Westworld

[mochakitty]

From Wikipedia:

Westworld is an American science fiction thriller television series created by Jonathan Nolan and Lisa Joy for HBO. It is based on the 1973 film of the same name, which was written and directed by American novelist Michael Crichton. Nolan serves as executive producer along with Joy, J. J. Abrams and Bryan Burk with Nolan directing the pilot. The first episode premiered on October 2, 2016.

The program takes place in fictional Westworld, a technologically advanced, Western-themed amusement park populated completely by synthetic androids dubbed "hosts". Westworld caters to high-paying visitors dubbed "newcomers" (also known as "guests"), who can do whatever they wish within the park, without fear of retaliation from the hosts.

The series' premiere on HBO garnered the highest viewership ratings since the Emmy Award-winning series True Detective. It has received significant praise by critics, particularly for its visuals, story, thematic elements, and world building.

Main cast

Evan Rachel Wood as Dolores Abernathy, a host; she is a Western girl who discovers her entire life is an elaborately constructed lie.

Thandie Newton as Maeve Millay, a host; she is the beautiful and sharp madam of Westworld.

Jeffrey Wright as Bernard Lowe, head of the Westworld Programming Division and creator of artificial people.

James Marsden as Teddy Flood, a host; he is a newly-arrived gunslinger in pursuit of a local beauty.

Ben Barnes as Logan, a veteran guest; he is a louche bachelor. His hedonistic romp through Westworld is equally motivated by self-indulgence and a desire to help his friend, William.

Clifton Collins Jr. as Lawrence, a host; he is a charming but lethal outlaw, with a knack for maneuvering and negotiating the various criminal elements of Westworld.

Ingrid Bolsø Berdal as Armistice, a host; she is a brutal and ruthless bandit.

Luke Hemsworth as Ashley Stubbs, the no-nonsense head of security, charged with monitoring host and human interactions and ensuring the safety of the guests.

Sidse Babett Knudsen as Theresa Cullen, Westworld's terse operations leader, responsible for keeping the park from sliding into unscripted chaos.

Simon Quarterman as Lee Sizemore, Westworld's narrative director, whose artistic temperament aggravates his co-workers.

Rodrigo Santoro as Hector Escaton, a host; he is a wanted man bent on survival.

Angela Sarafyan as Clementine Pennyfeather, a host; she works for Maeve and is one of Westworld's most popular attractions.

Jimmi Simpson as William, a reluctant first-time newcomer to Westworld, joining his friend, Logan. Initially dismissive of the park's more lascivious attractions, he slowly uncovers a deeper meaning to the park's narrative.

Shannon Woodward as Elsie Hughes, a rising star in the Programming Division tasked with remedying odd behavior in the park's artificial beings.

Ed Harris as the Man in Black; a mysterious, sadistic rich guest of the theme park who is searching for a "deeper level" in the park.

Anthony Hopkins as Dr. Robert Ford, the creative director of Westworld.

Official Site

Official Teaser Clip

Official Teaser Trailer

Official Trailer #2

Official Posters

Official Facebook

Official Twitter

Westworld @ IMDb.com

[Mugsy]

The show is intriguing, and I find it head snappy to switch from the old west atmosphere to the slick modern lab.

I'm interested in seeing William's journey, since he seems like the virgin teetotalling guy who gets dragged to Vegas against his will until...
I'm also interested in seeing how Maeve and Delores act and react now that they're learning life isn't real. And of course, the Man in Black.

[deeconsistent]

Me and bf watched the first two episodes back-to-back the other night. It was intriguing. I was not bored for a second. But sometime during the second episode I asked him "Is this good? I can't tell." There are so many things about it that don't seem to make sense, but maybe they actually do. I guess the major thing that gets me is even if the guns can't kill real people, there's so much more that can go wrong, even if the hosts are working perfectly. Like when the corporate douchebag put a knife through that guy's hand? If that had just been another annoying guest at the park, he would have just put a knife through another guest's hand. And the bullets seem to be able to shatter glass, so I'm fuzzy on how they're supposed to work (even though it will probably be cleared up in a future episode.)

Another thing that gets me is I can't tell if it's actually a fun place. Is it the pinnacle of excitement that everyone on the show claims? Fun means different things for different people, but it seems like the real appeal of the park is supposed to be how debaucherous and violent you can get. Could a cosplay park where you can go psychotic really be that profitable? If you're not into those things, are there a lot of people for which that would be a fun experience? Also, when they are on the train and the corporate douchebag tells his partner that one of the waitresses looks like a two compared to the women of Westworld? We see that it's not really true. My bf say you have to look at it in the context of video games and Disneyworld, but I don't know.

There were a bunch of other things, but I'll stop there. I'm interested in the show, but I also feel like, right now, I'm being asked to suspend disbelief to the point where I'm not sure I can buy into the show's internal logic. I'm hoping that everything is explained, but I'm getting "Lost" feels a little bit.

[scarletprincess]

Anyone here old enough to remember the movie from the 70s? I saw it when I was really young. Not sure why I went or why my mother thought it would be OK. But....the one thing I remember to this day about that movie was how they showed the difference between humans and the robots. It was on the fingers. When you bend your finger, there's an indent at on the skin at the joint. In the movie, it was more of a protrusion of skin at the joint. Subtle, but you could tell if you looked. I never forgot that and till this day I think about that. I cut my finger once right above that indent and thought "Now I could be a robot on Westworld."

I have not yet watched the show. Have they shared how they tell the difference between humans and the robots?

[prisma]

No, scarletprincess, they haven't shown the distinction between hosts and real people yet. Or, I don't think they plan to.

Tom and Lorenzo are both complimentary of the show and really critical of it from a storytelling perspective. I guess I'm not that analytical about storytelling because I'm still really sucked in by the prospect of the hosts developing consciousness. Their dawning awareness of how they live in a loop and have been raped and killed over and over again is really intriguing to me. The larger mystery that is being unveiled--the maze that has to be solved--seems intriguing but has the potential to fall into the trap that Lost did in which they couldn't ever really explain the big mystery that the show was building toward.

I'm being entertained by Westworld right now and will definitely keep tuning in, but I'd say it has a 50/50 chance of going off the rails.

[Atreides]

I too am finding it really intriguing! With every episode, the hosts get slightly more self-aware of what they are and it's fascinating to watch. I can't wait to see when the shit hits the fan.

[FiggyPudding]

I think the bullets are designed to tell if their target is human and become non-lethal in those cases. As far as humans accidentally assaulting other humans, the robots are programmed with a good samaritan response to intervene and protect the human who is at risk. But clearly that's not foolproof so they probably have to sign waivers.

I like the show so far and enjoy the actors' performances. I'm trying to avoid delving too deeply into all the wackadoo theories about hidden meanings, it detracts from the viewing experience for me. I never liked all the extraneous theories during Lost, either.

It might be a good sign that the series was delayed so they could get their ducks in a row. Maybe they spent that time making sure the various story threads converge in a sensible way.

[prisma]

I have to admit that I've really enjoyed the series so far. I just started rewatching from the beginning and it's so clear from the beginning that Bernard is a host, but I didn't really pick it up the first time around. I haven't done a lot of reading of fan theories, but I enjoyed this article that suggests that Dolores is really Wyatt.

[Millis]

I thought the finale Sunday night was fantastic, answered so many questions and honestly could have been the series finale. I was worried it was starting to go in a Lost direction, too confusing and seeming to go off in all different directions, but I was wrong! I was always so bored by Dolores but she redeemed herself and her story line and then some in the finale. The 90 minutes flew by, and with no commercials. walking Dead needs to take some lessons on how to tell a story.

[Margo]

I just finished binge watching the first season and was disappointed. It seems like the plot never met a cliche it didn't like.