From Controller to Screen: Fallout's Fresh Take on Post-Apocalyptic TV
Whether you love the game or never played it, this series is for any sci-fi fan!
In recent years, there has been a trend with beloved video game worlds being brought to life on the small screen. Following the success of Halo and The Last of Us, Fallout took the world by storm when Amazon Prime dropped all eight episodes in April 2024. The fans that knew the game well were obviously excited, but why should a non-gamer tune in? Do you have to know all of the Fallout lore to thoroughly enjoy and understand this show? As someone who never picked up an Xbox controller to take to the wasteland, I had no idea what I was stepping into. I have always enjoyed post-apocalyptic shows that are rooted in a version of our world, such as The Walking Dead. So I turned to a few Fallout experts in the Remarkist community to help me understand this post-apocalyptic world, and in the end, we all were theorizing “what in the world is in Vault 31”.
When the Fallout trailer dropped, it grossed me out and made me laugh at the same time. Those are two things that don’t generally go together. I was intrigued to say the least. The premise of Fallout is that a nuclear bomb is dropped in 2077. It may be 2077 but it looks like the 1950s. It’s a U.S. where there never was a Watergate or a Vietnam war. I’m a sucker for anything 1950’s retro (think Mad Men) mixed with the futuristic.
While the game takes place about a century after the bomb is dropped, the television series is set 200 years after. Jonathan Nolan (Westworld) chose to have completely original characters and storylines in the TV series, instead of a direct adaptation of the game like we most recently saw with The Last of Us. It’s a genius way to develop the show because it allows a non-gamer, like myself, to enter the Fallout world with ease, and it also extends the universe for the veteran gamers alike. @SheevSenate said, “I'm stoked that it's in-universe, but a different Vault. Each of the games has at least one new Vault, usually multiple. And each game and Vault has a different story, and purpose. This absolutely feels 💯 on brand to just move on to another new Vault and cast of characters and original story. Out of universe, this is a good thing because the constraints of canon won't be nearly as limiting. They all take place in the same post-2077 nuclear apocalypse. The New California Republic, New Vegas, The Commonwealth (Massachusetts), etc, slightly different times and stories, but all connected. I expect this new Vault, being set near LA, will see the NCR again. As a matter of fact, we see someone bearing the NCR flag in the trailer for a split second, in what looks like a battle with the Brotherhood of Steel. So there’s gonna be plenty of connective tissue for the deep sweaty nerds, but also the liberty to tell a completely new story.”
Episode 1 does an excellent job setting the stage right off the bat, bringing you into the world right before the bomb drops, and then quickly jumps ahead 200 years where we meet the lead, Lucy (Ella Purnell), a Vault Dweller. A Vault Dweller is the point of view that you would play in the games. You instantly fall in love with all three characters: Lucy, Maximus (Aaron Moten) and The Ghoul (Walton Goggins). @SheevSenate made note that “It’s refreshing to be confident recommending the show when you don't have to preface it with ‘just stick it out the first couple of seasons while they find their legs’.”
A lot of the production design elements that were game references went over my head the first time I watched, but @SheevSenate and @unboiled saw their dreams of living in the Wasteland coming true with every tiny detail on set from Nuka-Cola & Sugar Bombs to the Pip-Boys and Vertibirds. @SheevSenate shared this video of Fallout 4 gameplay where the player leaves the vault, and it resembles the vault door accurately all the way down to the big red button.
After watching that video, and then re-watching Lucy leaving the vault, my mouth was wide open in awe. The production team nailed it.
By the third episode, I was already picking up on what felt like game references, and mind you, I still have not played any of the games. I found myself googling and confirming my suspicions about monsters that Lucy came across in the wasteland. All came from the game. The Fallout Fandom wiki ended up being my best watch companion. @unboiled recommended that I download Fallout Shelter, a casual game on iOS, where I could pick up some of the game lore. But that is the only game I have stepped foot into. Fallout Shelter is where you are the overseer of a vault, and you have to keep the people happy while dealing with raiders, supplies & rations, and radroaches.
If you can get past the gore because there is plenty of it, the kill shots either amusing or just straight up puts you in awe, such as the slow motion kill shots in Episode 2. @SheevSenate educated me on how those kill shots are exactly how they are seen in the game.
Another highlight of the show for me as a newcomer was the music, and that’s no accident because I learned that the radio on the Pip-Boy is an integral experience of the game.
@unboiled stated “This is amazing because if you’re a Fallout nerd, this is equivalent to getting a new game in my opinion.” By the time we all watched Episode 4, we were all theorizing on the story, and no one felt like they had the upper hand because they played the games.
Fallout is an excellent show if you enjoy any kind of sci-fi and fantasy worlds that build out a fictional future rooted in the real world. Don’t let the video game aspect stop you from watching, and if you feel like you are lost, come over to the Remarkist Discord where we have the gaming experts, but we are all theorizing about what is waiting for us in New Vegas. Season 2 cannot come fast enough.
Are you watching Fallout? What are your favorite episodes, and how are you liking it versus the game? Have you never played? We want to here all of your comments!
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