Stranger Things on Netflix

Has anyone watched this? I watched the first episode last night and it is very well done. It is set in 1983 and if it weren't for HD I would swear it was shot in 1983. It has a very "John Carpenter" feel to it. The music sounds like it is from 80's era Carpenter movies.

The story revolves around a group of young boys and one goes missing. Kind of a sci fi horror type show. Only one episode in and I can't wait to see the rest.

I've been watching Hemlock Grove on Netflix over the past couple of weeks. Stranger Things keeps popping up in my suggestions and it seems interesting. I think once I complete Hemlock Grove, I'll be giving this one a try.

The trailer was shown before "The Infiltrator" when my wife and I went to see that last week. I watched the first two episodes the other day. It is very well done, and I can't wait to continue. Thanks for the heads up on "Hemlock Grove," too!

The wife and I watched the whole season last weekend and I thought it was pretty good. I won't say much, don't wanna give anything away. The acting was really good, the story kept me interested all the way thru, and I hope they make another season soon.

Saw one episode and did nothing for me , my wife on the other hand binged watched it this weekend

The wife and I finished this up last night. I enjoyed it quite a bit. Sci-fi-horror stuff usually isn't my thing, but good word-of-mouth from co-workers and the overall 80's vibe piqued my interest. I'd watch a 2nd season of that.

Man, was I ever Jekyll and Hyde with this one. There's a minority of non-fans out there that have issues with this series, and I have to say they're legit for the most part. Half of me was fanboy-nostalgic, half of me was cynical scoffer. I could go into detail, but it's a ton of discussion. My main issue is how awfully derivative and unoriginal the story was, making it extremely predictable. And the VFX were quite awful, reminding me of the Asylum movies found on SyFy these days; however, I understand that isn't the fault of the creators, but the result of a limited budget and schedule. Lastly, I kept waiting for Winona Ryder to stroke out haha.

I did enjoy it, especially how they handled the kids, but not sure if it deserves so much hype. Turbo Kid (available on Netflix) did the retro 80's thing a bit better (albeit the blood and gore factor was a poor fit).

I do love the synth soundtracks to both.

There were a few little things that I nit-picked throughout the series, but I pretty much do that with everything I watch with my wife. It's more to annoy her than real criticism.

MetalGuy71 wrote:

There were a few little things that I nit-picked throughout the series, but I pretty much do that with everything I watch with my wife. It's more to annoy her than real criticism.

One more episode for me and then I'll be finished. Love this show! One thing I thought was a bit unrealistic were the Realistic walkie-talkies. I don't think they had that kind of range and the batteries probably would've run down. I remember using some walkie-talkies during this same time period (I was 12 in 1983) and they had a suck-ass range on them and the batteries never lasted very long. But, they were not near as big as the ones used in the show so maybe those are a better model.

Also, kids spray painting graffiti during the day? I think they would have been busted. And another slight nit-pick is "Waiting For A Girl Like You" is the Kelly Hansen version, not Lou Gramm. Which comes back to the discussion of artists re-recording their material so they can control those versions... I imagine the producers wanted to use the song and went thru Mick Jones instead of Atlantic, which is win-win for both. Get the re-recorded version at a lower rate than the Atlantic version and Mick gets all the royalties.

mikeinfla wrote:

One thing I thought was a bit unrealistic were the Realistic walkie-talkies. I don't think they had that kind of range and the batteries probably would've run down. I remember using some walkie-talkies during this same time period (I was 12 in 1983) and they had a suck-ass range on them and the batteries never lasted very long. But, they were not near as big as the ones used in the show so maybe those are a better model.

Walkie-talkies in movies are always way better that the craptacular ones we had as kids.
Remember the ones Marty & Doc used in 'Back to the Future II'? That wouldn't have the range to reach the end of the block.

Loved the series and I eagerly await the second season.

Witchfinder wrote:

Loved the series and I eagerly await the second season.  

Has Netflix ok'ed a 2nd season yet? Obviously it seems like a no-brainer, however last I heard, nothing was official yet.

MetalGuy71 wrote:

Witchfinder wrote:

Loved the series and I eagerly await the second season.  

Has Netflix ok'ed a 2nd season yet? Obviously it seems like a no-brainer, however last I heard, nothing was official yet.

Not yet, but they obviously will.

Witchfinder wrote:

MetalGuy71 wrote:

Witchfinder wrote:

Loved the series and I eagerly await the second season.  

Has Netflix ok'ed a 2nd season yet? Obviously it seems like a no-brainer, however last I heard, nothing was official yet.

Not yet, but they obviously will.  

The Duffer Brothers are probably renegotiating their contract. $$$ Season 2 is gonna cost ya, Netflix!

MetalGuy71 wrote:

Witchfinder wrote:

MetalGuy71 wrote:

Witchfinder wrote:

Loved the series and I eagerly await the second season.  

Has Netflix ok'ed a 2nd season yet? Obviously it seems like a no-brainer, however last I heard, nothing was official yet.

Not yet, but they obviously will.  

The Duffer Brothers are probably renegotiating their contract. $$$ Season 2 is gonna cost ya, Netflix!

Bring on a second season. The show kept me enthralled the whole way through. Predictable? Maybe. But who cares ? It was one of the better shows I've seen recently.

I finished watching the series a couple of weeks ago. I watched it over a three day span. Having grown up in Indiana, I liked that they used a fictitious little town from the Hoosier state, which could have been any town that wasn't Indianapolis in the 80's. It made me think of my time that my friends and I used to play in "the woods" behind our houses. Of course it seemed like those woods were the size of the Amazon rain forest as kids, but now when I drive by them when visiting home, they really don't seem all that big.

This show was about taking all of ones wild childhood fantasies and bringing them to life. One of the things that represented my life as a child, was pushing the boundaries that were fear. Even though I didn't do well when watching those 80's horror genre flicks, I watched them anyway, and much to my parents dismay. I don't know how many times I tapped on my parents door, due to nightmares and the thoughts of what might exist beyond that of our bedroom door, front door, yard or neighborhood.

It would have been easy for the Duffer brothers to take the time period, which was the 80's and give us some funny hairdos, old cars, ridiculous clothing and some 80's songs to wet our appetites. They did all that, but then they took it to another level, with a wonderful original score and an opening credit sequence, which just made it feel like I was watching a show that had been shelved in a vault since 1983. There are shows that I enjoy, but then there are shows that transport you back to a time period that you're all too familiar with...

corplhicks wrote:

And the VFX were quite awful, reminding me of the Asylum movies found on SyFy these days; however, I understand that isn't the fault of the creators, but the result of a limited budget and schedule.

I think this was by design. Whether it was due to budgetary restraints OR the Duffer brothers just wanting to give us a full on 80's Sci-fi horror movie experience, I'm going with the latter. I really think it was more about the brothers saying, if it was 1983, what would one reasonably expect to see on the big or small screen. I'm not as invested in VFX anyhow. I did want the monster to be scary, but more importantly, I want a period piece to knock it out of the park. For myself, it was more about the relationship of Mike, Dustin and Lucas, and the whole Laissez-faire attitude that was 80's parenting. The 80's might have been the last decade, where kids were allowed to be kids. We were allowed to roam free, have imaginations and have some ownership over our emotional growth. The 90's began this cultural shift of helicopter parenting and other constraints, which I believe have stifled kids ever since.

This was a bit predictable, but I still found it very enjoyable! The soundtrack reminded me a lot of Tangerine Dream. In fact, with the girl who played Nancy kinda looking like Mia Sara, it made it feel like Legend in spots. I wonder if they did sneak in some early 80s TD stuff in there...........


Our stomping ground used to be the creek that was right behind my parents house and the park(and our elementary school) across the street in the front.

Season 2 coming soon!!!

I recently saw that trailer and am really looking forward to the show!

The second season is up and running now. I've watched the first 4 episodes and it's very entertaining. Fans of the show should not be disappointed.

Season 2 didn't disappoint!

So far I'm loving season 2. They're doing justice to course-correct some of the issues of the first season. It's still far from perfect (and I do admit an griping issue of how the mob mentality is that this show is flawless), but there's way more stability and suspense this time around.