Stranger Things

[Lombard]

Thought I'd give it a try and next thing I knew it was morning lol. Surprisingly well-crafted story with enough potential allegorical avenues to satisfy the average dabbler in deep thinking. Ooh and a good amount of D&D references! And 80's! Would recommend.

The cons were some scenes that felt a bit too derivative but they were spaced out well enough. Maybe those were just meant to be a nostalgia hammer I dunno. Still the writers made the story their own despite the 80's blender.

[JoshL]

About halfway through and loving it. Great soundtrack and synth driven score. Excellent use of New Order's "Elegia" (one of my favorites). A friend described it as the collaboration between Stephen King and Stephen Spielberg that never happened in the 80s.

On a personal note, in the second episode, the older kid is playing the Clash for one of the younger kids. He offers to make a mixtape with The Smiths, Joy Division, etc saying "it will change your life". In 1983 (the year the show is set), a clerk in a mall record shop made a mixtape for 6 year old me, including Joy Division. It did change my life. Seeing that in the show kinda freaked me out a little!

[Lombard]

A friend described it as the collaboration between Stephen King and Stephen Spielberg that never happened in the 80s.

That's an excellent observation!

[Muz]

I love this show! It's like Stephen King and Stephen Spielberg got together. At first I was worried that so many child characters would turn me off, but they're all great actors, well written, and geeky in a non-stereotyped way. I especially liked both Lucas and Dustin. Winona Ryder did an amazing job, too.

I just wish I'd known I was on the last episode when I started episode 8! I want more! More!!! (Though it does wrap up the arc in a satisfying way.)

Spoiler: Last episode

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Remember, kids: If you find yourself coughing up slugs, it's probably a wise idea to tell your parents.

Oh, and I was trying to figure out why Steve felt so familiar to me, and then it hit me:

Spoiler: Not a spoiler - just an image of Steve

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Did I mention I want more?

[Sholos]

What is the premise of said show?

[-D-]

What is the premise of said show?

This, pretty much:

On November 6, 1983 in Indiana, 12-year-old Will Byers vanishes instantly. Will's mother, Joyce, becomes frantic and tries to find Will, while Police Chief Hopper begins his own investigation. The very next day a mysterious girl with strange abilities appears who knows the whereabouts of Will. But as they get closer to the truth they will have to face not only a sinister government agency, but a more insidious force who plans on devouring them all.

I'm quite intrigued. This seems to be REAL horror™, that doesn't seem to devolve into thinly veiled sex/gore fest a la American Horror (or Hellraisers...).

[BeerMug Paladin]

I'd class it more in the suspense side of things, but horror and suspense can be pretty related to one another. There's some good dialogue and acting in it (the child actors do good work here) and for the most part it's pretty engaging. There's some areas where the show is underwhelming, but in general, the strengths of the show do make up for the weaknesses. If the premise sounds interesting, give it a try. If the premise doesn't sound interesting on its own, it might not be for you.

Spoiler: Plot stuff

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Surprisingly, the scenes with the children in it were the best part of the show. I didn't much care for how L's powers were used in the plot, and many of the aspects involving the conspiracy. There's a few other issues I had with the plot, but like I said before there's good cinematography, acting and dialogue in here to make the overall experience rather enjoyable. It's got good atmosphere to it, which can really make or break suspense/horror.

Apparently, the leader's plan to capture L was to send wave after wave of his own men at her until she hit her preset kill limit and would shut down, so she could be safely captured. I have no idea what they would have done if things reached that point, and I suspect the leader had no idea what to do with her at that point either. There's a few things like this in the plot, but they're minor enough compared to the overall experience that I don't think it matters.

[Zigwat]

For me, the Sheriff was probably the best part of the show. His character grows pretty strong, and the stuff he goes through is very engaging. Then, there's Eleven, Michael and the gang. The companionship they have for Bill is something to behold, especially when they go to such lengths to find him.

Overall, I'd say the stuff with Bill's brother and Michael's sister are some of the low points in the show. I especially didn't like the sideplot with her "boyfriend." In the end, it was semi-important, but when all is said and done, we honestly could have done without them. Overall, it's a fantastic show, and I have nothing but props for Stranger Things's creators. They know how to bring in the audience and it all makes for damn good viewing.

On a side note, I love that it took place in 1983. I saw a lot of things that I haven't seen in several years.

[Dienekes]

Great show. But the best character was not the awesome cop, Winona Rider putting out a great performance, or any of the main high school students.

No the best character was chubby toothless kid. Who held everyone together and remained useful and not stupid the entire show. Good on you chubby toothless kid, you're amazing.

[Giggling Ghast]

As I commented elsewhere, Stranger Things is a bit like an alternate version of The Goonies where one or more of the kids died to One-Eyed Willy's traps. Also, Sloth ate Chunk.

[Zigwat]

First of all, AAAAHHH!!! CANDLE JACK!!!!

Next, I would say the Goonies reference is valid. But to me, this is what Dream Catcher should have been. That movie was awful.

[Zigwat]

Damn, accidental double post. Still, this is a great show.

[JBPuffin]

Thought I'd give it a try and next thing I knew it was morning lol. Surprisingly well-crafted story with enough potential allegorical avenues to satisfy the average dabbler in deep thinking. Ooh and a good amount of D&D references! And 80's! Would recommend.

The cons were some scenes that felt a bit too derivative but they were spaced out well enough. Maybe those were just meant to be a nostalgia hammer I dunno. Still the writers made the story their own despite the 80's blender.

I literally went from 10:30 pm to 6 am, start to finish, knowing I had work the next day. First show I've binged on Netflix, and the 2nd I've ever watched start-to-finish in one go, the other being Persona 4: the Animation.

The show is fantastic...but it taught me that I have a problem with narratives (books, movies, the whole shebang) that end in ways other than I want them to (aka, almost-paradise). Particularly the romantic subplot >.>.

Something random this reminded me of: DnD 4e's Tier system, albeit much grittier. You had the protagonist kids (heroic), the teens (paragon), and the adults (epic), all fighting the same general foe but at different levels of involvement and different capability levels. I wonder how many other shows have structured their protag plots like that...

[Giggling Ghast]

Uh, Eleven was the only Epic-tier hero on the show.

[dehro]

Watched it in two sittings, together with my girlfriend. Suffice to say, we both liked it and operation nostalgia was a success

[danzibr]

Glad there's already on a thread on this!

Spoiler: Thoughts

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Few things.

1) I too disliked how the romance ended up, but then again, left open for season 2. Also, Steve ended up being a decent guy.
2) What are people's thoughts on the Vale of Shadows? Was the plane created recently, or was it always there? Why was there only one Demogorgon? Was it created recently, or was it always there? We see an egg, and I think we're supposed to think the Demogorgon came from that. But then there's that big slug thing that they shoot, and the tiny slug that comes out of Will at the end. I find it mighty weird there was only one Demogorgon (at least, sure seemed that way).
3) Speaking of which, I think the slug thing Will coughed up is going to survive, grow up.
4) Also, so Will has a connection to the Vale of Shadows. I wonder if he'll learn to control it, pass back and forth as he will it. I think they referenced.
5) Wonder what went down with the cop and the bad dudes at the end, him getting in their car.
6) I also wonder why he told them where 11 was.
7) Think 11 is in the Vale of Shadows with the Demogorgon?
8) Think the cop was dropping off the waffles because she was eating them? Or just in memory? I think the former.
9) I wonder, if they do more seasons (seems like we'll get at least 1 more) if it'll be a year per season. Might see the kids grow up, never know.

Big question: anyone have suggestions for shows like Stranger Things? And by that I mean... if I like Stranger Things, what other shows do you think I might like?

[Serpentine]

Big question: anyone have suggestions for shows like Stranger Things? And by that I mean... if I like Stranger Things, what other shows do you think I might like?

Maybe Stephen King's Kingdom Hospital. Binged that one when I was getting through a break-up. It's about a creepy haunted hospital, featuring a hypochondriac psychic, a man in a coma, a dead girl, and a giant anteater called Antubis. It's based on/an adaptation of a Danish movie/mini series by Lars von Trier, but I haven't seen that one.


P.S. Adored Stranger Things, can't wait for the next season.

[rcarb65]

I am up to episode three now. I didn't read any of the replies in case of spoilers. I was hearing a lot about this show so decided to give it a try. I loved when it started with the kids playing D&D. I had a good laugh when his mom told him the game needed to end and he replied, how was I suppose the know the game would last ten hours.

[Pex]

A friend suggested I'd like this. I found the first episode meh. It wasn't anything I hadn't seen before. Boy goes missing because of an escaped monster. Government agency is Evil, killing an innocent civilian who didn't know anything. A Mysterious Girl. Kids are nerds who get bullied. Hectic divorced mom. Formulaic. I wasn't bored, so I'm willing to give the second episode a try. I don't understand why it was necessary to set the show in 1983.

However, I may not see the second episode because they were playing D&D wrong, even for 1st edition back in 1983! You don't need to roll a die in order to cast Fireball. Demigorgon is not just some monster who appears. It's also unaffected by fire such that no one would even consider casting Fireball anyway. At least the miniature was correct. It wasn't horrendously inaccurate of how to play the game as the old SciFi show Eureka was, shudder, but I wanted to smack those writers for getting it so wrong. The saving grace was the accuracy in debating of whether or not a die that falls on the floor counts or not.

[dariathalon]

I don't understand why it was necessary to set the show in 1983.

If you don't understand this, then you probably won't get as much out of the series as most of the people you've heard raving about it. I loved the series, and the setting was a big part of the reason for my affection. Yes, they played D&D wrong. But with such convoluted rules back then, I don't think any group of kids played it "right". If that bothers you, again this may not be the show for you. (Though they don't show the kids playing it that much). It is more about getting the feeling right than the mechanics. Which they really succeeded at, imo. Yes, they do pull out a lot of the old standards. While this series does stand up well on its own, it is as much a tribute to many of the movies and tv shows from the era it takes place in. I can't count the number of times I saw a scene and went that was a lot like x. They never do exactly what you expect though. Not to spoil too much, but there was a scene where the kids were riding their bikes on the run. In my mind I was already jumping back to the scene in ET where the kids flew their bikes in the night sky. That isn't what happened here, but what did happen was just about as cool.

[Razade]

However, I may not see the second episode because they were playing D&D wrong, even for 1st edition back in 1983! You don't need to roll a die in order to cast Fireball. Demigorgon is not just some monster who appears. It's also unaffected by fire such that no one would even consider casting Fireball anyway. At least the miniature was correct. It wasn't horrendously inaccurate of how to play the game as the old SciFi show Eureka was, shudder, but I wanted to smack those writers for getting it so wrong. The saving grace was the accuracy in debating of whether or not a die that falls on the floor counts or not.

For someone who is so concerned about the portrayal of an out-dated table top game to a point they might not even continue watching a show. You'd think they'd spell Demogorgon correctly.

[dehro]

I don't understand why it was necessary to set the show in 1983.

However, I may not see the second episode because they were playing D&D wrong, even for 1st edition back in 1983!

1) the kids, including the DM, are 12. Also, homebrew...
In other words, maybe the writers got it wrong. It's even likely, but it can easily be explained away by considering that either the DM got it wrong as he read the rules, or he had a few home-brewed rules in there. Given their age, I'm going with option 1.
Personally, I don't care enough for the rules to let this come between me and enjoying the show that is about much more than watching kids play DnD. YMMV.

2) the reason to set this in the 80's is rather self-evident once you get into the show a bit more. The source materials for the show are the movies from the 80's.., E.T., close encounters, Explorer, stand by me... And books by the likes of Stephen King, like It, also mainly set or written in the 80's.
The explicit intent of the writers is to capture the vibe of those shows and movies, to which they pay homage both explicitly and indirectly... Therefore, the show being somewhat formulaic is both inevitable and done on purpose. This, of course, may not be your cup of tea...but complaining about it is like lamenting an overabundance of pharaohs in a documentary about pyramids.

On an unrelated side-note, I believe that the pervasiveness of smartphones and such make it really difficult to set a credible horrorfilm or monsterfilm in the present. People facing anything strange would either record it and put it on youtube or at least Google it..And you can put only so many people in the same room before all of them having 0 battery on their devices starts reeking of lazy scriptwriting.

[BWR]

Maybe Stephen King's Kingdom Hospital. Binged that one when I was getting through a break-up. It's about a creepy haunted hospital, featuring a hypochondriac psychic, a man in a coma, a dead girl, and a giant anteater called Antubis. It's based on/an adaptation of a Danish movie/mini series by Lars von Trier, but I haven't seen that one.

I've seen most of Riget and it was pretty good. A quick look on Google shows a fair number of people preferred the original to KH (and looking at the trailers and clips I've seen of KH, I can see why).
Just for starters, the name "Kingdom Hospital" is a bad translation. 'riket/riget' is a cognate of 'reich' and used used the same way as 'realm'. 'Riget' is taken from 'Rigshospitalet' ('the national hospital') and is used about a major, possibly the major, hospital in the country. A better, more literal translation would 'National Hospital' or 'The Nation(al)'.

Anyway, we've watched three episodes of ST and are quite pleased so far. Sure, they got some details about D&D wrong and those would have been easy enough to get right, but since that's not the focus of the show I'm not too bothered by it. Cliché? Sure. Well done? Very much so. I'm particularly pleased with the child actors (especially 11); American television has an annoying tendency to have unconvincing ones.

[danzibr]

Maybe Stephen King's Kingdom Hospital. Binged that one when I was getting through a break-up. It's about a creepy haunted hospital, featuring a hypochondriac psychic, a man in a coma, a dead girl, and a giant anteater called Antubis. It's based on/an adaptation of a Danish movie/mini series by Lars von Trier, but I haven't seen that one.


P.S. Adored Stranger Things, can't wait for the next season.

Thanks! I'll check that out tonight.

Yes, they played D&D wrong. But with such convoluted rules back then, I don't think any group of kids played it "right".

This reminds me of something. A buddy of mine is really good at Magic (at least in my opinion). I've only been to a couple tournaments (won one, though!), and he's been to dozens.

He was young when he first started playing, got the rules and tried to figure them out with his twin brother. They apparently didn't get it, and did wonky things like having both people attack each other at the same time.

On a related note, I think it's understandable the kids wouldn't know to not cast Fireball (the players or the DM for that matter), and as for the rolling... maybe they thought it was like a regular attack or something.

[JoshL]

If we're nitpicking the d&d, what DM EVER counts a roll that lands on the floor, good or bad. I mean, I know it was to demonstrate the character's honesty and integrity, but come on!

The players might not have known not to use a fireball, though the DM probably would have. If it was the first time they had seen it (although they knew of it, the name may have just come up in the campaign) they might not have known the details. I remember at least one middle school DM who was very secretive with his sourcebooks, because he didn't want us to know what was coming. He wanted us to, in this example, fireball and fail!

Kingdom Hospital and Riget (released on dvd as The Kingdom) are both awesome. I prefer the original, but mostly due to the obvious Stephen King Revenge Fantasy (it was right after he was hit by a car). And that damn song.

I'd also recommend Twin Peaks as similar, but playing with soap opera conventions rather than coming-of-age films. Stranger Things also shares a lot with Elfen Lied, but that is filled with things to make you feel awful and uncomfortable, so not for everyone (not just my observation; the creators referenced EL in an interview I read)

And now I want to rewatch Explorers!

[TripleD]

The D&D scenes are more than just background. I was re-watching with my wife and realized that they contain a lot of foreshadowing.

Spoiler

Show

Three adventurers are trapped in with the Demogorgon. The lone Mage casts a fireball, but it fails. The obvious interpretation is of how Will is about to be captured, but it also works for the final confrontation between the teens and the "Demogorgon". They bicker in confusion, "cast fireball", followed by a short period where they think it might have worked, only for the truth to be revealed.

[dehro]

The D&D scenes are more than just background. I was re-watching with my wife and realized that they contain a lot of foreshadowing.

Three adventurers are trapped in with the Demogorgon. The lone Mage casts a fireball, but it fails. The obvious interpretation is of how Will is about to be captured, but it also works for the final confrontation between the teens and the "Demogorgon". They bicker in confusion, "cast fireball", followed by a short period where they think it might have worked, only for the truth to be revealed.

I know the DnD is more than background. I was trying to be less than spoilery

[Pex]

Wow.

People really do need blue text to see the joking.

[jidasfire]

I quite enjoyed the show, finding it a pleasant hearkening back to shows and movies of the era with a bit of modern style thrown in. However, I must confess I am less than enthused about the idea of a second season. Unless it drastically shifts gears, whether through a time jump, new characters, or new direction, it seems to me like the story is over, tiny loose ends or no, and there isn't really more to say.

On a minor note, Barb was just about my high school dream girl.

[TripleD]

I know the DnD is more than background. I was trying to be less than spoilery

My apologies; I wasn't trying to imply anything, just nerding out.

I thought I was being pretty vague but I realize now that it could be spoilery. Hiding now.