Pilot: One of the best praises I can give Westworld is that I WANT MORE! The whole concept of it isn't original...not least because it was based on Michael Crichton's 1973 film. This was Dollhouse (Joss Whedon's most under-rated, yet truly fantastic, show) meets Humans meets Black Mirror. It was beautifully shot, superbly acted (kudos to Evan Rachel Wood, Jeffrey Wright, Sidse Babett Knudsen, Anthony Hopkins and Ed Harris...the others like Thandie Newton and James Marden haven't really had a chance to shine yet), and very smartly written! By the end of the pilot, you kind of know what is happening but yet you don't really know...and you so want to know more! That mysterious tease is so rare these days in scripted drama. The biggest problem though is HBO senseless obsession with gratuitous nudity and violence. Although the latter did, admittedly, played a narrative function and hopefully - if I am right - a thematic one too. Just like Whedon's Dollhouse, sexual violence and exploitation served as a jumping board for deeper storytelling, but at least in Whedon's world, men were exploited too (remember Victor?). Nonetheless, bring on the next episode and hopefully we move on from the cheap, attention grabbing, ratings whoring tactics and stick with strong, smart and sexy writing! Oh, and music by Games of Thrones Ramin Djawadi is spot on and am loving the opening credits!
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