WESTWORLD: The HBO Series

As a fan of good science fiction, I was excited when I heard that HBO was producing a series based on the 1973 film, Westworld. As time went on and teasers and trailers for the new series were released, I grew more interested. With actors like Anthony Hopkins and Ed Harris on board, how could they go wrong?

For those of you who might not be familiar with the new series, here are two brief synopses lifted directly from the Westworld page on the HBO website and from Wikipedia:

HBO: "The one-hour drama series 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."

Wikipedia: :The program takes place in fictional Westworld, a technologically advanced, Western-themed amusement park populated colmpletely by synthetic androids dubbed "hosts." Westworld caters to high-paying visitors dubbed "newcomers" (also known as "guests", who can do whatever they wish withing the park, without fear of retaliation from the hosts."

The series began airing on Sunday night, October 2nd. As I write this, four episodes have aired. Since the premiere I have seen several posts on Facebook from some of my friends who are watching it. Some of my friends like it and some do not. I have been watching as well, and I have to say that I like it very much.

The most common complaints that I read from those who do not like it are that it is too slow and that nothing much is happening. After three episodes had aired I read one post in which a friend stated that he was on the verge of giving up on the show.


Personally, I think the relatively slow pace is one of the show's strengths. After all, as the synopsis states, we're talking about the dawn of artificial consciousness here. Androids, artificial constructs that look human and are programmed like computers to mimic human behavior, begin to develop consciousnesses of their own. To be as realistic as possible, that should absolutely be a slow process.


With each successive episode, we have seen these emerging consciousnesses grow just a little bit more. As a fan of the show, I find watching this process occur as slowly as it is to be fascinating. I'm glad that it didn't occur "overnight" in the first episode or two. As the show's main theme, I am of the opinion that it should take most if not all of the entire first season.

And there's plenty of intrigue going on in the park and behind the scenes as well to add to the show's overall drama. The Man in Black (Ed Harris) is a guest who has been visiting the park for 30+ years. He believes very adamantly that there is more to the park than meets the eye. He is very determined to discover what that "more" is and appears willing to do anything, whatever it takes to do so. Doctor Ford (Anthony Hopkins), one of the founders of the park, has a secret. By episode #4 it has become clear that he is up to something, and that has added a whole new level of drama to the story.


If you're an action fan who loves car chases and explosions and you don't really care whether or not a movie of series actually has a well thought out plot or well developed characters, then HBO's Westworld is probably not for you. However, if you like characters who grow and change and a plot that is well thought out and carefully developed, then I recommend that you give this series a chance.