Hopefully Stranger Things will add a second season, as the first was one of the best series I have ever enjoyed. Throw out any preconceived notions about whether it's "hokey" and try watching just two episodes. You have a better than 90% chance of enjoying it. I rolled my eyes at first, thinking: how could an 8-episode series of an '80s throwback be something worth watching? The previews showed influences of Close Encounters, E.T., Goonies and even Silent Hill, and I wasn't interested in embracing the nostalgic aspect. The opening credits really dug right into the 1980's, and even the title slid in as if it suggested that Stephen King's own name would burn into my LCD screen. I'll just get right into the meat and potatoes. All the players work, all the scenery, action, editing, and photography really create a great series. I can't think of any one episode that they could have thrown out, because they all really go well together. As for the kids, the one fear I have is that these child actors are getting older. They can't keep riding their bikes and talking with lisps. So I can't imagine that Stranger Things will have a long run, unless they wind up doing away with them, or changing up the story altogether. And that would be a shame because the talent of all those kids is DEEP. Take for example, Millie Bobby Brown (who plays El). So few words come out of her mouth, yet her expressions and emotions carry so well. The kids are like Our Gang - you just fantasize of becoming a kid again, grabbing your bike with its reflectors and streamers, and hanging out with them after school. One typically might expect that kids running about on their own to make things right in their neighborhood is rather hackneyed, but the writing and execution of the plot for each episode kept driving action, adventure, mystery and drama, without it ever feeling as if it were getting stale or bogged down. Even when the story had to explain things, the characters got right to the point and took action. Only a couple of the adults played central characters and they certainly did well also. Chief Jim Hopper and Joyce Byers are introduced as people with some shredded back stories, and the Duffer Brothers - the writers / directors - slowly peel back the layers of their pasts. I put Stranger Things beyond The Walking Dead and Peaky Blinders, into Breaking Bad territory - not to compare whether it's "better" than any of my favorites, because it's so different than any other series.
Review of Stranger Things
