Westworld : HBO Series

[alton]

Anybody have any thoughts on this project? I will have to revisit the original movie which will hopefully pop up on SciFi or Netflix because I don't remember it. I just hope they find the Yul Brynner robot in a closet somewhere. I believe he wore black like his Chris character in Magnificent 7. A gunslingers Stepford Housewives of sorts but I don't remember which came first.

[AndrewCrossett]

Looks promising. Might give me some reason to hold on to HBO in the long hiatus of Game of Thrones.

[MasterOfMagnetism]

When I first heard about this series I wasn't interested, but after watching the trailer I'm now planning on watching the first episode to see if I like it.

[Arfguy]

The trailer looks pretty intriguing. I wasn't interested before, but I'm curious to see how this one will turn out.

[simbob4000]

Could be good. The trailer makes the show look a lot different than I was thinking it would be. Figured it would be like and expanded version of the movie where we're hanging out with the group in the park a lot more, but this seems to be following one of the robots. Guess they couldn't really just ape the movie now, too many people would probably just think they were ripping off Jurassic Park. Then again that's just watch the trailer could be made to look like too.

This seems like something that should have been in the trailer but isn't


Wonder if they'll be pulling from other things Michael Crichton directed as well?

[harashkupo]

I'm always down for some sci-fi. Add to that the great cast and a cool trailer really has me excited for the premier.

[AndrewCrossett]

Those mirror shades remind me that it's time for a revival of the cyberpunk genre. I kind of hope there's going to be a lot of that in this show.

[codystarbuck]

Anybody have any thoughts on this project? I will have to revisit the original movie which will hopefully pop up on SciFi or Netflix because I don't remember it. I just hope they find the Yul Brynner robot in a closet somewhere. I believe he wore black like his Chris character in Magnificent 7. A gunslingers Stepford Housewives of sorts but I don't remember which came first.

Westworld was 1973, The Stepford Wives was 1975.

The original features Yul Brynner in his costume, from the Magnificent Seven. There was actually an entire resort, Delos, with themed worlds: Westworld, medieval World, Roman World, and Future World. Glitches begin to arise in the robots, leading to the gunslinger's killing rampage. The sequel, Future World (1976), has Peter Fonda, as a journalist, along with Blythe Danner (as another) who are part of a group that goes to Delos, after it reopens. There is a hidden conspiracy there. Nowhere near as good as the original. There was also a very short-lived tv series, Beyond Westworld (1980).

Westworld was basically Michael Crichton's beta test for Jurassic park, about 20 years before. Quite frankly, it's the more believable scenario. In an IMDB review, I described it as Disneyland, if the Hall of Presidents ran amok.

Westworld is also one of several sci-fi tv series and movies ripped off by James Cameron, with the Terminator (others being The Outer Limits "The Soldier" and "Demon With a Glass Hand" and Colossus, the Forbin Project). The Terminator POV is blatantly swiped from the Gunslinger, in Westworld, as is the relentless, slow pursuit of prey.

[simbob4000]

Those mirror shades remind me that it's time for a revival of the cyberpunk genre. I kind of hope there's going to be a lot of that in this show.

There is a Blade Runner 2 coming, which I had forgotten about again until looking at this post again

Westworld was 1973, The Stepford Wives was 1975.

The original features Yul Brynner in his costume, from the Magnificent Seven. There was actually an entire resort, Delos, with themed worlds: Westworld, medieval World, Roman World, and Future World. Glitches begin to arise in the robots, leading to the gunslinger's killing rampage. The sequel, Future World (1976), has Peter Fonda, as a journalist, along with Blythe Danner (as another) who are part of a group that goes to Delos, after it reopens. There is a hidden conspiracy there. Nowhere near as good as the original. There was also a very short-lived tv series, Beyond Westworld (1980).

Westworld was basically Michael Crichton's beta test for Jurassic park, about 20 years before. Quite frankly, it's the more believable scenario. In an IMDB review, I described it as Disneyland, if the Hall of Presidents ran amok.

Westworld is also one of several sci-fi tv series and movies ripped off by James Cameron, with the Terminator (others being The Outer Limits "The Soldier" and "Demon With a Glass Hand" and Colossus, the Forbin Project). The Terminator POV is blatantly swiped from the Gunslinger, in Westworld, as is the relentless, slow pursuit of prey.

Terminator has so little to do with those Outer Limits episodes that's it's amazing he lost that lawsuit. Like, the most similar one is The Soldier, but The Soldier is about a future man being studied in a room and holding up with a family as this doctor tries working out his weird future language. Blade Runner with its languages going together has about as much in common with The Soldier as The Terminator does. Not saying he wasn't inspired by the show, but it basically ends at future soldier comes from the past.

The Terminators POV stuff isn't really like Westworld either. In Terminator it's all computer layouts, in Westworld it's just pixelated, they're only really similar in that they're POV shoots that also have a visual way of telling you it's from the point of view of a robot. The slow slasher villain thing has been around since at least The Night of the Hunter.

[AndrewCrossett]

There is a Blade Runner 2 coming, which I had forgotten about again until looking at this post again.

With Harrison Ford back as Deckard. Guess he wasn't a replicant.

[alton]

With Harrison Ford back as Deckard. Guess he wasn't a replicant.

And then again this is based on the works of P.K.Dick so maybe he is in a Total Recall way. Never thought of that did you? Bwa ha ha!

[simbob4000]

With Harrison Ford back as Deckard. Guess he wasn't a replicant.

Good, that idea was always dumb. It would be funny if Ford did this movie just so that was a thing.

[AndrewCrossett]

Good, that idea was always dumb. It would be funny if Ford did this movie just so that was a thing.

I agree. I've always thought the Deckard = Replicant thing was an ass-pull that made no sense, and was dreamed up by Ridley Scott just so he could add another big TWISTAROO to a story that didn't need anything of the sort.

If Deckard was a Nexus 7 model, it would explain how he could live so long... but he still wouldn't visibly age, as Harrison Ford obviously has done.

[AndrewCrossett]

Well, now. This is looking pretty damn good so far.

[codystarbuck]

I agree. I've always thought the Deckard = Replicant thing was an ass-pull that made no sense, and was dreamed up by Ridley Scott just so he could add another big TWISTAROO to a story that didn't need anything of the sort.

If Deckard was a Nexus 7 model, it would explain how he could live so long... but he still wouldn't visibly age, as Harrison Ford obviously has done.

Well, no, not exactly. In the original novel, Deckard encounters an unknown police station, where he faces the possibility that he might be an android. Instead, he is able to show a detective there that it is the android and that the entire police station is made up of androids. So, it had some basis in the source material and there were deliberate cues to establish that possibility in the film. i liked it better when it was left to your own interpretation, rather than Scott saying yes; and you are nuts to think otherwise. Better to be like Patrick McGoohan, when asked if Number 6 escaped at the end of the series (The Prisoner) and say that is for the viewer to decide.