It is not unusual for a good show to be canceled in under 5 episodes. But as we write this, we can only remember BEYOND WESTWORLD because it still makes us angry when remembering its failure to live up to the premise. Whatever it was, it was not WESTWORLD. WW was a virtual reality adventure that let people cast off their stultifying realities and escape into the worlds and the roles that they think they would prefer. This review suggests that fans coming to BW hungered for more of Westworld, more exploration of the other parts of the WW park, such as Roman world and Medieval world, and the introduction of other divisions (like, ah, Marsworld?). Did any movie fan really come to the show hoping for corporate intrigue plots set in a modern milieu? We honestly don't know whether our devotion to the original movie could have brought us back for more than the 3 hours actually broadcast.
Ironically, the same sort of TV plotting wrecked similar shows, including TOTAL RECALL 2070 (which also unnecessarily focused on corporate intrigue). I loved Arnold Schwarzenegger's movie and wanted to see a series featuring other people getting lost in grandiose fantasies. The TR (2012) remake was okay, but lesser. Wherever the original had a better idea, the remake dropped it. In effect, WESTWORLD and TOTAL RECALL were sf versions of FANTASY ISLAND, done in a grownup style. On that score, we enjoyed the too-cute Fernando Lamas version FI at first, but found it kid-stuff over the long grind. 1998's FANTASY ISLAND with Malcolm McDowell offered the intriguing idea of darker and stronger fantasies hanging somewhere between heaven and hell, but immediately let us down. Under all the window-dressing, the 1998 fantasies were just as ephemeral and happy-happy as they had been on the old show. This is to say the remake fell between stools. The more sinister characters must have put off the holdovers who wanted the old version unchanged, while the tame plot resolutions could not meet the expectations of people who wanted unsweetened darkness and depth. (Like someone who craves "Supernatural" and instead gets "Scooby-Doo.") I'm suggesting that at least one of these three series should have explored the psychology of dreams and nightmares, of deep-seated aspirations and ambitions. The core of a good show should have been guests' fantasies, and the acting out of those fantasies should have typically left the subject haunted, substantially changed, and endowed with new wisdom, and perhaps even new lives.
So far, HBO has not offered plot descriptions of their upcoming series. I'd like to see it go where 1973's WESTWORLD (forget about the weak sequel, FUTUREWORLD) had pointed the way. We can only hope. But, hey, because FANTASY ISLAND (1998) and TOTAL RECALL 2070 were such fiascoes, those settings, too, remain ripe for remakes with better ideas.
