official Westworld thread

Please use Spoiler tags where appropriate.



I liked everything about the pilot. Was already a fan of Evan Rachel Wood but she really shined here. Already online you can find every facial expression and word out of her mouth being analyzed. Her performance undoubtedly stands up to such scrutiny. Really looking forward to more of Ed Harris' "Man In Black" character and learning what he's all about too. The actor playing her android father was also fantastic going head-to-head with Anthony Hopkins. It is an HBO show so no surprise all the actors brought their A games. Speaking of HBO I was pleasantly surprised at the lack of midget porn or cocksucking language. The show is definitely adult. I just don't recall anything gratuitous on-screen. Hopefully they stick with that policy. So many layers and mysteries already so there is a lot of directions this show could take and thus a lot to be discussed as it goes on.

I watched it. I nodded affirmatively as it concluded. Will continue to watch.

Could be really great. Was very pleased as well that it wasn't full of titillating vulgarity like most cable series are full of these days.

I love the original film, this feels very much like a much expanded, modernized version of the story.

It's insanely violent. Folks shot in the mouth, the head (over and over), the neck, everywhere else, Plus the implied violence of rape/murder, casual misogyny (lots of "hooers"), and some crazy torture-scalping, skull-capping thing. Other than that and the titties all over the place, plus, finally, the occasional cock, a great show to share with the 12yo.

Just sayin. It's not for kids.

I think it's cool though. Looks to be about a thousand times more interesting than the movie, so far.

If I was a dad then I wouldn't let my kid watch anything on HBO. Seems kind of obvious to me. To each his own though.

I liked it. Script was more ambitious than anything HBO have done since Deadwood. I even believe for now that they have something heartfelt to say about our place in the universe. Let's see if that lasts.

But... claiming the constant fetishistic images of gunplay, blood gushing out a man's neck like a fountain (a ridiculous fantasy), an exploding face etc were not "titillating vulgarity" is a stretch. At least there were no midgets having sex, eh? That would just be gratuitous.

The theme song kinda sucked. That's just the truth. The show deserved something memorable. Take a moment to think of the Game of Thrones theme. Doesn't matter if you like it or don't, just think of it. How long did it take to marshal it to memory? How long could you play it in your head? Now think of WW. Will you eventually recognize it? Perhaps. Will you ever hum it aloud? You tell me.

My golden opinion: lost opportunity, big time.

That is true. All the great HBO series - Game of Thrones, The Sopranos, Rome. The Wire - all had great theme music I can still conjure up in my mind .

Msample wrote: That is true. All the great HBO series - Game of Thrones, The Sopranos, Rome. The Wire - all had great theme music I can still conjure up in my mind .

Season 1 of TRUE DETECTIVE too. And CURB YOUR ENTHUSIASM. I agree, the theme/title sequence was nothing special. Netflix has stolen all their mojo--their Marvel show intros have been amazing.

I like it. But, of course, I love shows that mine all of the categories of traditional philosophy: ethics, epistemology, and metaphysics. The show is asking the greater questions. What is life? It's also pushing the limits of existentialism. This is hard scifi and I'm glad because so many shows today are just milk-toast.

stoic wrote: I like it. But, of course, I love shows that mine all of the categories of traditional philosophy: ethics, epistemology, and metaphysics. The show is asking the greater questions. What is life? It's also pushing the limits of existentialism. This is hard scifi and I'm glad because so many shows today are just milk-toast.

I agree with this, but with reservations. All that you said is in there, but they also felt compelled to put in government conspiracies, a game within a game, and corporate politicking. Those other things are so rote and boring to me, and hallmarks of almost every other show.

I really liked the pilot and I'm very much looking forward to the rest of the series, but I can already tell some storylines are just going to bore me. I read somewhere that they have a full four (or five?) season story mapped out, so that they have a conclusion they're building towards. I'll believe that when I see it, but I'm thankful that they're not pulling a Lost and just making shit up as they go.

Speaking of music, though-- I really liked the music cues within the show. Black Hole Sun on a player piano was awesome, and Paint It Black was a little on the nose, but still sounded great.

With Jonathan Nolan involved, I am sure it's not just twiddling along to see where storylines develop. His writing is tight. Things might wiggle here and there, depending on the showrunner, but he's got an arc to cover I am sure. He'd probably end it open and hope to finish with films rather than bungle the landing.

jeb wrote:

Msample wrote: That is true. All the great HBO series - Game of Thrones, The Sopranos, Rome. The Wire - all had great theme music I can still conjure up in my mind .

Season 1 of TRUE DETECTIVE too. And CURB YOUR ENTHUSIASM. I agree, the theme/title sequence was nothing special. Netflix has stolen all their mojo--their Marvel show intros have been amazing.

I didn't think of True Detective Season 1, but yes, wow, that darkly beautiful Hanson Family song really upped the creep out factor. I'm literally registering nothing with the WW theme music. It may sound strong to say so, but I really don't think they should go to the end of season 1 without changing it. It needs immediate repair. It's too discordant to follow and memorize. There are no hooks. There's something in there that's got promise, but not what they came up with.

stoic wrote: I like it. But, of course, I love shows that mine all of the categories of traditional philosophy: ethics, epistemology, and metaphysics. The show is asking the greater questions. What is life? It's also pushing the limits of existentialism. This is hard scifi and I'm glad because so many shows today are just milk-toast.

Well put. And it has the very familiar theme that the lion's share of Sci-Fi since Modern Times seems to share: the post-industrial dystopian angst of our technology getting the better of us and/or replacing us. It's in Mr. Robot. It's in the original West World. It's in Battlestar-G, Blade Runner, Terminator. There must be a dozen high profile movies and shows I'm leaving out.

I've not finished the pilot (waiting for my wife to sit down and watch with me), but to speak to the ethics point made here, the thing that seems to be present in this one that is also in Blade Runner is how nightmarishly unsuitable humans are at fostering new consciousness. In this sense modern Sci-Fi has an important cautionary tale to tell. Regardless of its plausibility, modern notions such as culture at the speed of quantum computing (singularity), material replication, etc, that are cast in a mostly positive light may begin, I think, to find a more cynical response from speculative fiction that will feel more immediate and real. What I mean is, if you think of Mr. Robot as an evolution or re-invention of cyberpunk, but a far more immediate and plausible (and hence dangerous) one than, say, Gibson's "Neuromancer", we might watch for more immediacy, more of the familiar in something like West World if we're closing in on actual cultural concerns. If so, pay attention: sci-fi does have a deserved reputation for transitioning from the speculative into the predictive, and from the predictive into retrospection when things are moving rapidly.

Anyway, I guess I'm already waiting for these guys to spin off their cheap-labor-from-defunct-droids division and sell it for a song to the virtually unknown Tyrell Corporation so that the entertainment enterprise of WW can proceed with an improved bottom line.

Say what you want about the forgettable theme song, but the opening graphics were some of the best I have seen.

As far as the into song goes...they should change it to a cowboy version of a modern song like Paint it Black (loved that song playing during a gunfight. ) Want to see if the use of modern music in Westworld is explained at some point in the show.