Fallout Tv Series (Amazon Prime)

[High_Beam]

Yeah, a little bit cised to watch this.  I mean I have enjoyed some of the short fan-created fallout live action stories on You Tube so this should be good.

[ThaOGDreamWeaver]

Randomly rabbitholed back into the lore and had a thought...

Spoiler

...going right back to the very first Fallout game.

 

One of the few other known Vaults in LA is a test/showroom model from OG Fallout, which got pressed into real service.

It sheltered a chap called Richard Moreau - or in game lore, the Master, who's both an evil geneticist (if not a very smart one) and has integrated himself into the computer systems. He has also access to both Forced Evolutionary Virus (nasty stuff) and a short-stack of unused nukes.

 

Mad scientist. Likes kidnapping and mutating people. Armed to the teeth. Has a sidekick called "Viscous". No shame about naming policy. And comes with a pair of very handy McGuffins for this kind of quest kick.

 

He seems nice?

 

Edited December 11, 2023 by ThaOGDreamWeaver

[ThaOGDreamWeaver]

Not sure how all of us missed this before, but here’s the full teaser trailer…
 

 

Yep, looks the business, including the beautifully chosen Nat King Cole needle drop, the Brotherhood of Steel, rad roaches, and the “Please Stay Calm” gag. Some surprises too though… why are the other Vault Dwellers going psycho?

[biostem]

I wonder how the show will mesh with the ending of FO:NV.  They got the aesthetics right, and I am staying cautiously optimistic, but am wary of how closely they will adhere to canon.  Where's the NCR, for instance?  We saw their flag in a classroom photo, but not a single soldier in sight...

Edited January 2 by biostem

[ThaOGDreamWeaver]

On a related business note: Amazon are introducing their with-ads tier for Prime shows at the end of January, which they've been messing about with under the FreeVee banner.

 

How many folks are prepared to fork out an extra $3 a month on top of your Prime sub to not get Progressive Flo / Ant & Dec / [insert annoying local ad mascot here] showing up in your shows?

[ThaOGDreamWeaver]

Final trailer is up, and it just wants to liiight... a little flame in your heaaaart...

(with a very large flamethrower)

 

Spoiler

So, whadda we got:

• More personal time with our lead character. I like her already: Ella Purnell channelling a post-apocalyptic Zooey Deschanel, and oddly perfect for it as this bright sparky young thing descends into hell.
• Lots of Goggins time too - hinting as a backstory as a movie cowboy (and Vault-Tec spokeperson.) He is absolutely going to rock this.
• Oh, and why does our friendly-ish neighbourhood Ghoul need that many drugs?
• Clearly Vault Dwellers are known about in the surface world, and have a veeeerry short lifespan on the outside.
• Not too much new on the Brotherhood segment, other than Maximus has a vendetta to exact revenge on.
• More Michael Emerson, though cleaned up a little since last time...
• ...and a cheerfully murderous Mr. Handy, which I think is a guest shot from Matt Berry (or a very decent impersonator).
• World and production values look absolutely up to scratch, as does a darkly humorous slant. 
• Looking at IMDB, quite a few new mid-ranking cast members revealed...
• ...and one interesting note. There's a character listed as Moldaver's Elite Guard. Well, you wouldn't want an Average or Mediocre Guard squad as your best guys, but anyone with the need to call it that sounds like a moustache-twirly Big Bad. No sign of an actual Moldaver on the list though, so I suspect they've got them as a big hidden reveal. Maybe even... Ron?

 

Edited March 7 by ThaOGDreamWeaver

[Ghost]

Can’t wait for this!

[ThaOGDreamWeaver]

Small additional details:

Spoiler

• Vault 33's exit is apparently near Santa Monica Pier. The creators have specified that there's plenty of reasons the Master etc might have missed a Vault under their noses, including better protection/concealment or just incompetence on the part of the minions. But mainly because he's not part of this story. Shush.
• There are some small extra tidbits on the falloutonprime insta channel, breezily narrated by Kyle McLachlan, including a major RadRoach infestation on Sublevel 5. (Do NOT go to Sublevel 5).
• Amazon went all-out with a full experience/village at SXSW, though I'm not sure anything can top Neil Gaiman's elite attack-nun ambush squad.

 

[Haijinx]

On 1/2/2024 at 5:53 PM, biostem said:

I wonder how the show will mesh with the ending of FO:NV.  They got the aesthetics right, and I am staying cautiously optimistic, but am wary of how closely they will adhere to canon.  Where's the NCR, for instance?  We saw their flag in a classroom photo, but not a single soldier in sight...

 

Many guess speculate it's Bethesda cannon rather than Interplay/Obsidian cannon.

 

 

[Frostbiter]

This is premiering on Thursday. Just fyi.

[ThaOGDreamWeaver]

Can't wait. Incidentally...

Spoiler

IMDB has a much expanded cast list, and yes, that is Matt Berry as Mr. Handy, though he's also credited as "Snip-Snip" and "Sebastian Leslie".

 

There's also quite a few other mid and low ranking cast members revealed. Moldaver no longer has an Elite Guard or a credit, but Thaddeus - the arrogant/unfortunate Brother we see being dragged away screaming during the trailer - gets a Minion.

 

There's also another Overseer listed, so perhaps Lucy finds another (less friendly) Vault to explore, or he's on a recording?

 

Ah, so many meaningless clues, so little time to ponder them 😛

 

[Triumphant]

On 1/1/2024 at 1:43 PM, ThaOGDreamWeaver said:

Not sure how all of us missed this before, but here’s the full teaser trailer…
 

 

Yep, looks the business, including the beautifully chosen Nat King Cole needle drop, the Brotherhood of Steel, rad roaches, and the “Please Stay Calm” gag. Some surprises too though… why are the other Vault Dwellers going psycho?

GARY!!!  🤬

[Haijinx]

I fully expect them to mess this up

 

 

[Frostbiter]

3 hours ago, Haijinx said:

I fully expect them to mess this up

 

 

 

Why? They've done....things with Wheel of Time and LOTR. Ok, Prime Originals are hit or miss but I think a large part of that has been who has creative control. It's not as if other streaming studios haven't had some Willows or Star Trek Discoverys. I mean, c'mon? Traveling the universe via mushrooms? Someone was on something all right.

[biostem]

It's the act of teetering on the fine line between "member-berries"/Easter eggs and appealing to a new/wider audience that generally does a series in.  I haven't watched it yet, but I'm going to remain cautiously optimistic...

[Haijinx]

11 minutes ago, Frostbiter said:

 

Why? They've done....things with Wheel of Time and LOTR. Ok, Prime Originals are hit or miss but I think a large part of that has been who has creative control. It's not as if other streaming studios haven't had some Willows or Star Trek Discoverys. I mean, c'mon? Traveling the universe via mushrooms? Someone was on something all right.

 

the Wheel of Time is a TV show? This is some trick of the Dark One. 

[Haijinx]

My guess is the only fans they try to please are the fallout 3/4 fans , but will destroy anything in the FO1/2/NV cannon they want willy nilly. 

[Frostbiter]

36 minutes ago, Haijinx said:

 

the Wheel of Time is a TV show? This is some trick of the Dark One. 

 

That about sums it up, yes.

[Haijinx]

9 minutes ago, Frostbiter said:

 

That about sums it up, yes.

 

I've won again. Lews Therin. 

 

Grampy Bone is worried about this new Fallout. Spirits say that they already doing the great retcons in the moving picture show trailer. 

[ThaOGDreamWeaver]

13 hours ago, Haijinx said:

It's not as if other streaming studios haven't had some Willows or Star Trek Discoverys. I mean, c'mon? Traveling the universe via mushrooms? Someone was on something all right.

They've been a bit hit and miss, I'll admit.

 

I quite liked the Willow TV series, and while not perfect, it didn't deserve to get Batgirl'd out of existence. There is far worse lurking in the bowels of the House of Mouse.

 

Discovery's had its high and low points, but so did all the other series. And the magic mushroom drive that taps into dark matter or whatnot is, admittedly, pretty silly. But then quantum physics in general can stretch credulity to breaking point. (Not least, as a cat owner, I postulate the cat is neither alive, nor dead, but in a quantum state known as "hiding behind the sofa plotting your demise").

 

Tried to watch Wheel of Time... never read the books, couldn't get behind the characters. Ignored the LOTR series.

 

Absolute dregs: Witcher: Blood Origin. I have never seen an actor have more obvious contempt for the script he's been given - with good reason - than Lenny Henry as the moustache-twirling Grand Vizier type. To the extent his accent goes more back to his native Brummie the more annoyed he gets. Me myam won't let me do the Ritual Of Eternal Damnation in the kitchen, I gotta go and do it in the gaaaardiin... 'snot faiiir...

 

And then of course, there's the good: Last Of Us. Nailed it. And more. Far better than a game adap deserves to be. And if what Bella's been foreshadowing on her socials is right about preparing to weather Internet hatred, I suspect they're not going to dodge anything in part 2.

 

Back to Fallout: the series should stand up or blow up on its own merits - and given what we've seen in the trailers, I think they've got the worldbuilding and characteristic dark humour down pat, plus one hell of a cast. That's no guarantee, but since it's dropped worldwide now, I expect to be seeing your thoughts...

Edited April 11 by ThaOGDreamWeaver

[cronus]

18 hours ago, Haijinx said:

 

the Wheel of Time is a TV show? This is some trick of the Dark One. 

 

I watched the first season.

Fan of the books since around 94 or 95. 

Hated the show.

In some cases what they did on-screen was literally the opposite of what Jordan wrote on the page. 

 

[Haijinx]

4 hours ago, cronus said:

 

I watched the first season.

Fan of the books since around 94 or 95. 

Hated the show.

In some cases what they did on-screen was literally the opposite of what Jordan wrote on the page. 

 

Yes.  It is worse than if they had never made a show.  

 

And they committed worse idocies in the 2nd season.

 

Only good thing to come out of it is Ros Pike did a brilliantly acted AUDIOBOOK remake of at least book 1, haven't gotten to listen to the book 2 effort.

[Haijinx]

9 hours ago, ThaOGDreamWeaver said:

 

 

Back to Fallout: the series should stand up or blow up on its own merits - and given what we've seen in the trailers, I think they've got the worldbuilding and characteristic dark humour down pat, plus one hell of a cast. That's no guarantee, but since it's dropped worldwide now, I expect to be seeing your thoughts...

 

The dark humor was far more slapstick in Fallout 3 and 4.  And it looks like that's what we may get in the TV effort.

 

If we are lucky and they don't ham it up worse. 

 

That fakey ooking hand dogmeat had suggests world of Ham to me

[ThaOGDreamWeaver]

So, binged through the first 3 episodes...

WARNING, CITIZEN! RADIOACTIVE SPOILERAGE AHEAD...

Spoiler

• And I'm liking it so far. Good pacing, no excessive worldbuilding/explainer scenes, straight into story and characters and letting us discover things as we go. For example, nobody saying THIS IS A PIPBOY... we see them in use (and they seem to have even more handy functions than in-game). I like it when a show credits the audience with at least a little intelligence.
• Walton Goggins is impressive as both the Ghoul and his former cowboy actor incarnation Cooper Howard - who also became the model for Vault Boy and the Vault-Tec colourway. And there is a properly tragic backstory which will build across the series.
• There's also a big damn red flag that the smart Ghoul could easily turn feral if he runs out of drugs (Mentats?). And guess what happens to his secret stash...
• Lucy/Ella Purnell's relentless chirpiness provides a lot of the initial fish out of water gags...
• ...but that takes a dive (literally) by episode 3, and there's a steely strength starting to show through.
• Maximus/Aaron Moten also starts out as a bit of a milquetoast, but the fight comes into him finally in Ep3.
• Mike Emerson's Enclave scientist Wilzig is sadly not in it for long, but makes every appearance count. Especially the bit about Plan D - "the most humane thing Vault-Tec ever made", and in banana flavour, too. He's also very aware of who Lucy is...
• The opening birthday party scene packs one hell of a punch...
• ...as does the wedding feast scene, which feels a lot like one of Fallout's opening quests. Escape. Search. Roadblock. Improvise. 
• Lucy's home is unusual, as it's not one Vault, it's three: Vaults 31, 32 and 33 are interconnected to exchange goods and occasionally genetic stock.
• Theory: Vault 32 has been dead for years, possibly decades. Lucy's dad (Kyle McLachlan) was a Raider, Enclave or Vault-Tec scout who played along with the ruse of intermarriage to get into the Vault, but fell genuinely head over heels in love and decided to stay. His strength and leadership skills contrast with the hapless, ivory-tower (well, gilded-basement) Vaulties, making him stand out like a sore thumb. And he seems to have been a primary target of the raid, as well as being known to Wilzig.
• There is gore. There is much gore, some of it comic but not all of it - still less full-on grossout than The Boys. 
• This far in, it's not clear what the McGuffin is, but it's small and sparky - and whoever finds it will get ahead...
• Gripes: not many, if I'm honest, other than one or two scenes drag, not all of the comedy-splatter lands the gags, there's some slightly dodgy/hilarious monster CGI, and an illustrative scene that's gonna stick with me about exactly how bloody nasty the Enclave are. Even to puppies.
• ...however, my BIG gripe is that they have to put in that bloody "this season on..." bit that spoils a whole bunch of stuff coming up.
• Not least that there are big hints that Coop will find out exactly what Vault-Tec and friends are up to, which is going to end his career and marriage.

 

All in all, very watchable stuff. Looking forward to another double or triple helping tomorrow, I think...

Edited April 12 by ThaOGDreamWeaver

[Frostbiter]

I've only gotten the first episode under my belt but I can already say this tv series has been given the love and attention it deserves. Observations, trivia, and thoughts below.

 

Spoiler

Someone has already updated the Fallout Wiki and timeline to include the series but we are in the year 2296. It was kind of them to just tell us right at the beginning.  We're nine years after the events of Fallout 4 and 14 years after the events of Fallout: NV. Which means practically anything goes with any of the factions from Fallout 3, NV, and 4. They all exist and are active in the world. There is not much lore to draw on because it has not been written. Everything that happens will be official cannon as well.

 

As for the first episode, everything hit exactly the right notes except for one little thing. The actual atomic blasts, which do not happen in slow motion like that. I know, I know, dramatic tension and visual storytelling but we freaking KNOW what an atomic bomb does to people at those ranges. It's almost surreal. That's really my only gripe.