Stranger Things

Stranger Things absolutely lives up to all the hype! This worldwide phenomenon has been one of the most talked about shows since it came out back in 2016 and for good reason...it's terrific! It's an absolute blast to watch and will keep you entertained throughout the entire series. This has everything a show needs to be great...action, comedy, drama, suspense, even nostalgia with this show. You really come to care for these characters and what happens to them. Obviously, season 1 was the best but the others are not far off. All are absolutely worth watching and I can't wait for the new season! Season 5 of s going to be its last so hopefully it goes out as good as it started. I can't wait!

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.

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.

I wasn't expecting this nostalgic TV show could be this good. In my opinion technical details in first season was not that charming but not only storyline that gets stranger, also all the technical details getting stranger.

I know first three seasons were quite the same in some ways. But the Season Four explains that situations. Not all minor things, but explains the major questions.

There is some great references to The Thing, E. T., D&D, Middle-earth and even more. That references makes ithe TV Show more exciting. Especially for geeks.

Film Editing was perfect even from the first season.

Cinematography, VFX and Sound is got better in the second season. They were a bit weak at first season.

Makeup, Costume Design, Scores, Art Direction & Set Decoration were quite good from the first season, they get a bit better along the seasons.

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.