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BEYOND The Walking Dead Universe we go (again), as we discuss the pilot of Amazon Prime's Fallout! The most notable takeaways are how the Fallout universe was on the verge of becoming The Jetsons until the nukes went off and it's evident by way of the most informationally dense first 15 minutes we've ever consumed in a television series. We're extremely lucky to have - talent artist and resident console gamer - Carinae Davey along for the ride to give us a gamer's perspective throughout our discussions!

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Carinae Davey:
David Cameo:
Rachael Burt:
Sherrandy Swift:
Bridget Mason-Gray:

An Announcement Before We Proceed

As content creators, it's really difficult to gauge how much people enjoy or appreciate something we've created without receiving actual feedback (verbally, visually, or via text). Outside of that, the most we're able to observe are view counts, thumbs-ups, and episode retention (how long people are watching) at best. Especially on the blog, the most comments we've ever really received was on the full text of Michonne's Multi-Community Charter of Rights and Freedoms: these were perhaps the only real comments we've ever actually received, outside the extremely infrequent (once every few years) SPAM bot.

That being said, several blog posts back, we said we'd be leveraging A.I. to assist with the creation of these blogs, but it didn't really take: we were still writing every single word more than we were modifying them. We still included tons of reference materials, embedded video/audio, images (publications/screencaps), and GIFs. They were taking almost as long to crank out with no tangible time-savings: to be absolutely fair, old habits didn't really die and we trended towards wanting to give you more for your patronage (more insights, more images, more GIFs, and ... much more than that).

Going back to the first paragraph, though, each blog takes approximately half a day to complete (literally 12 hours) and this entire podcast endeavor derives no income whatsoever while eating into our personal lives. With absolutely no real feedback to inform us on whether you are enjoying these posts - in their present format - we're relegated to having to leverage A.I. much more heavily to write up a simple summary while filling in the rest with reference materials we provided during our discussions, where applicable. If you do not like these changes, please speak up in the comments or DM us on Social Media. Tell us immediately! If what we're already doing is working for you, why would we change it? Our big problem right now is an age old one: if a blog post falls in a forest and nobody is around to read it, should it really exist?

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In closing, I will leave you with the following advice: small creators need your feedback more than larger ones. There is absolutely no way we can survive without it: we need to know when you love something. Large creators won't respond to your feedback (period, but if they do) in the same manner a small creator, like us, will. You have incredible influence on a small creator's trajectory in ways that you will never achieve with larger creators. You have the opportunity to forever stake your claim on a small creator's journey that is cemented in its history. And if that small creator does make gains, like ours undoubtedly has, they will never forget your contributions to their success (long after you've already forgotten). Your input means a lot more than you can possibly understand.

Thank You For Reading. Onto The Post!

Carinae has a soft spot for Bethesda Game Studios and the Fallout series of games.
Though it's called Bethesda Jank for a reason, due to glitches and quirks, they have their own charm.

Ahhh Good Old Bethesda Jank
byu/OkGuide2802 ingaming
The lore of the games, which you receive in bits and pieces of text and dialogue, gradually immerse the players in the universe.
Carinae ranks the games highly (4/5) and enjoys the role-playing aspect of the games. The Fallout universe is characterized by retro-futuristic technology and aesthetics due to the absence of the microprocessor.
You get an idea of Lucy's S.P.E.C.I.A.L. by way of her inter-vault marriage application: Strength, Perception, Endurance, Charisma, Intelligence, Agility, Luck.

First of a series I'm doing: Lucy
byu/chauncaaa inFallout
The Great War - which, in this universe, only three hours - took place in 2077. Using the blackboard, the 219 Years Later title card after the opening scene, and the wedding dress, we extrapolated that we're currently in the year 2296. It seems as though this series was on track to become what would've resembled The Jetsons had the nukes not dropped.
The specter of (what resembles our version of) the Cold War looms throughout the show, with American-made products littered throughout Vault 33 and cultural aphorisms that persist in the vault 219 years later!
To Lee Moldaver's point (played by that girl, Sarita Choudhury), the vaults dwellers may have experienced physical and mental deterioration due to their prolonged isolation. They're lucky to have had at least two interconnected vaults to avoid some birth complications.
The storylines of Lucy MacLean, Maximus, and Cooper Howard (AKA The Ghoul) occur simultaneously, dispelling the notion of multiple, disparate timelines. Vaults in the Fallout gaming universe are typically singular and not interconnected, making the interconnected vaults in the show a pleasant surprise.

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A post shared by Lyle Cruse (@lyle_style)
Original storytelling in video game adaptations is not required, but very much welcome (if you can pull it off): they are a fresh take on the material fans of the games know and love and is an opportunity to bring new audiences into a world that hasn't been recycled to death. The end result is something new and fresh that everyone has the potential to appreciate.
The presence of pseudo-socialist slogans in the vault, in the form of signs, suggests a different societal structure and values in the post-apocalyptic world, which differs heavily from the extremely crony-capitalistic one, pre-apocalypse.
The absence of chickens in the Fallout games and the use of a chicken in the show is a creative addition to potentially identify feral ghouls.
The introduction of cannibalism, by way of Moldaver's raiders, adds a dark and intriguing element to the story that sharply contrasts with the dwellers of Vault 33. Speaking of, the actors cast as vault dwellers seemed to have been curated to look slightly off or weird, similar to the characters in the video game.
The use of anamorphic widescreen (2.35x1), which was used in much older cinema, adds to the visual experience of the show.
Even more gaming easter eggs in the show: the syringer and junk jet.
Certain actors, like Walton Goggins, bring charisma and attractiveness to their roles, making them stand out: and that's not entirely a good thing when you are meant to look hideous (as evidenced by a highly vocal fanbase of, largely, women who find The Ghoul irresistible.
The attention to detail and faithfulness to the game in the TV show's production really shows in the form of nostalgic elements from the real world, such as the Please Stand By loading screen that appears when the Telesonic 3D Projector breaks down, which hails back to a time when broadcast television actually signed off for the night and showed a stand-by screen until programming resumed in the morning.
Along with the destruction of the Telesonic 3D Projector symbolizing the destruction of Lucy's world (like the nukes in the opening scene), another callback is what Cooper says to his daughter at the beginning is repeated by The Ghoul version of himself, 219 years later, to Don Pedro's last man at the end, [Cowboys] take it as it comes. And speaking of his daughter, the method he teachers her of when to run from a nuclear blast (judging the size/distance by using your thumb) is exactly where we derive the expression rule of thumb.
Aaron Clifton Moten, who plays Maximus, is an expressive actor who, to us, resembles Denzel Washington, John Boyega, and Cuba Gooding Jr.
Why did the cleric of The Brotherhood of Steel choose Maximus to take Dane's place as squire, ultimately, considering his lack of knowledge (on circuitry and other pre-war technology)? If we had to take a guess, The Brotherhood of Steel values commitment and loyalty above all other values. Maximus' intense interrogation scene is a standout moment of the episode.
Enjoyment ensues when speaking about one of The Brotherhood's aspirants, played by Johnny Pemberton, whom most of us know as Bo Derek Thompson (husband of Cheyenne, father of Harmonica) from the television series, Superstore.
The Enclave is the ultimate big bad in the Fallout gaming universe (at least), whom seek to remake America in their own image. It kind of puts a darker sheen on The Walking Dead Universe's Civic Republic Military.
The Brotherhood hoards and utilizes (pre-war) technology to control and protect the wasteland, taking out of circulation to prevent people from harming themselves with it.
Michael Emerson, most known for his role as Benjamin Linus in the television series, Lost, plays a character who escapes The Enclave.
The series includes Easter eggs from the Fallout games, such as the broken water chip from the original Fallout game and the imagery Lucy recreates of leaving the vault from Fallout 3. The imagery of a figure in The Brotherhood of Steel's power armor emerging in a ruined city in Maximus childhood flashback is a huge visual callback fans of the games who first witnessed it in their gameplay.
The three main characters in the series - Lucy, Maximus, and The Ghoul - represent different play styles in the Fallout games, allowing viewers to relate to different moralities and decision-making approaches.
Companions play an important role in the latter Fallout games, and the inclusion of companion characters in the TV series will add depth and complexity to the story... not to mention endear audiences (and gamers) to the show even more than they may already are.
The series includes Easter eggs and references to the Fallout games (massive spoilers), such as Nuka Cola (ads, pre and post apocalypse), Vault Boy bobbleheads, and comic books, which add an extra layer of enjoyment for fans of the games (although frustrating for Carinae, as no one takes any of them to level-up).
🤫WHISPERERS Tier Member Lois Martin was curious as to why Amazon Prime decided to release the entire season at once, since it is a little out of the norm for them. It may have been a strategic move to generate buzz and attract a generation of viewers who aren't accustomed to waiting week-by-week for a series to drop episodes.
Overall, the hosts have a positive impression of the series and recommend it to both fans of the games and newcomers to the Fallout universe.