How I would bring Fallout to live action.

By: Justin Hopkins

  So, I have been racking my mind for the last week or so. Wanting to do something a little different. Something other than a review or list. Wanting to challenge myself a bit and have plenty of time at the moment so decided to go big and came up with an idea to flip a game into a movie. Not a new idea by no stretch, but enjoyed the idea of giving it a shot. Especially when I landed on the idea of using the Fallout world. A vast world with plenty to run with, almost too much to figure out what would work well in a more linear way, but made it that more enjoyable. Tossing ideas off reluctant listeners and watching it progress and become what it did. Now, originally, was going to be a movie, but the further I got with it, the more I changed my mind and figured this would be better suited for one of the numerous streaming services, and I have put together two seasons, with an ending that would allow a third, but this story arc would end at two. This will be season 1 with season 2 coming out another day. Focusing primarily on New Vegas with seeds of the other games and tie ins to 3, and I try to keep the details to just the things that matter. In between are fighting gangs and creatures. Just want to include the important bits.  So, with that, lets dive in because this will probably be a long one.

The show would kick off in a first person point of view. Seeing the courier receiving the chip and going off on their way, getting ambushed and the images begin to get contorted and blurring. Not coming to focus till Benny has the gun aimed at the camera and delivering two shots to the head. Waking the courier up and the camera panning out showing the courier is a woman, it has to be a woman, due to the Legion being the big bad and their views on women make for a more interesting story. When she tries to get up, starts to topple before she can even stand up straight. Getting caught by the doctor and helped back down to the bed. Explaining that the only reason she is alive, is because the shooter used shoddy bullets lost momentum going through her head wear with enough left to crack through her skull. Leaving her with a sever concussion and two nasty wounds behind. Along with a spotty memory. She remembers her name, Maria and what the men look like who attacked her. That she was delivering a Platinum Chip for some robot who hired her, but nothing beyond that, except a red headed woman. Could see her clearly, but her name and surroundings are dark. After hearing him out and not knowing where they went. She gets up and heads out. Seeing the bar and decides to head over. Either they know something or not, but at least she would get a drink. Doesn’t make it before a group of four men, Powder Gangers, confront her. Seeing the woman, uneasy on her feet as an easy mark, but when one grabs her shoulder, she wipes out three of them, before stumbling and the fourth takes her down, but Victor, the robot takes him down before he can do anything. Helping her up and telling her what he saw. That they were talking a lot about guiding the man in the suit to Vegas. She heads off to the bar to get a drink and try to figure out how she was going to run them down. When she overhears an argument between Sunny and Trudy about what they are going to do about the Powder Gangers and Maria steps up. Needing to repay the debit. Sunny isn’t so sure, since she is clearly still a bit banged up, but she insists. Saying she can fight hand to hand and is a crack shot, except she isn’t. When the fighting starts, you get a slow motion shot of her raising a gun and firing. Seeing the bullet screaming forward, only to miss and strike a wall nearby her target. A running theme with Maria is she is going to swear she can shoot, but is constantly missing, and it is because her head wound. It has altered her perception and unless it is point blank. She won’t be hitting anything for a while. They chase them off and as a way to thank her, they give her some caps and a trinket a traveler gave Trudy to pay a tab, A Pip Boy. It is not in the best of shape and kind of on the fritz, but should be able to get it repaired and will show her a map of the area. Told North is faster, but more dangerous and she should go South instead. Episode ends with her going North.

 Episode 2 is kind of split into three. We are meeting the NCR and Legion. Showing how evil and depraved the Legion can get and how stretched the NCR are. Hearing a base near by calling for help, but won’t move until they get the order to move. An order that comes to late and by the time they arrive, they find the soldiers burnt remains on crosses and all of the woman and children are gone. In between all of this, Maria is having issues of her own. Between Radscorpions and other creatures. Barely makes it to a town. A guy tells her of a shortcut, but won’t tell her till she helps with a bug problem, which turns out to be Deathclaws. She manages to take down to in stealth, but everything goes awry when a group of Powder Gangers charge. Not seeing anything other than Maria till the enraged Deathclaws make themselves known and go wild, and she retreats up a path and over a fence. Not stopping to read the sign, Black Mountain. Next episode is her helping the Super Mutants there and the ghoul, Raul. We learn that she treats everyone about the same. Whether its human, ghoul or whatever. Snide and snarky and while she is dead set on getting to Vegas and get her revenge. Can be knocked off track and guided toward being helpful if she finds it to be right. When she goes to leave Raul joins her. Saying he is to old to make it on his own and doesn’t know where else to go and if it’s all the same. Would tag along with her if it’s all the same. That he might even be able to get her Pip Boy working right. 

  Episode four starts with them being arrested at an NCR Outpost. She scoffed at the idea to go and do any sort of freelance work. Again, she just wants to go to Vegas, but he points out that she aint getting in without being able to cover the entry price. So, she gives in, but it is too late to meet the Officer so they head to the bar. While she was flirting with one of the patrons. Someone started making fun of Raul and shoved him to the ground when he went to walk away and she levels him with enough force to knockout a tooth and a bigger brawl starts out. Turns out he is an NCR Solider and they end up in a cell. Across from them is a teenage girl named Veronica and her robo dog, Rex. She is chatty and tells them she was busted trying to steal scrap from the base. Seeing the Pip Boy she gets Maria to let her see it and fixes it with ease. Saying it was a gift and a hobby. Before they can press, the Officer comes in with a deal. An alarm at one of the nearby warehouse was tripped and if she goes to check it out. They would cut her and her ghoul friend free, with caps on top of it. She agrees, but Veronica and Rex are with her as well. As a group they head over and find one, Sierra Petrovita inside the warehouse. Traveler from the East who had heard there was Nuka Cola that was only sent to the Western half of the country and she had to try some. Deeming her to be harmless, they use Maria’s now working Pip Boy to give directions and let her head off. Taking a dead Gecko back and tells the officer he was their trouble maker. Leaving the base with caps and all four of them head off toward Vegas. Episode 5, starts with them running into a group of Powder Gangers as they round a bend. Tired and annoyed after frighting a ton of monsters and a lengthy walk. They are in no mood, but the Powder Gangers raise their hands up. Saying they are here for a truce. Their Boss is tired of trying and at this point, not worth the fighting anymore and that if Maria ever needs anything. They are there and walk away. From there it is them helping Boone find out what happened to his wife and goes with them. Only to find a new place for him to go. Despite a bit of protest from Veronica. Becoming clear that the two of them do not get along in the least. At the end we see the Powder Gangers base and the boss. Relieved that Maria has agreed to the truce. Thinking he could move on from that mess, but hears screaming from outside, then nothing. The door opens and in comes Aurelius Of Phoenix enters the room, with a simple request, everything he knows about the Courier Maria. Caersar has heard of her coming back from the dead and her killing a deathclaws without a gun and dealing with the gang and rumors about the chip and Mr. House wanting to know the moment she gets to the city and he wants to know what makes her so important. While his men are not to thrilled about seeking out one woman, but not going to challenge his leadership. 

  Six shows them on the outskirts of the city walls and she is getting more and more annoyed. She feels like so much time has passed and doesn’t want to give him a chance to escape, but it is more than that. She isn’t sleeping, due to vivid dreams of the Redheaded woman. Could hear here voice, talking to her about hunts, honor and bets, while they are in each other’s arms. In the dreams she is too small, a child, and she knows that they are more than dreams. Echos of her memory and frustrating to not remember. While Raul is talking about being a bit short, and she tells him the if the next job is as dumb as stealing an urn she will lose it, when they hear a shrill scream of help. A woman racing into view from the right. They think she is a ghoul at first, but no. She is just covered in  hideous burns. They recall seeing a NCR Flag a half mile back and they rush her back. Finding that she is actually one of theirs. Had been kidnapped by a Fiend General, Cook-Cook. A guy who has been having his way with numerous female members of their team. They can’t go after him, because of number issues and the mood begins to soar. They stick around, with jobs for Veronica and Raul’s specialty. Boone excuses himself to go talk to the Commanding Officer and Maria drifts through the camp. Anger and rage boiling to life inside of her. Getting more intense with every woman she sees with burn scars and each victim she crosses paths with. It’s not just feeling bad or angry that this happened to them, but something personal. Something she can’t remember, but subconsciously, waning to lash out. When she goes up to one and starts to ask where they were attacked. Using her Pip Boy to pin the marks and we jump to a defended, dilapidated shack, with an armed fiend outside. Getting pulled back into the shadows and Maria steps out. Brandishing a long machete.  Episode ending with her entering the shack.

  Seven starts with her at the outpost bar. Face covered in blood and smoking a cigarette. Sipping on a drink. When Raul comes up to her and takes a seat. Saying that they should talk. Referring to the head of Cook-Cook perched on the bar next to her when she asks why and the episode doesn’t leave the bar. Everything comes out here. Her frustrations about not being able to remember and the anger she has over what Benny did and how little she thinks of the UCR. How they just let Cook-Cook run wild and they just sat back and watched. She is viewing the world from a new and all of the flaws and ugliness people adjust to are gone and she has no ties or binds or home and what happens after she gets to the man in the suit. Not seeing anything beyond the ugliness she has seen since she left Goodsprings and spiraled out of control seeing Cook-Cook’s victims. Raul lets her get it all out. Before saying that there was ugliness, he knows first hand about ugliness. Would still be stuck with the crazy Super Mutants if it wasn’t for a certain some one and he wasn’t the only one who could say that. Before she could reply, Sierra comes in. Arms weighed down by a massive crate of Nuka Cola. Running up and hugging her. Couldn’t thank her enough for the help and gave them each a bottle of soda. After she walks away, she looks at Raul and dismisses that. It was Soda but he corrects her. It is soda to them, but to Sierra, that was her reason to push on and make her happy. They all had to have that one thing. Whether it be Soda, Veronica comes up and says, stealing electronics she says. Showing the electronics she stashed in her waistband. Boone saying, getting payback on the guy who tried to kill you. Grabbing Cook-Cooks head. Saying, there is a Bounty of Five thousand for this. More than enough to get into Vegas and the trek to Vegas is on.

  Eight has them reaching Freeside. Boone and Raul head off to the Kings to get a Passport into Vegas. While, Maria tells them she will catch up. Seeing a shop that says Silver side energy weapons and drifts that way. Turning in her weapons when Veronica rushes up. Preferring to tag along with her. Wanting to see the Energy weapons. She strugs it off and lets her come in. Till that becomes more when they walk into a situation. Business is open, but a unknown woman is chained to a fence and the guy is talking to her about how she wanted to die. Trying to be sneaky since no one seemed to care about them being their. Maria nonchalantly grabs a plasma gun and tries to shot the guy, and misses. The woman just barely manages to move, but the last does shot a hole through the fence keeping her trapped. Catching the guy by surprise, throwing a knife through his head. Fight breaks out and the only ones left standing are Maria, Veronica and the woman who introduces herself as the Rose of Sharon Cassidy. She idiotically tried to exact revenge on the van graffs and it didn’t go well. While she is talking, Maria slips a Stealth boy in her pocket. Veronica is going wild. Pocketing as much as she can.  They prepared to take out the last guard, but when they rush outside. Find a guy in Legion in a suit. One of Caesar’s men. Telling Maria the Caesar is requesting a meeting, but she isn’t very interested in it. More than aware at this point who they are and isn’t about to give them a meeting, but he tells her where to go if she changes her mind and walks off. From there, it is clear sailings into the strip, except before they can fully enjoy it. They are swarmed by Robots. Lead by Victor. Who says Mr.House wants a word and it is not up for debate. 

  Nine, the finale picks up with the meeting between her and Mr. House who gladly tells her where to find the man in the suit Benny and uploads his schedule to her Pip Boy. He wants her to got to and get the chip and take it to the destination he also marked in her map and she would get directions when she gets there. She tries to ask questions. Wanting to know more, but he isn’t up for talking and she leaves. Meeting the rest of the group outside. Mr. House watching them while she explains what just went down. Veronica not thrilled to be helping him, but Raul saying that they shouldn’t concern themselves about it right now and it is off to the Tops. After scouting it out and armed with the specs. Cassidy seduces him up to his room, when he hits an invisible barrier just shy of his bed. Stealth boy dropping and Maria is face-to-face with the guy who tried to kill her. He is shocked of course. Saying one scream and his men would come running. Which is followed by the sounds of an altercation and incomes everyone else. He tries to trade the chip for a free escape, she takes it, flips it in the air and catches it before saying, nope. Stabbing him in the chest with a knife. Leaving him to drop to the ground dying in the next moment. Camera pans in as she takes a deep breath. All of the pain and misery he put her through. Effectively robbing her of who she was and could finally breath a sigh of relief. When Veronica brings up what are they going to do with the chip. Boone thinks it should go to the NCR to use to take down Mr. House. While Veronica throws out the idea of destroying it. Whatever Mr. House wants with it can’t be good and the NCR already can’t patrol their area. Yet alone New Vegas. They don’t even know what the chip does when a voice from a backroom speaks out. It controls a massive robot army. Confused, Maria opens the door and out of the darkness, Yes Man’s face appears and the season ends.

  I know that this was a long one, but it’s an entire season and Fallout is such a rich and vast spectrum of people and events and wanted to include as much as I could and had a real blast putting it all together. I hope you enjoyed and as always..

  Thank You For Reading.      

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