Westworld: The Podcast

"Westworld" isn't HBO's first foray into westerns. Back in 2004, "Deadwood" premiered and although it didn't last long, it remains one of the finest western-themed television shows ever made. Craig, Heather, and Brian review the pilot. Hear them talk about the history of the real Deadwood, South Dakota (1:30), facts about the show (9:07), our general thoughts about the pilot episode (16:31), the male characters (22:27), the foul language (25:03), the female characters (27:45), and if you should you watch this show if you liked "Westworld" (37:00).

Did you know "Westworld" isn't HBO's only western series? In 2004, "Deadwood" premiered to critical acclaim. Unfortunately, it only lasted three seasons, but it remains one of the great television shows depicting the American frontier in the late 1800s. Craig, Heather, and Brian reviewed the pilot episode. Here's a preview.

Remember the Yul Brynner Easter egg in episode six "The Adversary"? Nick Marra is the artist who created that statue. A special FX artist for over two decades, Nick has incredible stories and we got to hear a bunch of them. Learn how he came to create the Yul Brynner statue, how it ended up in "Westworld," and how a love of movies shaped his career.

Remember the Yul Brynner cameo in episode six, "The Adversary?" Nick Marra made that possible.

He created an amazing sculpture of Yul Brynner's gunslinger character from the original 1973 Westworld. Here's a preview of our interview with him.

"Wild Wild West" was the western/scif-fi/action/comedy/steampunk mashup we never knew we needed. Craig, Heather, and Jake review the 1999 classic.

They discuss 60s tv show upon which it is based (1:25), differences between the show and movie (3:48), facts about the movie (11:56), where they all were during the summer of 1999 (29:59), the film's needless exposition and lack of physics or continuity (35:55), crossdressing Kevin Klein (42:27), how the movie was likely made for 13-year-old boys (44:47), the largely useless female characters (47:35), the amazing and terrible special FX (53:51), how long it actually takes to go west (59:29), Kevin Smith and the giant spider (1:00:34), why there hasn't been a great steampunk movie yet (1:06:39), the brilliance of Kenneth Branagh (1:12:50), and why we still love the movie (1:18:59).

What would you think if you heard we were going to review a western/sci-fi mashup based on something from over 40 years ago? If you thought Westworld, you thought wrong! We're reviewing the 1999 steampunk classic Wild Wild West. Craig, Jake, and Heather give you a preview.