Michael Crichton's 1973 film Westworld was a clever sci-fi thriller about a theme park that provided interactive adventures with robotic hosts. This series, developed and produced for HBO by Jonathan Nolan, uses the same premise as a basis for an ambitious drama that explores the darkest human desires and impulses, the evolution of artificial intelligence into self-awareness, and the definition of intelligent life and personhood. The setting is a high-tech theme park where the rich can play cowboy in a Western town populated by lifelike robot "hosts" who are programmed to play out specific storylines, but are also sophisticated enough to improvise while interacting with humans. Ed Harris is the unnamed Man in Black and Jimmi Simpson is a newcomer who becomes convinced that the hosts are alive, but the hosts themselves provide the most interesting stories, notably Evan Rachel Wood as the farmer's daughter who has flashbacks of past stories and Thandie Newton as the brothel owner who hacks her own programming to escape. Part of the fun of the series lies in the way storylines scripted for the hosts loop around and change each time as they interact with guests, and Nolan reveals a time-shifting twist late in the season that reframes our understanding of the story and the characters. It's HBO's most expensive and most ambitious show after Game of Thrones, one that is meticulously plotted and well-written, using genre conventions to explore artificial intelligence, memory, identity, and humanity. Compiling all 10 episodes from 2016, extras include behind-the-scenes featurettes and a gag reel. Highly recommended. (S. Axmaker)
Westworld—Season One: The Maze
Warner, 3 discs, 619 min., not rated, DVD: $49.99, Blu-ray: $54.99 Volume 33, Issue 2
Westworld—Season One: The Maze
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