• Hey, guest user. Hope you're enjoying NeoGAF! Have you considered registering for an account? Come join us and add your take to the daily discourse.

Westworld - Live in Your World, Play in Ours - Sundays on HBO

Another poster for the show via EW:

U15CVhC.jpg
 

friday

Member
They combined westerns and scifi to make a show just for me! I am really excited to see this.

I have actually been meaning to watch the movie from the 70's. I should check that out before I see this.
 

El Topo

Member
Poor attempt made in GIMP, anyone feel free to whip up something better. I tried to somehow make it look like an eye, but I'm too lazy and/or not skilled enough for a smoother transition. 4am over here.
Text still looks janky, will have to fix that later.
 

jet1911

Member
So is the premise of the show "your mind can go in Red Dead Redemption but the AI think they're real"?

Whatched the trailer without sound. :(
 

Figboy79

Aftershock LA
I had the original movie on my Amazon Prime watchlist for months, then I think they removed it. As a huge fan of Crichton, I was surprised that I had never heard of Westworld until about a year or so ago. I also had no idea HBO was doing a show until sometime this year.

I think this is actually the show that is going to make me subscribe to that HBO Now or Go or whichever one it is that lets me watch it on my smart tv. I love me some Game of Thrones, but not even that got me to subscribe (I still haven't watched Season 6 yet!). I've been trying to catch up on so much TV, so I may not be able to join in on this when it airs next week, but it's looking great.

I wonder what Crichton would think of it. It still bums me out when I think of his passing. What a loss.
 
- Arsetechnica Fall TV guide capsule preview:
Our perspective shifts between robots, guests, and programmers as we piece together the mystery that fuels this dystopian game world. Truly mind-expanding explorations of AI and robot consciousness intermingle with ultra-violence and corporate politics in what is guaranteed to be the fall's best new science fiction series.

- Whatculture's review
The show is worth every bit of hype and then some; a gorgeous, deep, and clever sci-fi, that can be billed as HBO's Next Big Thing.
 
I need this show to be good. It sounds like pretty much everything I want from a show about A.I and it's always been weird to me that it's not a more common topic.
 
I really hope this gets more people to go back and give POI a chance. Such an amazing show.
I made it to ep 18 and petered out on the absolute repetitive boredom of it. Many have told me it doesn't really change very much. Just a procedural with an overall story arc, and interesting only if you're willing to wade through all 5 seasons (103 episodes) to see the story told.
 

NeOak

Member
I made it to ep 18 and petered out on the absolute repetitive boredom of it. Many have told me it doesn't really change very much. Just a procedural with an overall story arc, and interesting only if you're willing to wade through all 5 seasons (103 episodes) to see the story told.
S2E1 is where shit hits the fan and everything revs up.
 
I made it to ep 18 and petered out on the absolute repetitive boredom of it. Many have told me it doesn't really change very much. Just a procedural with an overall story arc, and interesting only if you're willing to wade through all 5 seasons (103 episodes) to see the story told.

Many people are very wrong apparently.

Keep going, and nah, don't skip any episodes. Even seemingly insignificant episodes end up being important down the line.

It's literally one of the greatest science fiction shows ever, and one of the best dives into the subjects of artificial intelligence out there in any medium, with several of the greatest hours of TV I've ever seen.
 

Blade30

Unconfirmed Member
I made it to ep 18 and petered out on the absolute repetitive boredom of it. Many have told me it doesn't really change very much. Just a procedural with an overall story arc, and interesting only if you're willing to wade through all 5 seasons (103 episodes) to see the story told.

Then these people haven't either watched past season 1 or are lying because that's totally wrong. Yes Season 1 is quite a "case of the week" show but it lays it's groundwork, just look it as a prologue/warm up season. Season 2 (I think around halfway through) is where it's getting serious and changes gears. POI is one of the very few network shows that's not procedural (except season 1) but still keep juggling the balls without dropping (and picking them up again) until the very end.
 

BeeDog

Member
I hope they can get the production together for a second season. I was worried about the quality after all those reports.

Hope so too, but today's HBO seems more intent in keeping alive new bets at all costs so I wouldn't be too worried unless it becomes an insane flop. Especially considering they don't have any real big-budget dramas on offer aside from GoT, I think they will bet on this.
 
Now you intrigued me, but one question. Does the series have an end? Or it's been canceled?
There was some fuckery with CBS (they refused to decide one way or another for whether they'd renew it for a season 6 -this lasted for months) so the writers/producers decided very early on in season 5's production to take matters into their own hands and make it the final season, rather than risk it and get canceled before wrapping up. So while the last season moves by very quickly with some condensed plot lines, it still ends properly and satisfyingly. Probably my all-time favorite TV closing actually.
 
- NY Post review
Even harder to imagine is how “Westworld” can go on for 10 episodes, or even a second season. Knowing HBO, it’s likely to renew the series before the closing credits of the pilot. Maybe a two-hour movie made in 1973 really said all there was to say. 2.5 out of 4 stars.
 
Honestly, the tone of the review makes it sound like they're expecting the show to go the same route as the movie, while the show seems to go more "AI grows sentient and starts own society" like the machines in the Matrix

That opens up a lot of doors for future storylines. How does an AI society live and govern itself? How does the world at large react?
 

TheOddOne

Member
- A|V Club Review: HBO gives Westworld’s robot cowboys a prestige upgrade.
That notion powers Crichton’s playing-god narratives and helps them endure to this day. But to endure as a TV series, Westworld will need to bridge the gap between its fascinating ideas and the blank canvases they’re projected upon. Fortunately, it’s not so lost in its thoughts to forget that a robot-cowboy show ought to have the occasional shootout, heist, or daring escape. And while it’s never as plainly satirical as the original film, it still exhibits a sense of humor. Now it just needs to provide compelling reasons to care whether these characters live, die, or wake up to the truth of their reality.

B+
 
- Sepinwall's review
While technically impressive and thematically audacious, with an impressive cast that also includes Ed Harris, Evan Rachel Wood, Jeffrey Wright, James Marsden, Thandie Newton, and Borgen star Sidse Babett Knudsen, among many others, Westworld is a muddle: stunning to look at, but overloaded with incident, characters, and themes the show doesn't quite know what to do with.
 
- Screencrush review
Westworld is an engrossing expansion on Crichton’s original premise, a clever and disquieting exploration of human nature as layered as the brain itself.
- Tim Goodman's review for THR
Westworld as a series is a big idea with more mythology than a handful of episodes truly uncover — which is a positive sign. It's better to be difficult than to be flimsy and disappointingly easy to figure out. The challenges in Westworld make it worth the investment.
 

JeTmAn81

Member
Just watched the original movie. Pretty cool! Yul Brynner is amazing. He was a terminator before they existed. This is a great setting for a TV show to explore.
 

JeTmAn81

Member
He was such a good actor. Just too sad he seems underrated

I was pretty disappointed that he only had a few spoken lines in the movie since his gravelly voice, sadly due to his cigarette habit which eventually gave him lung cancer, is so amazing.
 
- MTV.com review
We see the horror of the robots’ existence through their eyes, but Westworld will need to flesh out its robots beyond victimhood. Nolan teases that he has much to say about pain, identity, consciousness, and the costs of entertainment. Let’s hope he does it soon, because if you take away the swashbuckling action and Tron-like sets, the shoot-’em-up violence feels an awful lot like just another night on TV.
- Winnipeg Free Press review
Beautifully crafted, intricately plotted and flawlessly performed, this reimagining of the like-titled 1973 Michael Crichton feature film is sure to grab and hold viewers in search of a new and challenging show in which they can become immersed.
- Newsday review
Lots of big ideas, lots of far-flung literary/cinematic references, and lots of violence. Yup, “Westworld” is a lot — but also a winner with a potentially exciting payoff.

More articles:
- Mercury News: Will ‘Westworld’ be HBO’s new ‘Game of Thrones’?
- USA Today: HBO's 'Westworld' wraps big ideas in sexy, violent package
- Forward: Why Westworld Is a 21st Century Golem Story
 
I was pretty disappointed that he only had a few spoken lines in the movie since his gravelly voice, sadly due to his cigarette habit which eventually gave him lung cancer, is so amazing.

That lung cancer psa he did was really sad.

Dude had one of the best cowboy looks in magnificent seven
 

JeTmAn81

Member
Has there been any mention of the other worlds being included in the Westworld show? Romanworld and Medievalworld were also present in the film.
 
Top Bottom