If fears about “the bomb” permeated life in the mid-20th century, the video game “Fallout” takes that premise to its worst conclusion. In a post-nuclear wasteland, some survivors have been recreating their 1950s-era idyll underground in elaborate bomb shelters called vaults. Those less lucky have been eking out a life on the surface, where it is dusty and brutal, and nasty oddities abound in the form of ghouls, who exist in a liminal space between human and zombie. How the hell did we get here? The Amazon TV adaptation explains by toggling between two timelines: Los Angeles of 2077 and what remains of the place a couple of centuries into the future.

Inside Vault 33, the community’s cult-like tranquility is invaded by surface dwellers who kidnap the man in charge (Kyle MacLachlan) and this sets the story in motion. His daughter Lucy ventures outside for the first time on a mission to save him and learns some ugly truths about the inevitable consequences of end-stage capitalism along the way.

Played by Ella Purnell, Lucy is perky and naive but exceptionally skilled with a weapon. Her trek on the surface is one long rude awakening, but what do you expect? She’s literally been sheltered all her life. She’s more or less introduced as a character worthy of “Leave It to Beaver” who is unceremoniously yanked into a darker show by the end of the first episode. That’s typical of “Fallout’s” sense of humor, a lot of which comes through in the production design (which takes a page from the 1999 comedy “Blast From the Past” in amusing ways) and the intentional tonal discord that is irony-drenched and kitschy but not actually funny (a missed opportunity). Chris Parnell and Matt Berry show up separately, and briefly, for comic relief as well.

A scene from “Fallout,” the Prime Video series based on the video game franchise. (JoJo Whilden/Prime Video/TNS)

I haven’t played “Fallout,” but it came up when I wrote about Marvel’s “WandaVision” in 2021. I was curious if younger generations would understand its parodies of shows like “I Love Lucy” and Northwestern professor and screenwriter Brett Neveu was convinced many viewers would, thanks to this game specifically, where “only the pop culture from the 1950s has remained behind. So the jokes that are in the game, the references, they are all part of a culture that is long gone. And if you invest in this puzzle, you have to know these reference points.” Stylistically, the show has stuck with this idea to an extent, primarily through its old-school needle drops.

The hellscape on the surface is unpredictable and dangerous. This has left a power vacuum to be exploited by a brutal militia called the Brotherhood of Steel, in which knights don enormous metal exoskeletons and travel with lowly squires. One of those squires is Maximus (Aaron Moten), who is as out of his element as Lucy. Their individual journeys are the show’s weakest portions, but once they finally team up, the pair starts to feel like more than narrative conceits.

It is Walton Goggins, with his ever-present drawl, who gives “Fallout” its real reason for being. He is the third main character and arguably the most important because his arc serves as a through line. Before the nuclear apocalypse, he is a Hollywood star named Cooper Howard who is famous for his good-guy roles in Westerns. In the future, he has transformed into a leathery, noseless, centuries-old survivor who has shed the moral compass of his former self. His character in both timelines gets all the complexity that’s otherwise missing in the series (which has been renewed for a second season). Nothing is as interesting as when Goggins is on screen. The gory violence in “Fallout” isn’t my speed, and there’s far too much of it in the early going. But the show won me over when his ghoul forcibly asserts his will over someone who, mid-tussle, bites off his index finger. In return, he slices off their index finger: “Now that right there is the closest thing we’ve had to honest exchange so far.”

It’s such a wonderfully weird moment (don’t worry, they both somehow get their respective fingers reattached) and I wish there were more like it. When someone asks, “How do you live like this? Why keep going?,” he offers no answer. His quest is revealed late in the season, but his wanderings up to that point are fascinating all the same. When he stumbles into an abandoned store called Super Duper Mart (repurposed for nefarious doings), he finds a copy of an old movie he starred in that has somehow survived all these years on videotape and he sits there slack-jawed, watching footage of his former self.

Production designer Howard Cummings gives distinctive looks to each time and place, and the vaults in particular aim to recreate a sunny normality with a hermetically sealed twist. But nothing about the show, from creators Geneva Robertson-Dworet and Graham Wagner, has a light touch. “Westworld” creators Lisa Joy and Jonathan Nolan are executive producers here and you can sense some of that show’s DNA here as well.

The storytelling doesn’t fully gel at first. But if you’re patient, “Fallout” reveals itself to be a show with some potent things to say about where we’re headed if we allow corporate interests to dictate the future. Companies with a business model predicated on prepper-style scare tactics (like the show’s fictitious Vault-Tec) will always need to justify their existence. Where “Fallout” stumbles is what it leaves out. It paints a vision of a colorblind world but also introduces a eugenics plotline, which rings hollow considering the show erases the racism and other bigotries that have historically been used to justify this kind of mindset.

Before the apocalypse, Cooper Howard contemplates what it means to be a “pitchman for the end of the world.” Hollywood is over, a fellow actor tells him: “Hollywood is the past. Forget Hollywood. The future, my friend, is products. You’re a product, I’m a product, the end of the world is a product.”

Just don’t think too hard about the real-world corporate interests pushing us in that direction, including the one streaming this very series.

‘Fallout’

3 stars (out of 4)

Rating: TV-MA

How to watch: Prime Video

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Now that the House of Representatives, acting in an unusually bipartisan way, finally passed a $61 billion aid package for Ukraine, the big question is what the Ukrainians should spend it on.

This aid comes not a minute too soon. Russia has been gathering momentum both on the ground and in the air, threatening a summer offensive that could crack the Ukrainians’ lines and threaten their major cities. These include Kharkiv — the major city nearest to the Russian border — and possibly Kyiv itself, forcing the government of President Volodymyr Zelenskyy out of the capital.

Central Intelligence Agency Director William Burns, a former ambassador to Russia, understands Russian President Vladimir Putin well. Burns said last week that unless the new tranche of U.S. aid was forthcoming, Ukraine was in danger of losing the war within the year. But he also said, “with the boost that would come from military assistance, both practically and psychologically, the Ukrainians are entirely capable of holding their own through 2024 and puncture Putin’s arrogant view that time is on his side.”

So, with the $61 billion of “forgivable loans” approved this week by the Senate and White House, what are Ukraine’s most crucial needs? How fast can the pipeline move more weapons and ammunition into the hands of Kyiv’s brave, overachieving military?

The good news is that both the U.S. and European defense establishments have been primed for this moment over the past months. My successor as supreme allied commander at the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, General Chris Cavoli, has said that it is largely a matter of turning on the spigot once President Joe Biden signs the aid bill. Cavoli’s vast command — eight full battlegroups in Eastern Europe alone — is poised to swing fully into action to deliver assistance.

Fortunately, nearly 90% of money for Ukraine will be spent on purchases from the U.S. defense industrial base. This means that procurement and logistics should run relatively smoothly down well-trodden paths. Storehouses in Europe — run by U.S. European Command and our NATO partners in Germany, Poland and other sites in Eastern Europe — are already full of weapons, particularly artillery shells, that could move quickly into Ukrainian hands.

At the top of the list will be replenishing Ukraine’s air defenses.

This means more surface-to-air missiles, ranging from the smaller systems like the National Advanced Surface-to-Air System (NASAMS) and the MIM-23 HAWK systems, to the big Patriot batteries that proved so effective in defending Israel during the Iranian air attack earlier this month. The Patriots and even larger Terminal High Altitude Defense systems (THAAD) can defend against Russian cruise and ballistic missiles over broader areas. These systems will protect not only civilians and critical infrastructure like the electric grid, but will be useful against Russian aircraft.

Next on the shopping list will be artillery ammunition.

All along the hundreds of miles of battlefront separating the combatants, daily artillery duels are being fought. Russia is getting the better of the Ukrainians through sheer volume of fire. As in World War I, defensive trenches can help hold off the waves of cannon-fodder foot soldiers the Russians use (including many conscripts and convicts), but their artillery can pin down and ultimately overcome the dug-in Ukrainians. The most pressing need for the Ukrainian artillery is millions of traditional 155 millimeter howitzer rounds, alongside ammo for smaller-caliber guns.

Ukraine will also want to use the funds to help finally get the 45 or so F-16 fighters previously promised by the West into the skies.

These versatile combat aircraft are capable of solid air-to-air defense against Russian fighters and bombers; pinpoint air-to-ground attacks against Russian troops in the field and in their trenches; and electronic warfare and jamming that can deceive and defeat Russian cruise missiles. Ukrainian pilots have been training for months to fly them.

Another high priority will be long-range surface-to-surface missiles.

The U.S. Army’s High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS) is mobile and lethal. It can use precise targeting data at ranges of 50-plus miles, and has been deployed with great effect on the Ukrainian battlefield. Even better is the Army Tactical Missile System (ATACMS), a ballistic weapon with ranges of 150-plus miles. Both can strike behind Russian front lines and destroy logistics centers and command-and-control hubs, notably in Crimea.

The war in Ukraine has also become the first lengthy conflict in which drones are playing a major role.

Unmanned aerial vehicles have been crucial for the Ukrainians in stopping Russian advances. These drones rely on exquisite command and control — much of it provided over the internet and connected to constellations of satellites. This may be less glamorous than ballistic missiles flying toward Crimea and fighters swooping down on Russian forces, but it is just as critical. The U.S. loan package could allow the Ukrainians to field a stronger offensive drone force with commensurate cybersecurity abilities.

Given that this $61 billion is under 7% of the massive U.S. defense budget, it represents excellent return on investment for U.S. taxpayers. Nearly all of the money will be spent back in the U.S., providing jobs and helping the economy, and it will help decimate the military capability of an aggressive dictator without putting a single U.S. service member at risk. These funds, along with the billions of dollars the European allies have already provided and pledged (in total military and economic assistance, the Europeans have given far more aid to Ukraine than the U.S.), give Ukraine a fighting chance.

In 1941, UK Prime Minister Winston Churchill said to the U.S., “Give us the tools and we will finish the job,” referring to defeating Nazi Germany. Today, another rapacious foe is attacking a sovereign European state and seeking to undermine Western values globally. Putin must be stopped, and with the right set of tools provided by the U.S. and Europe together, Ukraine too can do the job.

James Stavridis is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist, a retired U.S. Navy admiral, former supreme allied commander of NATO, and dean emeritus of the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University. Stavridis is also vice chairman of global affairs at the Carlyle Group. He is on the boards of Fortinet, NFP, Ankura Consulting Group and Neuberger Berman, and has advised Shield Capital, a firm that invests in the cybersecurity sector.

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Choosing a bottle of wine can be a stressful task. Especially when that wine is meant for someone else.

If you’re daunted by trying to decide what wine to bring to a party, the perfect bottle for a hard-to-please mother-in-law or something to entice a prospective paramour, consider some tried-and-tested tips from Chicago wine experts.

Surefire party hits

When selecting a wine to bring to a party, Chasity Cooper, a communications strategist and wine and culture writer, turns to trusted favorites.

“Pinot noir from Oregon always delivers,” says Cooper, who recently published the “Wine Convo Generator,” a mix-and-match guide to describing wines like a sommelier. You’ll find pinot noir with this “twist of brightness” from cool-climate regions such as the Willamette Valley, she says. It’s an effortless, juicy choice that appeals to both novice wine drinkers as well as connoisseurs, whether you’re at a dinner party or a summer cookout, Cooper explains.

For a go-to white wine, “it’s fine to keep hanging out in sauvignon blanc or pinot grigio-land,” Cooper says. But if you’re looking for something “a bit more next level” Cooper likes to nudge friends out of their comfort zone with less ubiquitous varieties such as albariño, chenin blanc or torrontes. They’re friendly, unpretentious wines that are dry in style and refreshingly fruity, but with an added boost of texture, aroma and flavors.

Jonas Bittencourt, general manager and wine director of John’s Food and Wine in Lincoln Park, says “a magnum of wine should be the default move for anyone showing up at a party.”

Magnums, equivalent to two standard 750-millimeter bottles, instantly electrify the vibe of a party. “The bigger the bottle, the cooler you’ll look,” Bittencourt says with a laugh. And while large-format bottles might look grandiose, many offer surprising bang for your buck.

Bittencourt often turns to magnums of Muscadet, the dry, mineral whites made from melon de Bourgogne in the Loire Valley. Compared with a similarly well-made Sancerre or white Burgundy, “a magnum of Muscadet seems dirt cheap,” Bittencourt explains. “Muscadet is so bright and fresh, it matches the acidity and fruit that people look for in pinot grigio, sauvignon blanc or chardonnay,” he says, but with a liveliness of character that’s distinct.

For reds, Bittencourt suggests Beaujolais. Produced just south of Burgundy in France, gamay from Beaujolais “is such a fleshy red, it’s so versatile and fun,” Bittencourt says. As a bonus, even a magnum-sized Beaujolais is likely cheaper than a standard bottle of similar quality wine from Burgundy.

What to bring when the pressure’s on

Choosing wine can be especially intimidating when there’s someone specific to impress. After all, what will charm the sister-in-law who stubbornly drinks only one specific wine? What will dazzle an oenophile who has a cellar full of wine and a whole lot more money than you?

For the hard-to-please wine drinkers in your life, don’t fight their resistance, Bittencourt says. “Always give people what they want,” he says. Still, that doesn’t mean you can’t bring a second bottle to tempt someone out of a rut. The key is to approach the resistance with openness, he says. For the Anything-But-Chardonnay diehard, Bittencourt will oblige, but he’s also likely to offer a sneaky sip of Chablis. Yes, it’s also a chard, but a striking contrast to the sappy oak bombs that most ABC’ers fear. “Just don’t tell them what they’re drinking because the barrier of preconceived notions is really strong,” he says.

When you’re buying wine for a wine snob who already owns all the wines they love, forget about trying to compete, both Cooper and Bittencourt suggest. Instead, “I’m going funky, I’m going fun,” Cooper says, introducing a wine she’s sure the recipient would never encounter on their own. Even veteran wine drinkers appreciate discovering new wines or hearing unique stories about the people and places that produce unusual or lesser-known bottlings. For someone who drinks only big-name, Bordeaux-style wines, Cooper might suggest similar wines from a small, family-owned producer in Washington or California, or wines focused on an underdog grape of Bordeaux, such as cabernet franc.

For an established Barolo collector, for example, focus away from cost-prohibitive icons such as Bruno Giacosa, Bittencourt says. Instead, introduce them to a Barolo producer that’s out of the mainstream. “Small producers like Cascina Fontana are really important in the region, but not everyone knows about them still.”

Wines to woo

If selecting a wine to reel in a new flame, Bittencourt suggests leading with emotions. Sharing wines that are close to your own heart, in Bittencourt’s case, Champagne or Burgundy, can communicate volumes. “Plus, they’re wines that make me the happiest,” he says, and they make it easier to navigate those intimate, vulnerable moments.

With a new date, “I like to showcase a bit of my personality and playfulness,” says Cooper, who suggests seduction via a progression of wines. Cooper starts with something unexpected and unusual, “like a really beautiful orange wine,” she says, referring to the amber-hued, aromatic whites made with extended skin contact like red wines.

“I might follow that with something bold and charismatic, like me” she says, “an aglianico (the powerful red wines of southern Italy) instead of a more expected choice like cabernet sauvignon.”

“Then, I’d seal the deal with a really great dessert wine, maybe a vintage fortified wine like Port,” Cooper suggests.

Above all, spending more than you can afford is never the answer to these conundrums, both Cooper and Bittencourt advise. This is why developing relationships with trusty salespeople, usually from small, independent wine retailers can be such an asset. “Be honest about your budget,” Bittencourt says, and take time to tell them about who you’re buying wine for, their sense of humor, their routine and quirks, he says.

After all, wine isn’t just about filling glasses, you might get a chance to fill hearts too.

Party pleasers

Brooks Willamette Valley Pinot Noir

Oregon pinot noir highlights fresh, juicy raspberry and red-cherry flavors offset by spice and thirst-quenching acidity. Cooper recommends this easy-drinking but elegant pinot from Brooks, a family winery in the Willamette Valley known for its commitment to biodynamic and sustainable wine growing.

$29 at Binny’s, multiple locations, binnys.com

Wade Cellars Chenin Blanc

For those who love the richness of chardonnay but also the verve and tropical fruit of sauvignon blanc, chenin blanc is a clever alternative. Chenin blanc originates from the Loire Valley in France, but versions from California or South Africa have a sun-kissed brightness ideal for parties. This collaboration between NBA Hall of Famer Dwyane Wade and Napa’s Jayson Pahlmeyer is one of Cooper’s favorites.

$20 at Binny’s, multiple locations, binnys.com

California Carboniste Modern Sparkling Wine Extra Brut Albarino

Spanish albariño, a blossomy dry white with mouthwatering grapefruit acidity, is an invigorating choice for parties. Cooper likes this all-American innovation, an organically grown California sparkling albariño bottled with a party-ready crown-cap closure.

$30 at Binny’s, multiple locations, binnys.com

Jo Landron Muscadet Le Fief du Breil (1.5 liter)

Muscadet is such a zingy, thirst-quenching wine, even a magnum may not last long at a party. “It just has this unbelievable energy, who wouldn’t want that?” says Bittencourt of this biodynamically grown wine from one of Muscadet’s pioneering natural wine producers.

$88 (plus shipping) from Wine Chateau, winechateau.com

Alex Foillard Beaujolais 2020 Côte de Brouilly (1.5 liter)

Bright-fruited and versatile whether chilled in ice at a picnic or passed around at a BYOB dim sum affair, Beaujolais fits in with nearly any crowd. Magnums from top producers such as M. & C. Lapierre, Clos de la Roilette or Chateau Thivin are widely distributed to retail stores at affordable prices, but Bittencourt is particularly fond of this powerful gamay from Alex Foillard, son of the famed Gang of Four producer, Jean Foillard.

$93 at Verve Wine, 2349 N. Lincoln Ave., 773-904-8536, chi.vervewine.com

Wines to impress:

Cascina Fontana Barolo

Cascina Fontana Barolo (E. Jason Wambsgans/Chicago Tribune)

If it’s within your price range, Bittencourt recommends Cascina Fontana’s Barolo as an outperforming wine priced at a fraction of the better-known Barolo. The producer’s bottlings of the same grape, nebbiolo, from neighboring appellations to Barolo like Langhe, or other Piedmontese varieties such as Barbera d’Alba or Dolcetto d’Alba, can be even more wallet-friendly options.

$90 at Eataly, 43 E. Ohio St., 312-521-8700, chicago.eatalyvino.com

Lang & Reed North Coast Cabernet Franc

The Napa Valley isn’t known for small production, mom-and-pop wineries these days, or underdog varieties like cabernet franc. This is why Cooper recommends this fruity but spry, subtly smoky red made by two former sommeliers who named their winery after their sons, Lang and Reed.

$28 at Binny’s, multiple locations, binnys.com

Wines to woo:

Famille Moussé L’Anecdote Brut Nature Champagne

“I’m obsessed with these wines,” Bittencourt says of this 100% chardonnay, or blanc de blancs sparkling, made by a family that has been growing grapes in Champagne since 1750. While Champagne can be admittedly a splurge, it’s the kind of wine that expresses Bittencourt’s enthusiasm and passion, he says.

$90 at Schaefer’s, 9965 Gross Point Road, Skokie, schaefers.com

The Vice Wine Brooklynite Orange

The Vice Wine Brooklynite Orange (E. Jason Wambsgans/Chicago Tribune)

Cooper discovered this intensely floral orange wine made from gewürztraminer during a visit to The Vice, the Napa Valley winery owned by Malek Amrani, a Moroccan-born triathlete. It’s the kind of wine that’s seductive, spicy and “tells such a cool story” too, she says.

$29 at Fresh Market, 2134 N. Western Ave., 773-904-3000

Taylor Fladgate 2004 Quinta de Vargellas Vintage Port

Vintage ports aren’t made every year, instead, they’re a time capsule of a single vintage deemed outstanding enough to be a “declared” vintage. Fortified wines can be a spry alternative to a heavy dessert and Cooper says this bottling from one of Taylor Fladgate’s flagship vineyards is sure to “knock some socks off.”

$46 at Chevalier Fine Wines, 474 W. Wrightwood Ave., Elmhurst, 847-975-4300, chevalierwines.com

Anna Lee Iijima is a freelance writer.