fonofanatical

When this series appeared, I loved the innocence of it and the various struggles of Dr Murphy with his being on the spectrum and his human actions and struggles with interpersonal relationships. Now, it has turned into another dating scene and this episode was ruined by what I witnessed at the end of the show. I'll not be watching another episode. Sorry. I didn't tune into this show to get this sort of Hollywood writing on my large screen TV.

Sometimes an event occurs that when it is over, you just sit there dazed in amazement. This episode "Songbird Road: Part One" is one such event. Often TV shows will rely on sex or violence to boost ratings. But "This Is Us" takes a different approach by creatively weaving a story of a family through the decades and then telling that story from the perspective of different family members from their life lens as children and then as adults.

This episode is the epitome of outstanding story-telling. The story is excellently told using different time lines, amazing acting (even secondary characters), perfect scripting, and phenomenal camera work. Yes, the adjectives are appropriate!

If you want a lot of action, if you want laugh tracks and silly comedy, if you want blood or thrills, this series and this episode are not for you. But if you value a powerful drama that displays the human condition in its natural form.... with the struggles, emotions, achievements, failures and victories.... then you will not find a better series anywhere. This episode "Songbird Road: Part One" is the Mount Everest of TV drama. It is hard to imagine that any TV drama could be any better than what was shown and achieved in this particular episode!

Westworld is a mirror that reflects the debauchery of it's guests as reflected by its treatment of the hosts and the designs of it's makers. Well heeled guests are treated to their dreams by entering into their own arcade world of the Wild West where they can drink, gamble, kill, or fornicate at will. We are led to assume that this is merely a pay-for-play virtual reality atmosphere, but hints of a more ulterior motive are given and we will need to see how the writers of this series unveil the backstory and unravel the future story as pioneers of their imaginations in a world of their creation within a world of the created.

Westworld is beautifully crafted. The scenic vistas of the southwest are contrasted with the sterile laboratory of the gods of the game. The disparities of the game in the West and behind the scenes among its creators are remarkable, but also we discover the similarities. Westworld leads the viewer to believe that the game is played by the hosts living in their Groundhog Day existence of loops with guests who visit and alter the play within specified programs. But as we view the series, we wonder if the real wildness of the West is not really what is occurring behind the scenes with the creators as the hosts are programmed, tweaked, rolled-back, repaired, etc. Perhaps the real wild west is in man's future as we tempt our own fates and discover that we live in a prison of our own sins.

This is a layered series with writers behind the scenes of Westworld portraying a story of designers who create a world for customers. The first episode places us as a god between the worlds as we set a foot in each and travel the cowboy trails to discover who is who and what is what. And in the first episode, we view the horizon and are introduced to both the beauty and the darkness...truly this is both the best of times and the worst of times portraying mankind's future. HBO has introduced us to a world that represents our future and our past. Choosing to use the setting of the wild west was well played as it enables the introduction of both the romance and the griminess that represents the best and worst boundaries of mankind.

Expect this series to flourish. The writers have opened up many doors enabling the series to develop in a myriad of different directions. Saddle up, grab your Colt SAA pistols, and be alert for dangers as we travel the trails of this brave new world where boundaries will be built, boundaries will be challenged and boundaries will collapse. Along the trail, we will discover the heroes, the villains, and the victims. A sci-fi puzzle such as this could not be more exciting!