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

you should livetweet it

prank show, ums?

OL otm

HI DERE

Never got into this myself, perhaps the show has some equivalent of Dick’s Picks I can wade through to see if there something there for me after all.

I am on the fence whether I am even going to bother with Season 3.

xpost re prank show "pranking" people looking for work

https://www-buzzfeednews-com.cdn.ampproject.org/v/s/www.buzzfeednews.com/amphtml/davidmack/gaten-matarazzo-stranger-things-netflix-prank-show?amp_js_v=a2&_gsa=1&usqp=mq331AQA#referrer=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.com&_tf=From%20%251%24s&share=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.buzzfeednews.com%2Farticle%2Fdavidmack%2Fgaten-matarazzo-stranger-things-netflix-prank-show

Who’s the real monster etc

That is abhorent. wtf, cute kid.

kid's sixteen, he can be forgiven for not understanding why that's a cruel and stupid show idea. netflix has no excuse.

I was so wrong. This was the best of the show's 3 seasons.

It's been ages since I watched the first too, but this felt weaker. Still enjoyable.

too = two

One episode in. Whether the "Russia = Death Star" bit was an homage or just unconscious plagiarism, I continue to be only annoyed by fake nostalgia aspect of this show. And another thing, bowl haircuts were definitely out by '84, all of bad boy Billy's character design is 1978, and I remember when it were all fields 'round here.

Bowl haircuts on nerds were definitely still de rigueur for nerds in my (also small town) high school until at least 1991, so I give that one a pass.

Anyway, once this season ramps up, it does so fast and stays there until the end.

Music isn’t as good this season, maybe.

my wife wondered bout the bowl cuts too but there were definitely bowl cuts on kids until at least 85. i don't think the 'cool spikey look' started on kids this age until 86 or so.

biggest question for me is why the fuck does Wynona have to look so frumpy and awful? can we get a campaign started to get her a glammy role?

i had a bowl cut as a toddler in the late 80s

why the fuck does Wynona have to look so frumpy

come on now

I liked her attempt to out-shamble Hopper in their russian uniforms.

I had a bowl cut in ‘84 and part of ‘85, as did a bunch of my friends (we were the same age as the gang from Stranger Things). And Billy looks exactly like a typical metalhead teenager from the western suburbs of Chicago.

However, nobody wore bike helmets. We went through many a bike-safety assembly without so much as a single mention of helmets.

The character of Billy is repulsively fascinating
- his look down to the almost-mustache is not unlike the creepy older bogans that hung out at our local swimming pool when I was a kid
Though Billy has a tan & no acne which works somewhat in his favor & he’s not unattractive
Still his characterization is otm & therefore gross

like i want to blow a rape whistle every time he’s on screen

He's amazingly unctious, it's impressive how repellent he is.

p sure kids in small town Indiana are still rockin bowl cuts

xpost i think him & steve feel the most effortless/natural in their acting, like they really are these dudes

hopper is overracting too much this season or maybe he always did & i only just noticed it

It took me all night last night to figure out the mayor was Cary Elwes.

i clocked it immediately
his makeup was v bad

Robin = Uma and Ethan's daughter?? 🤯

It took me all night last night to figure out the mayor was Cary Elwes.

― Johnny Fever, Friday, 5 July 2019 22:41 (yesterday)

I knew he looked familiar! I'm 5 episodes in and I'm enjoying it but I enjoyed season 2 even though it was a bit of a rehash and I've forgotten it for the most part. I found the bit where Will smashes up the cubbyhouse affecting. He's still stuck on being a child but his friends have moved on and have girlfriends. Pretty much the same as myself at that age.

I'm easily fooled by a good bait 'n' switch but the jazzercise moment was a lol.

I really enjoyed this season, but I did think it went a bit heavy on the strobe lights. I'm not normally affected by stuff like that, but there were a few times where I had to look away because they were giving me a headache.
And the Neverending Story bit was a terrible interlude. But otherwise I thought it was really good.

Neverending Story bit was great.

This is where I'm beginning to lose faith in The AV Club's TV recap game.

Never ending story was great. Season on the whole enjoyable but I’d like more Eleven; she barely spoke in full sentences until end. I’m still not sure every plot point makes complete sense;what the hell is the monster, what’s it’s relation to the earlier monsters, why is it there and doing any of this,etc? Still good though. Hopper was ducking annoying this time around though. I’m sure he’s the American they mention in the end credits.

All I'm saying is that you could ghost a maths nerd for years, then ring them up out of the blue and say "hey, I can't remember [thing they have learned off by heart since childhood]" and they would parrot that thing back at you immediately and THEN ask you to explain your silence.

I love Neverending Story (both the film and the song), but that's probably the most awkwardly stitched in nostalgia nugget of the entire series so far. I didn't need to happen.

*It didn't

(though we could argue that I didn't need to happen either)

I just started the 3rd season and I appreciate The Gap 1980s storefront making an appearance. They will never be better than that.

Robin = Uma and Ethan's daughter?? 🤯

Wow, now that you mentioned it, it's hard to shake the family resemblance.

Thought this was really good - the first time all the 80s stuff didn't overwhelm the characters' growth and emotional arcs (even though there seemed to be even more 80s stuff than usual!).

All the new + expanded characters (Robin, Erica, Murray, Alexei (RIP)) were great. Winona finally got to be funny and smart, rather than stuck in the harangued mom mode she's been in since season 1. Hopper was kind of annoying this season, but the ending speech with his v.o. and everyone saying goodbye still got me a little teary.

I thought the Neverending Story bit was hilarious, and much needed to break the relentless tension at that point. I do wonder how many kids watching the show would be familiar with the song though - our 12yo had never seen it so she was mostly confused.

we just watched the first 2 eps, it's pretty good (and I love the mall set) but there's a huge "here we go again" vibe to all of it. like the instant Dustin reveals the giant radio you know exactly where its going

My knowledge of The Neverending Story is limited to the ads and posters for it I saw at the time, and Lionel Hutz' fraudulent-advertising lawsuit against the film.

Roz otm: it was hilarious and necessary for such a heavy episode.

this was ok, an improvement on last season imo. with how referential this thing is it seems churlish to get mad when some of the references are too on the nose but having a terminator-like russian guy and jim hopper (a name likely lifted from the movie commando) do a bit from die hard was a bit much for even me

would've liked the neverending story bit if it was just acapella ... maybe.

This season was a lot of fun. If I had a quibble it would probably be that the reunification of all the story threads at the end was extremely rushed. If I had two quibbles the second one would be that Billy gets a bit too much screen time for being a one-trick pony (glare! glare some more!). The neverending story bit led to an actual spit-take at my house, but I’ll concede it might have gone on a beat too long.

I don't remember the other two seasons leaning so heavily on 80s music? I prefer the original instrumentals.

There seemed to be a lot more diegetic music played on car radios.

And the fact that 1985 was a treasure trove: https://www.theringer.com/stranger-things/2019/7/9/20686821/music-1985-stranger-things-prince-madonna

guessing their budget for this season was huge which may explain it

I am halfway through and maybe it was just the first two episodes where it was super heavy that it was distracting.