My kids and I watched the first two episodes last night, and I’m impressed. It feels like Fallout. I like the characters so far, and they squeeze in enough game references to keep my brain spiking with recognition.
We set the bar pretty low on video game adaptations, but I feel this one’s doing alright so far!
What does everyone else think? (Let’s keep spoilers to a minimum. Most of us probably weren’t able to watch the whole thing in one night.)
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Walton Goggins is killing it. Cooper Howard is definitely my favorite character so far to see his pre-bombs dropping persona vs the smartass ghoul he has become. I really like the exploration of the division that was spreading amongst everyone in the flashbacks.
As far as adaptation, I am pretty happy. I think they are threading the needle relatively well with lore so that someone who hasn’t played the games can pick things up quickly and enjoy(?) the fucked up world of the wasteland.
Favorite quote so far “Thou shalt get sidetracked by bullshit, every damn time.”
To be 100% true to the games, the show would have to spend 25 years on bullshit side quests before they get anywhere close to finding the Overseer.
I said this in another post but it seems more appropriate here. I’m liking how the show is exploring things about the world that the games can’t. Like how the brotherhood ranks work in relation to each other, reproduction and sex in and out of the vaults, what people think of the vaults, and mostly how dangerous raiders can be and how brutal the watlsteland actually is.
Honestly I don‘t see how you coudn‘t explore any if this in the games. I mean you can‘t, but I think that‘s because Bethesda never really cared to explore deeper lore. They probably would‘ve sucked at it anyway. And yes that‘s what I really like about the show so far as well. The Brotherhood seems to draw some inspiration from the first games too which works really well.
Bethesda games have always been weird to me.
It’s an M rated game, so I can huff fictional drugs that slow down time, make me smarter and faster, and then hit a man with a bat and watch him turn into a literal pile of blood, guts, and limbs. Oh and if I get addicted to anything I can take a different drug that fixes it all in seconds.
But showing one tit would be way too much, man.
I like that the show actually explored some of the more human aspects of fallout. What is like for Lucy to actually see real violence for the first time, and experience cruelty. How a guy like Maximus would have no sex education to speak of because he’s been raised in a paramilitary cult since he was 5, and it’s not like you’re gonna ask your commanding officer why your PP gets hard sometimes.
But showing one tit would be way too much, man.
There is nudity in a scene in a later episode. Not of Lucy tho, if that’s what you’re complaining about it lacking.
Edit: Wait, maybe you’re talking about the games.
My wife and I saw the first two episodes last night as well, and we both really enjoyed it. Me as a long-time fan, and her going in totally blind.
It pretty much felt like playing the game, which is about as high of praise as I can possibly give.
Watching ep. 1 right now. It’s pretty brilliant.
Loved the blue and yellow cowboy suits, shame that was 200 years ago… there’s a flashback story there…
Glad to see it’s not just the vault dweller story, but the knights too.
And how about that Maximus? I hear Marvel needs a new Kang, maybe de-age him a bit?
Also dug using Predicta TVs but I’m biased. :)
Episode 1 notes, written without retrospection:
I’ve never been thrilled about digging too deeply into the details of the pre-war. To me, questions like “who started it?” should remain murky since the real answer is that it doesn’t matter.
That said, I did like the pre-war scene of Goggins as a cowboy. The design of the pre-war homes and atmosphere felt right. I mildly recoiled at the “thumb measures blast distance” thing, because that’s quite actually something a commenter on Reddit made up about the Vault Boy pose and it’s become accepted fact. I did notice right at the beginning of the episode that one of the parents was asian, and that only caught my attention because the anti-Chinese (and implicit wider anti-asian) sentiment in the pre-war US has been something long established, so it was weird to see that guy at a party hosted by somebody willing to call Goggins a commie at the drop of a hat.
Lucy’s introduction was really well done. I liked her mannerisms and nervous ticks during the application process.
Lucy’s montage shows her using a Sterling submachinegun. Probably just a production choice to fit the aesthetic. Interesting choice though.
Oh neat, 1984 Paul Atredies.
The fake corn field with the projectors on the walls feels like something that would have been right at home in the sensibilities of Fallout 2.
The reproductive limit and culture of the vault is hitting that right note of dark, funny, but also logical outcome.
Very briefly there is a shot of a priest for the wedding wearing a modified vault suit. Neat.
Lucy’s actress is killing it with the facial expressions.
Vault 33 dwellers still think of themselves as Americans.
Vault 32 dwellers have a lot of tattoos and scars at the wedding. Obviously deliberate production choice. Wait a minute are these raiders impersonating vault dwellers?
Dead corn field is chilling.
Yup. Raiders. Proud of myself for calling it.
The gore is on point already with that blender-to-face hit.
I swear that knife she picks up from the raider is designed specifically to resemble the Fallout 1 rusty knife.
Jet confirmed in the show.
BOS is flying US flag along with their own.
BOS recruits wearing OG107s or something really close.
BOS blimps are just a thing everyone now. Aight.
Casual BOS barracks masturbation.
A vault is supposed to have roughly 1000 people. That group of survivors is in the 20s or 30s. “Dwindled numbers”? That vault is done.
So the quest is find a lost relative, huh? Mr. Todd, you are a crafty one, slipping into that writer’s room.
Vault 33’s door is just sitting right on the surface? Weird. Traditionally vault doors are at least partially hidden.
Ghoul Goggins is cool.
A vault is supposed to have roughly 1000 people. That group of survivors is in the 20s or 30s. “Dwindled numbers”? That vault is done.
Something I’ve noticed in high-budget productions from the last ten years or so: studios do a lot less with extras than they used to. Instead, budget is poured into CGI, and very creative use of sets and shots is done to give the illusion of a densely populated situation. Kind of like Star Trek.
That was the same airship as FO4. It had the name “Prydwen” on the side of it and everything.
Call the phone number for the vault sales people. You will not regret. Pinkie promise.
Wouldn’t have even thought to try! Thanks for the info!
One EP in so far and I like it a lot so far. The atmosphere is on point so far
If they made the sets into a Vault hotel or wasteland resort, I would start planning our next vacation immediately!
But how do you feel about it so far?
Absolutely fantastic. My partner and I loved it. I’m seeing a lot of whiny butthurt about how it “bastardized the canon” though and people are now “done with the series”. I say, “bye felicia!”
I haven’t finished the series yet, but I heard >!it was Vault Tech who dropped the nukes!<
If that’s the bastardisation you’re referring to, it’s actually not surprising if you’ve been paying attention. >!Vault Tech are fucking demons. Half of their vaults are sadistic torture chambers disguised as “experiments”, it makes total sense they would have instigated everything!<
You are correct. That, and >!some inconsistencies in the timeline they think rendered NV non canon. However, I think that’s an exaggeration.!< Fanboys are gonna fanboy, though. They don’t like it because it’s not their ideal lore, so they’re pretending it isn’t canon and getting super dramatic over on reddit. So cringey.
There’s SO many suggestions and hints though. Anyone who actually read the lore in terminals and the various journal entries would’ve seen that coming. It 100% makes sense.
For what it’s worth, Bethesda is salty as fuck that the best game in the franchise they had nothing to do with.
Lol yeah, I think I read somewhere they got beef with obsidian and nv.
I’m pretty sure the answer to “who started it” was always Vault-Tec/Enclave.
Mainland China was being invaded so there’d always been a question of a defensive launch but they were just so comically evil that it could hardly be any other answer.
Yeah that’s not a new theory
https://www.reddit.com/r/Fallout/comments/10fl6oc/vaulttec_started_the_great_war_is_there_anything/
but the show doesn’t say “vault tec literally launched the nukes,” way more likely they worked to escalate the conflict as quickly as possible
I’ve been a Fallout super fan since the first game dropped in 1997. I’m done with the first two episodes and happy as a clam. This adaptation is fantastic.
I had never heard of the games until I saw a combo pack that included Fallout 1 & 2, at Walmart for $10. It sounded like an interesting game, and at $10, it was worth the risk.
That random purchase honestly changed my life.
I keep going back to the wasteland every chance I get.
I got the first game used at Electronics Boutique for like $15. I was getting into computer RPGs as a kid and the scifi setting made this seem unique. The box art was striking too. Like you, that purchase changed my life. I went from “yeah, I enjoy RPGs” to “This game is part of my personality now.”
I own each game and I replay either 3, 4, and New Vegas at least once a year.
I’m presently revisiting the first game, the TV series put me in the mood. First time I’ve played it in maybe 15/16 years. Stuff is still magic, even if it’s jarring to go back to how things began
I’ve tried to play the originals again, but between the jankiness of a game that old, the difficulty, and an overall lack of free time, I didn’t get very far in either of them.
That’s ok though, scratched that itch at the time!
That’s a shame. I still think the first game has the most interesting and viscerally repulsive villain.
It’s quite tight and honestly not very janky. The second game has the tradeoff of massive expansion for more instability and bugs.
They certainly laid a foundation for something incredible
I like it a lot, and it got my wife into Fallout.
I’m not happy about the power armor, ghoul makeup, or the decision to have very obvious real world car frames rusting away. It nailed everything else in my book though.
All things considered it’s a blast to watch, and did I mention it got my wife into Fallout? She’s been asking questions about the lore, and she couldn’t care less about any other game outside of Dream Light Valley before this. If it gives us another thing to bond over and gets her into a series that helped me through some of the worst parts of my life, I’m all about it.
I loved every minute of it! Thought it was incredibly well cast! Lucy & her brother, The Goul, Ma June and Wilzig were among my favourites! I loved the world, the T60 armour, the wildlife, Filly, Snip-Snip, the pre-war period and how they managed to get at least three main characters through their own interlocking story arcs and come to a satisfactory conclusion so that if there was never a season 2 it still felt pretty complete. Looking forward to seeing more in this world!
Played a few hours of Fallout 4, couldn’t get into it. Binged the series over the last few days, I really enjoyed it!
As someone who hasn’t played the games and am 5 episodes in, I’m not finding myself particularly attached to the series if that makes sense. I’m also not sure if I shouldn’t just pick the games up on steam and run through them in the coming months - partially because I’m not convinced they’re in my style of play (I mostly like older arcade shmups and fps, like Doom eternal etc). That being said, I can see the direction they’re going. The character development is pretty obvious with only a few a-ha moments. I keep wondering when for those who aren’t as engaged in the game will have a more complete picture, but also understand that most shows didn’t give up the ghost all at once anyways just to rope you in. Curious what others who are only in passing familiarity with the game think as well.
Thanks for that perspective. I know that all the references to game locations and items cause my brain to spike, but if you’ve never spent hours searching for Issue #12 of Grognak the Barbarian, you probably wouldn’t even notice or care when he pops up on the TV in the background.
I really hope that non-fans enjoy the series as it is, because nearly every video game to film adaptation has to bastardize the original idea to make it more palatable to the general public, and the result is usually disappointing to the fans, and mediocre to everyone else.
If Fallout can be this true to source, AND appeal to the general public, video game movies might stop being such a joke. We’re looking at you next, Borderlands, but I expect that will be less like Fallout and more like Street Fighter.
Good call on borderlands. I’m hopeful for that to be good but will make sure my personal bar is low so it doesn’t get soul crushing watching it. Almost done with the season - if I had to say anything, my guess was that it would be a little more science fictiony - of course, there are bits here and there. Perhaps more akin to the BioShock franchise - but again, I was blind coming into it and can see the relationships if you’re knowledgeable on game lore. Good call too on someone else here stating to give the vault number a ring. Saw that pop up while watching today. That was good!
I’m a fan, just finished it and I’ve only played New Vegas and FO4.
I honestly just want to watch a good show with an engaging story and themed in a way that matches. Does it fit every bit of lore every created since 1997? I have no fucking idea because I don’t study it like a college course. It’s fine for those who do but I believe the majority are not trying to find faults in every sentence the actors speak.
I liked it, entertaining, exciting, good character motivation, I can’t think of any stupid decisions only to move the plot forward, set design is fantastic, world build is fun. Overall I recommend it.
Why do you say that?
