INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Image copyrightHBOImage caption
Although the video claimed to be "full of spoilers" it instead featured a specially
filmed song
Westworld's creators have fooled fans of the TV show and much of the media with an offer to reveal spoilers
about its next season ahead of broadcast.Two show-runners took part in a QA on discussion site Reddit in which they said they would publish
a video laying out the plot of the second series if enough people voted in favour.They said they believed the move would help protect the
programme's secrets.But the video was actually a spoof featuring a notorious song.After about 90 seconds of footage, the android Dolores -
played by the actress Evan Rachel Wood - launches a retro-themed version of Rick Astley's Never Gonna Give You Up.The 1980s hit features in
an internet meme called Rickrolling, in which the original video for the song normally makes an unexpected appearance.The rest of the
25-minute video switches to black and white and shows a dog sitting in front of a piano while the Westworld theme tune plays on
repeat.Several news sites, including Time, Vanity Fair, Quartz and Cnet were fooled by the prank before its punchline was revealed.Jonathan
Nolan and Lisa Joy - the two executive producers involved - had sold the gag by referencing another HBO series, Game of Thrones
In that case, readers of the novels had helped guard against others revealing the fantasy show's twists online before the relevant episodes
had been transmitted."It's a new age, and a new world in terms of the relationship between the folks making shows and the community watching
them," wrote Mr Nolan and Ms Joy."And trust is a big part of that
We've made our cast part of this decision, and they're fully supportive."Several of Reddit's users had expressed misgivings about the idea
before it was revealed to be a spoof, but appreciated the effort afterwards."You sly dog," wrote one member.The publicity stunt should
perhaps not have come as a surprise.Last month, the two executives told an audience at the SXSW festival in Texas that they were working on
a "controversial plan" to interact with their community, adding that they liked to mess with Reddit "as much as possible".
