So I’d been resisting the temptation to watch Netflix’s smash hit of the summer, Stranger Things<\/i>, since everyone I knew was watching it. But I was going to cave eventually. And with a lot of code to run and a lack of interest in this year’s movies, I finally caved. If you want to know whether I liked it or not … I’ll just tell you that I binge-watched it in two days.<\/p>\n
The series is very good. I’m curious to see how it will watch a second time without a binge, but I found it to be moving, tense and thrilling.<\/p>\n
The series has become most famous for its 80’s nostalgia and I will admit that this aspect of the series is done very well. It’s not just that it has oblique references to 80’s pop culture; it’s that it feels<\/em> like the 80’s. The music, the title sequence, the color palette, the set decoration, the homages to films like E.T.<\/i> and Alien<\/i>. Sans the CGI, this could easily have been something made by Spielberg or Cameron (after you watch it, you can check out this video<\/a> which goes through some of the more direct 80’s homages).<\/p>\n But 80’s nostalgia will only get you so far, as Hollywood is finding out right now. What really makes the series good is that it’s just … good. It lays its foundations down in strong characters who are well-written and well-acted. Ryder and Harbour are particularly good but all the actors do well. It has a decent and intriguing plot*. And it shrouds this all in metric tons of atmosphere. I give it a strong recommendation, even to people who are not necessarily fans of sci-fi or horror. I was hooked by middle of the first episode.<\/p>\n This year has been awful for movies. Almost every big blockbuster has been a disappointment. But television — particularly shows produced by the “other studios” like HBO and Netflix — has been getting steadily better and better. And Stranger Things<\/i> is definitely one of those good shows. I’m looking forward to Season 2.<\/p>\n (*The plot bothered me because for the last few weeks I’ve been sketching out a similar plot for a new story. The story — working title Oddish<\/i> — takes place in a college town not a million miles different from State College. It focuses on residents of the town who find things happening that are not scary or alarming (at least at first) but just odd. I don’t want to give away too much since it may never be written or may go in a different direction. But any writer will understand why I was both elated and saddened to see that Stranger Things<\/i> shares a lot of elements with Oddish<\/i>.<\/p>\n Oh well. Maybe I’ll turn my attention back to Dreams in the Long Dark<\/i>.)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" So I’d been resisting the temptation to watch Netflix’s smash hit of the summer, Stranger Things, since everyone I knew was watching it. But I was going to cave eventually. And with a lot of code to run and a lack of interest in this year’s movies, I finally caved. If you want to know … Continue reading Quick Review: Stranger Things<\/span>