Stranger Things

I am one of those people that was put of by the thought that this was a kid's drama, from the advertising you'd swear this was aimed at a 4 o'clock after school transmission time, the reality is far from that. It's quite intense drama, thoroughly absorbing, the kind of show you can't help but binge watch. As someone that grew up in the Eighties, I can appreciate the detail that's gone into the production, it's like they slipped back and filmed it live, it is incredibly well made. I utterly love the music, it is so fitting, takes me back to wonderful eighties shows. Quality in both season one and two, I like the build up and tension that is abundant in the first. It's like the Goonies meets The Quatermass Experiment.

Awesome characters, great story, great balance between drama and action, love the humour in the series.... In my opinion it is a must watch.

There is no reason, in terms of story, for Stranger Things to take place in the '80s. But the '80s atmosphere - the dial phones, the chain smoking, Winona Ryder - are there to clue you in on the inspiration for this movie, which is pretty much every supernatural movie from the 80s with a focus on kids. E.T., Poltergeist, that sort of thing.

The wondrous thing is how dead-on this tribute. It's not just the clothes and hair, but the style of acting, the scripting approach, the structure, all hold true to their inspiration. You've got the young nerdy kids, the horny, unsure teenagers, the monster, the mysterious one with the power, the bad science/government people, the conflicted investigator, the tearful mom.

You could argue that this entire season is simply a pastiche made up of recycled elements, and I wouldn't disagree, but it really feels less like a copy and more like something of that era, as though the writers had fallen into a coma in 1985, woke up and got to working.

While it doesn't have the high style of the Spielberg films that are a primary influence, it does have the likability. The story is consistently engaging and fun, the acting is excellent, and the movie has sufficient laughs and tears to satisfy.

Can't believe I never reviewed this yet, I was convinced I had. The premiere in 2016 hooked me and never let me go. The show that arguably launched streaming into the mainstream.

Stranger Things is pure nostalgia magic. But saying it just does undersells pretty much every other aspect of the show. Exceptionally solid actors and characters, excellent writing, incredible score, the list goes on.

As far as seasons go, season one is essentially perfect, enough mystery to want more but simple enough to be loved and enjoyed. Captured the magic of the 80s, even if you haven't lived those years. The childlike fun, it takes you right back. Season 2 and 3 try to repeat this but mostly miss out on some of the elements that made season 1, and now season 4 as well.. Horror. They both contain much more mystery and horror and that is one of the big pulls imo of this show, get you on your toes once in a while. S2-3 where focused more on fun, and went a bit too far with the whole Russian mall plot in S3.

I can't overstate how good Season 4 is and feels like a comeback, back to form and for that I cannot wait to see the next season. Stranger Things has a unique hold on 80s nostalgia, a combination of fun and horror. Season 4 manages to really expand on Eleven's story and gives a ton of meaningful depth on her character. We got lot's of time with Papa and everything surrounding it. The villain was good, though his form/the way he took shape didn't impress me as much, I wished it to be more disturbing/scary looking. But it's backstory is what gives the villain strength here. Also the underlying themes of mental health are well executed and never blatantly explained or anything, maybe I'm even reading into it too much but it's definitely the vibe I got. In general season 4 showcases a more diverse set of struggles which some characters have to deal with, sexuality, communication, rejection. Just a very diverse selection with a pretty big cast by now.

Eddie Munson was a fantastic addition to season 4, he grew to be one of the most likable characters in a very short while even whilst they put us on the wrong foot. The stoner friend was alright but never a comedic relief I cared too much about.

Directing has been rock solid the whole series so far, every shot looks beautiful and it just hooks you in. Just fantastic and never slacks. Set design as well, it so much 80s, it's perfectly done.

Combined with the directing and editing the Music is just the finishing touch to making a perfect series like this. The songs are expertly chosen and this show does not shy away from using music as much as they can. Honestly, if they'd use less the show would feel completely different. But that synth is everywhere and you will always know you are watching something in 80s. This could also get old, but hasn't for me as of yet. Music plays a huge part in this show and it just elevates so many scenes, expertly chosen.

Characters, what can I say, wat is there not to like? The writing is just so good for most of them, though sometimes it leans a bit too hard into comedy/cheese but it's alright. They toned it down a lot in S4, S3 being the worst offender of poor(er) writing.

S4 story wise was some of the best, the three different storylines blending into one towards the end. But also the diversity of those storylines was what kept it all so interesting and great to watch. In particular here, even though it was the worst story in S3, the Soviet storyline in S4 was my favorite of the bunch. Harbour gives another excellent performance but Gellman and Ryder also give their best. Djuricko (Yuri) and Wlaschiha (Dimitri) also very great, well written and very enjoyable.

The finale of S4 was great, did it need to be a single episode with a length of two and half hours? Not really, it could've been split up in my opinion. But still it was great, though the stakes were lower in the end than I had hoped (even though that would've hurt). Though whereas other seasons didn't end on as heavy of a cliffhanger, this one did. And we know exactly what were are in for with Season 5. The final season. Regarding music, notably they used the ''When It's Cold I Like to Die.'' and my god, that's one heavy song that slapped me in the face, I've heard it before so I knew what was coming after those first few piano notes. Great choice but a gut puncher.

I would have a lot more to say if I edited this review season by season but I never did until now, too late. I'm sure this series will go down as one of the big ones. Maybe it already is but it still needs to stick the landing. And I can't wait for that. But I will be sad that a show like this will be hard to replicate again. You really do get jealous of people who lived the 80s, though of course, it's romanticized here by a lot.

I guess plenty of people have said a lot of things about all the movie and TV references this series has and how it recreates the eighties in all their faults and splendor. I will not add to that.

With the release of the second season I'd simply like to advise that both seasons are very different animals. Think of it as the difference between the original Alien movie and the Aliens sequel: Whereas the first season was more about an unknown and unseen horror and the mystery behind the backstory, the second has more in-your-face action and horror laced with character development arcs which feel nice but sometimes sidetrack the series a bit.

Consequently, a fan of the show should probably watch the second season as a separate work of fiction rather than a true continuation of the first season in tone and spirit. The writers move the story forward and we get a very good piece of entertainment but the new season has to be judged on its own merits.

EDIT: Season 3 turned out to be a huge change in tone for the series. Maybe it's really hard keeping up the mystery if much of the "world" of Stranger Things already yielded many of its secrets but the overall "feel" of the series went into a different direction. Maybe the writers simply ran out of 80' templates to rip off. Season 1 was very much inspired by supernatural horror as in "Poltergeist". Season 2 took many cues from "Creature Features" like "Gremlins" or "Aliens". Season 3 now uses elements of 80' zombie flicks and low budget gore horror with a little bit of spy comedy mixed in (and fight scenes which feel straight out of "Die Hard"). All those genres didn't really mix well in the 80' and this strange cocktail sure doesn't work today. That doesn't mean that Season 3 is bad. It simply relies on characters who were established in previous seasons which used very different 80' story elements and tropes. It's almost like seeing Darth Vader in an Indiana Jones movie. Both work on their own but not together.

Basically, Season 3 is an all too transparent attempt to plough a fresh nostalgia field but it doesn't work in the context of previous seasons.