Fallout: The Show (maybe)

[fragger]

My thoughts exactly, D_B. I've been burned plenty of times by trailers which show the only "good" bits in a movie/TV show, and even those good bits aren't that good when seen in relation to the rest of the show.

The new Ridley Scott film "Napoleon" is a case in point. As a history nut I was quite enthused about seeing that, until the reviews started coming in. It now doesn't sound like something I'd want to watch at all. I don't normally place a huge amount of store in any one review, but when there are quite a few of them and they're all saying the same things, it becomes fairly clear what's what.

[PZ]

Indeed; the Assassin's Creed movie looked good in trailer, but was a dud.

Fallout looks interesting, but like you gents, it remains to be seen.

I think I saw "Harold" from Person of Interest for a few seconds in one part of the trailse.

[fragger]

The only actor I know in the trailer is Walter Goggins, who played Boyd Crowder in the TV series "Justified" (which I really enjoyed). He plays the "ghoul" with the hat you see in the trailer, but without the excessively prune-like skin and blackened-out eyes. He looks only slightly prunish At least he has no nose, as a ghoul should...

Quick comment about Fallout 4 (yes, I'm sill playing it, but I didn't want to revive that long-winded topic just for this short note), the other day a Deathclaw threw a rock at me. Six years or so I've been playing the game and that's the first time I've ever seen that happen! I also discovered you can pick up a garbage can lid and use it as a shield, plus I'm still hearing bits of dialogue I haven't heard before. That game never ceases to surprise, even after all this time!

[fragger]

Fallout the TV show is screening now (on Amazon Prime) and I'm six episodes in already. It's actually a far better production than I thought it would be. Very good cast, mostly unknowns except for Kyle Maclachlan, Walton Goggins and a few others, but pretty good performances all round. The production values are quite high, and CGI where it has been used is of a high standard, even excellent at times.

I have to say, the producers have done an outstanding job of recreating the Fallout look in terms of sets, locations, costumes and hardware, particularly the Vault scenes, which are extremely faithful to those in the game. A lot of effort has been put in there. Other sets and locations are great too, like a town called "Filly" which is strongly reminiscent of Diamond City in FO4 (the show is set in what's left of L.A.) Brotherhood of Steel Knights in their T-60 power armor suits look very cool, as do their Vertibirds and a Prydwen-style airship which - as far as I've seen - only appears in the first episode.

Story-wise, it gets better as it goes along. It felt a bit iffy at first, but the more it goes on the more intriguing it gets, with multiple connected threads which look like they will all converge for some sort of climax.

It's quite violent and gory at times, but so is the game... Some of the quirky dark humor of the game has been preserved. Whether the show will appeal to people who haven't played the games is a question - some of the stuff relating to the games' "lore" will likely go over their heads. But it's a treat for fans of the game, with a wealth of recognizable content to spot (I even saw an issue of "Wasteland Survival Guide" in the background in one shot, which looked like it came straight out of the game). Very few liberties have been taken with the games' concepts and aesthetics, which is to the producers' credit (one of whom is Bethesda's own Todd Howard, lead designer of the FO games).

An interesting story aspect concerns Walton Goggins' character, who is a Ghoul but was alive and making a living as a TV-show western star before the bombs fell. His back story is revealed in flashbacks here and there, and where it gets interesting is how he came to be involved with Vault-Tec and how the company came to have its - shall we say, "business model" - based on extreme people management and sociological tinkering.

I'm very much enjoying the show. A bit silly at times (then again, so is the game) but the silly bits are few and far between. Overall it's a way better show than I was expecting. I'd recommend it, at least for Fallout fans.

[PZ]

Funny you should mention this fragger. My wife stumbled upon it while browsing last night and I almost spit up my wine when she said she wanted to watch it - we seldom have movies in common. I've been waiting for it to debut, and frankly, I'd forgotten about it until she found it.

Sadly to my dismay, we did not make it through the first episode when she said she wanted to watch something else.  Oh well, I'll figure out how to watch it.

I'd agree with everything you wrote - looks like it was faithful to the game. The wedding part was kind of slow, but it did set the scene for what was to transpire.

I'm looking forward to the story transitioning out into the wasteland. 

[fragger]

Yeah, it got off to a bit of a shaky start, but if you persevere with it, it definitely gets a lot better. It really hooked me in somewhere around the second or third episode.

I suspected that it might not appeal much to non-gamers, or at least not to non-Fallout fans, so I'm not hugely surprised by Mrs. PZ's reaction to it. In fact I doubt it's the kind of movie which would appeal to women in general. Some, definitely, but certainly not the majority. I certainly don't mean that in any disparaging way, it just is what it is

[PZ]

Totally agree 

She expressed a blank expression that was the dimetric opposite to my delighted visage. I felt right at home when I first saw the Pip-Boy. As I think I've mentioned, I did a bit or exploring into mods and trainers and one of my favorites is a trainer built in to the Pip-Boy. Just seeing the beginning of the first episode brought back many fond memories of the game.

In fact, for the first time ever (for me) the movie actually inspired me to return to a game, rather than being disappointed in a production that is very little like the inspiration game.

[fragger]

I really think you'd enjoy the whole show PZ, so I'd suggest checking it out when you can. I was skeptical myself, but I found myself digging it big-time.

I've finished watching (turns out there's just the 8 episodes) and I have to say I enjoyed it enormously. It really does get much better as it goes along and I was thoroughly invested towards the end - which was very obviously intended to lead to a second season (cue New Vegas...) I guess we'll see if that happens, but if they do make a season 2 and can maintain the quality and fidelity to the source material, I'll certainly be here for it.

For what it's worth, it is currently scoring an 8.7 viewer rating on IMDB. Make of that what you will - the cynic in me guesses that it's mostly Fallout fans posting reviews there.

In any case, and speaking for myself, it's nice not to be disappointed for a change!

[fragger]

Thinking a bit more on it - without giving anything away, the story was quite well wrapped up but still quite apparently left open for continuation. I would rather they had stuck to the games' approach by keeping the first story self-contained, then, if they wanted to make more, have the next installment still set in the Fallout world but with a different location, different story and different characters - just as the games themselves are. That's how I would have gone about it, but what do I know

[PZ]

Dang, you really got me excited now, fragger. I wake up usually an hour or two, or three before the missus and have created a streaming rig that can entertain me while in bed yet now bother her sleep.

I'm starting the series over again tomorrow morning (we did not watch too much into it the other night.

[PZ]

Well, I had the chance to watch 2.5 episodes this morning, and I am hooked. This 8-part series is addicting, and leaves me wanting to binge!

• I LOVE the fidelity between the game and the series
• It feels like I am back in the game when I see things like Pip-Boys being used (they look just like in the game)
• Details like Nuka Cola machines, pre-war posters, trinkets, etc. are all very well done.
• The series gives one an excellent feel for what to expect when you play the game.

This is the first time I have ever been excited to see a movie/series production that was modelled after a game!

Spoilers if you have not seen the series

Here are a few initial observations:

• I wish the game would be remastered with graphics as nicely done as the series!
• I don't know if it was because I was using a PS4, but I never saw the workings of the vault door with such precision
• I really like how the vault commander was kidnapped, and his daughter left the vault to fine him in the wasteland. She knew nothing about the outside and it was interesting to see her progression into the "real workd"
• I saw the character who played Harold Finch in Person of Interest, and here he was as intelligent and mysterious as he was in POI.
• The Ghoul character development was excellent, and I have a greater appreciation for that character in the game. I do not know how they made his face appear kind of skeletal (especially with the nose missing), but it was great.
• The T-60 never really interested me in the game, but now I need to try it on for size - it seems to have great potential.
• There was a scene in which the vault gal (I do not recall her name) had built a fire for the night and heard noises out in the dark, which turned out to be cockroaches. The "Harold" character (forgot his name) was sitting nearby with his dog which attacked the cockroach. Harold explained to her how a fire was not advisable, all of which contributed to her gaining experience in the wasteland.
• The big city - Filly, appeared to be visually consistent with the cities in Fallout. Because the graphics were so good it was much easier to see how to navigate the place than I experienced in the game.

There is so much more, and I can't wait to get back in to the series. In fact, I'll likely watch it more than once.

[fragger]

I'm glad you're enjoying it, PZ. I thought you would It's getting a lot of love from Fallout fans, except for some die-hards who think it isn't "canon" enough...  But there's always a few of them where a video game adaptation is concerned. This show is by far the best such adaptation I've ever seen, not just because of the faithfulness to the original material but also because it's simply a good show in its own right - once you get past the slightly clumsy opening scenes.

Without spoiling anything, there's some neat twists up ahead, and the sub-plot about the pre-war life of Cooper Howard (a.k.a. "The Ghoul") and how his relationship with Vault-Tec developed as well as what the company came to be all about, is really interesting. Walton Goggins is the actor who portrays him, and he's fast becoming one of my favourite actors. I've seen him in a few things now and he shines in everything he does.

I agree, the fidelity to the games in terms of sets, props and locations is meticulous, with tons of cool easter eggs to spot. The production team really went the extra yard there. And I also agree that the Pip-Boys are superbly recreated. I also like how the sounds effects are true to the games, and there are a few instances where the game's theme tune is used.

No laser fights, sadly. You briefly see a major character wielding a game-faithful laser pistol in the last episode, but you don't get to see it fired.

I'm sure I'll watch it again sometime. In fact I was a bit sorry when it was over. There is a season 2 in the works apparently, but it'll be a while.

By the way, I haven't seen that trailer you posted. It doesn't actually contain any scenes from the show though, it's been cobbled together from bits of the various FO games' intro sequences.

[PZ]

I'm so glad you reminded me of the series, fragger 

I still can hardly believe someone actually made a movie/series after a video game that actually entertains afficionados of the game. It is almost like one is within the game, or at least, watching someone else playing. I hope I live long enough for technology to advance enough for graphics and game play to begin to approach what we see in the movies.

I am also delighted that there might be another season, even though I'm only three episodes into the first one. After what you said I'm definitely even more eager to see the rest of the series and am already looking forward to tomorrow morning when I can binge a few more episodes 

[fragger]

There's a movie/TV show reviewer on You Tube called "The Critical Drinker" who I've been watching for quite some time, and I've found his views to be consistently in line with my own. He does a very good job of breaking down movies and shows, and I've come to rely on his reviews as he has never steered me wrong. This is his take on Fallout, and I agree totally with what he says about it:

[PZ]

I have to say I agree with his assessment as well even though I've only seen 6.5 out of the 8 episodes.  It definitely is a captivating series and it certainly has encouraged me to go back into the fallout world.