"Oh my God, it's incredible."

"It better be for what we're paying."

The above exchange takes place between two guests - visitors to the titular theme park - early on in the opening episode of Westworld, HBO's new, big-budget, starry drama. It's easy to imagine, however, a similar talk taking place between two execs at the cable giant.

HBO is betting big on Westworld. It has a huge cast and an even larger budget, and is setup to be their next tentpole series; with Game of Thrones gradually approaching its endgame, HBO needs its replacement to come along now, and Westworld has been given the unenviable task of filling the gap.

Whether it can ever reach such lofty heights can only be judged in the coming months, and more like years, but what about the show's own merits? The show has been massively hyped for at least a year now, and production delays and script issues have done nothing to quell it. Early reviews were extremely strong, suggesting that it would somehow manage to live up to the billing.

After having a chance to watch the first few episodes, it's hard not to come to the same conclusion. The show is worth every bit of hype and then some; a gorgeous, deep, and clever sci-fi, that can be billed as HBO's Next Big Thing.