(series review) [STREAMING] - Fallout

It could well be the fact that I have been a fan of the Fallout series, even though I have only played 2 out of their "8" games. When they made the announcement of a new Fallout show, I was not sure what to expect initially, but because I am a bit of a fan I decided to give the show a shot. Besides, some of the shows adapted from games of recent, have not been terrible (I am looking at The Last of Us). Fallout 3 came out in 2008 and Fallout 4 came out in 2015. Again, I loved those games. I completed Fallout 3 including the expansion packs and I purchased Fallout 4 but never got around to completing it. Fallout is one of those expansive games where you are on a map and you can literally go anywhere...well, walk anywhere and everywhere, discover things and die multiple times in multiple ways and at times, this can become a little boring but it is fun. From what I have noticed, you start in a relatively small and safe area, but the moment you start to really get into the game, anywhere is not necessarily off-limits and you will die multiple times. The sheer scope of it all, the land you are roaming, all the other vaults you could visit which are usually abandoned, all the secret areas or secret rooms you have to lockpick your way into, monitors you have to hack for restricted areas, you just have to walk everywhere and there are lots of quests, jobs, and tasks to do, it can get a bit daunting at times, but it is fun. If you are like me, you would want to do everything and go everywhere and pick up EVERYTHING. You can either do all the quests and tasks or you can follow the storyline and do just that, but who wants to do that, right? This show, everything I just said about the game is faithfully adapted to screen and although I have some minor gripes, this show is excellent.

Lucy MacClaine (Ella Purnel) is a vault dweller who has lived in the vault her whole life. She only knows vault life like the other inhabitants who have lived in the vault for more than 200 years since the bombs went off. But when the vault is under attack and Lucy's father, the Overseer is taken, Lucy decides to venture out of the vault and journey into the wasteland in search of her father. As I stated in my episode one review "A vault dweller is the term used for someone who lived in an underground bunker when World War 3 happened and a nuclear fallout occurred. The term is used in the show. These people lived underground for hundreds of years and your character leaves the vault under the impression that the world above has poisonous air, is unsafe and uninhabitable. Whilst this is not necessarily far from the truth, your character finds their way above ground and you go on a quest." Exactly the same here, exactly like the game, but executed superbly. You understand Lucy's motive due to the bond with her father.

The show has some special effects but the use of practical effects was great to see as it gave the show a more physical and "unnatural natural" look. For example, I am pretty sure the Gulper (Salamanda) was practical effects here and there and a Gulper (Salamanda) in real life is not that big in size, but the practical effects made it feel like a real real-life Salamanda mutated from radiation, the size of a long-wheel based van and they used special effects where they could not make it look "natural" in other places such as movement. With that said, the visual depiction of an atomic bomb going off at the beginning of the show shocked me soo much that my jaw dropped. I even clapped when the opening credits started because the lead-up to it was simply great storytelling and great dialogue accompanied with great writing and acting from Walton Goggins. An atomic bomb going off looked beautiful and terrifying at the same time. As for other types of visuals, near the beginning of the show, there is a massacre and blood is flying everywhere and it looks great. We even see it in slow-motion., so I am guessing, as the gamer you would have slow-motion when using V.A.T.S (a targeting system) or when your character dies, you'll see your character die in slow motion, I think the slow motion in the show is a version of V.A.T.S for the audience. Plus the slow motion also shows the total carnage and chaos which can happen in the game. When I think of the nonsense and tongue-in-cheek elements of the game, they have successfully translated it here to screen.

As the episodes go on, the show touches on different ideologies of those who want to do the right thing and those who want to "take over the world". It does not help that the world you live in is not safe from the many mutated creatures and insects in the wasteland, but the people are also dangerous. This show manages to show you the normal people who were unaffected by the radiation and the people who were. The Gouls, the Ferel Gouls and some of the creatures such as the Rad Roaches, two-headed cows and the aforementioned Gulper. They touch on the deep dark secrets of Vault-Tec and the peak of human civilisation before it all went up in a ball of flames. In the game, you learn these things through dialogue, computer terminals and documents you come across. In the show, you get to learn about the history of the world through a few different characters.

The aesthetic of the Fallout franchise has always intrigued me due to its 1950's/1960's look, but with advanced technology for its time or, I guess, retro technology, I always found it fascinating and cool. Automic robots that hover and speak, devices and medicine to aid or help you from dismemberment or from many different illnesses or ailments, the show shows it all and as I also stated in my episode 1 review, "There are things in the game that make zero sense, also zero sense in the show, but if you are somewhat with the show and you see someone get killed with a projected doll's leg and you laugh and shrug it off, the show has you at this point. It's silly, but it works in the game and it works here". It is the dark humour laced throughout this show that adds to the tongue-in-cheek moments, because a post-apocalyptic show about the depths of how low humanity will go for control, should not really work on paper especially when it is accompanied by dismemberment, floating talking robots that can perform surgery, ghouls who can talk and others that do not, and people walking around in a suit making a person resemble a walking tank (looks amazing in the show) and animals mutated from radiation, just does not really work on paper, but this show makes it work translating everything from the game with ease. The sets for the landscape look amazing and it gives you a feel of what a real wasteland could look like. Plenty of dead bodies, and radiated areas and the vaults look amazing. In comparison to the few you come across in the game, the vaults are usually vacant, infested, dirty and grimey, but there is a reason for the "polished" look in the show, which makes sense. When playing the game, you use a device on your arm called a Pitboy. A Pitboy is like a smartwatch but very advanced and chunky in size. The show recreated the Pitboy and they found creative ways to show you the different functionalities which was cool.

There are three stories in this show from 3 different people's perspectives so the show is in 3 parts. After learning about Lucy, we learn about Maximus (Aaron Moten) and his journey from The Brotherhood of Steel. Later you get to learn bout the Ghoul and the layers are peeled back slowly about the world they live in and the characters in it. Each character has a great storyline and backstory that might even bring you to tears. Some of the drama in the show is written so well and acted superbly, when an episode finishes, you definitely want to get into the next episode and then the episode after that, so I understand how the binge model works here when a show is presented like this. Later in the show, the pieces start to connect together and the apple does not fall far from the tree considering one of the writers was Johnathan Nolan, brother of Christopher Nolan (look him up if you are lost...won an Oscar this year and also known for his out of sync/disjointed narrative). So from a marvellous first episode, every episode simply gets better and better with every watch. For example, I love a cold opening, so the cold opening in this show was right up my street, but when the title card started to drop from episode 2 onwards, I came to realise, that I really do like the "Invincible title card animation". I do not recall if this has worked anywhere else in TV other than Ozark, but having the title card different for every episode was a very nice quirky touch and not only does it set the tone for the show, it adds that quirkiness the show is laced with. Lastly, the music is ripped directly from the game, so halfway through this season, I suddenly had the urge to play the game because, well...I've said it before... because it's fun. Great show and I cannot wait for it.