The Original

From the beginning, the series addresses heavy-loaded philosophical questions. It raises many questions that have no definite answer and makes the watcher intrigued to follow the dialogues. What is reality? The most basic question that whoever gives himself time in contemplating the existing have thought about it. Here, he exhibits the famous duality between the "true" reality and the "illusion" reality. You can see this meaning throughout the dialogue of the "newcomers." Could we replace our reality? That reflects the purpose of this "Westworld," but is it the ultimate goal of this world?

Another philosophical question is what consciousness is? Can humankind reach the level to implant consciousness in robots? What could be the consequences of that action? The scene of Dr. Robert Ford and Peter Abernathy is a cornerstone in the building of the plot.

Also, a very debatable topic in Philosophy is whether we can program feelings? Dose the robots when they "feel" are they really experience the same experiences we humans do? Or is it a mere reflexive?

There are more questions the series do implicit to it. It would be an enjoyable experience if I could get out thinking about it and if lucky to reach satisfiable answers.

Short and Simple Review by WubsTheFadger

The story is extremely interesting. This episode introduced us into the world of Westworld with such ease and grace. The pacing throughout the episode is perfect.

All of the characters are interesting and complex.

The acting is fantastic all around. Ed Harris, Anthony Hopkins, James Marsden, and Evan Rachel Wood all do a great job. Louis Herthum, who play Peter Abernathy, has the best performance in this episode.

The blend of violence and nudity are perfectly mixed. There are no scenes with aberrant or unneeded nudity or violence.

The science behind the androids and behind the world itself is left unanswered (This will most likely be answered in later episodes).

Pros: Interesting story, great performances (Most notably by Louis Herthum), good pacing, complex characters, and a perfect blend of violence and nudity

Cons: The science behind the androids and the world are left unanswered

Overall Rating: 9.2

Westworld has quickly become one of HBO's breakout hits. The show's not even two years old yet and it's still attracting new viewers who probably never saw the original film from 1973. The series is a serialised take on the original movie and tells a completely different story from it, but keeps the same philosophical questions and dilemmas in place.

'The Original' shows us that Westworld is a holiday attraction that's like the world's most seamless video game experience except the whole theme park consists of robots who actually believe they're part of the American Old West. This introductory episode is a beautifully shot and bloody affair that we've come to expect from HBO, and the delivery of this episode makes me wonder about the future of the series once it's no longer running side by side with Game of Thrones. I think Westworld easily has strong legs on its own.

Another golden chapter to HBO's ever-growing library of quality programming.

Like that long awaited locomotive pulling into Tucson for the first time, Westworld is finally here. Many at HBO have anticipated this day with just as much reverence and optimism as the 1880 denizens of that famous railroad town from the Old West, watching anxiously as the smoke clouds plumed beneath the fading Arizona light. Of course, in spite of the dust, horses, gunplay, and even coal-powered engine from that oft-romanticized era, Westworld is not a Western; nay, for all we know it's not even located in North America. This craftiness is on display in the very opening scenes where those familiar with Crichton's 1973 movie of the same name are thrown for a devious and perfectly orchestrated loop by Nolan (who also directed the episode) and Joy's script. For those who may never have seen the original Westworld, the general set-up is that two buddies from Chicago plan to get their rocks off by visiting Westworld. For one of them, it is his first time in town while the other is an old pro. Within minutes of arriving, however, they're both shooting Yul Brynner's infamous Gunslinger robot (the Man in Black) dead and being the toast of the town. Also, once more, it raises new insights about Dolores' purpose. She is apparently the oldest robot still operating in the park. She's "the original." That means she has a lifetime of reveries, decades of them, waiting to be awakened like her one-time father. Memories of abuse; memories of exploitation; memories of this world being far less than the vastness of rose-tinted potential. Where she, or the series, will go from there is still way too early to know. However, already the hooks are in. It is a very difficult thing, even for HBO's best shows, to grab viewers so completely in the first hour, but Westworld is firing without any blanks at the moment. Despite being based on a movie of meagre length, the premiere suggests a vast web of story threads to carry the series for what could easily be years to come.

One of the Show's And Pilot's best features (much like Game of Thrones) is that it distances itself to such a degree from anything you've seen before, that anything could happen. The particularly brilliant spin here is that even as we hope to learn the rules, glitches and human interference are pushing those rules aside, so it becomes a wonderfully maddening game of "the more we know the limits, the less there are limits." It plays off of the disconnect it forces you to have by virtue of its own world creation, by shifting these limits, and throwing out your natural reaction to what you're watching. It becomes an amazing dance, as you watch a gunfight while realizing that you don't know what you're supposed to do with it really, or what watching it means. You're used to watching gunfights while knowing the good guys are going to win, but this is a whole new game. 'Westworld' straddles the future and the past of your imagination. In the first episode we get to see this 'Westworld' and it's inhabitants. Guns, Bots, Beautiful girls and an uncertain future make for potential gold with this show. As always HBO delivers in the drama department once again