On the Telly: Stranger Things (2016) Season 1
The 80s setting is immediately apparent and you get that same feeling you get when you're about to watch E.T. or Monster Squad or Flight of the Navigator again. You're excited because even though E.T. (or whatever your 80s sci-fi movie may be) is crazy old now, it's still also crazy good because you watched it a million times as a kid and it's part of you. That's just the first couple scenes. After that, if you decide you're gonna see what happens next, man...it's more than an onion. Everything now has a big reveal, right? That one big twist that you either see coming a mile away or you take your hat off because it was well done. "Stranger Things" doesn't work like that. It's firstly a mystery and it follows the same formula as a detective show that way. Every time you get a new piece of the puzzle, you have more questions but you're in too deep to walk away. You need to know what's behind door number 2. And then they gradually reveal that there are many more than 2 doors to open...
Can I stress the characters again? Let's do a rundown. Personally, my favorite characters tend to be the quirky side characters. That's how I judge how great something I'm watching will be. For instance, this one guy, he only has two lines, right? But do the lines matter-are they at least funny? Are they strictly filler or do they immediately tell you that this character has personality? 9 times out of 10, it's filler. Not so in "Stranger Things." I can think of a bunch of examples just off the top of my head: Benny, the diner owner and Officers Callahan and Powell. Now, they aren't the stars of the show by a long shot, but if you watched it, I bet you remember them. Why? Because when you are expected to immerse yourself, especially in a period piece, there are no small parts. I could go on and on...
I mean, did you play D&D at some point in your youth? That's how it happens. That's legitimate. Other things they nailed: Families from the wrong side of the tracks, rich kids, brotherly love, assholes, evolution, an eerie sense of dread, is this about aliens?, we are enemies (wait, are we enemies??), powers, unexpected help and no one will believe me! I mean, I could list things that they just got right all day...and still not give you any spoilers. What you need to do, though, is make time for that first episode. Just try it out. If it doesn't hook you, it doesn't hook you. But stop ignoring all of your friends that tell you you need to see it. They are right.
FAVORITE CHARACTER:It's probably down to these two: Mike Wheeler (Finn Wolfhard) and Jonathan Byers (Charlie Heaton). You thought it would be Eleven, didn't you? I did, too. Turns out we were both wrong. Mike is fantastic because he's kind of the de-facto leader of the younger group of kids and the story seems pretty well based around him. A lovable know-it-all that has an open mind and is as fearless and determined as can be, he loves his friends and it's fun to watch him develop as a person. With that in mind, every line Dustin has is gold and Lucas's story arc is perfect. I had a blast cheering for all of them.
Jonathan is the son of Winona Ryder's character, Joyce, and they are the messed-up poor family that's going through some of the worst problems a family could have. He is exactly the type of kid I would either have dated or been friends with in my youth. He's broody and introspective and like most people, has plenty of flaws. You think you have him pegged, but the more you learn about him, the more you like him (or, you know, I did, anyway...). As I said earlier, really every character on this show has a purpose and brings something you can't immediately guess to the table. It's hard not to just list them in order of who I like best.
MEMORABLE SCENE;I'd have to say it's probably every scene that involved christmas lights. Other things were very memorable, too, but that just really sticks out for me.
QUOTE:
Dustin Henderson: "Why are you keeping this curiosity door locked?!"
RATING;
10/10 easy. This is totally my genre so I could watch things like this all day. In fact, that's how I watched this: all in one day! I cannot wait for season two and I might re-watch it before then just to see if I can pick up some stuff I may have missed. Sounds like a good day off to me.
RECOMMENDATIONS: Some of these movies are so reminiscent of Stranger Things, it's like they were cut from the same cloth, while others are here because they share something similar in characters or plot-line only: Chronicle (2012), Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977), E.T. (1982), The Explorers (1985), Firestarter (1984), Flight of the Navigator (1986), Jumanji (1995), The Lost Boys (1987), Monster Squad (1987), Poltergeist (1982), Super 8 (2011) and Time Bandits (1981).
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