That and the close-miked voice. Gets me every time.

Can we at least agree that garlic salt is good for absolutely nothing?

Sadly, I immediately got that.

About that restoration: make sure he get's that copyright notice in the credits this time.

Robert Mattey created that mechanical shark; I don't think he gets the credit he deserves due to these endlessly repeated stories. What he pulled off had never been done, for heaven's sake, and when the shark finally does show up, it looks pretty damned good.

I just started re-reading; his prose is remarkably lyrical.

I'm not sure why you think that. He's one of the Executive Producers…same as Nolan…and as such "supervises the creative content as well as the financial aspects of a production." He's also the Master of All Reboots and his influence is all over the series. Here's one of the (many) pieces he popped up in during the…

I have to admit I up-voted a comment about how wrong it was. The thing is, it didn't really even register until I read this review, and thought "gosh, that is racist, isn't it?", then felt guilty about not having initially felt indignant, and in a panic upvoted, hoping nobody noticed how insensitive I'd been.

But even when Lost spiraled off into weirder weirdness, I, the viewer, never felt lost. The parallel timelines were pretty clearly laid out, and I had such an intimate take on those characters, that I felt like I was on a goofy journey with them, sharing their curiosity. (And yeah, being jerked around a bit, but it…

I'm thinking C+, tops. My issue isn't the waiting, since the pace has picked up, but rather that the payoffs aren't derived organically from drama or character, but rather come about through MASSIVE dumps of expository dialogue. It's like they realized things weren't working, then just said "fuck it" and shot a few…

Jimmy didn't pee in the punchbowl. Jimmy's more of a "Chicago Sunroof" kinda' guy.

That kid? Stan Lee's first cameo.

Whoever it is looks suspiciously like the kid. Someone order blood tests….

Some of Hannibal's snazzier duds would have been at home on that page….

I see what you mean; it's like playing a game in perpetual "God Mode," which isn't really playing a game at all.

The premise is fine for a pulpy 90-minute film…which sums up all of Crichton's work…but doesn't support the extended suspension of disbelief required for a weekly series.

JJ Abrams gave a TED talk, way back in 2007, on the whole "Mystery Box" thing. (Sorry if this has been pointed out already, but it was new to me):

Yeah, Harris going on about the maze felt kind of like glancing at a spoiler site.

So is this entertaining version of Westworld <gasp!> the new normal? Or just a bit of narrative throat-clearing? Will the cool machinery make frequent appearances? Will Hopkins be given more interesting things to do and say? Will the writers stop doling out tired AI tropes in hushed whispers of pseudo-profundity?

I winced when Harris flipped over the skull and revealed a fleshy version of my old Zork map. I groaned and pounded the desk. "Is this", I wept, "all you're going to do with Westworld?"