STRANGER THINGS (Season One)

Stranger Things Season One Review

It has occurred to me that in the X number of years I have been doing this site I have never reviewed a television show, so on this Thursday night, in honor of the social media theme related to this day, lets look at a TV show that throws things back to the 1980's: Stranger Things. After a middle school aged boy disappears in a small Indiana town, his group of friends, his mother, and the police department go looking for him. Along the way they uncover government secrets and experiments, mysteries, a monster, and a little girl who possesses incredible powers.

Her...yes, this is a girl...I think...

This Netflix original series is a wonderful blend of horror, science fiction, a dash of comedy, and a Twilight Zone creepiness. There isn't really a great deal of gore, but the suspense throughout the season more than makes up for this. For the most part the acting is good--even the children, believe it or not. Some of the teenagers turn in questionable performances, and they certainly could have casted a better actor for the sheriff. The biggest name attached to the show is 1990s icon Winona Ryder--Gen Xers, be warned--seeing Winona at this age, and playing the mother of a high school kid, may be a shock to the system.

My thoughts exactly

The show isn't entirely original--it borrows a bit from Insidious, and its nods to Poltergeist, E.T., IT, and A Nightmare On Elm Street are anything but subtle. As for the 1980s, they really nailed the look and feel of an 80s horror film, and the selection of music is fantastic--you can't go wrong with The Clash, Joy Division, and New Order, but it can be distracting when a show set in 1983 plays a song that wasn't recorded until 1987.

Specifically, this song

But hey, we all love The Bangles, so this can be overlooked. Overall, Stranger Things breaths fresh air into a genre of television show that is rarely good, or even interesting for that matter--a better ending could have done wonders with how the show (or at least the first season) will be remembered. While season two has not been announced officially as of this moment, one can only assume it's inevitable, and one can only hope they maintain the momentum of season one.

On A Scale Of One To Ten: 8

Stranger Things Season One Trailer