Television Review: Westworld (Season 1, 2016)

For many years HBO dominated world’s television production in the same way Metro-Goldwyn-Meyer had dominated Hollywood in its classical period. Cable television company, first one to invest hundreds of millions od dollars in a single TV series, is currently challenged by newer players like AMC and Netflix, and is currently in a desperate search to find replacement for Game of Thrones, its flagship show. Westworld, remake of 1973 classic science fiction film, is supposed to serve that purpose and, apart from huge budget and respectable cast, it had some big names behind the cameras, namely Jonathan Nolan, brother and collaborator of Christopher Nolena, as the showrunner.

The plot, set in relatively foreseeable future, in general terms follows the original. Delos Corporation had produced androids (or "hosts") that nearly indistinguishable from humans and uses them in gigantic amusement parks where the guests can use them in order to indulge their most intimate and depraved fantasies involving violence and sex. However, in time, "hosts" begin to develop something of a free will, start to disobey their masters and in the end start bloody revolt that would result in massacre of human guests.

While the original film was relatively short and simple, Nolan used the medium of a television series to build much more complex picture, with plenty of interesting characters – both humans and "hosts". The most interesting idea was to show events from the perspective of "hosts" and the way the gradually discover the true nature of their world. In it Nolan was helped by diverse but very talented cast. Westworld, just like many other HBO shows, also used the benefit of laxer censorship standards, resulting in much more explicit violence, sex and nudity, although some of those scenes appear to be too exploitative and gratuitous. The main problem is slow tempo in first five episodes, while the ending combines bloodbath, melodrama and obligatory cliffhanger in less than satisfactory manner.

Starring: Evan Rachel Wood, Anthony Hopkins, Jeffrey Wright, Ed Harris,Thandie Newton, Jimmi Simpson
Created by: Jonathan Lewis & Lisa Joy
Number of episodes: 10

Pro: high production values, very good cast, complex and innovative structure
Contra: bad season ending, slow tempo in first episodes, gratuitous content

RATING: 7/10