The fifth season of Entourage premiered last night after an unusually long hiatus. For those who missed it, let’s recap:

- Hot chicks
- Maserati
- Vince being ambivalent about his career
- Eric being sensible
- Ari being angry
- Drama being self-conscious
- Aston Martin
- Hot chicks

So die-hard Entourage fans rejoice, your tried and true formula seems to be firmly in place this season. I really do hope they go a different direction this season, and prove me wrong that this show’s charm dried up about two years ago. Far more of an interesting watch was an hour before the Entourage premiere:

True Blood is absurd, for lack of a better term. All of a sudden there now exists a society where vampires and humans co-habitate, thanks mainly to a new kind of synthetic blood called “True Blood” developed by the Japanese (of course!). There’s really no more background story than that to speak of, so you’re immediately thrust right in. Vampires! Go with it!

Anna Paquin plays Sookie (Suki?) an adorable Louisiana waitress who has the inexplicable ability to hear people’s thoughts. Why not? The town she lives in is slowly being migrated to by vampires, including a brooding, sexy one that strolls into her diner named Bill (yes, “Bill”). The rest of the show is an amalgam of comedy, horror and gratuitous vampire sex (literally the scariest thing I’ve ever seen) and the pilot ends with Sookie getting her ass beat in by two local hicks.

It isn’t precisely clear what the **** this show is, where the **** it’s going, or if it’s supposed to be a drama, a comedy or both. But all the absurdity aside, True Blood is kind of fascinating, and now resides as a season pass in my Tivo. Tune in next week for more hot vampire action!