Nice episode last night. (I actually watched it this morning. Last night's video relaxation — after a day of chores — was "Kiss Kiss Bang Bang," which started well and became less and less entertaining as it went along. But at least we actually managed to finish our latest stack of Netflix picks without needing two months to do it.) I like Martin Landau anyway, and he was fun as aging producer Bob Ryan. And what at first looked like a change-of-pace episode ended up taking us back to a lot of things: that Turtle is still small-time, that Vince is still a big celebrity, and that this is still about the arc of a career.

One thing, though, that both drew me deeper into the episode and took me out of it, was Ryan's house. I kept thinking it was Robert Evans's place — Evans being the legendary movie producer whose era was the same as the fictional Ryan's. I was in that house some years ago when Evans was doing a show for Comedy Central, and it's still an amazing memory, walls and shelves full of Hollywood history. It took me out of the show because I kept wondering if it was indeed Evans's house (and I haven't had a chance to pin that down yet). It took me deeper because it so reminded me of Evans's place that it made Ryan seem even more real.

Update: Although HBO never answered my direct question about the house, according to the New York Daily News, that was indeed Evans's house — and Evans was not pleased with the result. See the column here.

I'm backed up several weeks on "Deadwood" so the cone of silence is in place on that one. But I have managed to keep pace with "Entourage," including tonight's episode. And I'm really curious about where the show is going to wind up at the end of this season.

As you know, Vincent has been committing career maiming, if not outright suicide — ticking off a studio boss, losing "Aquaman," infuriating even more of Hollywood over how his indie film was edited. And tonight at first seemed to be a break from that spiral, with the guys going to Las Vegas. But even there, things did not go well — Turtle having dragged Vincent into a quick-money deal that proved to have a host of image problems attached. Much more of this, and we could spend next season watching Vincent as he records appearances on the "The Surreal Life."

Which reminds me of one of my favorite lines ever from a press conference (one that underscores the life that could await Vincent even in his fictional universe). In January 2003, the latest cast of "Surreal Life" met the press in Hollywood; Gabrielle Carteris was there, and Corey Feldman, MC Hammer, Emmanuel Lewis — everyone in the cast, it seemed, except Vince Neil. And why was he absent? Said a WB publicist: "He's in Vegas for an important porn convention.

"You think I'm making this up," the publicist said. "I'm not."

Consider, then, the similarity in name and taste of the real and fictional Vincents.

And think of "Rock Star: Supernova's" Dana claiming she missed a rehearsal to go a spa. Compare Vince. Then tell me — Supernova members' remarks notwithstanding — who's the contemporary rocker and who's the poser.

But back to "Entourage." I like that the mistakes being made feel natural and human, connected to real characters. Drama's storyline tonight with his masseur had the same thing going. While you had a sense of where it was headed, it went around a couple of unexpected curves along the way, letting the people create the story instead of going for a plot arbitrarily shoehorned into the characters.

That, and a little bit of the Hall of Fame Game, formed tonight's fresh viewing. This afternoon there had been some Indians baseball (another dispiriting loss) and bits of golf — seeing Tiger make history. In between: a nice family dinner out and inflicting fall pilots on Target Demo. She gives thumbs up to "30 Rock," "Studio 60" and "Six Degrees" — with the biggest thumb for '"Studio 60" — and provisional thumbs up (contingent on additional episodes) to "Ugly Betty" and "Knights of Prosperity," which is everything she has seen so far.

As a big fan of both HBO's "Entourage" and public radio's "World Cafe" (See www.worldcafe.org ), I got a double dose of fun this morning while driving to work and listening to "Cafe" on WAPS (91.3-FM).

Adrian Grenier, who plays Vincent Chase on the HBO show, was a guest on a "Cafe" replay, offering up a list of five songs he especially likes. Grenier, who is also a musician, admitted to agonizing over the list. But he came up with an electic list.

Here it is: Funkadelic, "Can You Get To That"; Ween, "The Mollusk"; Johnny Cash and June Carter, "Jackson"; Nina Simone, "Suzanne," and Weezer, "Say It Ain’t So."

Can't say I agree with all his choices. Nina Simone was very good on some things, but "Suzanne" isn't one of them. On the other hand, "Jackson" always makes me smile (love the way June Carter roars in it). And the inclusion of a Funkadelic cut just demonstrates the ongoing appeal of the George Clinton-Parliament-Funkadelic body of music.

I'll be talking more about that sometime before Oct. 11, when "Independent Lens" airs the documentary "Parliament Funkadelic: One Nation Under a Groove." (Check your local listings. If it's not there, call your local PBS station. Play them "One Nation" or "Flashlight" or "Maggot Brain." Send them videos of "P.C.U." Remind them what happens when you free your mind.)

Odds and ends from too much TV watching (and thinking):

– Over the weekend I was watching "Million Dollar Baby" again, and watching it in two ways. One was the involvement in the story and the characters. The other was feeling that I was watching a really great movie.

I get the same feeling when I watch "Rescue Me," the FX drama starring Denis Leary as a troubled firefighter. This week's episode was moving and powerful — and, while I was being moved, another part of me sat back and said, "You realize this is absolutely brilliant, don't you?"

Now, I like plenty of things on TV. But I try, with mixed success, not to throw the word "brilliant" too much. Still, when "Rescue Me" was doing its elaborate party sequence, with multiple stories playing out, with one moment telling you to laugh, and another daring you not to cry — well, it was brilliant. There's no other word. This show should have many millions of viewers, and every award available — and run forever.

— I don't know what's going on in the next episode of "Rescue Me" but I did jump ahead on "Entourage" thanks to review copies of the next couple of episodes. If you haven't already discovered this HBO comedy-drama about a young actor and the friends enjoying his success, then you should go catch up (the first season is on DVD) and tune in now. The acting is good, the characters are intriguing and there are some really good plot twists coming up.

— I won't tell you what those plot twists on "Entourage" are because I try not to spoil the surprise for viewers. Because of that, I sat on the major development at the end of the first episode of "Over There," even though I knew where it was going. And I have so far kept quiet about a twist at the end of the first episode of "How I Met Your Mother," a new CBS comedy, because it would wreck a surprise — and because I was asked not to by one of the producers. This created a peculiar dynamic during a "How I Met" press conference in July, where pretty much everyone in the room knew the twist, and there were a lot of questions about the twist, and some pretty good answers — and, for me at least, none of it is usable until people have had a chance to see the show.

We live in a spoiler culture, after all, where eager Internetters are seeking and finding news about where shows are going and posting it for anyone who wants to know. I still think most viewers would rather not know ahead of time. Although, to return to a famous twist, I enjoyed "Million Dollar Baby" as much on second viewing as I did before I knew its surprise.