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[Palmer_v1]

So my underwater guess was right, it looks like. The logistics of that are more insane than the idea of the synthetic Hosts.

 

[masud]

I think the conversation between the writer and the woman in charge (don't have names memorized yet) implied that there is a much larger goal of the company and its research than just Westworld or various other amusements. I wouldn't be surprised if it was revealed later that Hosts are, and have been, out in the real world for some time.

I get the feeling the park is a "Beta" or a cover for a more mainstream roll-out of these artificial humans.

I'm pretty sure advanced ai and lifelike androids are pretty common in this would. I mean the parks been around for 30 plus years. No way a theme park would have exclusive use of the tech for that long, assuming they invented it in the first place.

 

[jfkgoblue]

Guys, we may have a problem, the debates on Sunday are on at 9pm, same as this.... I really don't know which I'm gonna watch

 

[More_Badass]

So my underwater guess was right, it looks like. The logistics of that are more insane than the idea of the synthetic Hosts.

More insane than curing all diseases? This seems to be a pretty far future Earth, so an underwater habitat might be normal in this era

Guys, we may have a problem, the debates on Sunday are on at 9pm, same as this.... I really don't know which I'm gonna watch

Picture-in-picture

 

[SpacePirate Ridley]

How much "theme park feeling" has this?
Like the talk of animatronics, and how westworld resrot (or whatever it is in this series) is created and works.

 

[badcrumble]

Just finished watching on GO, pretty decent. Will have to tune in to a few more episodes before I can pass judgement on it though but one question I've got is that if the AI are evolving beyond their code then how long before the playground is no longer a part of the story and it just takes place in the real world? If it becomes a big enough issue then they would shut it down, or, guests would no longer want to take the trip. Essentially leaving the whole Westworld behind.

I think the AI becoming fully sentient thing will *hopefully* be a slow burn while they bring other subplots to the forefront.

 

[greatgeek]

Guys, we may have a problem, the debates on Sunday are on at 9pm, same as this.... I really don't know which I'm gonna watch

Watch the one with the robots.

 

[Tovarisc]

I'm pretty sure advanced ai and lifelike androids are pretty common in this would. I mean the parks been around for 30 plus years. No way a theme park would have exclusive use of the tech for that long, assuming they invented it in the first place.

Also could be if they exist in the wild they are heavily regulated and not allowed to break uncanny valley so they can be told apart from actual humans. Just imagine all power grab possibilities if you were able to produce android you can't apart from its human counterpart and then replicate everything from body language to memories. Suddenly you are able to replace e.g. President with your puppet.

Watch the one with the robots.

So, debates?

 

[jfkgoblue]

Picture-in-picture

The sound on Westworld I assume, it'll make more sense

Watch the one with the robots.

LOL

 

[Palmer_v1]

More insane than curing all diseases? This seems to be a pretty far future Earth, so an underwater habitat might be normal in this era


Picture-in-picture

Didn't they say it was 22nd century? Like 21XX, so it could be up to 180ish years in the future. It's subjective, but that doesn't seem like the FAR future to me, but then again I doubt people from the 1840s expected 90% of the shit we have today.

I did forget the curing all disease thing.

Maybe that's a misleading statement in that what they've really done is genetically engineer everyone so that they're no longer susceptible to disease... if you're rich enough to afford the genetic work. I keep thinking of it as an Elysium situation where there's some incredible advances, but they're only available to a very small subset of the population.

 

[The Rizza]

I don't think that Delores is based off of someone close to Ford. I get the idea that he might have based the first robot after someone close to him, but why would he keep them in commission knowing that a park guest could do anything to her? Also, was that an abandoned mall where the "cold storage" was? Is the world outside of Westworld somewhat dystopian? Is that why people come to the park? Just a few thoughts

 

[Burt]

I'm pretty sure advanced ai and lifelike androids are pretty common in this would. I mean the parks been around for 30 plus years. No way a theme park would have exclusive use of the tech for that long, assuming they invented it in the first place.

Sure, but the writer explicitly says that they could have a cheaper product that creates more satisfied customers if, instead of making the noticeably inhuman hosts more human, they made them even less so. The woman in charge says that she wants to create a worse, more expensive product so long as it can better pass for a human.

Just imagine all power grab possibilities if you were able to produce android you can't apart from its human counterpart and then replicate everything from body language to memories. Suddenly you are able to replace e.g. President with your puppet.

So yeah, I have to imagine the endgame is something like this.

 

[jfkgoblue]

I don't think that Delores is based off of someone close to Ford. I get the idea that he might have based the first robot after someone close to him, but why would he keep them in commission knowing that a park guest could do [italics]anything[/italics] to her. Also, was that an abandoned mall where the "cold storage" was? Is the world outwide of Westworld somewhat dystopian? Is that why people come to the park? Just a few thoughts

Us for italics

 

[The Rizza]

Us for italics

Thanks, edited

 

[Tovarisc]

I don't think that Delores is based off of someone close to Ford. I get the idea that he might have based the first robot after someone close to him, but why would he keep them in commission knowing that a park guest could do anything to her. Also, was that an abandoned mall where the "cold storage" was? Is the world of Westworld somewhat dystopian? Is that why people come to the park? Just a few thoughts

Cold storage most likely is build into old and retired parks. WestWorld most likely is latest and currently only "amusement park" running.

 

[Corpsepyre]

Six comics for Westworld fans

Interesting.

 

[More_Badass]

Sure, but the writer explicitly says that they could have a cheaper product that creates more satisfied customers if, instead of making the noticeably inhuman hosts more human, they made them even less so. The woman in charge says that she wants to create a worse, more expensive product so long as it can better pass for a human.



So yeah, I have to imagine the endgame is something like this.

Comments like that make me wonder how or if this tech is used in the rest of the world. Like I don't imagine they've kept their advancements contained for 30+ years. One would imagine that military versions probably exist to replace soldiers or versions are used for manual/menial labor.

 

[More_Badass]

Six comics for Westworld fans

Interesting.

Eh....most of those either revolve around neo-Western settings or advanced robots

Alex + Ada would be a much better recommendation, since it actually deals with human-machine interactions and machine sentience
https://imagecomics.com/comics/series/alex-ada

 

[ZOONAMI]

I don't think that Delores is based off of someone close to Ford. I get the idea that he might have based the first robot after someone close to him, but why would he keep them in commission knowing that a park guest could do anything to her? Also, was that an abandoned mall where the "cold storage" was? Is the world outside of Westworld somewhat dystopian? Is that why people come to the park? Just a few thoughts

I think the whole HQ building may have at one point been open to guests and the cold storage area was once a mall/gift shop type area. I think they stopped having the HQ open to guests and now have a different staging area where people get on the train that takes them into the town.

 

[Khoryos]

So my underwater guess was right, it looks like. The logistics of that are more insane than the idea of the synthetic Hosts.

Based on what?

I mean, I might have missed an interview, but if it was underwater I'd expect them to be a *lot* more worried about the flooding on level 83.

Comments like that make me wonder how or if this tech is used in the rest of the world. Like I don't imagine they've kept their advancements contained for 30+ years. One would imagine that military versions probably exist to replace soldiers or versions are used for manual/menial labor.

I think that's the endgame the head of security referred to - they're planning on executing the Futureworld plot with robots.

 

[Palmer_v1]

Based on what?

I mean, I might have missed an interview, but if it was underwater I'd expect them to be a *lot* more worried about the flooding on level 83.



I think that's the endgame the head of security referred to - they're planning on executing the Futureworld plot with robots.

The full details are above, but the gist is:

- Terraforming means even though it looks like Utah, it's not actually Utah.
- The instructions to guests include mentions of visiting their nearest Port Authority, which indicates you take a ship of some kind, so it either involves space or ocean travel.
- It also mentions decompression when leaving the park, which may or may not be literal.
- Other documentation mentions "Mainland" which leans back towards it being somewhere in the ocean.

I was leaning towards underwater as opposed to an island, since air travel doesn't seem to be viable, though it might be a self-imposed restriction since planes overhead would break the immersion. Underwater would also make the situation more tense, since it would be harder to escape later on when shit hits the fan. OTOH, the logistics of an underwater facility of this size are pretty insane. You also have a point that they're awfully nonchalant about that leak if it really was underwater.

We'll probably find out for sure soon, but the speculation has been fun for this show. They're doing a good job of providing us some hints.

 

[ZOONAMI]

Based on what?

I mean, I might have missed an interview, but if it was underwater I'd expect them to be a *lot* more worried about the flooding on level 83.



I think that's the endgame the head of security referred to - they're planning on executing the Futureworld plot with robots.

Given that they in in a structure with open air over them, I dont think that's what would be causing the flooding. If this was a giant underwater environment any leaking would likely be coming from the "roof" / sky of the biodome

Most likely leaky plumbing within the structure or related to the busted HVAC they mentioned. They just don't really care about what's going on on level 83 because it isn't in use and my guess would be the hosts will never be recommissioned or else they would be worried about the water damaging the hosts.

 

[duckroll]

The full details are above, but the gist is:

-Terraforming means even though it looks like Utah, it's not actually Utah.
-The instructions to guests include mentions of visiting their nearest Port Authority, which indicates you take a ship of some kind, so it either involves space or ocean travel.
- It also mentions decompression when leaving the park, which may or may not be literal.

I'm still gunning for a giant space station connected to an orbital elevator angle. It still fits all the conditions!

 

[jfkgoblue]

Pretty sure it's gonna be answered this week

 

[Can Crusher]

Maybe it's underwater, but in space.

 

[Man Called Aerodynamics]

More insane than curing all diseases?

I think it's very possible that that statement was more Dr. Ford waxing poetic about human evolution, than a literal fact that in this setting there is no disease. I'm sure we'll find out a lot more about the setting before too long, either way.

 

[Palmer_v1]

I'm still gunning for a giant space station connected to an orbital elevator angle. It still fits all the conditions!

I just added more in an edit, but it's still possible. I'm applying our current definitions to reach my conclusion, but for all we know, all long distance travel, terrestrial or not, will be organized around "ports".

edit:

Also, I think a space station is more feasible than an underwater facility. It's easier to build for a vacuum than it is for the immense pressure of the ocean.

 

[Cornballer]

A few articles from NY Mag yesterday:

- Why You’ll Hear Modern Songs Playing on Westworld

The player piano itself is a kind of robot, playing songs on demand at preprogrammed moments, presumably controlled by the humans at command central. (Although, in actuality, by Westworld's showrunner, Jonathan Nolan.) Sometimes, as in the show's premiere episode, the player piano will repeat the show's theme, just as the other robotic hosts repeat scripted dialogue on their narrative loops. "It's like Groundhog Day," Djawadi said. "You get the great shot of the player spinning up, and then the shot of Teddy in the train starting up again, and you get the theme each time he walks into the saloon."

But at other times in the loop, the player piano starts to play a reduction of "Black Hole Sun," or lead into an orchestral version of "Paint It Black," which underscores the unsettling truth about the saloon and the park — it's not the Wild West, but a re-creation of it. Even if a guest tries to become immersed in this world, the music will undermine it. "What's so great about using these pieces instead of the score is that they are known melodies, which enhances the idea that this is all scripted," Djawadi said. "'Paint It Black' happens during a really big action scene, and it has all these great ups and downs — the shooting, the talking — and so I bring it down and then back up a bit, which was a lot of fun to arrange for the orchestra."

- How Cinematographer Paul Cameron Created the Look of Westworld’s Sci-Fi Western

What kind of look were going for with the backstage scenes in the control room?

It was a combination of the starkness of 2001 or A Clockwork Orange for the upper floors, and then the bottom floor is Slaughterhouse-Five. We wanted to feel like there was a certain kind of timelessness to the operations center. When you watch this ten years from now, it's still going to feel familiar.

In the show, the operations center is 17 floors: there's manufacturing, there's the diagnostic center, there's the behavioral center. That's actually all done on one set that gets recycled. It's probably 100 by 60 feet, and it's all glass walls. It's a fabulous idea except that, if you can imagine, when you turn on a light, it's like having 500 mirrors. You see every single light, every single reflection. But with help from the production designer, we were able to put this kind of concrete ceiling above the set, and behind it I could have the lights repositioned very quickly, with diffusion that come straight down through the ceiling.

What about camera movement?

We wanted to add an element of mechanical camera moves to everything, to give the shots this robotic feel. We tried to keep it very subtle, but you'll see, even in aerial shots, it might be tracking along and you'll just see this definitive pan left for no reason whatsoever. Or on the ground, if we were doing a Steadicam shot, it would be a very forceful pan left or right, or go up or down in a particular moment. The concept of these camera movements is that they're done in the back room where the characters are watching the 3-D map of the park, and operating cameras to watch the characters in the park.

- Westworld’s Evan Rachel Wood Studied the Singularity to Prepare for Her Part

When Westworld showrunners Jonathan Nolan and Lisa Joy recruited you for the show, what did they tell you about it and about your character?

They let me know that she could be compared to a Disney princess at first. She is the quintessential farm girl, the girl next door. So, of course, the people that come to Westworld to wreak havoc just want to take advantage of her and torture her. The heroes want to come to save her, which we'll explore more. There's also beautiful parts about Westworld. But that's just her character build. Underneath that, she's a highly intelligent superhuman. Now that we know she's the oldest host in the park, that also means she has the most history with everyone. Dolores is full of surprises, let's just say that.

And did they give you a reading list or a viewing list to prep?

Not really. Jonah [Nolan] and Lisa are incredibly well-versed in the technology. But I talked to some futurists and I devoured TED talks and I read a lot of Ray Kurzweil. The Singularity Is Near sort of became my Stanislavski-actor handbook.

That might be a first for a screen actor.

It kind of predicts and breaks down what a sentient being might look like in the future and how they would work. I used that a lot.

Was there a specific passage or idea in there that really helped you get into Dolores?

Certain things that you wouldn't think about. The things that they would be able to detect in a human being that we wouldn't, like a bead of sweat or certain body language. They would be programmed to be able to read people incredibly well, which the hosts in Westworld also are — that's why they're so good at being tailor-made to a guest and to an experience. That I found really fascinating.

Along those lines, how did you figure out how to act like a robot without coming across as a cliché?

Jonah and I realized that the more subtle the transitions were and the more lifelike the robots were, the more unsettling it was. Rather than us being kind of pop-and-lock-y and over the top and cartoony about it. It's the things that make them human which make it the most scary. Filming those scenes — we call it “analysis mode” — when they're in this sort of examination, it's like they're dreaming. We just go into this meditative state. I actually fell asleep during one of those scenes once because I had to be so still and zoned out. Not blinking. It's like actor Olympics. She's my favorite character I've ever played, really.

More via the links.

 

[Burt]

Comments like that make me wonder how or if this tech is used in the rest of the world. Like I don't imagine they've kept their advancements contained for 30+ years. One would imagine that military versions probably exist to replace soldiers or versions are used for manual/menial labor.

Yeah, although they're probably very different, considering the hosts we've seen all seem to be individually designed and handcrafted. The worker sanding down the horse manually in the opening was a cool shot. On the other hand, they might not be used for any of those things, given what we've seen from the show.

"Cure all diseases" is an incredibly large statement to throw out there, and a goal that's way beyond even things like permanently solving our energy needs, ending world hunger/water crises, and even destroying poverty. You get rid of those first two, which even now are probably more logistical and structural problems than technological ones, poverty goes way down. You get rid of all three, there might not even be any wars. But disease would still be there. Given how advanced the technology is and the standard human feebleness of the hosts though, I'd imagine they'd have heavy duty robotics that'd be better suited for those tasks.

I know that's more than a bit of unfounded extrapolation, but I think it'd be nice thematically, especially in the context of Ford's line about this being as good as things get/as high as humanity goes. Sort of an Arthurian "as soon as all of the seats at the Round Table are full, your downfall will begin". We solved all our problems, so the next thing we do is go ahead and create our own destruction.

I actually think it'd be interesting if hosts weren't used for anything other than the parks, and have no functional purpose whatsoever other than gratifying the most depraved aspects of human nature. Creating them with the sole intention of bringing forth rape- and murder-dolls makes things that much more decadent and morally indefensible, especially as they progress from being products to conscious beings.

Spoiler

This is how Slaanesh is born

 

[BumRush]

I'll say this (in addition to the fact that I really enjoyed the first episode): the pilot has me thinking about the show more than any pilot I can remember.

 

[Tovarisc]

I'll say this (in addition to the fact that I really enjoyed the first episode): the pilot has me thinking about the show more than any pilot I can remember.

Maybe best pilot since True Detective S01E01.

 

[PolishQ]

I'm still gunning for a giant space station connected to an orbital elevator angle. It still fits all the conditions!

Why was the cold storage sub-level flooded?

 

[Tovarisc]

Why was the cold storage sub-level flooded?

"Cooling system's been down for weeks. Gonna smell fantastic"

I imagine old hosts were kept in somewhat frozen state and after cooling system's went down all possible ice and snow just smelted.

 

[Jim]

The full details are above, but the gist is:
- The instructions to guests include mentions of visiting their nearest Port Authority, .

Port Authority can mean any type of travel or transportation hub, which would include buses, trains, planes, ships, etc.

 

[More_Badass]

Port Authority can mean any type of travel or transportation hub, which would include buses, trains, planes, ships, etc.

Also mentioned having to "chart a course" to the park. That's more maritime lingo, but apply to either water or space-based

 

[ComputerBlue]

there are two schools of thought:

1 - he was told the command which shuts them down (which is said a couple of times earlier in the show); or
2 - he was whispered a command that will turn him into a violent machine at a later date

3 - He told them something that makes them question their purpose, in turn causing them to become self aware.

I say this because I want the hosts to go rogue on their own, they don't need instructions otherwise they're still just robots.

I think 1 is reasonable. I can't see it being 2 though, Bernard does not strike me as a potential villain.

3 is really good, could explain why Peter was looked like he was crying aside from him knowing he was being put out of commission.

I think the AI becoming fully sentient thing will *hopefully* be a slow burn while they bring other subplots to the forefront.

Could be, I can't see subplots being enough to carry it for too long though.

 

[Joni]

Finally time to watch the episode, that beginning sequence with James Marsden and Ed Harris is so good.

 

[Cornballer]

- Logline and a few promo pictures from Ep 2 (please spoiler tag any discussion)

- Indiewire interview with Nolan & Joy (from a few months ago at the TCA event)

In your heads, how fleshed out is the world that Westworld lives in?

Joy: You mean the outside world?

Yeah, this entire universe you’ve built.

Joy: Well we’ve spent a lot of time discussing this and so we did try to create a big mythology and some answers. It’s kind of like those Russian nesting dolls, where you pull apart one level and there’s another level. We did think about the world outside quite a lot and where the series would go and even how it would end. When we first started thinking about it, I think I was still pregnant at the time. It was funny because I would just sit there like round as a house and we would paper all the walls… It was like “A Beautiful Mind,” leading from one thing to the next. It looked like an insane asylum, and maybe it was.

I have to tell you, we only got through probably an eighth of the wallpaper this season. So there’s more story to tell and the bigger world outside is something that we will get to. But what we’re trying to do is constrain it narratively. We’ve chosen a really specific lens even to start the pilot, where you’re coming at it from the host perspective. The intention of the show is we play with perspective and we also wanted to personify and really make sure you felt a connection with the host. The way in which the larger world leads in, we’ll try to keep faithful to that, as you’re on the journey and you’re finding things out along with some of the characters.

By the end of Season 1, how many more questions do you think we will have?

Nolan: Oh boy. I’m a big believer when you’re designing these shows … Not when it comes to social relevance to the show necessarily, but in terms of strict plot developments, I’m a big believer in pose some questions and then answer a few of them before you move onto the next set of questions. You don’t ever want to run out of engaging questions, but I do believe in it. I watch some shows and some shows that I love where the questions were never answered or they just kept spitting out into the ether so our intention is to have answered a few important questions by the end of the first season, posed a few more interesting ones that then drive the second season.

One of the things that’s really fun to tap in with television right now is this sort of explosion, the peak TV moment that we’re in, people are exploring different modes of storytelling here. But one of the exciting things here is being able to commit upfront to a big, big, big story. Our story is a really big one. It’s the story of the origin of a new species on this planet, and being able to tell that in chapters and commit to aggressive moves season-by-season that propel that story upwards and outwards and inwards.

More via the link.

 

[Kai Dracon]

Spoilered speculation based on HBO's own season preview:

Spoiler

it sure looks like some of the hosts begin developing genuine awareness pretty fast. If this is to be an ongoing series the park can't fall apart and be shut down too quickly.

About the only thing I can think of, is the controlling interests in Westworld demand a cover-up and that the park stay open for their own purposes. If so it seems inevitable that sentient hosts are decommissioned and taken out of circulation, but that removes interesting characters from the show.

There could be a subplot about the affected hosts being taken out of the park, but kept awake in the facilities to be interviewed and psychologically tested in order to understand how they exceeded the boundaries of their programming.

Otherwise, I suppose there could be a conspiracy among the hosts as some of the awakened ones continue to play dumb while trying to quicken, awaken, and turn sentient other hosts to increase their numbers until they can fight back.

 

[Cornballer]

- NY Mag: The Secrets Behind Westworld’s Opening Title Sequence

Some television title sequences are abstract, teasing the audience to unravel their clues. That's certainly how designer Patrick Clair approached his much-acclaimed title for True Detective, but when his team at Elastic was asked to take on Westworld, he decided to take a more explicit approach, condensing the show's own design elements into something both simple and symbolic. From the first shot, when it appears that a sun is rising over a ridge — only to reveal that it's the light enabling the creation of a robotic rib cage — each image can be two things at once, underlining the theme that nothing is quite as it seems. Clair took us through Elastic's Westworld title design — from milk baths to robot sex — to explain the deeper meanings.

Interview via the link.

 

[Snake]

Solid premiere with a few standout moments.

If I had one criticism, it's that the show could use more theme park guest characters. I don't mind the show focusing on the machines, but, in terms of world-building, it felt like there was no reason for the park itself to exist what with so few obvious human attendees. This makes the threat of the machines killing the guests much less pressing, and lowers the stakes considerably.

 

[RatskyWatsky]

- NY Mag: The Secrets Behind Westworld’s Opening Title SequenceInterview via the link.

The intro is really slick.

 

[Nodnol]

Just watched the pilot again.

The shoot-out scene with Hector and the brilliant rendition of Paint It Black really is excellent.

I know the foreshadowing is a little thick in places (the herd, the fly, lots of instances of blatant symbolism), but it's uttterly intriguing.

Ed Harris' character, the whole deeper level to it all, what's going on in the basement, why the basement looks like an old mall...lots of questions, and that's before Abernathy's rant and Dolores' disregard for the fly.

Hooked.

 

[Gozer the Gozerian]

I like to think that Ed Harris's character turns into a total loser who breaks like a twig once the hosts learn to fight back and he faces actual danger for once. Like he's just some rich dope that grew up watching too many Lee Van Cleef westerns.

 

[Freeza Under The Shower]

- NY Mag: The Secrets Behind Westworld’s Opening Title SequenceInterview via the link.

ooooh, it's same guy as True Detective's intro. Now that makes much more sense.

I was kind of still in the delusion that editors on the show itself made the intro. Oops.

 

[ClosingADoor]

Given that they in in a structure with open air over them, I dont think that's what would be causing the flooding. If this was a giant underwater environment any leaking would likely be coming from the "roof" / sky of the biodome

Most likely leaky plumbing within the structure or related to the busted HVAC they mentioned. They just don't really care about what's going on on level 83 because it isn't in use and my guess would be the hosts will never be recommissioned or else they would be worried about the water damaging the hosts.

Seems like that yes. Flooding is because of a faulty cooling system they said while exiting the elevator. I take it normally there would be some ice or something due to cold, and that has melted leaving water on the floors.

I don't think it is underwater. Just an island somewhere.

 

[ezekial45]

I just remembered that the actor playing Dolores' father was not only in True Blood, but also played Mundus in the DmC Devil May Cry.

He's really amazing, and that scene he gave at the end of the episode with Ford was fantastic.

 

[B-Dex]

I love Thandie Newton's character. Her attitude about everything was great. 😍

 

[Chopper]

Thandie Newton's a human. I'm calling it.

 

[WhiteRabbitEXE]

Thandie Newton's a human. I'm calling it.

Yeeeeeah no haha. Definitely a host, not sure why you'd think otherwise.

Spoiler

Plus, she says she has died many times in the after-episode preview.