S01.E01: The Original

[ottoDbusdriver]

6 hours ago, candall said:

Good one!  Clever. 

(I'm curious whether you had to google the spelling or that's just something your brain keeps handy?)

I did have to look up the spelling on it.  I originally forgot one of the 'n's.  :)

Edited November 13, 2016 by ottoDbusdriver

[pfk505]

I just watched this... So I know what I'll be doing for the next few days.

[ElectricBoogaloo]

I was reluctant to watch this show for a couple of reasons. The first is that I had to read Terminal Man for freshman writing in college and I hated it, so I have a semi-bias against anything by Michael Crichton (which I KNOW is stupid because he has also done things I liked: ER, Jurassic Park, etc). I was also concerned that this show might be too scary for me to watch in the winter. I am a wuss so if I watch anything scary, I prefer to do it during the summer. I'm sure it's all in my head, but scary things seem slightly less scary in the summer.

Anyway, a friend of mine (whose taste in tv shows I love) recommended Westworld so I decided to give it a try. I found the premise interesting, although as the episode went on, I found myself wondering if the park is marketed as a "kill or rape robots!" or if there are any people who come thinking that they'll get a robot version of City Slickers and are horrified by what some of the other tourists are doing.

Hearing Black Hole Sun and Paint It Black were fun additions.

One of the first things I saw James Marsden in was a crappy tv movie called Bella Mafia so I'm always happy to see that he's still working.

I definitely got some of the Dollhouse vibe from this episode. There are definitely some major differences (humans vs robots which brings up consent vs sentience) but the main similarity is gross humans being allowed to live out their fantasies with people/robots who exist for the customers' pleasure.

The nudity didn't bother me at all because it made sense for the robots in storage to be naked. And yay for the nudity not being limited to females.

On 10/8/2016 at 5:41 PM, candall said:

Ha.  My first thought when they showed the town was:  "Hmm, no one has to slog through the horse pee and manure muck in Westworld." 

Heh, it's like the opposite of Deadwood!

Edited December 13, 2016 by ElectricBoogaloo

[blackrose602]

On 10/3/2016 at 0:30 PM, BooBear said:

I thought it had a practical purpose. If they get wiped every night they have to be checked all over, and fixed.   The chaste Dolores can't wake up with pain and markings down there or it will cause problems. I am sure they have to be checked in every fold to ensure their body matches what their story line is before they are put back into service.  Can't have Teddy with a gun shot wound.

Late to the party, because I just binge watched the show. But I totally agree. I took a backstage tour of Disney a few years ago, and when we went behind the scenes of Epcot's American Adventure, there was Benjamin Franklin, naked as a jaybird, undergoing repairs. Now, because this was modern day Disney, he was non-anatomically correct clear plastic and wires. But it amounts to the same thing. Animatronics have to be cleaned and repaired, and they don't have a sense of modesty.

Edited January 8, 2017 by blackrose602
typo

[Jordan27]

Just started watching with free cable this week.  Liked it a lot.

Looks much better than the movie.

I didn't even recognize Evan Rachel Wood.  Where has she been?

[AudienceofOne]

I've been holding back on watching this since it aired because I wanted to find the time to really appreciate it. So I am late to this party but geez this first episode was good. It reminds me of Humans, which is also a fantastic show. I particularly appreciated the small constant ironies like the music in the background, the use of recurring imagery such as the milk and the fly, and the often-hilarious bad dialogue written by the hack writer. Like Dolores' "we've only just begun!" when Teddy dies.

As with a lot of Abrams/Nolan stuff, there were a lot of Easter Eggs that hopefully get found in ways that are satisfying. I've been underwhelmed with their work in the past but this seems much more focussed, probably because they have source material to ground it on. Hopefully someone is reigning them in. We hardly need another Lost or Fringe.

On 04/10/2016 at 11:19 AM, SzmuttyPratfall said:

Anyone else notice pauses in conversation, instant tonal shifts in conversations, and shifting attitudes depending on previous statements from the lady head of Security? I don't think she's human. If she's a robot, who else of the staff is?

Yes, me. I had the weird moment in one of her conversations where I was suddenly convinced she wasn't real. 

[femmefan1946]

And did anyone else find the exec lady and the British dude saying fuck obnoxious and unneeded?
Yes.
Mostly because it did not flow the way swearing should.
See Deadwood.

and the hosts bleed red just as guests would.
The guns don’t work on guests. And hosts bleed black.

 How many of those Hemsworth brothers are out there?  It's an invasion!
Alan Tudyk plays with that in ConMan Season 2, where Ray is up against The Lost Hemsworth for a role.

I am not sure they keep too close a track on the humans in the park because if I was paying 40 K a day I wouldn't want to be too closely watched.
There are a lot of cliffs to fall over and rivers to drown in.
Security is more than just watching what the guests are doing to the hosts.
And of course, staff would want to know where to pick up the damaged hosts.

2000 robots for 1400 guests doesn't give a very good ratio. I imagine the town itself has a higher robot-to-guest ratio, but what are other parts like?
How many cast members are there working at DisneyWorld/Land on a given day? Compared to how many visitors?
The Family Friendly section could have horse riding, cattle herding, adorable piglets— a petting zoo without poop. A stagecoach ride with fabulous views. A barbecue dinner. Floating down a river. Or a raging river. Basically rides and animals. And perhaps some stage shows.

since the robots are effectively tailored to modern tastes, so if you get to the point where you're taking the robot's clothes off to have sex with them, the designers would want you to find them sexually appealing.
And there are a lot of other ‘errors’ which most people would not notice.

The guest wife wore skirts well above her ankle (but Dolores’ dress dragged on the ground, although she was meant to be a working farm girl).
Women riding astride, instead of side saddle.
And wasn’t the sheriff black? Has no one seen Blazing Saddles?

[Auntie Anxiety]

Started rewatching in anticipation of the new season and it was so much better than the first go-round because I can actually follow the story and notice the nuances instead of having to figure out who is who, where have I seen certain actors before (last time I had just finished binge-watching Borgen starring the Danish actress who is Westworld’s head of security), etc. Makes a huge difference.