Stranger Things - AKA the Kate Bush Revival

[elevenism]

We watched it straight through.
I fucking loved it.

[neorev]

2 episodes left.
Saving them for Sunday.

[thelastdisciple]

Watching this show really makes me wish i was a kid again full of piss and vinegar, ready to take on the world.

I live vicariously through these kids and their adventures.

[Sister Midnight]

Watched the whole thing it was tubular.

[Baphomette]

15 minutes in and I already had issues with the styling. I fucking hate this show. *starts episode two*

[millionmilesaway]

didn't plan on watching it all in one go but of course it happened. I really enjoyed it although I do question some of the situations created by hasty decision making. Especially when they all have full knowledge of how dangerous anything from the other side is.

[neorev]

Finished it. Thought it was great. Can't wait for 3!

[neorev]

Did anyone catch the little nod to The Goonies with Sean Astin when asked about what the X is? Pirate treasure. A nod to his hunt for One Eyed Willy's treasure. Loved that little moment.

[Wretchedest]

2 episodes in... A lot of the magic of the first is lost to bigger budget, faster pacing, and old timey sexual politics. Hopefully it gets better.

[xfocalinx]

Watched all of season 2 on friday, first time i've ever binge watched a whole season of anything..really enjoyed it. Didn't care for episode seven, but I understood the purpose it served. REALLY liked that the first scene took place in Pittsburgh. (Even though it wasn't filmed here!)

[Sister Midnight]

Spoiler: Being that I am a cat person, I hate to see cats get killed even if its in a TV show or movie. It really bothered me in TGWTDT. I still enjoyed Season 2 of Stranger Things but even in a story the thought of a cat or dog being killed just bothers me. I have no love for humanity so they can kill as many people as they want.

[Exploding Plastic]

After 5 episodes, this season is INSANELY unfocused. I feel like there's no cohesive plot and clearly these guys had no fucking clue what to do with the story after season 1. It all seems so scattershot. Great performances, compelling characters and cool effects can't carry a shallow story. The first season was a great story that happens to be set in the 80's. This time around the era feels like a crutch to the sloppy scripts and the story threads are just meandering. I'm pretty disappointed so far.

[dlb]

I guess I have to agree. While I watched it in two sittings I just didn't really know where they were going with this. The part with Kali/008 was absolutely cringeworthy and unnecessary as was Eleven's whole subplot apart from the scenes with Hopper. Absolutely nothing was gained from her exploration and I still have no clue who she really is. Please fill me in, if I have missed something.

Speaking of unsolved mysteries and answers: another dissappointing thing is that we get to know nothing more about the Upside Down and while it was cool to explore what effects it had on Will being there for so long the whole government-side of things didn't feel as threatening as the first time.

[neorev]

I loved it and not bothered by unexplored and unanswered questions because as the Duffer Brothers said they're treating these like sequels. As I said to my girl from the start of 2, this is a season leading to something bigger and not a season of closure. There's a reason for the unanswered questions and these plotlines that were introduced but not fully developed this season. It's to tell us there's more going on in the world than just Hawkins. It's meant to all connect in the "third movie." Like many sequels, this something that explodes the world of the first season and leaves us asking questions that will lead to much bigger things to come in the third movie. There's many little incidents that I could see come into play in the next season. I imagine Kali will return in the next season as well. It also shows that things are not over with the Upside Down. It's always there lurking and looking for a way to come through into our world. We're only seeing the first part and that is meant to leave us with unanswered questions.

[mfte]

God struck me down with a nasty case of strep throat this week. As a result I was able to catch up on a lot of TV. Watched season 1 and 2 front to back. At its best this show is Goonies meets XFiles meets The Myst/Half Life, at its worst it is The OA. Second season does some unnecessary things but entertaining none the less.

Anyone think of this whenever Max's brother had screen time?

[Conan The Barbarian]

Me and my wife finally finished it. We dug it. Season one is still better.

I also hope next season they stop fucking with will. Let another kid be in distress.

[Shadaloo]

Yeah, they clearly struggled to come up with a follow-up. This season isn't terrible but the first was way better. Unfocused is the word for it, but it finished strong.

[theimage13]

Finally finished (I've been traveling a lot and the better half would murder me for not watching it together).

I wouldn't call it unfocused. They had a lot they wanted to cover and they spread it all out, bouncing between stories instead of telling it in a strictly linear time progression. Did a good job tying it all together at the end. I'm still really loving all of the kids' acting in this. Lucas and Mike are good, but Dustin, Eleven, and Will really stood out to me in this season. I wasn't on board with Max at the beginning, and I'm still not sure I'm really loving her character, but she did grow on me as the season went on. Billy, on the other hand, can fuck off and die. So can his dad, who I'm pretty sure is the reason he acts the way he does. Gotta say though, I'm pretty surprised that there wasn't a deeper reason behind his behavior.

[ImTheWiseJanitor]

Finally finished (I've been traveling a lot and the better half would murder me for not watching it together).

I wouldn't call it unfocused. They had a lot they wanted to cover and they spread it all out, bouncing between stories instead of telling it in a strictly linear time progression. Did a good job tying it all together at the end. I'm still really loving all of the kids' acting in this. Lucas and Mike are good, but Dustin, Eleven, and Will really stood out to me in this season. I wasn't on board with Max at the beginning, and I'm still not sure I'm really loving her character, but she did grow on me as the season went on. Billy, on the other hand, can fuck off and die. So can his dad, who I'm pretty sure is the reason he acts the way he does. Gotta say though, I'm pretty surprised that there wasn't a deeper reason behind his behavior.

I was kinda hoping Max and Billy would turn out to have a bigger part than they did, too, but over time I was actually kinda glad that they're just...ya know, normal kids with all their own stuff going on. For the longest time, because I'd heard of the "Lost Sisters" episode, I kinda hoped Max was one of the "special children" and Billy was a sort of guardian posing as her brother after they escaped from capture or something - especially the way Max reacted when the skateboard "slipped" from under her in the gym made me think she had an idea about what happened, but nope! She's just normal, and in hindsight I think that's the better choice.

I also thought Bob would turn out to be secretly evil when Will turns around to face the big bad monster and the scene flashed back to Bob's pep talk in the car. I was like "WAAAAIT, DID HE TELL HIM TO STOP AND FACE THE MONSTER ON PURPOSE?" Nope. Bob the Superhero, through and though.

[eversonpoe]

I was kinda hoping Max and Billy would turn out to have a bigger part than they did, too, but over time I was actually kinda glad that they're just...ya know, normal kids with all their own stuff going on. For the longest time, because I'd heard of the "Lost Sisters" episode, I kinda hoped Max was one of the "special children" and Billy was a sort of guardian posing as her brother after they escaped from capture or something - especially the way Max reacted when the skateboard "slipped" from under her in the gym made me think she had an idea about what happened, but nope! She's just normal, and in hindsight I think that's the better choice.

I also thought Bob would turn out to be secretly evil when Will turns around to face the big bad monster and the scene flashed back to Bob's pep talk in the car. I was like "WAAAAIT, DID HE TELL HIM TO STOP AND FACE THE MONSTER ON PURPOSE?" Nope. Bob the Superhero, through and though.

RIP :'(

[Mantra]

Bob was my favorite thing about this season. That dude RULED, and it fucking pissed me off that he died. That was BULLSHIITTTT.

Love the scene when he puts on Islands in the Stream. Such a good dude.

Also: I feel bad that I accidentally posted this in the twin peaks thread. I hope I didn't accidentally spoil Bob's death for anyone. Fuck.

[Substance242]

Finished Season 2 today, no idea what is the consensus here (I'll read it later), but certainly no disappointment. Sometimes it was like "Wait, where is Eleven now..." and right there Eleven appears, or "That is dangerously comforting smile... something will happen...", some cliches, but it worked well for me and it's 1984 after all, right? :-) And maybe watching on new OLED screen helped me enjoying it, so pretty satisfied overall, 8/10. By the way, did you in free contries know about MTV in 1984? Going to watch the "beyond" series soon.

Edit: Also, there were some nice injections of fun, like speaking BASIC. :-)

[neorev]

I thought the season was fun and great. Was it as good as the first season? Nah, I'll admit it. But does that make it bad? Absolutely not. Was it fun and enjoyable and do I love these characters and season 2 left me me wanting more and more Stranger Things? Hell f'n yeah!

Again, I think this season introduced many elements that will play out in further seasons and open the world. It's like the folks who complained about Mr. Robot season 2 (which I loved btw) and then season 3 showed that we really did need season 2 to get to where we are and how season 3 intertwined with season 2.

Bring me Stranger Things 3!

[Substance242]

I liked this in Beyond Stranger Things episode 3, Shawn Levy, executive producer and director:
"It's got that Stranger Things DNA, which is in some ways kind of an anthem for the outcasts. Everybody in our show, everybody these guys created is a little bit broken. A little bit on the margins. And self-doubting. And the show kind of raises everyone up and says, "You're all gonna be okay." Even the people you think are in the cool circle, they're hurting. Which is my favorite aspect of the show."

[eversonpoe]

i think my favorite part of watching Beyond Stranger Things was realizing that executive producer Shawn Levy was one of the (horrible) main characters in Zombie Nightmare (which is coincidentally one of my favorite MST3K episodes)

[neorev]

Not exactly shocked by this news...

Stranger Things Season 3 Given the Green Light by Netflix!
http://www.comingsoon.net/tv/news/90...son-3#/slide/1

[bobbie solo]

i DEF. TEARED UP DURING THE FINALE B/C I'M A HUGE PUSSY

[neorev]

i DEF. TEARED UP DURING THE FINALE B/C I'M A HUGE PUSSY

It's okay, I giggled like a little schoolgirl throughout this season.

[chuckrh]

I just watched season 2. I was glad they didn't mess it up. Kind of a nice HP Lovecraft vibe this season.

[neorev]

Am I the only one who thought the score music during Dart's escape from the Ghostbusters trap in the school a nod to the Gremlins theme?