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HBO's 'Westworld'


Phil

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Watched it twice...still confused.

 

I found it relatively straight forward. Try thinking about it as a set up for a bunch of different story lines. They weren't explaining a lot because all the episode was meant to do was open a bunch of doors. That and get you intrigued by the concept of a theme park for adults using robots to create a wild west fantasy.

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I thought this was pretty awesome - basically iRobot but a Western lol. I'm mostly curious by Ed Harris' character. He's posed as a tourist but I think the way he digs - no pun intended - hints at something more. And, hopefully, this isn't the last we see of Peter Abernathy, as his emotion hints at the overall development of the hosts.

 

I don't really get some of the imagery - the milk, mostly - but overall it has a great aesthetic. The music, I thought, was incredible, with Paint it Black and Black Hole Sun in "Western" style.

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Thought it was pretty cool. The original movie scared me as a kid, though I don't really remember it very well.

 

Not exactly sure how long such a series can last. Better be a one season or two deal. Could get old and stale fast.

I wonder about that too. It's kind of earmarked as a replacement for GoT, but I don't see how it can have the longevity.

 

Unless it's just sort of a revolving door of humanoids trying to figure out their "purpose" - or whatever you want to call it - and never getting to that end, I don't see how the show can have more than a couple of seasons. Maybe they'll kind of go with the Walking Dead model where it's about zombies (humanoids) but not zombies (humanoids), but I'm not sure how that would have much emotional appeal.

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I wonder about that too. It's kind of earmarked as a replacement for GoT, but I don't see how it can have the longevity.

 

Unless it's just sort of a revolving door of humanoids trying to figure out their "purpose" - or whatever you want to call it - and never getting to that end, I don't see how the show can have more than a couple of seasons. Maybe they'll kind of go with the Walking Dead model where it's about zombies (humanoids) but not zombies (humanoids), but I'm not sure how that would have much emotional appeal.

 

Let me preface this by saying I've never seen an episode of the Walking Dead, but assuming we aren't following any particular zombies for their personalities, there is your difference. There is a very clear reason the AIs in WestWorld have their memories wiped each day. And presuming that stops, they will likely develop personalities, or at least the appearance of them which would be enough for viewers, I would think.

 

From there, you can create relationships among them, power struggles assuming it is going to be AI vs human in some form. You can have humans cooperating with the AI group and AIs cooperating with the human group. You can really run with it on a more epic scale if you want (and the writing is good). Heck, you could set up a whole Steven King's The Stand like map where both groups form their own societies in a future which is trending towards dystopia at the human level.

 

Or some of the people we think of as human running this could turn out to be AI. That would open up something completely different. The AI could be creating their own army, while having Humans funding it through the "theme park".

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Yea - that's all possible. But having AI vs. Humans (which it will, inevitably, be) really only makes sense if there is some end game, or some group you're supposed to root for. An endless power struggle doesn't really make for great TV I don't think.

 

Maybe the greatest strength of GoT is that all of the politicking and plotlines are leading to something greater. We don't explicitly know what it is but, at the same time, we do. On the flip side, the Walking Dead struggles because none of their plot lines go anywhere. They just go to the next plotline so it's just all very repetitive. With Westworld's narrow scope, I don't see how it can hand any endgame like GoT and still last. GoT has a huge world and limitless backstories that it can build upon. The theme park certainly doesn't seem to have that.

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Let me preface this by saying I've never seen an episode of the Walking Dead, but assuming we aren't following any particular zombies for their personalities, there is your difference. There is a very clear reason the AIs in WestWorld have their memories wiped each day. And presuming that stops, they will likely develop personalities, or at least the appearance of them which would be enough for viewers, I would think.

 

From there, you can create relationships among them, power struggles assuming it is going to be AI vs human in some form. You can have humans cooperating with the AI group and AIs cooperating with the human group. You can really run with it on a more epic scale if you want (and the writing is good). Heck, you could set up a whole Steven King's The Stand like map where both groups form their own societies in a future which is trending towards dystopia at the human level.

 

Or some of the people we think of as human running this could turn out to be AI. That would open up something completely different. The AI could be creating their own army, while having Humans funding it through the "theme park".

 

But then it's Jurassic Park.

 

Evil/ego driven owner of horribly gone wrong theme park is too stubborn to shut it all down... Is anyone going to sit through more than two seasons of "we should shut it all down, it's going to far and people are dying.." " no, this has never been done before and I want to keep it open, fuck humans, my robots are better".. idk man boring...

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But then it's Jurassic Park.

 

Evil/ego driven owner of horribly gone wrong theme park is too stubborn to shut it all down... Is anyone going to sit through more than two seasons of "we should shut it all down, it's going to far and people are dying.." " no, this has never been done before and I want to keep it open, fuck humans, my robots are better".. idk man boring...

 

Maybe. I've never seen Jurassic Park, but with thinking beings, it may not be a "shut it all down" thing because they might not be able to. I'm thinking robots hunting humans while humans run and hide. More Terminator without the time travel than what you're talking about.

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The "what's next" trailer after the first episode clearly implied the trouble isn't staying within the virtual park. It's definitely going to be a story about reality and fiction blending together.

 

the whats next looked amazing. first episode was good but I was still on the fence until I saw the "whats next"

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  • 2 weeks later...
I'm looking forward to the next episode. The overall story seems good enough to forgive the slight annoyances I've had.

 

I just feel it's all moving terribly slow. I get leaving out specifics and cryptic dialogue to retain mystery for the viewer, but when everything's treated that way, if feels like the story is just crawling. I think I would enjoy it more if there was a better mix of small glimpses and bigger reveals. I think the bouncing back and fourth between then main focus on Delores or the Madam give it a one step forward, two steps back kind of feel.

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So far actually I'm loving this series. Zero complaints. There's enough intrigue dropped in to each episode to make you desperate to see the next one. The biggest thing for me so far is the ambience/mood though. It perfectly captures the sort of ironically tragic existence that the hosts have, while simultaneously challenging the supposed humanitarian interests of their creators. Like Jeffrey Wright's character, Bernard Lowe, is clearly trying to fill some void left by his own personal losses (trying to avoid spoilers), and is showing some compassion for his "children." But at the same time each host's existence is basically comprised solely of servitude and oftentimes pain, tragedy, death, horror, etc. And then they get up and do it all again the next day, none the wiser to the atrocities that transpired the day before.

 

It's a weird dichotomy how Lowe could apparently seem to care about the hosts as individuals and then willfully subject them to what they go through each day. Really sort of walks the line between what it means to be human, both for the hosts and their creators, and what it means to try to play God. I'm just loving the vibe of the whole thing, and I'm anxious to see where some of the hosts' abilities to recall prior days/lives leads, and where Ed Harris' storyline leads. Like what he's trying to find exactly.

 

Let's be honest though; the entire thing has been worth it so far just for the utterly badass orchestral version of "Paint It Black."

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