Did Anyone Watch Stranger Things? SPOILERS

Just finished it, and it's amazing. I didn't grow up in the 80's, but I grew up on 80's popcorn cinema, and this is a greatest hits of that aesthetic. It's very reverent of that era in cinema, but it doesn't feel overbearing or hamfisted like some other films/shows that go for the same thing. The best way to describe it is super 8 with a soul/character. It doesn't feel like it was made by people doing a Spielberg paint by numbers, but by people who actually understand what makes that era of film great. It's the perfect combination of weird and whimsical. So yeah, I really loved it.

With that said, it did have a few short comings. The main thing is the bad monster CGI. They should have taken a page out of the Jaws playbook and not show the monster so much; put the monster budget towards the final climactic confrontation, instead of peppering the whole series with something lackluster. They also use CGI in some weird places where practical effects would have been much better (the "portals"/monster goop). I'm also afraid of where it goes from here. Season 1 worked so well as this self contained thing, but then they leave a few bread crumbs right at the end indicating a direct continuation for season 2. I can only see bad things happening if they do that. It would work much better as an anthology series ala American Horror Story.

I just finished it tonight myself, about 20 minutes ago. I loved it overall. Yeah there were some bad choices about setting up a sequel. But I'm okay with it. As long as they can keep it going on the same level. But like you said, I don't know if they can. It reminded me so much of Goonies and Stand By Me. With a little mix of 80's horror/suspense. I actually liked the half bad done cgi bits though. Because I think it fit. I also think the last two episodes didn't have that same umph or quality as the first six. Almost like they expected it to be longer, and then got word we only have a budget for this much, and then ended up rushing it a little. I mean it still worked, but those last two felt a little short of the first six.

Great casting too I thought. I really liked all the characters. They were all cast really well. Man, a whole year to forget about before a second season. I hate you netflix for letting me binge watch shows in two days.

I watched the first two episodes last night and I thought it was really great. I've been looking for an awesome new show and boy they really nail it from presentation to music to the setting. Since I haven't finished I only skimmed this thread but I'm surprise more people aren't talking about it.

Loved it. Well worth the time to watch all of it. Regarding the ending;

I wonder if it means Will is turning into one of those monsters or one will be born from the slug.

I think he was just vomiting the slug, I don't think he will turn into one. The monster was using others to incubate off spring. And all those other people were hooked up like him. So there will probably be more than one in the next season. Plus they found that giant hatched egg when looking for Will, wonder what came out of that. Plus it appears El might not actually be gone. The sheriff was placing food for her in that box out in the woods. And since there were no other containers in there, someone has been taking it out. So I fully expect her to return for a second season also.

I thought the FX were mostly really good, better than expected. And I enjoyed watching it. But does the plot make sense?

It seems like the dark world was created by the girl's mind. It wasn't like an alternate dimension that just existed on its own, because that wouldn't explain why it was exactly like this world, or why it only had that one creature in it. All the stuff in the alternate world was created by the horrors the girl was suppressing in her mind. When she touched it it came bursting into the real world because of her powers. Monsters from the Id. In this sense, she was the monster. The dark world was this world but with the corruption growing all over it.

But then why does the monster consume flesh? And what are those worms about? Those things don't seem to fit with my theory. They point to an alternate world with its own ecosystem that the girl just punched a hole into. Either way it is inconsistent.

The 80s style homage this show puts on, from setting, font choices, even character focus and camera angles was simply awesome. I'm looking forward to future seasons, possibly digging into the creation and explanation of the upside down dimension in more detail.

@memu: I took it as it was from another dimension. She was in that plane of existence to find people. Like an out of focus realm between existences. And instead of finding people in our world, her fear lead her to find that from another. And when she touched it, she opened a portal between the two.

Best things about Stranger Things:

1. David Harbour (the police chief)
2. Winona Ryder (will's mom)
3. The amazing soundtrack
4. Gaten Matarazzo (dustin)

I haven't (disclaimer: didn't read your post) but I've heard glowing things and the music from the menu confirmed I had to watch it. You put 80s synthwavey shit in your movie/game, you get my interest.

Watched it and loved every second of it.

This show was really, really good. The acting, direction, and writing was excellent across the board. That said, I'm hesitant about a second season, this this story ended in a pretty good place.

Binge watched this in one sitting, I just couldn't stop. I love Hooper's go-to-strategy, KNOCK THEM THE EFF OUT.

It finally feels like the 80's are far enough away to be used as a legitimate aesthetic rather than something to be enjoyed ironically. I think a second season might be really great if they jump a few years ahead.

Fuck that, I am too invested in these characters now.

I really liked it however it has some major issues:

The best parts that stood out to me:

1. Eleven: her interaction with the boys and her story was the best part of the season. I love Mass Effect 2 and I got really strong Jack vibe from her. However, the way her story is concluded was a little weird and rushed. That character deserves a much better ending.

2. The music.

The bad parts that stood out to me:

1. The whole side plot with the sister: its like it was written as a parody of "jock"-ishness. it was from head-to-toe a very boring, stupid and weird side plot that could have been easily removed from the whole show.

2. The sister suddenly turning into a "badass": the motivation for her to fight the monster with Will's brother didn't really make all that much sense. It felt like going after the monster directly would have been more interesting if the Sherrif and the Mother had done it, or even the boys and Eleven. Just throwing out ideas.... any of which would have been better than the sister. The sequence itself was cool, but the sister character just felt horribly out of place there.

3. Barb: why is no one really talking about her? what about the search parties for her?

4. Mathew Modine's Papa: A character that presumably had a lot of power over Eleven but is dealt with in such a quick and rash way. They could have put a lot more of him in this and given him way more depth.

5. The actual mystery of the upside down and the monster: Im glad that they didn't explain too much about what the upside down was and what exactly the monster is. if I have any complaint, its that they, as is, explained too much about both those things.

The monster would have been better left to the imagination or shot in ways that didn't reveal so much. And the the upside down should NEVER have been seen. It just looked stupid. How did Will survive there for so long? It seems like people liberally get in and get out of there, so why didn't Will find a way out? Just some questions.

For #2, her motivation was Barb. Once she found out it had killed Barb, she got angry. And wanted revenge. It made perfect sense. And for #1, it was there to be 80's, not to make sense.

@sterling: I suspected it was for Barb, however their interactions were so minimal that I feel (for me anyway) my point still stands. Any other character could have been put there, and it would have felt better.

I understand that Barb and the sister were best friends and what not, but still. For all the other characters involved here and how they have a better understanding of what is actually happening, it felt kind of like a missed opportunity.

I think the Nancy's motivations made perfect sense. It was pretty clear to me from the party onwards Nancy blames herself for Barb's disappearance, as she was the last to see her alive and she was the one that not only asked her to come but also told her to leave and once she found out she had died all that was left was to get revenge. The creators said something to the effect of the kids storyline was the Spielberg storline, the teens story was the John Carpenter storline and the adult storyline was the Stephen King storyline and I think they captured that all perfectly.

@jonny_anonymous: fair enough.

I just really didn't like the sister or her subplot at all. So none of that worked for me, and I still feel the house fight would have been better served with someone else. Its like they crammed it all in there just to say they did so. That whole thing felt very distinctly off for me.

I get the revenge angle but, for me, revenge only makes sense if you knew the characters better and had a better understanding of what made them special. Barb and even to a certain extent the sister are both kind of one-note, and thats why I said it didn't make that much sense to me from a character motivational aspect to put the sister with Will's brother in that house. They're about to fight something that neither one of them knows a lot about. I can obviously understand the Brother's motivation to do anything to get Will back but the sister is just there... cuz..."revenge". She was just boring and poorly written throughout the show. There were so many more characters there that had more intense and active plots that would have made more sense to me. But, this is just nitpicky and really subjective, so if it worked for you, then thats awesome!

I haven't read that quote by them, but going off of that analysis, the Spielberg part of the storyline was by far my most favourite part of the show. It felt like it was reverent to Spielberg whilst also elevating the material to make it more interesting. If you're taking Carpenter-esque story bits and attributing it this show, then sure, whatever. It still doesn't make it good, in my opinion. That said, apart from The Thing, I have never been a huge John Carpenter fan, so ultimately that part of the show, I guess, was never really meant for me.

The adults storyline was ok but a little bare when you add it all up in the end. The only interesting parts with the adults were the mother and the lights part, and when the sheriff realizes he's been looking for Eleven the whole time. Parts of it felt terrifically X-Files-y at times, and those parts were awesome. They should have merged the kids and the adults' storylines better. It was still good, but a little oddly done.

Awesome show, loved the heck out of it. Just a really awesome premise. I'm really excited for Black Mirror to come back after seeing how this show turned out. Netflix can do no wrong with its original shows.

@godzilla_sushi: Netflix is taking over Black Mirror?

@sterling: They are indeed! 12 new episodes written by Charlie Brooker that are supposed to come out this year.

I wish this was a thing so bad

@jonny_anonymous said:

I wish this was a thing so bad

Make it Adult Swim instead of Nintendo and I'm all in.

Just finished it today and while the ending is sorta wishy-washy overall the entire show was so surprisingly excellent. Like I thought it would probably be cool but had no idea it would end up being this good. Like it was said above, the homage to the 80's is so perfect that it comes off as a property genuinely made in that era instead of some weird modern show trying to put on airs.

I hope there are more seasons but I'm in the camp that would probably prefer a different cast. Then again if it was a direct continuation of season 1 I would be down with that too!

@humanity said:

@jonny_anonymous said:

I wish this was a thing so bad

Make it Adult Swim instead of Nintendo and I'm all in.

Just finished it today and while the ending is sorta wishy-washy overall the entire show was so surprisingly excellent. Like I thought it would probably be cool but had no idea it would end up being this good. Like it was said above, the homage to the 80's is so perfect that it comes off as a property genuinely made in that era instead of some weird modern show trying to put on airs.

I hope there are more seasons but I'm in the camp that would probably prefer a different cast. Then again if it was a direct continuation of season 1 I would be down with that too!

I think it's so good beacuse the Duffer Brothers seems to remember what those 80's movies were actually like and not just what people think of them now. It's not just this sanitized "all ages family friendly" movie that most current media goes for, there is a darkness to Stranger Things and the characters have rough edges just like they did back in the Goonies and ET. These article say it better: Stranger Things Puts Kids at the Center of Peril—And That's Why It's So Good\What Netflix's 'Stranger Things' Gets Right About Spielberg Kids And '80s Suburbia

Finished it yesterday and absolutely loved it. I'm bummed out they went with the sequel bait ending, but definitely looking forward to more.

I haven't seen a single bad thing about this posted anywhere yet. It seems everyone loves it.

I don't see it as a sequel bait ending, I see it as a traditional Stephen King ending.

I liked it a lot and would definitely want to watch a 2nd season of this, but man... that Michael kid and his whole family were all a little odd I thought. From his mom offering to rent him R rated movies after seeing his friends "dead" body, his father's blind trust in the "government" , and his sister who just can't seem to find a normal guy.

Which brings me to what I think is the worst part about this series which is how much time was spent on the high school stuff. It was funny when she called out the jock for being such a "cliche", but little did I know that we were going to go full circle with the whole high school cliche romance story and it was sooo... ugh. The girl and the jock both had pretty unrealistic changes in character where they changed so drastically and suddenly it was jarring. The fact that they both manage to accept each other after everything that had happened also made no sense. Will's brother was also pretty creepy despite being the "weird, but nice" stereotype and wasn't any better than the jock. The tense scene of them trying to lure the monster into the house gets ruined when the jock shows up and all that tension is lost, because now it's just comical to watch him react to the whole situation. In the end, those three didn't even really accomplish anything either.

The best moments and characters in my opinion came from Eleven and most surprisingly I think Will's Mom (Watching Winona Ryder play an anxious mother trying to save her son gave me anxiety, she did great.) and the Sheriff all had really great moments that satisfyingly flushed out their characters to their potential.

The music was pretty great, but when New Order - Elegia came on I just couldn't help but imagine Michael during the funeral turn to his friends and say "I'm already a demon..." and walk off to create Diamond Dogs.

Yeah the teenager stuff wasn't the best, but it wasn't terrible. I kept thinking the jock kids were going to keep blaming Jonathan for the deaths, especially after they found out he was spying on them when Barbara went missing. I mean, he is the "weird" character after all. That might've been a more interesting plot line. It could've led them to blackmailing and harassing the guy until the monster shows up and proves them wrong. They could've even killed off the douchier one! Oh well, good show.

Also, what happened to the cop and why did he get in the car at the end?

I was kinda hoping they were going for a anthology series but the final scenes of the last episode heavily implies a continuation of the story. That's not saying I'm not looking forward to it, I would love to see the characters again but creating a whole new set of characters would be much more exciting to me.

Huge props to those child actors, they were extremely well-cast. And my god the music, both score and soundtrack, was great (I can't help but think of MGSV everytime I hear Elegia now).

@whitestripes09: I don't know, I feel like the R-rated movie thing is kinda like a "free pass" thing to take his mind off this traumatic event. The dad was playing the indifferent parent who kinda just doesn't care about anything or at least ignorant about many events around him, and I thought they showed that pretty well throughout the episodes.

About the cliche about the teenagers, I actually thought they took the stereotypes, flipped it and kinda did it quite well. Steve was set up as this bully jock-type but he actually cares a great deal about Nancy and not just there to get in her pants. He finally learns his "friends" are dragging him down and poisoning his relationship with Nancy so he decides to do something about it. Nancy was guilt-ridden over her abandonment of Barbara and decides to hunt the monster to avenge her best friend. I didn't think it was sudden or jarring at all. The only real cliche that doesn't really subvert it that I can see is Jonathon being the loner guy whose one defining hobby is take pictures of people but then again he doesn't end up with the girl in the end.

@whitestripes09: It's funny how a single trailer turned that band into "oh it's the Phantom Pain music" for me.

Just finished it tonight and it was outstanding. There were a few things that I didn't care for/like how they were handled but overall I was blown away and can't wait for the next season. I was also impressed that it was able to "creep me the fuck out" several times while I was watching it in the middle of the day; the show had a very "Eerie Indiana" vibe to it (which if I remember correctly, also creeped me out).

I love a lot of stuff about this show, but it needed to be about 3-4 episodes tops.

This show was filled with so many filler scenes that by the end didn't contribute and could have been cut and nothing would have changed.

This type of mystery story is just not meant to be stretched for this amount of time. The tension needs to built up and released several times and come to a quick crescendo but that is impossible to do over the 7-8 hours it takes to get through this series.

@owack6: I completely disagree to the point I think it could have done with one episode more. I want more character interaction\development not less.

@owack6: I would disagree about the filler. I think there were three storylines that they managed to interweave quite well without needless filler at all. What in your opinion was filler? Apart from maybe a few scenes here and there that would amount to 15 minutes tops over the span of 8 episodes I can't really think of many parts that I either got impatient with or seemed needless. Of course I thought atmosphere was instrumental in making this show as good as it was and there were moments that were intended to build said atmosphere - if you weren't that into it I could see those as seeming kind of pointless, but even so I have a hard time thinking of a concrete example.

@owack6: What filler?

The "Bad Men" drove her car to the bus station so she looked like a runaway and not a missing person.

I loved it. It was such a pleasant surprise.

Honestly from the first trailer I appreciated the 80's Spielbergh vibe it was going for but I was almost certain that it would overdo it and not actually be a good show. Man was I wrong. I was into absolutely every plot line they had going. I liked every single character. I loved the way it was shot, the 80's setting, and the soundtrack.

I will probably rewatch this multiple times this year. I'm really worried that they won't be able to top it with a season 2 though.

Normally, I'm not into this type of stories; in fact, I have never been a fan of the works that this show seems to draw from, but I enjoyed this first season a whole lot. I actually didn't care for the central plot, but the main reason why I liked it so much is probably the characters; in spite of being archetypal, their interactions seemed heartfelt and genuine, at least for the most part.

I'm kind of sad now that it's over. I watched all eight episodes with a friend over the course of last week and now my life feels all empty and aimless. If they decide to make a second season, I hope the Duffer Brothers return to write and direct most of the episodes. The tonal consistency of this season went a long way toward making me enjoy it.

On a side note, I've been watching The Night Of and it's been really good thus far. The basic premise is kind of worn-out, but the main three characters have been fairly complex and the writing consistently excellent.

First of all, anyone who didn't rank Dustin #1 is wrong.

Secondly, I hope the second season isn't just dealing with another Demogorgon. I loved the show, but I want it to go somewhere different. Maybe dealing with the UpsideDown infecting our world, what if it starts permeating through the walls?

Lastly, I wonder if the Demogorgon really came from the UpsideDown. It could travel between dimensions at will and didn't seem to need the portal 11 created, and there was only one of them. My theory at this point is that it was the science teacher's hypothetical "flea," something that could travel walk around the tightrope (dimension) to the above (our world) and the below (the dark mirror world). I think 11 may have accidentally brought it to our dimension, or just showed it the way.

@j-mack: Well they did tease the Thessalhydra.

Also guys it looks like Stranger Things is super popular