集結了金牌制片、強力編導和明星卡司的《西部世界》接檔《權力的游戲》，播出四集收獲無數好評，讓劇迷們從蒼涼血腥的冰與火之歌中穿越到復古野蠻的西部世界。或許《西部世界》真的有望成為HBO的又一招牌神劇。

HBO has long stood as a bastion for some of the best shows television has to offer. Its lengthy history is occupied by a handful of truly great series, all culminating in the impressive run it's currently experiencing with Game of Thrones. The adaptation of George R.R. Martin's popular novels has become one of TV's most-watched weekly events every spring. Like all good things though, Game of Thrones eventually will come to an end, with just two shortened seasons left before it goes off the air for good (at least in its current form). This imminent departure leads us to one question: What's next for HBO?
HBO長期以來一直是一些品質絕佳的電視劇的陣地。在HBO悠久的歷史上出現了幾部偉大劇作，它們都和《權力的游戲》一樣達到了收視巔峰。該劇改編自喬治?R?R?馬丁的人氣小說，是每年春季收視最高的周播節目之一。和所有的佳作一樣，《權力的游戲》終將結束，距該劇永遠停播僅剩下兩短季（至少從目前來看）。《權力的游戲》的即將完結給我們帶來一個問題：HBO的下一步是什么？

With Game of Thrones set to exit stage left, the network is going to need an heir apparent. Lucky for them, they've been preparing one for years now with Westworld. The artificial intelligence-centric sci-fi epic will seek to ease the pain of leaving Westeros, and from the look of early trailers, we see no reason why it won't. Here's why.
由于《權力的游戲》即將下線，HBO電視臺需要確定一部接檔劇。幸運的是，他們籌備多年如今制作出了《西部世界》。這部圍繞著人工智能的科幻史詩劇將緩解我們告別《權力的游戲》的痛苦。從早期的預告片來看，我們沒有理由認為不是這樣。原因如下：

1. Westworld already has a five year plan in place
《西部世界》已有五年規劃

The long-term success of any show is rooted in the ability of its writers to plan out its story on a large scale. Game of Thrones' own roadmap was already in place before its first episode ever aired, helped by George R.R. Martin's series of novels. In terms of the years-long production process, Westworld lead actor James Marsden provides us with some insight, courtesy of Entertainment Weekly.
任何電視劇的長期成功都源自其編劇對劇情的總體策劃能力。得益于喬治·R·R·馬丁的系列小說，《權力的游戲》的故事發展線在第一集開播前就已經寫好。據《娛樂周刊》報道，《西部世界》的主演詹姆斯?麥斯登透露了該劇歷經數年之久的制作過程。

It wasn't about getting the first 10 (episodes) done, it was about mapping out what the next five or six years are going to be. We wanted everything in line so that when the very last episode airs and we have our show finale, five or seven years down the line, we knew how it was going to end the first season.
這不是說搞定前10集，而是規劃出接下來5、6年的劇情會是什么樣的。我們讓所有劇情都按照故事線來走，這樣我們早在第一季就知道五至七年后，最后一集大結局會是什么樣的。

Compare that to the decidedly more "fly by the seat of their pants" approach of sci-fi contemporaries like Lost and Battlestar Galactica, and we see a far more meticulously crafted narrative for Westworld. This only serves to strengthen the long-term potential of the fledgling series, helped by an already fully-formed story arc.
《迷失》、《太空堡壘卡拉狄加》等同類科幻作品顯然更多是憑感覺，與這種方式相比，我們看到《西部世界》的敘事精細得多。借助完全成形的故事線，這只會提升該部新劇的長期潛力。

2. The A-list cast
一流的演員陣容

Game of Thrones is famous for bringing in the most talented actors in the business, from Peter Dinklage's lengthy run as Tyrion Lannister, to Ian McShane's tragically short-lived appearance last season. Westworld will be pulling out all the stops for its own cast, bringing on Anthony Hopkins, Evan Rachel Wood, Ed Harris, James Marsden, and Jeffrey Wright.
從彼特?丁拉基長期扮演的提利昂?蘭尼斯特，到伊恩?麥柯肖恩上一季短暫的悲劇亮相，《權力的游戲》以邀請業內最具天賦的演員出演而著稱。《西部世界》將使出渾身解數打造其演員陣容，請安東尼?霍普金斯，埃文?蕾切爾?伍德，埃德?哈里斯，詹姆斯?馬斯登和杰弗里?賴特參與演出。

This isn't just a TV-worthy collection of actors either; it's a cast that would be coveted for even the most high-profile of summer blockbusters. Whether or not the show up ends up being a thematic success remains to be seen, but even if it flopped story-wise, it wouldn't be for lack of talent attached to the project.
同樣，他們也不是一群小銀幕演員，就連最受關注的暑期大片都會覬覦這個演員陣容。最終能否成功獲得主流觀眾的認可還要走著瞧，但即使劇情不受歡迎，那也絕不是因為演員陣容不夠強大。

3. A strong original story from Michael Crichton
邁克爾?克萊頓強大的原著

Michael Crichton is most known as the mastermind behind the original Jurassic Park novel. That said, his body of work expands far beyond just that, having written and directed the 1973 film HBO's own iteration of Westworld is based on.
邁克爾?克萊頓最為人熟知的身份是小說《侏羅紀公園》的作者。當然，他的作品遠遠不止這些，HBO翻拍的《西部世界》基于1973年邁克爾?克萊頓創作并執導的同名電影。

4. The showrunners
《西部世界》制作人

A show is only as good as the people in charge of its creative direction. In the case of Westworld, the team of writers and producers is a veritable who's who of sci-fi luminaries. Jonathan Nolan (The Dark Knight) and Lisa Joy (Pushing Daisies) are attached as the showrunners, while J.J. Abrams and Bryan Burk (Star Wars: The Force Awakens, Fringe) will serve as executive producers. There are a whole lot of talented cooks in the kitchen, and combined, they make up an A-team worthy of Westworld's bold premise.
一部劇的質量取決于其負責創意指導的人。在《西部世界》中，編劇和制片人團隊都是名副其實的科幻作品大師。喬納森?諾蘭（《蝙蝠俠前傳2：黑暗騎士》）和麗薩?喬伊（《靈指神探》）擔任制作人，而J?J?艾布拉姆斯和布萊恩?伯克（《星球大戰：原力覺醒》）將擔任執行制片人。該劇中有許多專業人才，他們一起組成了一支能駕馭《西部世界》大膽假設的一流隊伍。

5. There's nothing like Westworld on TV today
《西部世界》在當今電視上絕無僅有

Part of what's made Game of Thrones so impactful in the landscape of modern TV has been the way it's blazed brand new territory for fantasy epics. You'd be hard-pressed to find another show that's managed to accomplish what GoT has, despite the better efforts of pale imitations (looking at you, Marco Polo).
《權力的游戲》在當代電視圈有如此影響力的部分原因是，它為奇幻史詩劇點亮了全新的領域。盡管相形見絀的仿制劇已經發揮得更好（說你呢，《馬可?波羅》），但是你還是很難找到一部劇可以取得《權力的游戲》所取得的成就。

Westworld's own creative ambitions are similarly unique. If it ends up catching on, it has the potential to launch the artificial intelligence sci-fi concept into the television mainstream. Of course it could also fly too close to the sun and burn up in a blaze of glory, but at least for now, we remain cautiously optimistic based on the initial buzz.
與之類似，《西部世界》也有野心開創一塊新領域。如果最終能流行起來，該劇便可能將人工智能科幻劇引入主流電視節目。當然，《西部世界》也可能玩火自焚，但是至少目前來看，基于前幾集的口碑，我們對該劇還是可以持有審慎樂觀的態度。

英文來源：CheatSheet
翻譯：董靜
編審：丹妮