FALLOUT: SEASON ONE
Starring: Ella Purnell, Walton Goggins, Aaron Moten, Moises Arias, Kyle MacLachlan, Michael Emerson, Leslie Uggams, Zach Cherry, and Sarita Choudhury
Creators: Geneva Robertson-Dworet and Graham Wagner
PAIGE
Despite never having played the game before, I found Fallout to be a post-apocalyptic blast. This action-adventure series accepts its ridiculousness, and even though it can occasionally be too quirky and over-the-top, it excels at keeping the viewer entertained the entire time. It has a lot of brutality, humor, and heart. Most importantly, though, is that they succeed in creating a fantastic universe inside the show that feels so lived in. Plus, the show's production design is next level. Overall, this is another huge win for video game adaptations.
QUENTIN
I can’t speak to how well Fallout works as an adaptation since I’ve never played the games, but as an independent series, it’s a funny, brutally exciting, twist-filled mystery box about 90 percent of the time. The world-building, Golden Oldies soundtrack, and retro-futuristic production design are flat-out phenomenal, and the show is at its most engaging during the storylines of The Ghoul (Walton Goggins, the easy highlight) and the mystery of Vault 31. On the other hand, the momentum halts anytime Maximus (Aaron Moten) takes center stage, mostly because Moten has the screen presence and charisma of a potato. Overall, though? A smashing surprise.
