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

ep 7 was an excruciating set-up to the final 10 minutes or so where they break into that guys house, which were good. I turned it off halfway through (during the "dead end justice" scene) because the tone was so wrong.

"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."

i really saw this at part of her bildungsroman. she's the most compelling character by far and the visit to her mom and then chicago and then knowing that she has to go back and face that place again...it was a pretty cool coming of age thing!

the cabin stuff was pretty intense too. a crash course in teen/father angst/boredom. and she was trapped there just like she was trapped with papa modine all that time. kinda creepy. trauma city. so, that's why i appreciated her freedom quest.

Yeah, I guess if I was being charitable, maybe the 80s movie punks are purposely cartoony to emphasize how they don't even feel like they're from the same world that Eleven is used to - a child who's been locked up her whole life and has very little experience of the world. Maybe? Idk. They're still super annoying.

xp agree the cabin stuff was great. She's a fantastic actor

the duffer brothers talk a little about how they were excited to do the 80's urban movie thing on that netflix interview show. they should do a whole movie for netflix a la linda blair's savage streets.

http://www.joblo.com/images_arrownews/linda-blair-4.jpg

that episode made me want to watch class of 1984.

http://www.slashingthrough.com/images/reviews/classof2.jpg

Yeah, I plan on watching all those extra features segments that we got this time. I just finished the season last night though, so I'm giving it a while to breathe.

that rap on fallon is painful, I made it about 20 seconds in. I just can't do those things.

Cara Buono and the Lost Boy kid scene was a hilarious tonal shift. I wonder if much is going to come of that in S3? Kind of hope so, although I don't know what that'll mean for their family

I'm also hoping the Invisibles shout-outs in the Chicago episode were more than just a cute gag, and next season we're gonna see some psychic punks vs. government conspiracy action, inspired by the comic, instead of yet more Upside Down monsters.

I don't want to watch this (presumably) spin-off show. The punks reminded me of any number of useless vampire gangs, except none of them were vampires. And if you're worrying about laying low, maybe don't have a massively obvious and different hairdo for each member of your gang. I genuinely wouldn't have cared about the hair if they hadn't kept talking about wanting to stay out of sight. It all reminded me too much of the episode of Gilmore Girls where Jess goes to California.

The stunt casting I really want to see for next season is Greg Evigan as Paul Reiser's husband.

I was mostly reminded of the "punk" episode of Quincy, but didn't mind the episode.

I can't place where the warehouse is, though. It looks like it's on the water, east of downtown, which would put it in/near Navy Pier...which was pretty touristy in 1984 (as it is now). And there are/were no train lines that went to Navy Pier.

My favorite fake punks are the bad guys in Jackie Chan's "Rumble in the Bronx," not least because in 1995 (!) they should have known better ...
https://cdn.empireonline.com/jpg/80/0/0/1000/563/0/north/0/0/0/0/0/t/films/33542/images/rGeVEsRDVvlMBN7fmOKhNW2GtWy.jpg

but because you can also clearly see the Canadian mountains in the background of half the scenes.

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-yAqQZgvm-ys/UQWqGm3CIyI/AAAAAAAAA9g/bdBelxlf6B8/s1600/rumble_bronxmountains.jpg

The stunt casting I really want to see for next season is Greg Evigan as Paul Reiser's husband.

This.

Rumble in the Bronx was, iirc, the movie my friends and I were trying to go to but was inexplicably rated R. My parents hadn't left yet and volunteered to see it with us so we could go

not the best Jackie Chan, but lol@ the punks

i hope these kids end up okay in real life. i can see dustin in a future version of celebrity rehab. hope 11 goes the natalie portman route and not the lohan route. guess it depends on who she has around her. they are all pretty talented but she is definitely the breakout star. man, that will byers can really look insane in some shots. his face is crazy.

also, it totally went over my head that they were playing dig dug as a nod to the tunnels under the town. and that animated video game was a nod to the whole dustin/max/lucas thing. they are clever.

Yeah, I'm to the point where I always fret about kid actors and their futures. Justifiably so, sadly.

I thought the ending was pretty great. Look, man, this isn't high art. It did what it set out to do, it was well-crafted, pretty much everybody brought their A-game. I just can't find it in myself to gripe about folks who've smooshed Spielberg and King together so perfectly.

Dustin and Steve is such an inspired pairing. I hope we see more of that. Dustin's lil mini-arc in the last episode was legit affecting.

I also love Steve giving Dustin all his dumb PUA advice about negging girls and ignoring them, which ended up blowing up in both of their faces. Whereas Nancy was able to tell Dustin how to REALLY relate to girls.

hair advice was on point though

Yes to both. Dustin's gonna have a thing or two to teach Steve, I betcha.

Season 3 will focus on Steve learning how to play D&D

Dustin and Nancy are the biggest badasses on this show aside from Eleven, tbrr

that will be their nod to freaks & geeks.

x-post

steve's hair and jonathan's hair and billy's hair...man, we might need a poll. will's insane bowl too. and mike's black hole of darkness hairdo.

Season 4: Their parents demand they get out of the basement and force them to join little league, they suck but Billy comes in as the ringer, they play Demogorgons in the world series, many die

Cara Buono's hair FTW

my prediction is that Dart lives due to an infusion of nougat and it brings the doggygorgon in the refrigerator back to life and the two monsters end up the kid's pets AND they bring the kids to an alternate alien dimension for hijinx and thrills! i would totally watch that.

I would be cool with them moving on to a monster that isn't a -gorgon. There must be more than a variety of flower-faced toothbeasts and broody smoke cthulhus in the Upside Down.

Dart would be an easy way in. easy peasy.

ha I forgot about the one in the fridge! yeah, I bet we'll see it again.

and mike's black hole of darkness hairdo.

My favorite hair of the season.

The fridge thing looked like they were setting up for a gag where Winona opens it for a glass of milk and freaks out.

Pretty surprised they didn't follow up on it in any way.

that thing in the fridge is definitely coming back. it likes it cold!

So like, it lasts longer (despite already being dead) than everything else that died with the closing of the gate because it's being chilled? The shadow is hiding inside it or something? You're hoping the next season is possible in the same way having last week's Chinese food for dinner tonight is possible?

Also, it would be immediately removed. It's not like it'll be forgotten in the back next to the old pickles they were also supposed to throw out awhile ago.

Pretty sure the thing in the fridge, even if it did snap back, couldn't live long anyway because the link to the hivemind is closed off.

i keep telling you, Dart is going to reanimate the one in the refrigerator. and then take the kids to a secret world of dark wonder.

Yeah all the other demo-dogs died the second the gate was closed, it showed them all falling into the abyss. Of course as Scott says, one must consider the eldritch properties of nougat. Also the irresistible Ghostbusters reference.

Don't know how many times I've spent weeks getting stuff out of the fridge without ever really registering the massive demon alien dog corpse that's filling three-quarters of the interior and then suddenly being all like, what, how did I not notice this awful thing is still in here.

It's just human nature, man.

The stunt casting I really want to see for next season is Greg Evigan as Paul Reiser's husband

Oooo this is good, I hadn’t thought of this one

greg evigan hair would fit right in that's for sure.

he could totally be that mean kid's dad too when he had patented evigan mullet and beard.

I liked this season all right. I agree that ep 7 was a funny send-up of “urban” scenes from other 80s movies. Also was sure the demo-dog in the fridge was going to wake up.

However, I just do not give a SHIT about The Upside-Down. They need to figure out something compelling about it, or just find another baddie.

https://io9.gizmodo.com/stranger-things-best-new-character-lucas-sister-erica-1820091326

good news!

<3 Yes!

*sprays syrup over pancakes as everyone argues*

that character was excellent IMO, perfect comic relief

Well, of course she'll be back. She's a real find. I'd love to see her get pulled into the group on some level.

she'll somehow save their asses without learning anything about the supernatural crap, and call them all nerds, and it will be beautiful

First post here, too hard to read all previous comments.

I would of liked to see Max be more annoying to justify Mike’s reaction.

I liked that the conspiracy nut didnt’t die but came out on the top in the end because that was totally unexpected.

Super happy ending was nice (especially because Dustin). 10 minutes without supernatural stuff was nice.

8th episode made me cry. I wanted to cry. I was alone in my room with the lights off, had watched 4.5 episodes already that day, and was sleepy. The perfect storm.