The first six season finale episodes of HBO's series "Entourage" left me depressed because I knew that Vincent Chase, Ari, Turtle, E, Drama, Lloyd and other characters that I enjoyed were going away for at least a year.

Though some people I respect a great deal dismiss the show as a vapid, testosterone-laced rip-off of "Sex and the City" with Hollywood as a co-star rather than New York, I've enjoyed Doug Ellin's writing and the ensemble cast enough to look forward to each Sunday installment -- which in the current era of TV amounts to a ringing endorsement.

After last night's season seven swan song, I was depressed again ... although for another reason.

(SPOILER ALERT: IF YOU HAVEN'T WATCHED THE FINALE, DON'T READ THE REST OF THIS BLOG).

The cliffhanger came with the show's primary characters -- Vincent Chase (Adrien Grenier) and Ari Gold (Jeremy Piven) at rock bottom. Chase, the show's centerpiece, has developed addictions to cocaine and his porn star girlfriend, played by Sasha Grey. After a failed intervention by his buddies, he ends up getting pummeled by Eminem at a party and apparently arrested for possession of a large amount of cocaine.

Gold, the super-agent whose story arc this season included a failed run at NFL ownership and the reputation-ruining release of audio tapes in which he berates his staff, sees his marriage run into the rocks when his wife leaves him.

The downward spiral of these storylines, coupled with Turtle's foray into the tequila industry and Eric Murphy's unexpected pre-nup assault from his future father-in-law, made for an uncomfortable half-hour of TV.

But, it also fostered hope that the series will end its run with a memorable eighth season and an expected movie spin-off.

Maybe when if I watch the show again, I'll be depressed about the long wait to find out what happens with "Johnny's Bananas."