I'm still new to this sort of thing, reviews and such, but having just watched the exceptionally interesting Westworld premiere, tonight on HBO, I feel now is as good of time as any. Before going into this review I should make note as I am someone who has not seen the original Westworld title and had seen very few advertising of the series leading up to this. HBO is notoriously known for its high quality content, ranging from The Wire, to Deadwood, Boardwalk Empires, and in these recent years, Game of Thrones, based on the incredible Fantasy Series, A Song of Ice and Fire, by George RR Martin. During the lead up to Westworld, there was much rumor going around that this new series would be HBO's next Game of Thrones. From what I gathered, the main reason for this is that because Game of Thrones is now beginning to wrap up, HBO is looking for a new show to continue carrying the tourch. This actually had me skeptical because in general, when a network tried to recreate it's success, it can often end in faliture. Thankfully when I began watching Westworld all these prior skepticisms completely vanished as what we were introduced to was a completely different beast. Tonight's Westworld premier was fascinating, suspenseful, creatively written, beautifully shot. All the things we have come to expect from HBO, but what came with it, is an incredibly unique, possibly more real interpretation of what happens when people have a virtual playground. I've seen this portrayed similarly in other shows such as SyFy's Caprica, but never in a manner so deep or rich as this. In Westworld, people are going to this simulated space to have fun, and how that is interpreted is much more realistic, and dark than what we've seen in modern media's depiction of virtual reality. While I'm hesitant to call Westworld virtual reality, I must say it presents many similarities. This artificial playground is where people go to express their inner desires, no matter how horrific, and that is what virtual reality, very well may look like in our own future. It was almost like a reality check. When VR becomes incredibly dominant in our economy and society going forward, depending how advanced, it could have horendous effects on the phycological mindset of humans. It's been a long time, since a premiere to a show, truly made me think about what I was watching in an incredibly deep sense, when usually these thoughts and outlooks develop over time. Going back to Game of Thrones, Westworld was completely unique and distinctive and I absolutely had no thoughts of comparison between the two masterpieces. I felt that Westworld's premiere was one of the best premieres of the best premieres I've seen in years. A+ Over the next couple years, as Game of Thrones wraps up, I'm looking forward to seeing Westworld define itself, and I do have to wonder, How many more of these type of series will we be seeing, going forward in the years to come.
striker163) wrote, 
