Westworld S2: The Door (BD)

Note: I saw every episode On Demand.

After an epic shot-in-the-dark season one finale, the park closed down for a year to refine its inhabitants for a new season. And what an intriguing second season it was. Lisa Joy Nolan and Jonathan Nolan (younger brother of acclaimed director, writer, and producer Christopher Nolan) have created a cerebral science-fiction drama based on the novel Westworld by Michael Crichton, and the questions it poses are as thought-provoking as the storylines are intricately woven, like the shroud Penelope wove and unwove every night whilst waiting for her husband to come home from the war. An all-star ensemble cast fills the confines of the theme park, where you can do whatever you desire without consequences.

Be Warned, however: This iteration is not for children, as the show is rated TV-MA for graphic violence, blasphemy, strong profanity, graphic female and male nudity, and some strong sexual content.

WestWorld has been renewed for a third season.

As is typical for me, I am not reviewing the quality of the show. There are many wonderful reviews available from talented reviewers, pretty much all over the the place and, because I love it, I am biased. But, for those who don't know, Westworld, simply put, is a program for more mature audiences, not children, exploring the issues of artificial intelligence, artificial consciousness and the morality of enslaving a population of artificial people and airs on HBO. As to the substance of this review, read below for specific information on the Blu-ray and 4K Blu-ray releases of the glorious second season of HBO's Westworld. Of course, I will update this review as additional information becomes available.

Westworld Season Two, like Season One, consists of 10 episodes and, as such, the episodes will be spread over three discs. Also, like the first season, the distribution company is Warner Brothers, not HBO. As a result, there will be two sets, a 1080p Blu-ray and a 4K Blu-ray. The 4K set may also include regular 1080p Blu-rays, for a total of six discs, and I will update this review once that information has been finalized. As was the case for the first season sets, with Westworld filmed on genuine film but then scanned at 2K for touch-up and broadcast, certain attempts at a 4K presentation didn't look quite right, and even looked pretty bad, so they used the 2K scan and upscaled. This process, for the Season One releases, produced a 4K release that left many fans very unhappy, having expected a far better picture than the 1080p release and having gotten a picture that is only a little bit better, a little brighter, a little sharper. My family actually opted on buying the regular Blu-ray set, because it looked almost as good, very nearly to my eyes, and had a lower price tag. But, again, to be clear, for Season Two, we are facing the exact same situation, with a 2K scanned master being used for an upscaled 4K presentation. So far, the company has said that it looks better upscaled than anything they were able to do when revisiting the original film footage. I don't know what their attempts with the original film looked like but I know there was so much cleanup done on the 2K scans for broadcast that it is entirely possible the film would have to be cleaned up again, at far too great a cost, to make it worth redoing every last little bit of post-production work on each and every scene, so it is looking like the 4K release will be an upscale for every season, unless they change the way they scan and clean up the film during the production process itself. As such, the 4K will not be as sharp or clear or clean as a true 4K presentation from 4K elements. I can't make the decision for you but I will remind you to please keep that in mind when selecting the version you want.

Now to the best news, both sets will be competitively priced, as compared to HBO's releases, which are usually significantly more expensive than their Warner counterparts. Warner happens to be at the forefront of competitive pricing that takes the average family income into account. For that, I say a heartfelt, "Thank you, Warner". On sale, you will probably be able to get the 1080p release for under $30 in the first few weeks of release and the 4K for under $45. Of course, prices drop as time goes on, so, as always, pick your moment according to your budget.

The special features list, so far, includes more behind the scenes featurettes, to complement those from the spectacular first season release, and a Digital HD copy. Now, some companies are pulling Digital HD copies from their releases, such as, most notably for me, STARZ. So far, Warner Brothers has handled the move away from the Ultraviolet format with great concern for keeping their customers happy and have been including Digital HD codes that are redeemable at the major vendors, just like the old UV codes.

Again, I will update the review with additional specifics, as they become available, but this is already shaping up to be a set I will have to purchase, as soon as it comes out. Good luck finding the right show for you.

Great series with great characters and excellent visuals and music.

The series is great, and I can't wait to see Season Two on Blue Ray disc. I knocked off one star because there is an apparent error in the product description. It says it is Region 1 and will not play on most DVD players in the US. Since Region 1 is the US, this does not make sense. I'm hoping that the correct part is that the discs are coded for Region 1, and that the statement that they will not play on DVD players in the US is wrong; it should say that it will not play on most DVD players sold outside the US, Australia, etc.