'Fallout' Wants to Start a Flame in Your Heart

By Nate Parker | TV | April 16, 2024 |

By Nate Parker | TV | April 16, 2024 |

These are the golden days of video games. There are great new releases available for every platform. There are more ways to game than ever before. Now, after decades of movie game adaptations that ran the gamut from not bad (Resident Evil) to godawful (Monster Hunter), game developers permitted clever people to play in their universes. The Last of Us proved the concept with a faithful adaptation that allowed for character development and new stories. Fallout the television series instead uses the world, factions, and darkly funny, almost slapstick tone of Fallout the game to tell a new story. And it’s a gruesome, hysterical masterpiece as a result.

The setup is simple. More than 200 years after a nuclear war, the Wasteland is home to killer wildlife, raiders, and folks just trying to survive. The Enclave, remnants of the US government, has lost track of a scientist, his dog, and a MacGuffin. The militaristic techno-fascists called the Brotherhood of Steel are on the hunt, as are countless Enclave soldiers, bounty hunters, and one kindhearted, naive girl named Lucy. Lucy (Ella Purnell, once again surrounded by cannibals) comes from Vault 33, a radiation-proof community deep underground. They’ve been isolated since the Great War but after the new reality penetrates the Vault’s defenses, Lucy sets out to trade the missing scientist for her kidnapped father. Brotherhood Squire Maximus (Aaron Moten, Emancipation) is one of many on the same hunt, and constantly shadowing them both is The Ghoul (Walter Goggins), who earned the capitals. Meanwhile, Lucy’s brother Norm (Moises Arias), and former paramour Chet (Dave Register) find themselves questioning their situation for the first time as they explore Vault 33’s connection to sister Vaults 31 and 32.

Reviewing a show that deserves to be experienced rather than spoiled is difficult. I want you, good reader, to experience every guest spot, moment of tragedy, and comic killing for yourself. If you’ve played a Fallout game, you know what to expect, plus a story better than any since New Vegas. The atmosphere and art direction are perfect, and the crooner-heavy soundtrack of The Ink Spots, Nat King Cole, and Ella Fitzgerald fits a timeline that stopped when the Cold War went hot. More impressive is how faithful production is to the game community without ignoring the wider audience. Lucy even lists her stats, for Codsworth’s sake. Lucy, Maximus, and The Ghoul are faithful gamer archetypes who never sacrifice authenticity for likability. You might hate their choices, but they’ll never be out of character. The three leads, Chet, and Norm are all fantastic, but I found myself waiting for more Ghoul. That’s my only complaint; Fallout needs more Walter Goggins. If there was ever a guy who looked as at home in a nuclear wasteland as he does in a tailored suit, it’s Goggins. And he revels in playing such a gonzo character that it seems only fair to have him onscreen more.

I also want to stress how much Fallout doesn’t look like a cookie-cutter streaming series. It lacks the Netflix sheen. No one is CW pretty. People, even the stunning Ella Purnell, look like actual people rather than supernaturally attractive collagen clones. They’re dirty. They’re sweaty. And the CGI, despite its frequent use, is less noticeable than Marvel’s latest efforts. Radroaches, Gulpers, and other irradiated wildlife has enough weight and presence to feel real. I’m genuinely impressed at the studio’s success in creating a post-apocalyptic world that never feels small or penned in. Unlike their Lord of the Rings and Wheel of Time series, there is a sense of scale appropriate to the landscape.

Amazon struck gold with Fallout. It’s a pitch-perfect, faithful adaptation that embraces new fans and never hobbles itself to viewer expectations of good versus bad. It’s just like the real world where everyone sucks, except the cockroaches are bigger, the water is radioactive, and frontier jerky is always on the menu. All 8 episodes of Fallout’s first season are streaming now on Prime. And if you’re a gamer, Fallout 4 is receiving a current generation upgrade on April 25, with improved graphics and gameplay. Fallout 76, the always online version, is actually fun these days, with many quality-of-life upgrades over the past few years that led to a much-improved gaming experience. Despite the focus on team play it’s still easy to solo for that proper Wasteland experience, and both games are dirt cheap these days. So get out there and leave your mark on our radioactive future! Preferably with a 10mm bullet.