Looks promising.
Ed Harris in Yul Brynner's role.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OM8HNuRLIBI (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OM8HNuRLIBI)
Love the fly on the woman's eyeball illustrating the indifference of the cyborg. Chillingly image considering we know that Robot 'Amok time' is coming. As for Ed Harris you must have good eyes since I didn't see him once!
Quote from: IAMTHESYSTEM on 10 August, 2015, 11:12:29 AM
As for Ed Harris you must have good eyes since I didn't see him once!
But can you hear him?
Looking forward to this. Just bought Westworld and Futureworld on blu ray as it's been awhile since I've watched them and then they announce this!
I recall catching glimpses of one those films while walking past a local drive-in one night with some other people. Natureally I was too young to be doing this alone and most probably the second film. Because the first was only made in 1973, I was barely abo to walk back then, and second in 1976, which could mean that I saw the part of the first on a double bill.
Most likely!
I had memories of a darken rooms with rows of monitors, but that could have been Logan's Run.
Here the second film in full (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QD3aaQTnDBo).
This really looks promising.....
West-World-Teaser (http://www.hbo.com/westworld/about/video/westworld-tease)
I wonder if they still get the hands wrong in this one.
Late sharing this, but I'm seriously excited about this show, particularly as I'm a big fan of the movie.
I'm actually more excited by this than the majority of soon to be released films!
Premiere in the U.S on the 2nd of october apparently.
Full trailer here:
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=eX3u0IlBBO4&ebc=ANyPxKraA9X4wYOJnnHu94lfqXlsxC5QIAAeHA_S3TE4-XYBoKYi3R6riKFlOa6eTjPaRHp3fxVJy9ooP4m-Fo2S_I5iujBfbg
Can't wait for this. Loved the film. Also I believe there was a parody of the film in one of the Sinister Dexter strips. Although my old brain might just be imaging things there. Maybe someone can confirm or deny.
"Way out West", Prog 1221. Not quite a parody, the duo have to capture a syn-human "actor" in a virtual reality style wild west show which is going to be converted into a gladiatorial show.
I'm stoked for this. I think it could really have legs as a TV show, especially if they develop the robots into characters with personalities. Kind of like Ex Machina, but with cowboys.
Cowboys, like aliens, zombies and explosions, are scientifically proven* to improve anything.
* Science by The Enigmatic Dr X. Not a real doctor. No science was involved in this science.
There's the other two world to explore too-Roman World and Medieval World, although that might necessitate a change in title!!!!!
Plenty of potential though and a brilliant cast they've managed to assemble.
Trailer 2:
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=IuS5huqOND4&ebc=ANyPxKr4KNiMa8KbwS_W_UYe0UHclHhTX2o2vIcwH5JMs45Ht4DXnFLtXKKM8pDcqEHEImwhoGFKHZ-kVhUQkUWnf-Lg_ljGpw
Please be good, please be good!!!!
Very much looking forward to this. The original film is one of my favourites, and I remember watching Futureworld in the cinema when it came out (yes, that old) and thinking even then that it looked like a crappy TV movie. No hint of other 'worlds' from the trailer vut then I've only just watched it without sound so I could be wrong.
More trailer goodness!
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=B6Z__wbpDa4
More footage and behind the scenes footage and interviews.
Hopkins' is nailing that dialogue!
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=gAUoVqZ7BLw
Mega Fan of the film 'Westworld' and all the Western Genre. This looks even better than i hoped it would be. Cant wait to watch this! :)
Yeah have to say this all looks very exciting. Not that I'll get around to watching it this side of 2020 but certainly one to keep an eye out for. Looking forward to hearing what folk say.
Really hope this is as good as it looks. I've been waiting for this for ages..
Love the fact it's using the robots as the good guys, attaining AI and breaking free of their programming. The "man in black" is a human who comes every year.
It asks you to imagine a sentient saloon girl robot, who is effectively raped every day.... intriguing stuff.
What Ed Harris isnt playing the Yul Brynner Gunslinger robot from the original?
Quote from: Michael Knight on 21 September, 2016, 04:58:57 PM
What Ed Harris isnt playing the Yul Brynner Gunslinger robot from the original?
[spoiler]In a twist, he's playing one of the guests![/spoiler]
I'm dubious about this. I'm not a big fan of JJ's TV output (Lost, Alcatraz etc).
Yul Brynner was great in the original movie. Part of what made it work was that he looked and dressed just like he did in The Magnificent Seven. For me he was a better robot baddie than The Terminator.
Watch the movie then stick on Logan's Run and Capricorn One for a great 1970's sci-fi extravaganza.
Just picked up Westworld and Futureworld in the HMV blu ray offer and been doing a double feature. The Westworld disc has the pilot of the Beyond Westworld TV series that I never knew existed (possibly because it only ran for 5 episodes and only 3 of them were ever aired by all accounts). There's something special about these 70's Sci Fi flicks.
On the 70's Sci Fi extravaganza I'd also add the original Andromeda Strain. No way would they make a movie like that today where the lead cast were old middle aged / older characters.
Im seriously thinking of getting Blue ray just for this. Ive always wanted to see that pilot episode. Westworld is one of my all time films as i've undoubtedly said on here more than once lol. Such great memories of being introduced to it by my late Dad. Really hope TV series does concept justice!
Well this was a bit good. I've been looking forward to this for seemingly ages so was glad it lived up to (my) hype. Typical HBO high production values/boob count :-[
Really looking forward to seeing how this builds up to them running amok.
Watched the pilot the other night. Overall reaction was that it was a promising, though somewhat rocky, start. Particularly enjoyed the [spoiler]early clever twist on the premise with James Marsden and Ed Harris' characters.[/spoiler]
My main issue was some rather heavyhanded plotting/dialogue - they all but reach out of the screen and slap the audience around the face with a 'there's more going on than there seems' line. Other than that, the casting and performances are all over the map. Hopkins, Harris et al are unsurprisingly great, but man oh man, the Scandi boss woman and the British sleazy exec guy are just painfully bad in their roles.
The Scandanavian woman delivers every line completely flat, like she's just reading the dialogue phonetically off cue cards, while the British guy gives a terribly awkward, pantomimic sub-Eastenders level performance. Checking his IMDB, it seems he's appeared in very little of note to date. How on Earth did he end up in such a high profile role/series?
While the original score stuff is terrific, I have doubts about the rather incongruous use of orchestrated pop-rock songs. Feels like something that will get tiresome very quickly - hope they drop it going forward.
Just watched the first ep too, I dig it! Plenty of intrigue and atmosphere, fun stuff so far.
I thought the first episode was dull and I probably won't watch anymore. Seemed to be full of its own self-importance.
As radiator has already remarked I also didn't like the use of the orchestrated 'pop song' during an action scene. I spent most of the scene thinking that sounds just like a Rolling Stones tune (and trying to think which one) before realising it was a Rolling Stones tune that is much more associated with the Vietnam era (old Tour of Duty fans will know the song).
The one thing that everyone remembers from the movie is Yul Brynner. I did not see anything even half as memorable in this episode.
I thought it was great. There was some brilliant acting from the girl's father, I liked the old model from decades ago who looked almost human but not quite, and the violence was suitably gruesome. Thandie Newton's cool as well, although she's only had a small part so far.
The exit wound [spoiler]that appeared in that guy's face during the robbery[/spoiler] made me wonder how safe it is to be a guest there, given the risk that a real bullet might emerge from a host and hit a real person.
Yet to catch this as as sadly don't have SKY Atlantic. My loathing of Rupert Murdoch is partly the reason for this. I have however heard only great things about this. :)
I'm really enjoying this so far. A few twists and lots of questions i want to see answered..more please!
Saw the second ep last night - really enjoyed it. I like the actor they've chosen as the (apparent) protagonist. Never seen him in anything before, but he has an interesting look. Hopkins on fine form, and the [spoiler]mystery being teased with the Man in Black[/spoiler] goes deeper. (shall we start a spoiler/speculation thread?).
There's also a smart/funny recurring motif that anyone who's ever played an RPG or MMO will no doubt appreciate.
While I have doubts as to how there will be enough scope and story to sustain it beyond the first season, I'm fully on board for now. Great stuff. Lovely to have a premium, expansive genre epic like this to occupy me for the GoT off-season.
Quote from: radiator on 09 October, 2016, 11:52:53 PMWhile I have doubts as to how there will be enough scope and story to sustain it beyond the first season
The way they've set it up suggests that given enough time and money they can go anywhere with it. I've never seen anything on TV with such an ambitious yet open-ended premise. There's as much scope as they can handle.
I agree that the concept could have limitless potential if they were focusing primarily on the guests and smaller stories, but they're clearly going in heavy with the wider narrative/mythology stuff. My main point is how will the story be able to sustain itself once can they do once the robots inevitably start going nutso?
Quote from: radiator on 10 October, 2016, 06:01:23 PM
I agree that the concept could have limitless potential if they were focusing primarily on the guests and smaller stories, but they're clearly going in heavy with the wider narrative/mythology stuff. My main point is how will the story be able to sustain itself once can they do once the robots inevitably start going nutso?
Worst case scenario (some kind of robo-pocalypse), we've got a new Walking Dead kind of status quo on our hands. How could they ever get years and years out of that? :D
Really though, HBO doesn't seem too worried about keeping a show on for many years. I get the feeling the story will just go on for as many years as naturally feels needed. Assuming it's a hit.
Quote from: radiator on 10 October, 2016, 06:01:23 PM
I agree that the concept could have limitless potential if they were focusing primarily on the guests and smaller stories, but they're clearly going in heavy with the wider narrative/mythology stuff. My main point is how will the story be able to sustain itself once can they do once the robots inevitably start going nutso?
I'm more inclined to think they can go quite far with the broader story - possibly stories - and they've embedded plenty of big ideas to suggest that robots losing-their-shit may just be the starting point of a lot more. One of the central themes at play is the idea of
narratives - the buzzword of the show - as the bedrock of people, community, civilisation and the power of those who control them. The last shot of Ep. 2 is this idea hung up
southern style like a big neon sign. That can develop in many ways.
Quote from: radiator on 04 October, 2016, 09:04:00 PM
The Scandanavian woman delivers every line completely flat, like she's just reading the dialogue phonetically off cue cards
I didn't pick up on that.
Sidse Babett Knudsen is a fine actress, and I assumed she was offered the role due to the fact she could portray and authority figure with icy detachment quite convincingly.
First episode didn't blow me away either, but it was good enough to bring me back this evening for a 2nd helping.
being probably the only person in the world who hasn't seen west world ,I did see this and enjoyed it though did get tricked into thinking the guy on the train was a guest and ed was a robot who'd over ridden his bullet damage , didn't get the reference to the flies on eyeballs but that made more sense at the end in a nice portent of things to come.
Ed Harris would play an INCREDIBLE older Dredd.
Just sayin'.
Four episodes in and the show continues to be excellent.
I wish we could make stuff as good as this.
Caught up with Ep 5 last night.
It's compelling viewing, but there's just something stopping me from enjoying it wholeheartedly.
That nagging sense that I've somehow missed a key plot point just won't go away.
Anyone else getting a bit fed up with this show?
It started strong, and still occasionally has some brilliant touches, but just seems to be falling into the Lost trap of introducing new mysteries instead of adequately resolving the ones it introduced in the previous episode. I mean, how many plot threads are we supposed to be following now? It smacks of a lack of both focus and confidence, and it's compounded by the fact that so many of the storylines are, imo, vaguely defined and underdeveloped. Eg, why should I care when a twist reveals that a character has a secret agenda when I don't really have a handle on what their deal was in the first place?
I'm also simply not convinced anything really makes a great deal of sense and/or contradicts itself, from the 'rules' of how the park operates, to the motivations and behaviours of characters like Ford.
People are throwing out wild 'fan theories' left and right, and it feels (much like that other Bad Robot production The Force Awakens) that people are desperately trying to patch over gaping holes in what is (in my opinion) simply not a very well written or constructed story. This also happens with Game of Thrones, but the difference for me is that both GoT the TV show and the ASoIaF novels are so richly textured and so rigorously plotted that there is substance to support such speculation and debate.
To be honest, as with TFA, whenever a plot revolves around a nebulous 'map' or 'maze', I start to worry - it screams lazy 'mystery box' storytelling. Ditto plots where everything seems to revolve around the machinations of a vague but ominous corporation - another Abrams/Bad Robot staple - in this case 'Delos'(?). They mention the name of this company like it's important or has weight, but as someone passively watching the show, exactly why should I care?
The very fact that a leading fan theory contends that [spoiler]what we're seeing is playing out in two separate timelines separated by 30 years[/spoiler] - and that nothing we've seen can directly contradict this - to me is a testament to what a mess the structure of the show is thus far. And even if that turns out to be correct, I fail to see the point in any case. It's just tricking the audience for its own sake.
Quote from: radiator on 07 November, 2016, 06:31:02 PM
Anyone else getting a bit fed up with this show?
No I'm fucking loving this and don't like to judge a mystery half way through. If it does pull a Lost then I'll fucking hate it so time will tell. Saying that there was a bit of a stupid move on last nights episode, ep6 spoiler...[spoiler]when he had the chance why didn't he reduce intelligence instead of improving? I'd have sent her back to stone age.[/spoiler]
Regards that fan theory I think the main thinking behind that is [spoiler]there are 2 different versions of the WW sign[/spoiler].
I get that the residents have to be robots rather than actors in case the guests want to have sex with them, but why are the horses robots?
Quote from: Professor Bear on 08 November, 2016, 04:38:59 PM
I get that the residents have to be robots rather than actors in case the guests want to have sex with them, but why are the horses robots?
In case the guests want to have sex with them.
Quote from: JOE SOAP on 08 November, 2016, 04:40:05 PM
Quote from: Professor Bear on 08 November, 2016, 04:38:59 PM
I get that the residents have to be robots rather than actors in case the guests want to have sex with them, but why are the horses robots?
In case the guests want to have sex with them.
Also, probably cheaper to patch-up a robot each time, rather than buy a new one, they don't need feeding and they can be computer controlled, unlike a real one!
QuoteNo I'm fucking loving this and don't like to judge a mystery half way through. If it does pull a Lost then I'll fucking hate it so time will tell.
I don't have any confidence whatsoever that it is even possible to resolve something as opaque as the 'maze' mystery with anything remotely satisfying. It's the 'hatch' from Lost all over again - mystery box plotting at its worst.
I can't help but feel that the people making this show are trying to emulate the qualities they (mistakenly) think makes Game of Thrones so compelling - violence and boobs in abundance, a cast of dozens with no central lead character, multiple disparate plot threads - when I think what Westworld desperately needs is more focus. A good editor would, for example, perhaps combine the characters of Dolores and Maeve, and maybe say Bernard and Elsie too - so we end up with a reduced cast of more defined characters rather than dozens that we don't really have a handle on.
Key to the success of Thrones was that it, right out of the gate, presented us with rich, well-rounded characters like Tyrion and Ned who immediately resonated with audiences. I don't know who we're expected to like or root for in WW? Everyone is very loosely sketched and/or dour. The only character that seems to be actually having any fun is the one-note scumbag brother in law guy.
I wish I was enjoying it more, but as they pile on mystery after mystery (and continue to avoid defining the 'rules' of how the world they present operate) I just find myself increasingly confused with it all, and so I'm starting to care less and less because I can't engage with any of it.
I'm still enjoying this but pray it doesn't do a Lost and ask loads of questions and give little in the way of answers.
Quote from: JOE SOAP on 08 November, 2016, 04:40:05 PM
Quote from: Professor Bear on 08 November, 2016, 04:38:59 PM
I get that the residents have to be robots rather than actors in case the guests want to have sex with them, but why are the horses robots?
In case the guests want to have sex with them.
Heh.
That thought never even crossed my mind for a moment. You people are sick.
I'm enjoying this - like the three plot threads which will doubtlessly intertwine as we near the end. I do hope it has a definitive conclusion as a second series would no doubt mean that things are left unresolved and stretched out until everyone gives up on it.
Fair point about the horses but why are the technicians human? It also seems unlikely they would be firing real bullets due to the chance of accidents and the damage to the hardware.
[spoiler]
I liked last night's episode where the camera casually passed by what looked awfully like a Yul Brynner robot in the basement.[/spoiler]
I've already given up on this, just didn't have the wow factor for me
I think it's getting better each week.
Plenty happened in last night's episode, really enjoyed it.
Quote from: Buttonman on 09 November, 2016, 12:37:58 AM
Fair point about the horses but why are the technicians human?
My theory is that the technicans are
not human, only Hopkins, and that the Maze is what makes them sentient enough to act as a technican; if they get through, they get a job. That's how Hopkins knows so much about the personal lives of his staff.
Quote from: Professor Bear on 08 November, 2016, 04:38:59 PM
I get that the residents have to be robots rather than actors in case the guests want to have sex with them, but why are the horses robots?
Because the park is a completely controlled environment where nothing can be left to chance and allowed to harm a guest. Real horses can throw a rider, panic and trample someone etc.
Quote from: GordonR on 09 November, 2016, 09:00:04 PM
Quote from: Professor Bear on 08 November, 2016, 04:38:59 PM
I get that the residents have to be robots rather than actors in case the guests want to have sex with them, but why are the horses robots?
Because the park is a completely controlled environment where nothing can be left to chance and allowed to harm a guest. Real horses can throw a rider, panic and trample someone etc.
With real horses you'd also need an extensive full-time team of handlers, grooms, vets - why bother when you've already got the necessary technicians that are all you need to look after robot horses?
You can tell the showrunners were very pleased with themselves about [spoiler]the twist in the latest episode, but frankly it just made me roll my eyes at its obviousness and lameness.
Twists only work in fiction when character motivations and the context, rules and logic of the setting of the fiction have been firmly established, which Westworld has - for me - singularly failed to do.[/spoiler]
Think I'm done. A shame.
Haven't seen this yet, but I was very amused to be heartily encouraged to do so by a very quiet almost-nunnish colleague, who concluded her ringing endorsement with "...and if you like boobs, there's loads of them!".
Ah HBO, making Sister Wendys of us all.
Desperately trying to avoid spoilers until I catch up with the latest episode tonight, but just read that a 2nd season has been green-lit.
Lets hope the Cylons have an actual plan this time.
An enjoyable episode this week.
As Radiator mentions, the twist regarding [spoiler]Bernard[/spoiler] was well flagged, but I thought it was very nicely executed.
The final scene was brilliant- I knew that [spoiler]Cullen was dead[/spoiler] as soon as she stepped into that basement.
[spoiler]Murdered by her erstwhile lover while her replacement copy was 3D printed in the background[/spoiler]- a nice touch.
Actually reminiscent to the denouement of a typical 'Saw' film.
Westworld is the best thing on TV by a country mile. Best cast, best writing.
Great that Hopkins is getting more to do now, but what tops it all for me is Thandie Newton, whom I've loved for decades, is finally finally in a leading role worthy of her immense talent.
I think the production is so strong in most respects, but I think it's fundamentally weak in the one that really counts; plot and writing.
Most of the actors are great, but the material they have to work with is very thin. A series like this lives or dies on it's cast of characters, and I simply don't care about any of them.
They've only made a shred of effort to flesh out a single character with any kind of developed backstory, [spoiler]and all of that amounted to was an obvious red herring[/spoiler]. It's not good enough. Again, going back to the Game of Thrones comparison - it had at least half a dozen genuine breakout, fan-favourite characters, even by the end of season 1. We're at, what, episode 7 of Westworld now, with no compelling or remotely memorable characters in sight.
Someone needs to tell the writers that a mystery ≠ a story.
After episode 2 the the story got lost in its own impossible maze of mid-season doldrums and mediocre mysteries but the end of season closer is worthwhile; for it does fulfill its promise of 'bigger pictures' intimated in those first few episodes.
Should've been a mini-series.
On the whole I enjoyed this series although at times it felt a bit slow going. Season 2 is slated to appear sometime in 2018 so it will be interesting to see where they go with this next..
I've absolutely loved it. There are some issues with pacing and I think a few character were wasted, but overall I found it to be riveting. The use of music was superb and I thought the cast were first rate. Particularly James Marsden.
I loved it, too. Probably the only tv show that actually makes use of a nonlinear narrative structure rather than just making half the episode a flashback or cold-opening during the third act pagga.
Also some good use of the joyless aesthetic beloved of most modern sci-fi. I'm currently watching my way through Poundshop Batman Person Of Interest, and it's good to see themes of artificial intelligence and predeterminism explored well for a change, though as with POI, I may feel differently by the fourth season when Amy Acker turns up in every fucking episode and ruins everything.
That was quite brilliant. The basic structure of iteration/reiteration plus visibly increasing wobble was crushingly consistent with the show's basic premise, but delivered an ever-increasing sense of impending catastrophe.
At the point where it could have become tiresome and formulaic, they start to properly mess up the status quo, and then they drop a couple of proper 'Whoa, fuck!' moments that achieve the plot twist gold standard of being entirely logical in the context of the story.
I'm thoroughly cheered by seeing this so soon after Arrival... big, smart SF with proper ideas right in the middle. More, please.
This whole series was brilliant. Best new series since GoT started.
It could have ended this week and been just one series long and I'd have been happy. I hope the second series is as good.
Damn, just caught up with this now. Binged the entire series on NOW TV.
It was a deeply disturbing mind-fuck of a series. By which I mean it was bloody brilliant!!
It was so good I even dreamed about it. That rarely happens!
I saw a TV ad for the second season recently that implies that season 2 will pick up where season 1 finishes- very much looking forward to the return.