Originally published at: https://boingboing.net/2024/04/13/can-westworld-creators-crack-the-code-for-a-great-fallout-adaptation.html
…
I think a lot of shows like this would benefit from having a predefined number of episodes/seasons from the get-go. If Westworld had been written as a single miniseries or Lost had been conceived as a three-season story arc then writers could have paced everything to have a satisfying beginning, middle and end without all those side stories that didn’t go anywhere or the loose threads left unresolved.
24 Likes
I found the first Fallout to be an entertaining (the ability to pull a “Yojimbo” when dealing with two warring factions was pretty groundbreaking) but somewhat incoherent pastiche of every sort of atomic sci-fi, from early/mid 20th century utopian Atomic Society visions, Godzilla movies (explicitly referenced in the first game) through to '80s post-apocalyptic movies. Half Epcot “house of the future” and half Mad Max, but with everything (and the kitchen sink) thrown in for good measure. The series has settled down a bit and become more coherent, and made that disparity between utopian and post-apocalyptic into a core element, but it’s still weird, of all the things that could be adapted, that they went with this.
Yeah, there’s a very strong argument to be made for shows that are open ended and have room for filler episodes, bottle episodes, whatever-of-the-week episodes, etc. (the weird one-offs were always the best X-Files, for example), but for shows like Westworld/Lost, etc., that are all about the plot arcs, they absolutely need a fixed number of episodes and seasons. When I think about how many shows were ruined by the need for a potentially infinite number of episodes while simultaneously not knowing if any given season would be the last… that’s hugely detrimental to story telling.
7 Likes
You can’t make semi trailers full of money with that kind of thinking. (Said studio execs, probably)
6 Likes
Or, matching the theme of the original post better, “How will you know that it’s truely dead and you have wrung every single dollar out of it until you have beat it into an unrecognizable red paste?”
It was interesting to see Michael Rappaport doing a cameo. Tegan Meridith, who plays Janey Howard (Walton Goggins’ character’s daughter) did a great job. Kids are always a bit of a crapshoot, and she was great.
It was a wise choice to tell a different story in the same world rather than trying to re-tell some of the events in the games. The set and prop people did an excellent job or reproducing the look of the games.
7 Likes
Can Westworld creators crack the code for a great Fallout adaptation?
Maybe.
Will they be allowed to make the show accordingly?
Maybe not.
1 Like
he really killed it! pun intended, I guess…
2 Likes
Just a couple episodes in and we’re sold on it. Feels completely faithful to the tone of the game. Didn’t know Michael Emerson was going to show up, always a treat.
2 Likes
First couple of episodes felt a bit uneven for me, but it all really gelled by the end.
that’s good news. are they dropping them all at once, or once a week? ( i might subscribe to watch once they’re all available… )
They’re all there. We’re done with 'em.
2 Likes
was it worth your time do you think?
1 Like
Oh absolutely. Loved it.
5 Likes
3 Likes
I believe that Lost actually was conceived as a 3 season arc with a beginning, middle, and end, but the siren call of success caused them to try and milk it out beyond the original scope.
2 Likes
From what I’ve read, if you can make it to 7 seasons of an American TV you’re basically set for life. The episodes will play for ever all around the world, and you’ll keep receiving cheques for residuals.
Thus there is a temptation to keep on writing, keep on producing, beyond the point that your creation “jumps the shark.” (That said, I’ve also read that Happy Days remained popular for a long time after the Fonz jumped the shark.)
It’s called “syndication.” If a show makes it to 100 episodes, other networks will buy up the rights so that they can play reruns as filler material at ungodly hours.
The business model is changing these days, as reruns compete with streaming services to entertain people during those ungodly hours, so the 100 episode cutoff isn’t as ironclad as it used to be.
1 Like
the apocalypse as a quite gory and absurd excersise, which doesnt take itself too serious. I never played any of the games, but I guess the worldbuilding (props and stuff) is pretty faithful to them. walton goggins performance alone made it worthwile.
2 Likes
I think there are some escapes about this. One is the police procedural plot. One could make a lot of episodes that are almost self conclusive or have some sort of story arc within two or three episodes. It works for crime dramas on the like because the situation it’s restarted. Stefe Moffat’s Sherlock does this bot on a single episode and as a single season. The same thing works for Doctor Who, especially for the Moffat seasons, but the writers hafe to build and close the arc worlds.
1 Like
Sure, lots of shows work well in an episodic format. Most sitcoms, many medical dramas and the original Star Trek are other examples. But Westworld (and presumably Fallout) aren’t those kinds of shows.
