Westworld (HBO)

[Chosen_Hero]

Westworld is a dark odyssey about the dawn of artificial consciousness and the evolution of sin. Set at the intersection of the near future and the reimagined past, it explores a world in which every human appetite, no matter how noble or depraved can be indulged.

A series inspired by the 1973 film of the same title written by Michael Crichton about a futuristic theme park populated by artificial beings.

So far I like this, the first episode felt very similar to Red Dead Redemption (imo). I haven't seen the original movie but I hear that it was good so I have high hopes for this series.

Also, I can't be the only one who saw that one storage room and thought "holy shit, this is just nightmare fuel", I mean, why would you not get rid of them especially if they are malfunctioning that badly? If I worked there the second I saw that kind of "malfunction" I would quit right then and there and get my ass to the nearest helicopter or airplane as far as it could go.

[Renegade334]

Well, the original movie is essentially Crichton's prototype/embryo of his later Jurassic Park novel, in that:

Spoiler:

1. Wealthy individual or company makes a technological breakthrough and makes money off it through a themed amusement park.
2. Guests attend the park and at first everything's okay. "Oooh and aaah" phase.
3. Scientists lose control of the technology and people start "screaming and dying".
4. Park gets destroyed, survivor(s) understand that man is not supposed to play God with a technology they don't 100% control or understand

In this case, however, the showrunners seem to be gunning for the more philosophical/thought-generating aspects of the story, with additional mysteries and controversies.

[germanturkey]

after the first episode, i wasn't sure what direction the show was going to go in. like ed harris' character could still be a good guy, despite his methods. now, after the second episode, things are a little clearer. motivations and direction are more apparent. seems like anthony hopkins' goal is to make them as close to human as possible, and the next evolution is religion. i wonder how they'll move forward with it.

[quigonkenny]

This show is crack for people who like to speculate. The basic premise of the show makes "wild hair" theories that would be completely impossible in any other story completely plausible.

[zztop]

Originally Posted by quigonkenny

This show is crack for people who like to speculate. The basic premise of the show makes "wild hair" theories that would be completely impossible in any other story completely plausible.

Speculate is right - go to Reddit's Westworld page and you'll be bombarded with tons of speculation/theories threads.

That said, some threads provide some interesting links and trivia either on the making of the show, or the fictitious Westworld website.

For example, this link with 3 files-
http://delosincorporated.com/#corp-resources

File 1 - how dead hosts are collected and repaired by Westworld admin
File 2 - Dolores's storyline template, wth multiple routes (just like a visual novel)
File 3 - a 3D map of the Mesa Hub, Westworld's command and admin centre. Looks like an inverted, underground skyscraper.

People playing around with the website also say they can get a quiz, with a pretty creepy 19th question:
"You were in a car accident and unfortunately there is nothing left in the wreckage. Luckily you planned ahead and had your entire anatomy measured and mapped, and all of your memories logged and saved. An exact replica is constructed from all this information – is this you?"

Thoughts?

[quigonkenny]

I'm loving it. It's Game of Thrones meets Lost meets Blade Runner. I'm a big fan of world-building, and this show clearly has it in spades. I just hope they find the happy medium between spoiling it all too soon and dragging it on too long. Seems good so far.

[zztop]

Originally Posted by quigonkenny

I'm loving it. It's Game of Thrones meets Lost meets Blade Runner. I'm a big fan of world-building, and this show clearly has it in spades. I just hope they find the happy medium between spoiling it all too soon and dragging it on too long. Seems good so far.

I've heard Westworld will only have 10 episodes. The creators are reportedly working on a S2.
Westworld's composer is the same one as Game of Thrones.

[Stark700]

Been watching this recently and I have to admit, it took me a little while to get used to the setting as I'm not used to watch Western-style shows with the gunslinger, cowboy, peacemaker stuff.

However, the world building and sci-fi elements made this show quite interesting and one of my favorite characters is the Man in Black. Always curious about his motivations and goals. In fact, he kinda reminds me a bit of

Spoiler:

Satou from the anime Ajin.

The production quality is fluid while there's quite bit of violence and not much censorship.

[quigonkenny]

Well, that's one theory confirmed...

Spoiler for surprise...!:

"What door?"

[zztop]

Season 2 of Westworld confirmed. May likely return in 2018.

Among other things, the producers have confirmed S2 will explore how the robots are built and powered.

Spoiler for Producer Jonathan Nolan on host mechanics:

Their construction and their power source is something we’re really going to get into during season 2. So we’d like to keep that mysterious. They’re closer to biological than they are to mechanical, but they don’t suffer brain death the same way we do. They’re largely indistinguishable from human beings, but their brains don’t require oxygen — which opens up interesting possibilities...Season 2 we’ll be exploring more the nuts and bolts of what the (hosts) are— as the hosts themselves are trying to understand.

Full interview, may contain spoilers.
http://www.ew.com/article/2016/11/13...ard-clementine

[germanturkey]

i really appreciate how they wrote all these intricacies into the story. its very hard to notice them the first time watching. a rewatch after the season airs is definitely warranted.

you could probably hear the jaws dropping on everyone watching when two little words were spoken.

[Stark700]

Originally Posted by zztop

Season 2 of Westworld confirmed. May likely return in 2018.

Among other things, the producers have confirmed S2 will explore how the robots are built and powered.

Spoiler for Producer Jonathan Nolan on host mechanics:

Their construction and their power source is something we’re really going to get into during season 2. So we’d like to keep that mysterious. They’re closer to biological than they are to mechanical, but they don’t suffer brain death the same way we do. They’re largely indistinguishable from human beings, but their brains don’t require oxygen — which opens up interesting possibilities...Season 2 we’ll be exploring more the nuts and bolts of what the (hosts) are— as the hosts themselves are trying to understand.

Full interview, may contain spoilers.
http://www.ew.com/article/2016/11/13...ard-clementine

Interesting!

Is there also any news regarding how many episodes they have planned?

[zztop]

Originally Posted by Stark700

Interesting!

Is there also any news regarding how many episodes they have planned?

10 episodes for S2, same as S1.
http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-en...-a7418051.html

S2 may air in early 2018 due to the scope of shooting, although they are hoping for late 2017.

[Vallen Chaos Valiant]

Very interesting that the show claims that in-universe, the Technological Singularity was being deliberately held back. The robots are already capable of being smarter than humans, they just are deliberately nerfed.

Also, there is no mention of human augmentation. The technology clearly is there for it, but for whatever reason humans choose instead to repair and replace existing human flesh. So everyone is still flesh and blood and very mortal.

Another point is that the first generation is actually superior robots in performance than current ones, but that the 3D printed robots are cheaper to make and maintain than mechanical androids made by Arnold personally.

Finally, it is interesting to see how the low level human employees are being treated almost as badly as the Hosts. And that a low level human might strive to be more than he was allowed to be, must like how Maeve wanted to break her own limits.

[quigonkenny]

Originally Posted by Vallen Chaos Valiant

Finally, it is interesting to see how the low level human employees are being treated almost as badly as the Hosts. And that a low level human might strive to be more than he was allowed to be, must like how Maeve wanted to break her own limits.

Hyperbole much? I would hope you don't actually think that tough work hours and an apparent difficulty in corporate advancement are "almost as bad as" repeated rape, torture, and murder.

[zztop]

Could Westworld's plot and structure be literally adapted to an anime format for broader Japanese audiences? Or would some plot elements have to be changed to suit the usual late night viewer base for anime series?


PS. Westworld is aired in Japan on the pay-TV Star Channel.
http://www.star-ch.jp/westworld/?refid=pickup

[Vallen Chaos Valiant]

Originally Posted by quigonkenny

Hyperbole much? I would hope you don't actually think that tough work hours and an apparent difficulty in corporate advancement are "almost as bad as" repeated rape, torture, and murder.

You are arguing about the technical differences between a wage slave and a literal slave. Frankly I refuse to distract from my own point, which is that human rights is actually pretty regressive to begin with in Westworld and that is part of the reason the Hosts are treated so much worse.

There was a line in the show about genetic testing from birth, suggesting that gene profiling is being done legally. And that it means people get treated differently and have different job prospects depending on their DNA. Yes, the robots are being mistreated, but that is not in any way to suggest that the humans are much better off.

[quigonkenny]

Westworld Single Timeframe Theory

RIP 2016-2016

Originally Posted by Vallen Chaos Valiant

You are arguing about the technical differences between a wage slave and a literal slave. Frankly I refuse to distract from my own point, which is that human rights is actually pretty regressive to begin with in Westworld and that is part of the reason the Hosts are treated so much worse.

There was a line in the show about genetic testing from birth, suggesting that gene profiling is being done legally. And that it means people get treated differently and have different job prospects depending on their DNA. Yes, the robots are being mistreated, but that is not in any way to suggest that the humans are much better off.

You're not seriously taking that line—or anything Sylvester says while riled up—at face value, are you? If people's futures in the WWverse were so hard-wired, why would Felix even be trying to teach himself new things that might lead to a promotion? Their conversation on that subject fits into a "difficult advancement" narrative (akin to a high school dropout becoming a CEO), not a "non-existent advancement" one (jobs assigned by genetic affinity).

And there aren't just "technical" differences between a wage slave and a literal one. They're completely different. The only thing they have in common is the word "slave".

[sunset]

Offing behaviour nerd girl off pannel was cruel, she was my favorite character in the show after black hat Ed Harris.

Poor Bernard. Poor Clementine.

[Vallen Chaos Valiant]

I just had an idea of how Arnold and Ford might be both similar and yet different, and why they managed to work together.

The show portrayed both as thinking humans and Hosts are equals.

The difference?

Arnold thinks the hosts are meant to be treated like humans. He sees the Hosts as beings capable of being elevated to join humanity.

Ford thinks that humans are meant to be treated like robots. He look down on humans and kill them at will, the same way he deactivates hosts at will. We have multiple incidences of Ford making the point that he doubts humanity and conciousness as a concept even exists, and that he thinks humans are just Hosts that are made of meat. That is why Ford repeatedly claimed that Hosts are actually superior to humans.

Both sees the two groups as equals. But one took the high road, while the other took the low road. Arnold tries to rise the Hosts up. Ford want to drag the humans down.

EDIT:
Further theories; It was said that the maze was not meant for the MIB, which suggest that it was Arnold who placed it for the Hosts to evolve. On the other hand, Ford is interested in watching the effects of MIB on his quest. And that he had a storyline of his own that he wanted MIB to follow. Thus reinforcing my theory that Arnold want the the maze for the Hosts, while Ford want the Maze for the Guests.