Vinny Chase Arrested? With Episode One in the Books, Five Predictions for This Season of ‘Entourage’

[inline:entourage2] Like seemingly every guy in America last night (and plenty of girls) we were eagerly awaiting the premiere of "Entourage" last night -- not because we've been blow away by recent seasons, but because we needed something, anything to save us from the summer TV doldrums (no, "True Blood" and "Hung" are not enough). So what did we think of episode 1? Solid. Not amazing, but I think we can all agree that amazing isn't quite possible anymore with this show. Still, the premiere was a good foundation for the sixth season. We haven't seen any advanced episodes, so we're on the page same as all of you, but already we've got some early predictions as to possible storylines that might play out (this season's tagline, btw, is "Life Changes, Friends Don't"). They involve Vinny getting arrested, Lloyd making agent, and maybe, hopefully, quite possibly, Sloan getting very, very naked. After the jump, our full explanations.

1. Vinny gets arrested for a DUI. Thus far in his Hollywood adventures, Vinny has experienced all the ups and downs of a young star's career: a Sundance hit, a Cannes flop, a superhero blockbuster, a firing by one big-name director, and a sudden hiring by an even bigger one (as unrealistic as that one might have seemed). And although Vinny has fucked nearly every girl in Los Angeles -- and had his heart broken a couple times (Mandy Moore, really?) -- he's never faced a truly career-altering scandal. Never been caught getting a BJ from a hooker; never gotten in a fight outside a bar; last night he couldn't even fail a parking test. At some point Vinny has to enter the new Hollywood: where TMZ camera guys and paparazzi stalk you on every corner, just waiting for you to fuck up (or forget to tip your waitress). We think that's finally going to happen this season, and last night's premiere completely laid the groundworks. As the last shot demonstrated, Vinny is now becoming more independent and may even be living on his own this season, without his crew by his side for every waking moment. Throw in the storylines of him getting his license (barely) and shooting a biopic about the founder of Ferrari, plus Turtle essentially getting demoted to Jamie Lynn's bubble bath attendant and E's very ominous warning to not drink and drive, and it all spells one big fat DUI -- or something similar -- in Vinny's future. Now, whether he just gets pulled over after driving erratically (or like the founder of Ferrari) or gets into a serious car accident, we're not sure, but we'd bet anything that Vinny is going to be splashed on the front of TMZ, Perez, and Us Weekly at some point this season. We'll be curious whether it happens before or after "Gatsby" makes it big -- will this derail his chances at an Oscar? (By the way, isn't funny that you never really know what season it is on this show because it's all set in Southern California? Martin Scorsese's "Gatsby" seems like a Christmas Day release, no? Of course, in this bizarro world, Jay Leno is still the host of the "Tonight Show," but that's another story all together.) 2. E and Sloan get back together, finally. We've got a debate going here in the office about whether this is going to happen. Our new intern, Bam Margerbrah, says no, but it sure looked like last night's "drink" was going to turn into something more, even if it didn't happen after one drink. We think the producers realized how dumb they were to write Emmanuelle Chriqui off the show in the first place (considering how much she blew up after the two broke up). We just hope it lasts long enough that the rumored topless scene happens. 3. Jamie Lynn allows Turtle to leave the bathtub. Seriously, what was up with that scene last night? Did we really need to see Turtle and Jamie Lynn taking a bubble bath together? Oh well, at least the fat kid is still getting some action from the TV star. We think they're going to milk this for as long as the two real-life lovebirds are milking each other. But what's the big top-secret business that Turtle has dreamed up now that he's no longer going to be Vinny's "driver"? Back to the music and party promotion? Our guess is that he tries to open a restaurant or nightclub in L.A. (kind of like Drama buying the old bar back in Queens). Let's just hope he doesn't hire Larry David's old obscenities-screaming chef to run the kitchen. 4. Drama finally gets a movie, but ultimately must choose between the big shoot and helping his baby brother. Vinny's DUI is going to have ramifications for the whole crew, and we think for none more so than Drama. Our guess is that Drama is finally going to land a movie deal (shooting out of town perhaps), but when Vinny gets arrested, he's going to have to choose between the biggest career break of his life and his family. Expect a big decision on the season finale. 5. Lloyd finally gets his promotion; Lumberg gets tossed. Ari's "100 Days" test for Lloyd will consume their storylines for most of the season, since it's obvious that Ari doesn't want to let the best assistant he's ever had go, even if he might make a great agent. This is clearly a stalling tactic. Our prediction is that his old buddy, Andrew, played by the same guy who did Lumberg in "Office Space" and Bingo Bob Russell in "West Wing," will eventually fuck up royally (and Lloyd will save his ass), and Ari will realize that he just has to promote him. Still, that's not happening until the season finale either, so we're in for one more season of Lloyd bashing. By the way, should we read something into Ari's drinking during last night's episode? I guess we'll have to keep watching to find out...