I’m not just talking about the bikini model who referred to herself as “this sweet bitch,” but also the neuroscientist who said she was “afraid that being smart would make me a target. In both cases, they proved that self-respect is the first thing that goes out the fogged-up window on Big Brother.

There’s nothing guilty about the pleasure I take in BB. This is junk-TV that always ends up revealing a lot about how people behave in groups, with cameras trained on them 24/7. And those revelations often surprise the players themselves as much as they do us.

One twist this season is to allow one contestant from an earlier season to re-enter the household. Last nnight, of four possible candidates, muscle-bound Jessie, from last season, was the one who lumbered back into the house, clutching his bag like a gorilla about to pounce. Since we know Jessie’s self-delusion is nearly limitless, I look forward to seeing him try to fit in with newbies like the mixed-martial-artist and the tae kwon do expert, both of whom will probably threaten his grinning superiority-complex.

Be sure to click over to the always-superlative Big Brother TV Watch recap written by my colleague, Jocular Josh Wolk. In the meantime, sound off below: Did you watch? Who are your early favorites, and the ones you want to see evicted as soon as possible?