A thread for Stranger Things, the "Goonies meets X-Files" new Netflix series (with SPOILERS!)

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Sean Astin, who once played a kid leader named Mikey, wondering about “pirate treasure!” and solving a puzzle/map in ep 5/6

Google Murray Blockchain (kingfish), Tuesday, 31 October 2017 16:07 (six years ago) link

Curious who the 80s stunt casting for next season will be.

Corey Feldman is out, Christian Slater is still doing Mr Robot, isn’t he? Molly Ringwald / Jennifer Jason Leigh / Jami Gertz / Phoebe Cates? Larry B Scott?

Google Murray Blockchain (kingfish), Tuesday, 31 October 2017 16:12 (six years ago) link

I can’t remember if it was mentioned here but both the teenage dirtbag character and the chicago punks seemed far more like “80s movie teenage dirtbag” and “80s movie punks” shoved into a show about the 80s, rather than just “characters in a show set in the 80s”

Google Murray Blockchain (kingfish), Tuesday, 31 October 2017 16:16 (six years ago) link

Right, they were too cartoony.

Evan, Tuesday, 31 October 2017 16:20 (six years ago) link

I think the break with the tone was more jarring than anything. We jumped movie genres.

mh, Tuesday, 31 October 2017 16:30 (six years ago) link

Again, I couldn't get over how much it was like The Matrix.

Evan, Tuesday, 31 October 2017 16:33 (six years ago) link

Jennifer Jason Leigh

she's too good for this garbage

Οὖτις, Tuesday, 31 October 2017 16:36 (six years ago) link

also still managing a quality film career

Οὖτις, Tuesday, 31 October 2017 16:36 (six years ago) link

Grant Morrison always said The Matrix ripped off The Invisibles, and since that episode was explicitly homaging the latter, I guess Morrison was right if it made people think of the former.

Tuomas, Tuesday, 31 October 2017 16:40 (six years ago) link

the Matrix rips off a lot of things

Οὖτις, Tuesday, 31 October 2017 16:48 (six years ago) link

episode 7 was stupid mostly because if you can make people see/not see things why are you living in a gross abandoned warehouse? seems like it would be beyond trivial to get tons of cash and have a nice apartment

erry red flag (f. hazel), Tuesday, 31 October 2017 17:00 (six years ago) link

Yeah, the Matrix rips off/borrows/synthesizes a whole shit-ton of sources, not the least of which was its name.

How many times has King Mob been used as a name(not just in Vertigo)? 3-4?

Google Murray Blockchain (kingfish), Tuesday, 31 October 2017 17:19 (six years ago) link

Also, we mentioned that the cartoon clown face used as knife target made the connection to Akira even more explicit than just “secret govt project to experiment on injecting psi powers into children” that was already there, right?

Without going too spoiler heavy, the fact that they used the same sound effect for a bit of tech that is identical to tech used in the film they ref aggravated me. I knew they were already going to lean heavily into that film from the first episode, where you see Paul Reiser’s character observing an dude wielding a quad propane-fueled flamethrower. The level they went into that ep was some of the laziest Family Guy shit, where a Max amount of detail goes into the reference without any twist or comment upon it.

Still, two eps left, let’s see how they land this.

Also, had the thought that casting Brett Gelman as a Brett Gelman character means that they effectively put the same kinda (slightly?) cartoonish/OTT type as a GTA character into this show.

Google Murray Blockchain (kingfish), Tuesday, 31 October 2017 17:32 (six years ago) link

Molly Ringwald is on Riverdale

akm, Tuesday, 31 October 2017 18:47 (six years ago) link

The Aliens riff where one of the soliders says "stay frosty" made me laugh, it's some Family Guy level referencing but at least it's hanging off an actual plot here

erry red flag (f. hazel), Tuesday, 31 October 2017 18:54 (six years ago) link

How many times has King Mob been used as a name(not just in Vertigo)? 3-4?

um

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/King_Mob

Οὖτις, Tuesday, 31 October 2017 18:55 (six years ago) link

"one in ten go mad, one in five cracks up" is the official tagline of ILE

mh, Tuesday, 31 October 2017 19:09 (six years ago) link

Paul Reiser as Carter Burke if Burke was actually a halfway decent dude and got to be in charge of things. Good casting. (Aside from insinuating to Jonathan and Nancy that he'd straight-up kill them if necessary.)

This season of this show is the most anyone has said "Radio Shack" on television in at least a decade.

Monster fatberg (Phil D.), Wednesday, 1 November 2017 02:16 (six years ago) link

honestly this was moderately enjoyable garbage.

i did get a kick out of "kid thinks he's in ET but really he's in Gremlins" and i was really glad to see the Smoke Monster from L O S T can still get work and Hellboy is generally great but... that's about it really?

i mean, if I'm charitable the arc is Eleven Finds Her Way Back but really there was no story to speak of, featuring maybe three characters worth giving a shit about, set in a Fake 80s that's mostly stupid when it's not actively irritating (get stuffed, United Punks of Benetton)

can't wait for season 3!

Larry Elleison (rogermexico.), Wednesday, 1 November 2017 03:10 (six years ago) link

i was surprised they had metal dude's dad call him a 'faggot'. that's a fairly realistic insult for the time but you'd think they would have sidestepped that.

akm, Wednesday, 1 November 2017 03:21 (six years ago) link

It’s shown in an unquestionably negative light, at least

mh, Wednesday, 1 November 2017 03:23 (six years ago) link

Didn't see the new It but that f-word pops up there, too, if I read correctly. Period slur!

Josh in Chicago, Wednesday, 1 November 2017 13:38 (six years ago) link

Netflix episode dumps are annoying inasmuch as it eliminates one's ability to discuss a show until one has watched the whole damn thing. So I'm not reading anything upthread just yet, but with one episode to go I'll declare this to be pretty damn good. The only time it lost me a little was with Kali and the Dream Warriors (although I did appreciate the Invisibles-related graffiti in their clubhouse and, I suppose, not-so-subtle allusion that they're basically an Invisibles cell). At any rate: derivative shmerivative, I say. Derivative shmerivative.

Winky Carrothers (Old Lunch), Wednesday, 1 November 2017 13:46 (six years ago) link

yeah i think ppl overstate teh derivative-ness although i feel like w this season it starts to become more self-conscious & could easily veer as irritating as the people over-complaining about it

we did not invent retromania

Listen to my homeboy Fantano (D-40), Wednesday, 1 November 2017 14:13 (six years ago) link

Some serious T2 vibes in the lift scene at the end, and I'm sure the soundtrack to that part was lifted directly from Bladerunner 2048??

Shat Parp (dog latin), Wednesday, 1 November 2017 14:13 (six years ago) link

i don't find this show derivative at all. that's the wrong word entirely.

Shat Parp (dog latin), Wednesday, 1 November 2017 14:14 (six years ago) link

like, sure it's referential, reverential but it's hardly 'hey guys I got a Rubik's Cube', nor is the plot or the acting or anything about it particularly 'derivative' of anything happening on TV right now. It could so easily be a spoof of eighties VCR culture but I don't get that really

Shat Parp (dog latin), Wednesday, 1 November 2017 14:16 (six years ago) link

This show is so weird, I don't really care about any particular character and it's frequently ridiculous but very enjoyable to watch. I think it's the period detail that keeps me going.

change display name (Jordan), Wednesday, 1 November 2017 14:18 (six years ago) link

i liked the LOTR 'ringwraith' style scene too, nice touch

Shat Parp (dog latin), Wednesday, 1 November 2017 14:18 (six years ago) link

i'm only two eps in but the use of music is ridiculously ott. i love a good soundtrack and i'm fine with them mining the era but let a scene breathe ffs, the first 10 scenes in ep 1 all come with a piece of music, it makes the show feel less like a story and more like a series of montages.

Bein' Sean Bean (LocalGarda), Wednesday, 1 November 2017 14:21 (six years ago) link

Agree that the Chicago parts were largely pointless. It's like 'we need Eleven to get lost somewhere' and they came up with this dumb Inception-meets-Matrix thing with these too-cool-for-school cyber-punks diversion to keep her busy for a whole episode.

Shat Parp (dog latin), Wednesday, 1 November 2017 14:34 (six years ago) link

Also:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZE7TS2Rituo

Monster fatberg (Phil D.), Wednesday, 1 November 2017 15:14 (six years ago) link

once Ready Player One hits theaters you will remember Stranger Things as a high water mark of referential subtlety

erry red flag (f. hazel), Wednesday, 1 November 2017 15:19 (six years ago) link

The more I read about the references, the happier I am that I have never seen Aliens, the Matrix, Goonies, nor Gremlins (and am unfamiliar with The Invisibles).

But then, maybe it's like loving Paul's Boutique, but never having heard Curtis Mayfield, the Beatles, or Sly.

Montgomery Burns' Jazz (Tarfumes The Escape Goat), Wednesday, 1 November 2017 15:29 (six years ago) link

It's pretty hilarious when they score a non-supernatural character moment with a menacing synth drone.

change display name (Jordan), Wednesday, 1 November 2017 15:41 (six years ago) link

I'm wondering what Tarfumes actually has seen, now

mh, Wednesday, 1 November 2017 16:17 (six years ago) link

*puts hand up* I've never seen the Goonies (all the way through. I've caught a bit of it on TV while flicking channels)

Shat Parp (dog latin), Wednesday, 1 November 2017 16:20 (six years ago) link

The fact that this show is so on the nose as Goonies meets X-Files is exactly its flaw.

IF (Terrorist) Yes, Explain (man alive), Wednesday, 1 November 2017 16:23 (six years ago) link

I didn't see Goonies until maybe 5 years ago.

Ⓓⓡ. (Johnny Fever), Wednesday, 1 November 2017 16:23 (six years ago) link

imo that one's a fair omission

mh, Wednesday, 1 November 2017 16:24 (six years ago) link

I can say at the very least that this show is better than The Goonies.

I cannit beleve how stupid yoy all r (Old Lunch), Wednesday, 1 November 2017 16:25 (six years ago) link

Although I kind of feel like Explorers is an even more accurate reference point than Goonies.

IF (Terrorist) Yes, Explain (man alive), Wednesday, 1 November 2017 16:25 (six years ago) link

haha I watched that last year w the kids at a relative's house and yes

not a good film

Οὖτις, Wednesday, 1 November 2017 16:28 (six years ago) link

(it works okay until the aliens actually show up)

Οὖτις, Wednesday, 1 November 2017 16:29 (six years ago) link

I'm wondering what Tarfumes actually has seen, now

― mh, Wednesday, November 1, 2017 12:17 PM (five minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

In terms of references in the show, Ghostbusters, E.T....and yeah, that's pretty much it.

I was more into comedies at that age; wasn't interested in a lot of scary/supernatural stuff.

Montgomery Burns' Jazz (Tarfumes The Escape Goat), Wednesday, 1 November 2017 16:29 (six years ago) link

Just looked through a list of films from '85 and here are my reference predictions for next season:

Back to the Future
Rambo
Real Genius
Day of the Dead
Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome
Pee-Wee's Big Adventure
Silver Bullet
Teen Wolf
Ghoulies
Krush Groove
Kiss of the Spider Woman
Weird Science
Tampopo
Mask
Santa Claus: the Movie
The Color Purple (obligatory Spielberg)
Re-Animator
Police Academy 2
Cocoon
Grace Quigley
The Goonies

I cannit beleve how stupid yoy all r (Old Lunch), Wednesday, 1 November 2017 16:40 (six years ago) link

The more I read about the references, the happier I am that I have never seen Aliens, the Matrix, Goonies, nor Gremlins (and am unfamiliar with The Invisibles).

The Invisibles is a comic from the '90s and '00s, it's not the same type of reference as the rest of the series is trucking in

shackling the masses with plastic-wrapped snack picks (sic), Wednesday, 1 November 2017 17:13 (six years ago) link

Which makes the whole homage kind of jarring tbh

Number None, Wednesday, 1 November 2017 18:13 (six years ago) link

haha I watched that last year w the kids at a relative's house and yes

not a good film

― Οὖτις, Wednesday, 1 November 2017 16:28 (one hour ago) Permalink

(it works okay until the aliens actually show up)

― Οὖτις, Wednesday, 1 November 2017 16:29 (one hour ago) Permalink

OTM, however I watched the shit out of it as one of the few VHS tapes we owned.

IF (Terrorist) Yes, Explain (man alive), Wednesday, 1 November 2017 18:18 (six years ago) link


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