First Word

WestWorld Season 3, Episode 1 Rating: 2.5 **1/2 Westworld , my current favorite sci-fi show on HBO started its new season last night with a confusing, lukewarm bang. Who would have thought in Season 1 one of the few remaining original cast members would be Delores. It seems the art and sophistication of having the Anthony Hopkins character load the show with intelligence and intrigue has flipped over to a comic book-stylized future world where our sweet strawberry blonde has turned into an assassin with kick-ass marshal arts skills. Delores has gotten into some kind of love affair with the heir to a technology empire of some sort where the big brain data "center" has her attention. Judging by the little balls of artificial intelligence used to preserve the personalities of other robots from the previous season, my guess the giant ball houses the personalities (of most of it not all the "guests" and robots). I might be wrong. Remember, I'm watching it unf...

I've been watching the new HBO series WestWorld and have found its storytelling methods rather intriguing. What makes this series very unique is the dual worlds in which the stories are unfolding. You have the "Park" world that is a throwback to old westerns and gun slinging and then you have the science fiction of the engineers behind the Park. The questions posed in the science fiction story line come out in the "hosts" who exist in the Park. The primary theme has to do with questions related to consciousness. While the hosts are grappling with their memories returning (and these memories have to do with the brutality and abuse the robots suffer at the hands of the guests), the guests are dealing with questions about identity and self. The intellectual capital in this series is truly fascinating. Are you a hero or a villain? Do the hosts want revenge and to decide upon their own story lines. Beneath all of this subterfuge is the corporate agenda for the p...