Anyone got any ideas how this can get creative after one season...all I am seeing so far is things we have seen before from the likes of Caprica/BSG/Ex Machina/AI/I Robot etc...I really struggle to see how this can have any longevity without quickly becoming repetitive and boring.

Slightly disappointed there doesn't seem to be a Roman or medieval world as in the original film.

Thematically, creativity doesn't come into the equation. The themes of questioning our existence and all the usual stuff that goes along with it are themes/questions humanity has been asking for centuries and will continue to ask for as long as we exist. Writers aren't going to come up some mind-bending revelation about the meaning of existence (other than we are here, make the most of it whilst it lasts). All writers can do is pose the same questions that have been asked before. The creativity comes from the scenarios, styles, etc. If you're asking the question where it can go thematically without getting boring, then by all accounts it already did, before it even started, as did the examples you gave above, because it had already been done many times before them also.

I didn't like it.

I'm all for not giving too much away to leave the audience wanting more but, there's a limit, and this seems to go way past that.

I'd like have SOME idea of what's going on and how it works, not just blindly watch it and going "Oh right so they can do that can they? Cool. Oh that doesn't count in that circumstance does it? Right. Oh so only that person can do that? Uh huh.."

No, I'd like to know a bit more of how and why and I don't see why I have to wait episodes in to find that out.

A few of my main queries were:

If the day re-sets, what time does it re-set? We're seeing Dolores wake up every morning in the same bed wearing the same nightie. Say it's 8am she wakes up every day -- what if a guest like Ed Harris was raping her until say 7:55am? Does she just..transport to her bed ready to wake up as per every morning for 8am? Likewise with all the dead bodies in the street if there's been a shoot out earlier that night -- how and when do they go back to their "starting position" ready for the next day?

The guests -- how long can they stay in that world? Won't they get bored it every day is the same? Or do they pay for a 7 x day stay and therefore 7 x different stories? Are they given money to pay their way? Or at the hosts "programmed" to know not to ask for money from the guests?

Why was the sheriff interviewed all bloodied and in costume...but was then continued interviewed naked?

How do the office people enter and exit the world? Why were they in CSI outfits when looking through Dolores' dad's house? Why is that necessary when they're so confident that these hosts are programmed not to question anything? I know he started to question stuff, sat on the porch, which is why they were there looking for more evidence, but decking out in CSI outfits seemed a bit extreme when they're still not 100% he's turned sentient and asking the right questions.

My husband is keen for us to watch the next episode so I guess we will, but if it were up to me I honestly don't think I'd bother! Seems a bit...sci-fi poncey to me

From some articles I have read it seems there is a possibility in future seasons. If the ratings stay high I think that is very likely. However, they might choose different worlds. I can't see 5 seasons or more in Westworld. It would seem likely that a company would want to offer their guests as much choice as possible. What I am interested in is what is the real world like outside the park.

What's the deal with Ed Harris then?

Also what happens when a host shoots a host, does an actual bullet come out, as when they shoot a human what happens, does the bullet fire?

I don think youre cut out to watch a series,best you run along.

It does sound like she is perhaps more suited to reading Instruction Manuals as a means of entertainment rather than drama TV, films or books.

Ew. Arrogant know-it-alls. I should have known not to bother posting a different opinion in a Cult TV show thread.

Then again, maybe it's just because you can't come up with an answer to any of my points, so instead you just take the "Insult the poster because she's not a fan-boy like us" road.

Good one(!)

Boo hoo. First you are asking irrelevant un-important questions ,second they are likely impossible to answer after one episode. Like asking where does Superman's clothes go to when he changes? Why does no one say "Hey you look like clark kent without glasses"..
Do me a favour dont ever start watching LOST

Some questions do need answering though.
Like, what happens to the bullet when a host fires a gun at a human?

I'll have a go.

The day doesn't reset. It's the 'guest' cycle that marks the reset point. I think the guest periods cover around two weeks (that's the longest anyone has mentioned).
The only reason an automaton's day would reset - I'm assuming - is if they didn't initiate any interaction with a guest to begin their particular 'story loop', so they repeat their routine to always present that opportunity, so long as theirs doesn't rely on intersecting anothers loop.
With Dolores for example, failing to initiate a guest interaction (dropping her can) simply prompts her 'loop' to progress including Teddy instead of a guest. So she would only 'reset' after an entire guest period is completed, rather than daily. If a guest picks up her can, she is set on a romance story arc with them - if not, her and Teddy's story begins, to provide 'different' opportunities for guests.


See next episode (and/or original movie)


As above. The longest stay mentioned so far is two weeks. The day does not repeat, except perhaps for a handful of characters who don't get an early guest interaction and whose story loops don't intersect with another's. Nobody would notice them repeating until they got their story opening..
The stories the guests become embroiled in are their choice - they have more to choose from than they can partake in. The irritating shouty English bloke in the operations area below is responsible for creating new story loops. Or they can improvise...
I assume it's all expenses paid there.


Repairs?


See next episode (and/or original movie)


No idea (I enjoy a mystery) - can't be fear of human contamination with other real people running around, but maybe they think there could be some external physical explanation* for 'malfunctions'. Could just be to visually emphasise a thorough search.

*External physical explanation being anything from sabotage (who put the photo there?) which would explain a CSI type response to determine the culprit (insider? guest?), to bio-chemical agents (their 'minds' might be more than mere electronics - we don't know yet).


In the original movie, the automatons couldn't shoot bullets at the guests (initially..). In this, it seems their weapons just fire a small 'squib' type projectile if aimed at guests. Real bullets at one another.

Are the robots from Westworld the same as Bladerunner/Alien? A kind of mixture cloned cells & bio chemistry?

Just have the guns all firing little, harmless, squibs. Hosts, when hit by a squib react as if hit by a bullet, fall backwards, spurt blood etc. Guests when hit by a squib hardly notice.

The robots are probably programmed to react to the guns firing at them. They'll be completely harmless to humans. I can't imagine them having real bullets that only fire at robots. What could go wrong with that?

i liked it but im not sure of its longevity. Seems like one of the many syfy channel shows that have a nice idea but HBO have polished it up, added decent actors and see where it leads. Ill keep watching for now but this will probably end up with me losing interest half way through the first season if things dont drastically improve and keep me watching.

It hasn't been said. They're definitely more like 'artificial people' than 'robots'. They have muscles not motors, a replica skeletal system, blood..
But their minds we don't know. I suspect that'll be an important reveal later on.


Michael Crichton was their Health & Safety inspector.

Yes I believe it was as I did notice it.

lol

Having guns that cannot harm humans would be like having impenetrable fences in Jurassic Park.

Liking it very, very much so far, though whether it can 'flesh out' the vast potential of this kind of subject I don't know. It is, after all, the nuances that will keep me coming back.

tbh, your post was extremely negative. You don't appear to have a good thing to say about it and focus only on what it didn't give you. Personally I thought that they gave away more than was necessary for a first episode.

It would have been very easy to drag it out and not divulge who and what James Marsden and Ed Harris are until the end of the show or maybe a future episode. I'm sure that everything will be revealed in time and I'm happy to wait as opposed to having everything explained to me upfront.

I thought it was great. The plot aside, I thought the acting, direction and cinematography were spot on, not to mention the incredible musical score.

I've seen many films that were not as good as this first episode of a long running series.

I've just posted very similar thoughts on the US thread, it did remind me of when Lost was first shown, everybody speculating about the plot as they didn't give you enough solid info to talk about, which is ok to a point but like you say there is a limit imo.

...or ... what happens if a host drags another host into a barn???

Host dragging Host into barn...not a problem "It's a puppet!"

Now guest dragging a guest into a barn might be an issue, but I suspect a host would intervene to protect the guests.

Or maybe the writers just avoid writing that situation into the narrative at all and the issue never arises?

His name was last in the main credits, they followed the usual format of "starring A, B, C, D, E with F and G", he was the G.