Westworld is based on the 1973 film of the same name (written and directed by Michael Crichton - starring Yul Brynner & James Brolin, and to a lesser extent its 1976 sequel, Futureworld. There also was a short lived ‘Beyond Westworld’ TV series in 1980 - yet I digress)…
The premise… (from imdb)
The story takes place in Westworld - a fictional, technologically advanced Wild-West-themed amusement park populated by android “hosts”. The park caters to high-paying guests who may indulge their wildest fantasies within the park without fear of retaliation from the hosts (who are prevented by their programming from harming humans)
The Westworld theme park, run by the Delos corporation, offers its guests the opportunity to experience the Wild West in an expansive tract of open, arid land that includes the frontier town of Sweetwater. The town and land are inhabited by “hosts”: androids with advanced programming. The hosts follow a predefined set of intertwining narratives and have the ability to deviate from these narratives based on interactions they have with guests.
The hosts repeat their narrative anew each day — having had their memories of the previous day erased — until they are re-purposed or stowed away for use in other narratives. For guest safety, hosts are unable to harm any lifeform; this allows guests nearly unlimited freedom to engage without retribution in any activity they choose with the hosts, including sex and simulated murder. Staff situated in vast underground facilities oversee the park, develop new narratives, and perform repairs on hosts as necessary.
Westworld Trailer - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JctIuZfSsa4
Needless to say - things aren’t quite what they seem…
A stunning show - like HBO’s Game Of Thrones it has that ability to look like a feature film, somehow absorbing you into it’s epic world - with an intriguing plot, layered characters, breathtaking cinematography & direction - having a fairly unique style, and sublime choices of music by Ramin Djawadi - of Battlestar Galactica, Person Of Interest and GOT.
A great cast helps too - with the likes of Evan Rachel Wood, Anthony Hopkins, Jeffrey Wright, Thandie Newton, Ed Harris, James Marsden, Jimmi Simpson, Shannon Woodward & Luke Hemsworth - and a large supporting cast, giving some strong performances and bringing that something ‘extra’ to the series.
And beautifully put together by the Jonathan Nolan from the likes of Person Of Interest, Interstellar, The Dark Knight and DK Rises - and Lisa Joy, of Burn Notice and Pushing Up Daisies.
Have you ever questioned the nature of your reality…?
Tis’ a really enjoyable watch, one of those show where you want to watch what happens next week right now, and has random thoughts popping into your head about it during the week (that may just be me, though 😉)
Some useful info sites… (be careful for spoilers)
Official HBO Site : Official Westworld Twitter : IMDB Page : Wikipedia Page : Westworld Wikia : reddit/Westworld
Discover Westworld : Delos Incorporated : Delos Destinations
Westworld - 1973 film - IMDB : Futureworld - 1976 film - IMDB : Beyond Westworld - 1980 tv series - IMDB