Before HBO’s popular series “Westworld” there had been a previous attempt at serializing the ongoing saga of the robot pleasure vacation destination gone wrong.
As the movies Westworld and Futureworld start as an attempt to create an amazing, futurist amusement park only to end in failure, much like the plot of the Jurassic Park movies, both the modern “Westworld” HBO series and the network “Beyond Westworld” series involve events that occur after the movies.
Only five episodes of Beyond Westworld were made and only three made it on air before it was cancelled in March 1980 but it’s a fascinating look back at the 1980s view of technology, computers and even the battle of the sexes.
The robots in Beyond Westworld seem to have guts made from unspooled cassette tapes and the computer used to control them are mostly flashing buttons, mechanical dials and volt meters.
The most popular methods of destroying the robots is electricution, water or the occasional garbage truck.
In each episode the hero, security chief John Moore of the Delos Corporation, the company behind Westworld, has to stop the evil mastermind creator for the robots Simon Quiad.
Quiad created the robots for Westworld but sees their potential beyond amusement and intents to take over the world with 200 robots he managed to get out of Westworld, all for the betterment of mankind or at least to remake mankind in his verson of perfection. Quaid as you might expect is brilliant but has a big ego with megalomaniac tendencies.
Luckily for us regular flesh and blood humans, Moore manages to foil Quaid’s various plots.
Along side Moore is Pamela Williams played by Connie Sellecca and a scientist as Joseph Oppenheimer played by William Jordan.
The Pam character is played mostly for eye candy and to be the butt of Moore’s sexist jokes.
“Your as beautiful as an ememy as you were as a friend” – Quaid says to Pamela.
Characters who are considered artistic, musical or maybe gay are dressed with scarfs tied around their necks.
Protests against nuclear power is featured prodominately in one episode.
“He knows exactly what he is doing, he’s the bomb” – Pamela
“Let’s face it, John. It’s your wits against Quaid’s machines” – Special Agent Pamela Williams.
I thought this particular segment stood out as outdated to say the least.
The robots can be reprogrammed by Quaid using voice commands and the robots can pass along the programming from one another as in this exchange with a sexy robot.
“Roberta, go to tape 41 please, this is a top priority, you are to return immediately and activate model 618, basic tape structure is sufficient, wipe out strikes 3, 8, and 14 and program with the new data you have on Pamela Williams, have Lawerance structure likeness, character and attitude, compute how long that will take please.”
“The model will be ready and functioning in 9 hours and 38 minutes”
“Excellent, thank you my dear”
Cue sexy music and the robots drives away.
Football quarterback tries to pick up Pamela undercover as a cheerleader. Tosses football at her in the men’s locker room.
“Are you all right?”
“Just don’t tackle me, I’m not wearing pants.”
Later he makes his move in a hotel hallway:
…
“I haven’t had some much fun in my life. But I do have a personal question.”
“What?”
“How do you like your eggs?”
“Fried”
“Do you like bacon?”
“Love it, why?”
“Well, I’m planning our breakfest menu. I’ve never met anyone like you Pam. Your so down to Earth, real, honest.”
“Earl, I don’t think…”
“Uh, you’re not suppose to, I’m the quarterback. I call the play. I take back what I told you. I will throw a pass…”
Movies in for a kiss.
….
Quaid builds a duplicate, robot version of Pam who tries to kill John but falling and smashing on to the bleachers.
Openheimer is examining the broken robot version of Pam and says “Nothing personal” as he reaches to pull down the robots shorts and play doctor.
Pam looks with alarm and John Moore gets excited before Pam pushes him away.
“Enough is a enough. A girl has some pride” – Pam.
Episode 3
Pamela is undercover as a reporter interviewing the members of a rock band suspected of smuggling uranium out of a nuclear plant.
John Moore meets up with Pamala in the hallway of the Ramanda Inn.
“Pam, how are you doing that guy…”
“I’ve been through almost every guy’s room.”
“And you still look fresh as a daisy”
“You have a one track mind”.
“You never complained before. Anything exciting?”
“Nothing. Including one dressed in a towel acting like I was a groupie. Don’t worry I handled it.”
“I’m sure you did. But one of them has to be the robots.”
“Well if it’s Spooner or Lingo, Quaid has come up with some very unusual programing.”
“So you don’t think it’s either one of them.”
“Trust me.”
Sigh.