Westworld: “The Stray”

To borrow a cliché: The plot thickens. That was my first reaction after seeing episode 3 of HBO’s Westworld. During the first two episodes—“The Original” and “Chestnut”—the series introduced the main characters and began the plot of a glitch that caused the android hosts of Westworld to malfunction. Now that we know the characters and… Continue reading Westworld: “The Stray”

Westworld: “Chestnut”

Westworld is a theme park. It’s a tourist attraction. It’s competing for the same dollars as Las Vegas, Miami, New Orleans, and other popular destinations across the globe. Like Disneyland, tourists flock there to submerged themselves into fantasy, and like Las Vegas, they come to engage in activities that they either wouldn’t or can’t engage… Continue reading Westworld: “Chestnut”

Game of Thrones: Quest for Belonging

I love the what’s happening with television these days. Television has always been about entertainment, but the best entertainment insists on being something more than just entertaining. It insists on delving into the characters, exploring their emotions and the reasons behind them, understanding their goals and motivations, and examining their morals, psychology, and desires. Looking… Continue reading Game of Thrones: Quest for Belonging

Game of Thrones: Birth of the Dragon

One strength of a television series like Game of Thrones is its ability to explore character. Characters have several episodes, several seasons, to develop and change. We call this transformation character arc. When I binge watch a television series, it tends to be the plot that keeps me watching, one episode after the next. But… Continue reading Game of Thrones: Birth of the Dragon

Television Review: Sense8

Sense8 is an original Netflix series about eight people around the world who become aware of each other. These sensates, as the show dubs them, share sensual perceptions–sight, sounds, tastes, etc.–visit each other psychic visions, and adopt each other skills to solve individual and group problems. It is an interesting show that is a drama-science… Continue reading Television Review: Sense8