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If you're a fan of 80's movies that are horror/sci fi - like ET and Poltergeist etc, you need to go watch Stranger Things on Netflix. It's bloody brilliant, the acting is top notch - especially by the kids. It has Winona Ryder too. It's a very, very good genre/era tv show!
This is something bloody special.
Your description has sold me. I will be sure to check it out soon.
Is it particularly scary?
MissH and I are looking for a new series after finishing Game of Thrones and Limitless. Just been announced they've cancelled series 2 of the latter :mad2:
I really enjoy scary stuff but she's not massively keen.
It's not scary Bubba! It has a few chilling moments but it's very much a sci fi series. Nothing has scared me too much in it!
-
im up to episode 6 now and it's still very strong. There are a few issues, but on the whole so very enjoyable.
One be thing I love about it is it doesn't try to hard to be complex. It's easy to follow while still having mystery. It doesn't suffer from getting overly far fetched like some shows.
Okay so I got done and finished this.
10/10 amazing. Well played Netflix, well played!
Started this today. Only one episode in but it was amaaazing, can't wait to keep going.
I'm so glad your watching this but a bit legit sad I can't watch it with you!!!
Sephex and Shorty have been raving about this too so I decided to take the plunge. Started watching the first episode last night. It's good to see Winona Ryder back acting again instead of nicking stuff. Some child actors I can find annoying but they are actually all very talented. Plus, they are all geeks!
Yeah, I finished this in one sitting.
I don't particularly enjoy marathoning stuff.
That should tell you how much I enjoyed watching this.
I love...LOVE the synth soundtrack. I've been all about listening to that style of music in recent years. The child actors are also very convincing. Like most elements from the early 80s the series draws from it seems that they were plucked from the time period. The best part is that the show doesn't clobber the whole early 80s thing over the viewer's heads. It comes as naturally as any movie shot around that time period, like E.T.
I can't get away from how much like a Stephen King novel this show is. I am absolutely loving everything about it.
EDIT: Aaaaand done. Can't remember the last time I was gripped that hard by a show. That was pure excellence from start to finish and my body is so ready for the next installment.
This is pretty great stuff. Like Sephex I don't care to 'binge watch' shows but if I had enough time I would have started and finished the thing last night.
On episode 3 now myself. Loving this so far. Great show and it actually feels authentically 80's. Most of the time, if i don't know better, you could convince me it was made back then.
Oh wow winona ryder that's who it is. thought she seemed familiar
i've only watched the first episode so far
The HD gives it away. Every time I see the credits and then HD quality picture it throws me for a loop.Quote:
Originally Posted by Vivi22
The series was great, but it fell into some tropes at times. Like the black kid being the angry one and of all the teenagers (SPOILER)the awkward yet sensible friend is the one that gets killed. Hop was not like that though. He was great, reminded me of Han Solo. Also Dustin was hilarious. And Eleven's actress just knocked it out of the park.
A bit off topic but depends on the quality of the film from the time and how well preserved it is. The resolution of film is actually significantly higher than 1080p HD so a good digital transfer of quality film from the 80's would look pretty great.Quote:
Originally Posted by Del MurderThe HD gives it away. Every time I see the credits and then HD quality picture it throws me for a loop.Quote:
Originally Posted by Vivi22
Yeah, TV broadcasts/VHS were by far the weakest link in the 80s and 90s. A good film from the 90s could easily capture more details than you could see in a 720p video, however, the only chance you'd have to see it would be in the cinema, and that's also assuming your cinema got a high-tier copy, cause analogue film duplication isn't perfect and some image quality is lost every time. Smaller cinemas would get copies of copies of copies, while big cinemas would perhaps get a copy that was done directly from the master.
Smaller cinemas benefited greatly from the change to digital projectors, as they could now get the exact same image quality no matter how insignificant they were.
Yeah, a lot of old TV shows were shot with high quality film (or whatever you call it) and looks great when upscaled for modern TV viewing. The best example of this I can think of his how Star Trek: TNG looks GREAT on Blu-Ray because it was shot in HD to begin with. They had to redo the special effects only because those obviously were not filmed.Quote:
Originally Posted by Vivi22A bit off topic but depends on the quality of the film from the time and how well preserved it is. The resolution of film is actually significantly higher than 1080p HD so a good digital transfer of quality film from the 80's would look pretty great.Quote:
Originally Posted by Del MurderThe HD gives it away. Every time I see the credits and then HD quality picture it throws me for a loop.Quote:
Originally Posted by Vivi22
Finally got around to watching this and god smurfing damn. What a fantastic show. Argh why do they always have little cliffhangers though!
This was a Good TV Show and everyone ought to watch it.
Spoiler episode 6I took a bit of a break after episode 5 (when Nancy went into the tree stump and it was closing because I didnt think i could stand another "just missed the supernatural thing, big misunderstanding" but then thank god they resolved that early in the next ep
We watched this with friends 2 episodes one week, 2 the next than finally this weekend we finished 4 with them. I think it worked better spacing it out like that because we were more hyped.
I just didn't know where it was going. That was what was nice. It just kept changing the story on me. I'm usually good at guessing before things happen but I couldn't. I mean occasionally I could but it was original and unique and I loved that.
I haven't seen this, but it sounds interesting. I may check it out as I just finished the series I was watching.
It's only 8 episodes so it wont take long!
Just finished episode 6!
I even have MissH watching with me and she can't stand anything horror-related! We'll be watching the next one when I'm back from work in a few hours.
Steve is a douche.
Just watched it over the weekend. Utterly fantastic. Utterly, utterly fantastic.
it was pretty good
very silent hill
For anyone who didn't see it!
i scare
That big thing in the sky, whaaaat
I hope Will is actually in this season, btw.
Okay, now I'm kind of pissed.
I did a google search to see if anything was going to come up about Will being in the next season more. "Will Stranger Things" will suggest "Will Stranger Things gay".
There are people out there concerned about the sexuality of a 12yo/a 12yo character.
CAN YOU JUST LIKE smurf OF JFC
I mean, of course it's cool if he is or the character Will is. But it's like, who smurfing cares? And why are you sexualizing children/so concerned about a 12yo's sexual orientation? Like
wtf
wtffffffffffffffffffffffffffff
It still seems weird there's going to be a sequel.
Yeah that's pretty what the hell-ishQuote:
Originally Posted by Jinx
Duuuuuuuude...
I forgot that I saw there was a trailer at work today, but didn't have time to watch it.
I didn't see this show as it was being released, but a couple other co-workers happened to be marathoning it the same time I started it up (nothing exciting to others, but I never get to talk about show I like with people). It was an absolute blast. Now I have another co-worker that is into it, so hopefully she'll still be around in October for this.
I actually think this one looks better than the first.
Same! I actually think the first was just okay, it just got a lot of attention and praise.Quote:
Originally Posted by Night Fury
That's one great smurfing trailer, though. Like, just a genuinely very good trailer. That use of Thriller, tho. *Italian hands*
I think what worked for the first was that it was a unique concept while still hitting on nostalgia of the 80s. So the formula worked and people got into it!
Now though, they have a chance to really refine it. They don't have to set up characters or anything. Or the concept of the scary stuff, they can just jump right into it!
Gonna be a blast.
That is seriously one of the best trailers I have ever seen. Even if I ignore at how well put together that trailer was I really do think that this season will be better. It's going to be crazier, but reserved enough to push the story in a logical and fun direction. Man, I was 2 when this season of Stranger Things takes place, but I do have many vague memories of that year. Well, with how much stuff like Thriller and Ghostbusters was pushed around back then, I would be more amazed if I didn't remember any of that, even at a couple years old!
I'm watching this with my roommates (Rose started us on it, and I can't watch it until she's available again, it wouldn't be fair). We got through Episode 5. Thoroughly enjoying it so far. I had some initial trepidation at how well it would handle interconnecting the various story elements, but it's done a marvelous job at that. The child actors are far better than usual, the plotline is engaging, and it handles the tonal shifts from the three different story arcs very well. I'm excited to finish it, and see where Season 2 will go.
So we're just not going to talk about the most recent (and final) trailer here?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yv_yZZZKzKY
I'm glad all the cast have returned for this series. I like Eleven's curly hair!
I've been rewatching season 1 to prepare for season 2 as I had kinda forgotten everything. In particular I had forgotten just how smurfing brilliant this show is. Maybe I'm preaching to the converted but I definitely recommend a rewatch.
I will definitely be binging it before S2. Also, I became so use to Eleven with the blonde wig that dark hair seems really off.
I'm pretty excited for this to start. I don't know if I'm gonna have time to binge watch it though. I cosplayed as Eleven with some friends last year.
This weekend! :excited:
Spent my days off re-watching S1 and it was still great.
Friday is going to be fun. Mario Odyssey, Stranger Things 2, and work ends half an hour early. If only it was an actual Friday for me.
IT'S OUT! Who's Binge watching this weekend?
I'm throwing a little Stranger Things Party tomorrow. Going to invite some friends over and we're going to watch a bit! It's going to be a blast
I'm binge watching right the smurf now! Things certainly are stranger.
Can everyone remember to use spoiler tags? Please and thank you!
I FINALLY got Denmark to watch the show with me, so we're actually watching season one tonight, and probably won't start on season two until sometime next week. I don't mind waiting, thoug!
Done watching for the night and watched the first four episodes. Hope to finish tomorrow!
Up to the end of Episode 4 spoilersDUSTIN YOU smurf THIS IS ALL YOUR FAULT THIS IS WORSE THAN BARB
i wont have time on my honeymoon, and we’ll be on a cruise when it starts. I’m pretty excited about it being out for when I’m back though. We just watched the first season for the first time a couple weeks ago.
Finished it. It was great enough to pull me away from Mario Odyssey, and I am in love with that game right now. Aside from one episode that was odd, season 2 was just as fun to watch as he first one!
Just finished it!
Spoilers up to the endBob Bob Bob oh god no THIS is S2's Barb :( Oh god. That was horrible. Samwise Gamgee! God damn.
That Chicago punk side bit was obviously laying the groundwork for future seasons. I... wasn't a huge fan. That group was a shower of douches. Like, I'd rather hang out with smurfing Billy than Axel.
Also who do you think is the best character in the show and why is it Steve god damn Harrington?
Also also, that ending tho'. Awww. :3: I guess the shadow does not approve of Sting.
(SPOILER)My problem with the whole gang thing is that I think they were trying to make a typical looking movie/TV 80s gang and it ended up getting way too cheesy (aside from the chilling apartment scene). It was also way too different tonaly from the rest of the series. I get that it was set up and I'm sure "008" can work in future seasons somehow. A lot of people are making fun of it (no matter if they liked it or not) by saying it was a weird X-Men side story. If anything, I felt like a live action anime was weirdly inserted into the show. From how diverse each member looked to how they all acted, it legit reminded me of anime. It's not as terrible as most people are making it out to be. Most other shows would have drug that on for four or five episodes. I'm glad that since they felt like they had to take the story in that odd direction that they contained it. Also, they shouldn't have had it follow a pretty intense cliffhanger from the previous episode.Quote:
Originally Posted by Psychotic
Episode 7This is some X-Men trout. 11 joining the Morlocks is the hypest trout. I'm at the part where her sister is being her Xavier to her Magneto.
I got through the first 4 or 5 episodes yesterday. Really enjoying it so far - seems like the creators went full on #JUSTICEFORBARB
Also I bloody hate the Jonathan/Nancy/Steve triangle.
I hate love triangles in any shows, but this one is even worse because I really like Steve as a character like he's smurfing great and sorry but Jonathan is not as cool OKAY.
Steve is the best character in the god damn show.Quote:
Originally Posted by Night Fury
I only got to watch 3 episodes this weekend :( BUT I DID DECORATE
INTO THE UPSIDE DOWN
https://scontent.ftul1-1.fna.fbcdn.n...db&oe=5A77898E
Warning stuff
https://scontent.ftul1-1.fna.fbcdn.n...ab&oe=5AA48759
https://scontent.ftul1-1.fna.fbcdn.n...19&oe=5A6BA052
https://scontent.ftul1-1.fna.fbcdn.n...d6&oe=5AA8BF34
And eggo cupcakes!
https://scontent.ftul1-1.fna.fbcdn.n...24&oe=5A66567E
If you watched more would you have made more cool stuff?
Steve is smurfing great. Tbh, I'm glad they flipped the "popular, rich dude is an ass" trope on its head. There's nothing wrong with Jonathan and he's a nice and cool dude, but he didn't get the girl and doesn't deserve to. Frankly, Steve deserves a lot better, though. And I say that as one of the rare people who actually likes Nance.Quote:
Originally Posted by PsychoticSteve is the best character in the god damn show.Quote:
Originally Posted by Night Fury
Through Episode 5
Thoughts so far:
- The reveal of what happened to Eleven after season 1 (She was in the Upside Down for 10 minutes!!!) was pretty anti-climactic for me.
- I'm glad Lucas is much less of a little asshole this season, and even though Mike is my favorite character, it was A++ seeing Lucas call him out for his low-key racism in the Halloween episode.
- Max is great and Mike is being a total trouthead to her. I wanna know what her and her stepbrother's deal is, though.
- GODDAMNIT DUSTIN YOU HELPED GROW ANOTHER DEMOGORGON YOU LITTLE SMURFER GG RIP MEW MEW
Denmark and I will be finishing up the season this afternoon, so I'll post my thoughts as I go (maybe) and post my final thoughts after.
MAYBE NEXT WEEKEND I'LL MAKE MORE STREAMERS RAIN FROM ABOVE! :D
We watch with our friends so we can only watch it when they're over for the full watching party experience. They had a baby this year since last year's watching, so we have to accommodate the little guy. So we don't get as much watched. That's okay, it strings it out more for us. I just have to actively avoid spoilers.
all of season 2 spoilersMike was terrible this season. I guess they want to justify it with him missing Eleven but i hated his guts pretty much the whole season. Lucas was the best of the four this season so i'm glad he "got the girl", though poor Dustin deserved better than a pity dance from Nancy too. If (when?) they do a season 3 I want to see more actual Will, not missing Will like season 1 and not possessed Will like season 2. Considering he's part of the main gang he really gets the shaft.
Max was a great addition and I definitely want to see more of her in season 3. Her brother's a weirdo jackass but their father seems far worse, so i guess that's where he gets it from. Steve was great, he's better off without Nancy, and Nancy + Jonathan seems to fit anyway.
Bob was kind of a meh character until he made it obvious he was going to die by being a cool guy during the invasion of the demo-dogs, poor guy. They were even extra mean to him, his death wasn't enough, had to show five demo-dogs feasting on his corpse. :p
On the acting from Will:
(SPOILER)I was worried because the previews obviously showed that Will was in trouble again, but I'm glad they let the kid act. I felt sorry for him after season one and mostly all the kids BUT him got to do all the cool TV show stuff without him. But man, I am GLAD they saved such great acting from the kid until this season. I know I have this marked spoilers, but in case you haven't seen the last couple of episodes, here is me politely warning you to look away.
When people were telling Will positive stories about him and how much they meant to him, there was great acting all around. But man, did Will's face smurfing sell that scene. You can see the internal struggle of Will VS the thing inside him. For someone so young, that's absurdly hard to pull off. Think about it. You have to convey so much with just a look. Sure, you have the other actors to bounce off of based on what they are saying, but that's still tough. It also got to me. Had one of those silent cries where you try to hold it back, but those tears roll down your cheeks no matter if you like it or not.
Just really wanted to point that out. Even taking away that scene is was nice to see more of a character that we didn't see much of. Glad that Will's role expanded more from "the kid in trouble that's in like four scenes."
They were originally going to go with that, and in their original pilot they were going to have him rape Nancy, which, well, yeah. I think something like that would've ruined the show. Then they started working with the actor, liked him a lot and figured they'd go against the trope and give him his own arc. So glad they did.Quote:
Originally Posted by Jinx
Absosmurfinglutely. He felt like a new character had been introduced this season.Quote:
Originally Posted by Sephex
Man you lot make it hard to visit this thread xD
I CAN TALK UP TO EPISODE 3 THOUGH
Sean Austin just seems like too good of a guy, i'm suspicious.
Also poor will SHOULD NOT have listened to him. Now he done got possessed or whatever it did.
Hopper trying to be a daddy to Eleven is cute.
Eleven being a jealous girl is ugh.
DUSTIN IS THE BEST, his paddles! but then boy, that has got to be a baby demigorgon. You put that thing away, dustin. You should know better. It's going to eat your face
okay I'll have to get back to you all when we watch more
I'll set my brain to me if I only watched what you would watch. My comments will do nothing to spoil anything, I promise.Quote:
Originally Posted by Freya
(SPOILER)I got the same impression you did about Sean Astin's character.
The editing of the ending of that episode was very well done.
I also enjoyed the scenes between those two. I think it is an underrated aspect of this season.
As soon as they made it clear Eleven was going to visit the school, I knew that scene was going to happen, though I am glad it is more subdued than how most shows/films would handle it.
Yup, Dustin is even more enjoyable of a character this time. It is silly of him to take that in, but kids are gonna be kids!
Dustin's actor is actually doing a really strong job. I'm impressed and I believe that that kid is going far.
Something else that popped up in my head after my earlier post
more spoilers for all of season 2
It's nice that the main government guy this time (the psychiatrist, assuming he was actually one on top of being "the government guy") was a nice guy, actually working with and trying to help Hopper and the kids.
That said, I agreed with the other government guys when they said should've just burnt it all without any regard for Will's life. The fact that they didn't and instead listened to Will, going to that ambush, cost a lot more people their life than just the one kid. Pretty much everybody who worked in that place plus Bob.
Entire season
My thoughts on punk rock episode: it wasn't bad (although the characters except for Kali and Funbear dude were insufferable), it just felt like a completely different show. It's one of the main criticisms I had with season 1, also: the interdimensional stuff and Eleven just seem and feel like different plots.
Steve is the best character, and I hope he finds love and happiness next season. I really like that he and Dustin are buddies now.
Poor Dart, watching him die next to his nougat. :(
And yeah, I was very suspicious of Bob at the beginning of the season. I'm glad they didn't make him a molester, or an actual asshole, or working for the labs. I'm glad he was just a genuinely good dude who was crazy over Joyce. His death got me in the feels, and I think he would've been a great stepdad to Will, since it seemed like they had a ton in common.
It definitely does seem like next season will revolve around forming the X-Men and preparing to fight the Shadow Monster. Especially now that Hop has Jane's birth certificate and is clearly going to adopt her; they might be able to find more kids and their true identities.
Some that frustrates me is that we still have no answers on what the Upside Down is, what the monsters are, why the exist, what their motives are, etc. I think "they just spoopy monsters" is dumb.
I'M SO GLAD ELEVEN AND MIKE GOT TO GO TO THE SNOW BALL FINALLY
Sorry for the stream-of-consciousness with my post.
Have watched four episodes so far
(SPOILER)The poor cat! It was so sweet. This is all your fault Dustin :(
Anyone else think Billy is gay?
We were just having this conversation at work! Yes, I think so.(SPOILER) Nancy not being "my type", the weird shower with Steve, and the fear of and abuse from his father all do add up.Quote:
Originally Posted by Night Fury
Yeah I think he's very closeted. That shower was so homoerotic, and it would explain his obsession with Steve. Ultra masculinity too. I would love to see that storyline in season 3.
EDIT: Never mind, I spoiler tagged it, but I am not sure how far you are. Basically I said I didn't pick up on it because I thought they just wanted a hyper bully character, but I can see what you mean.Quote:
Originally Posted by Night Fury
That's how his character kept reading to me, yeah.
ditto
Also - shout out to Steve and Dustin for being the best tag team in the whole show.
Finished it last night. Very solid season. Only a few gripes that put it behind season 1 along with the fact that it's not as fresh feeling, which every season 2 has to suffer from.
Agreed there. Steve is the best.Quote:
Originally Posted by CimminyCricket
I also like the use of the Jurassic Park plotline in episode 8.
I finally finished it up tonight and oh man what a ride.
(SPOILER)Like everyone else I wasn't super thrilled about episode seven. I liked Kali and how she "trained" her for closing the gate as well as Elle not following through with the gang's motives. In future seasons I wouldn't mind seeing Kali again, but the rest can stay away.
The Nancy finally hooking up with Jonathan put me off a little, too (but I'm not going to lie, it's almost worth it for that "pull out" line). It was nice that they didn't fall into the typical love triangle trope last season, but it went that way anyway. On the other hand it shaped Steve into a much more awesome character.
It would be nicer if entire seasons weren't dumped all at once. It's harder to talk about it and there isn't any dissecting episodes like broadcast TV shows.
(SPOILER)I didn't like the Kali episode either, I guess I didn't realize that this was a thought shared by other people. It was cool in Ep 1 when they introduced 008, but then they just - didn't really do much with her. She was like a really troutty Obi Wan and was just there for training before disappearing. Should have brought her back to the rest of the gang and used her to trick the shadow demon in Will.
Best show I've watched this year, loved it just as much as season 1.
Season 1 - 6/10
Season 2 - 7.5/10 (loses half a mark for episode 7)
Favourite season 2 character - (SPOILER)Steve
Favourite season 2 line - (SPOILER)'Analogy? That's what you're worried about right now?!'
Most confusing part of season 2 - (SPOILER)Paul Reiser playing a good guy?
Most upsetting part of season 2 - (SPOILER) Mews :(
One thing that I love about Stranger Things is that they let the kids be kids. I love that the creators don't write them to act older than they are like they do in a lot of shows/movies now. I love that the kids have toys and are really kid like. It's awesome.
Or, hey! Our friend has been missing for a year. BUT WE'RE GONNA DRESS UP FOR HALLOWEEN, DAMN IT.Quote:
Originally Posted by Night Fury
I've had a few days to reflect on the season after finishing it and didn't fully realize just how great Steve was this time around.
(SPOILER)To start with the way he handled Billy the whole time. Every time he interacted with him he let it slide, whether it was aggressiveness or bullying. I interpreted it as he'd matured past trivial stuff like that due to knowing how bad things were and could be. And when he finally does stand up and fight back it wasn't out of pride, but to protect Max and the other kids.
Then his relationship with Nancy. He genuinely cared for her, his first scene being him thinking ahead about how he could support her, but nothing said it more than him telling her to go with Johnathan. A great, nicely done example of "if you love something let it go."
Finally him filling a role of big brother to Dustin. The fact that Dustin is an only child to a single mother didn't really jump out until Steve teamed up with him. He's the only boy on the team without a brother or father figure in his life (yes I'm even counting Ted. He may be "no help at all," but at least he's there), and as an only child boy to a single mother myself Steve stepping in to help him out and give advice really hit home. I wish I had a Steve when I was younger.
So here's to Steve! My new favorite character in the series.
https://i.imgur.com/3yTp7PD.gif
I wonder, though. Did he actually have that bad in his car the whole time? At home? Make a new one? I like to think it was the first.