Friday at the Movies: Video Game TV Show I Want Made

Last month, I wrote about the comic book movie I'd like to see made. That got me thinking about some other media I'd like to see made into movies, and an obvious answer is video games.

In particular, I want more of the Fallout universe. Strangely enough, there's not much out there! There are the major video games (Fallout 1-3 and New Vegas), and then some spin offs (including a table top game).

I'm unable to find any novels or comic books set in the same universe, and this is a sad thing. It's got such a specific style and setting that I think it would shine (and gain a following) across all mediums.

Well, at least they'd have me.

The nature of the Fallout games would make a movie very, very difficult. For one, Fallout has ALWAYS been known for the many interesting characters, locations, and quests across each title. To reduce any of those would reduce the effect of the "Fallout" name. A movie such as The Book of Eli or The Six-String Samurai, while awesome in their own rights, follow one "quest" cycle. They're interesting, post apocalyptic, and feature unique characters, but the scope is simply too small (though I will say that the Six-String Samurai format of "less [background] is more [story]" could potentially work).

The Walking Dead's zombies would make awesome ghouls...

The solution? A Fallout TV series. And I'm not talking mini-series -- The Walking Dead is a decent example of a TV series based on a setting/series but takes its own path, though I personally find the pace far too slow. The show Firefly, while it didn't last long, showed a dystopian future with many interesting characters and intersecting storylines, and something in that vein would work for Fallout.

The story could be completely new and set in the rich universe where war never changes, and that might even be more interesting, but that's not to say it couldn't pull from events in any of the games already set out. A good example? The original Fallout has the main character leaving his vault in search of a Water Chip needed to save everyone else he knows. This would be an easy start and have us introduced to a new world through the characters eyes.

Most of the plot points in the game could be followed as well, with interesting quests done as episodic content concurring during the search for the chip. As done in the game's random encounters, story could be set up quickly during the travels, with the Enclave being a problem early on. The companions from the first could expand the cast and give us more point of views/side-stories, as well as shift the focus off of the main character.

The Illusive Water Chip

The main character is an interesting challenge in itself. The games offer a lot of different ways to build your character, and each one has legitimately different interactions with the world. Ideally, I'd either want to see a hero that reacts to the world around him in interesting (and potentially unusual) ways, or a character that is simply different than a stereotypical protagonist. For some reason, I'm getting an image of Twin Peak's Agent Dale Cooper. Agent Cooper is highly unusual a character that really made his show interesting. That might work, or it might alienate fans, it's hard to say.

The other option would be to try a silent protagonist, but I can't really imagine that working in a TV series.

The randomness of the games, in my opinion, really adds a wealth of options for a TV show to capitalize on, especially if they are able to keep the viewers guessing (which I'd argue The Walking Dead did well in its first season). Any of the main games would make great storylines to follow, and I think a talented director/writer could make brand new stories work just as well. Throw some Joss Whedon on there, and it'd be shiny as hell.

What are your thoughts on a Fallout movie? And can anyone tell me why there aren't any Fallout comics (the New Vegas special edition bonus not-withstanding)?

This idea is Pip-Boy Approved!