Fallout (Amazon Prime series) - Based on the games

[Neil]

[MinionZombie]

This could either be great, or it could be a swing and a miss. WestWorld (from the same people) got off to a good (albeit pretentious) start, but quickly unravelled, especially in the third and fourth (final) season, where the pretension and repetition ramped up to unprecedented levels at times, plus all the posturing ... ugh ... enough already. Walton Goggins, at least, looks kick fucking ass in his role.

[Neil]

This could either be great, or it could be a swing and a miss. WestWorld (from the same people) got off to a good (albeit pretentious) start, but quickly unravelled, especially in the third and fourth (final) season, where the pretension and repetition ramped up to unprecedented levels at times, plus all the posturing ... ugh ... enough already. Walton Goggins, at least, looks kick fucking ass in his role. Yes, I was one of those people for Westworld. It showed real promise at the start of s1, but just was too slow and a few episodes into s2 I gave up...

[MinionZombie]

Yes, I was one of those people for Westworld. It showed real promise at the start of s1, but just was too slow and a few episodes into s2 I gave up... Probably for the best. Seasons 3 and 4 were, at times, a real fucking chore. Some good stuff in there, but geez, it then just became about 'sunk cost fallacy' as being the only reason to continue with it ... I actually started fast-forwarding during some scenes.

[Neil]

My mate made it to the end of S2 and gave up there...

[MinionZombie]

My mate made it to the end of S2 and gave up there... IIRC, the penultimate episode, or one quite near the end, focused on the Native American character, and was really good - well written and performed - and stood out from the pack in a good way, one of the clear highlights of the series. All the timey-wimey, changing aspect ratios cobblers got so overdone by the end of season two, and it was just being obtuse to appear clever, when in fact it was thoroughly muddled storytelling. Seasons 3 and 4, while they had some strengths here and there, fell into an awful lot of cringey pandering and posturing, even if the production was indeed very slick and pretty and well designed, you just got sick of the characters and their stories and, again, the overload of pretentiousness and self-importance from the writers and showrunner who seemed as if they thought very highly of themselves and what they had to say. The concern with Fallout is "heavy social commentary", which is a quote from one of those working on the show. Now, what specifically that phrase means, we are yet to find out, perhaps it's a very unfortunate turn of phrase that now is a big turn-off for audiences and it doesn't really represent the sort of things being talked about. There's good social commentary, and then there's bad social commentary - both can be "heavy" (e.g. perhaps the subject matter is very dark - hence the use of "heavy", or it deals in weighty themes so therefore "heavy") ... ... I just hope that "heavy" doesn't translate to mean bashing viewers over the head with the same fucking bollocks we've been getting bashed over the head with for years on end now, because that shit will sink the show faster than a nuke. Look at how poorly Prime's cack-handed LOTR show did, for example. Meanwhile - the likes of Jack Ryan, Reacher, Upload, and the one with Christ Pratt (the name of which suddenly escapes me), all deal with big weighty themes and ideas and things that have real-world relevance, but they have all handled it in the right kind of way and have all been successful and well received shows. It's not rocket science, is it? Mind you, to the sorts of people corporations like Disney have been hiring, it evidently is that difficult to grasp!

[EvilNed]

I'm watching this. I've played the first Fallout like 5 or 6 times, and then gave all the other ones at least one spin or two, except for Fallout 4 which I never really explored all that much.

[MinionZombie]

I'm watching this. I've played the first Fallout like 5 or 6 times, and then gave all the other ones at least one spin or two, except for Fallout 4 which I never really explored all that much. I'm more of a casual Fallout fan, particularly having not played the original couple of games, but I did play an awful lot of Fallout 3 (plus some of its expansions), and then similarly played the hell out of Fallout 4 (I particularly enjoyed the ability to custom-build your encampments, get them all fenced-off and defended and self-sufficient ... it was like post-apocalyptic Lego meets Dawn of the Dead or something, haha).

[EvilNed]

There's a pretty clear tonal shift between the first game and the others. The other games are set even further into the apocalypse, where civilization has recovered somewhat. Fallout 1 paints a bleaker and more sparsely populated world that's just beginning to rebuild after the nuclear apocalypse. It's darker as well, with not as much humor as the other ones. That's why I like it so. I like all of the games, but there's just something about the setting in the first game that makes it so much more fun.

[MinionZombie]

I just hope they don't fuck it up like they did with Westworld (i.e. overly complex and kinda wanky storytelling, cringy pandering, pretentious self-importance, etc). Visually, at least, it's looking the part. And Walton Goggins' character looks like he'll be a really enjoyable watch.

[shootemindehead]

Well, they nailed the look anyway. All that's needed now are for the characters not to be trash and take part in a decent story.

[MinionZombie]

Well, they nailed the look anyway. All that's needed now are for the characters not to be trash and take part in a decent story. Ah, yes - the easy part!

[shootemindehead]

Hmmmm...so the creator of this TV show has said it's not being made for the fans. What the actual fuck?

[MinionZombie]

Hmmmm...so the creator of this TV show has said it's not being made for the fans. What the actual fuck? Do you have the source of this? Some of these things could be misinterpretations, to play devil's advocate. The meaning could be that it's a show that wouldn't exclude those unfamiliar with the Fallout games. Then again, it could just as easily be like, say, The Witcher et al, where you've got people making the show who actively dislike the source material. The number of times unfamiliarity with the source material (or even an active dislike of it) has been seen as a good thing within the Disney/Marvel camp has been documented in an embarrassing compilation of interviews. I'm willing to give some benefit of the doubt, though. I recall reading some quote about the showrunner's liking of the games. Mind you, I think that was focused more on Fallout 3 and 4 and not to the original two games (which I've not played). There are hardcore fans who quite dislike (or outright hate) any of the games after Fallout 2.

[shootemindehead]

Do you have the source of this? Only what Ive subsequently found when I typed fallout not being made for the fans into Goggle. I first heard it when a mate of mine told me when we were discussing the trailer. It could all just be the usual interweb storm in a teacup and looking at his direct quote "I don't think you really can set out to please the fans of anything, or please anyone other than yourself", it can be interpreted in a number of ways. Probably a case of some people seeing that and losing their shit to create some drama. I'm willing to give some benefit of the doubt, though. I recall reading some quote about the showrunner's liking of the games. Mind you, I think that was focused more on Fallout 3 and 4 and not to the original two games (which I've not played). There are hardcore fans who quite dislike (or outright hate) any of the games after Fallout 2. Ah that's just contrarian claptrap. I wouldn't pay any mind to that kind of nonsense. The modern iteration of Fallout is light years ahead of the old isometric games.