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.
