Stranger Things
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| Stranger Things | ||||||||||||||||||||
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 ♫ And if I only could, I'd make a deal with God
And I'd get Him to swap our places | ||||||||||||||||||||
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Stranger Things is an American science fiction-horror web television series created, written, and directed by the Duffer Brothers. It will run for five seasons.
Plot
Supernatural events begin to arise in a small American town during the Cold War. A group of boys band together to discover the mysteries that lie under Hawkins, Indiana.
Why It Runs Up That Hill
- Well-done character and story-development in each and everyone of the show’s episodes.
- Likable, relatable and/or interesting characters, especially Mike (an intelligent and conscientious student who is committed to his friends), Lucas (a boy who was initially wary of Eleven before befriending her and is very skilled with the use of a slingshot, which the party calls), Eleven (a quiet and stoic girl born with telekinetic powers who was subject to experimentations in a national laboratory), Dustin (a boy with arguably the most extensive knowledge of Dungeons and Dragons in the boys' party, particularly the monsters, as well as a crush on Nancy Wheeler), Steve (a popular student who developed a relationship with Nancy and antagonized Jonathan Bryers at first) as well as many more.
- Amazing, well-done and terrifying special effects.
- Very original writing for a Netflix television series, which it gives out really dark, but awesome episodes!
- Flawless acting and great casting choices from each of the cast members.
- It also began and kicked off the careers and debuts of many child actors, like Finn Wolfhard, Millie Bobby Brown etc.
- Many of the characters have shown to share great chemistry with each other, especially the child and teenage characters.
- Brilliant and amazing soundtrack by Kyle Dixon.
- The Upside Down is a very creepy and bone-chilling world.
- A splendid amount of funny, scary, suspenseful, heart-warming and serious moments, all very-well paced. The show can also have a few creepy X-Files-type vibes here and there.
- Shawn Levy and the Duffer Brothers have shown to have amazing skills as directors and executive producers.
- An accurate and well-done setting for the 1980s.
- Excellent cinematography.
- The Mind flayer is a very interesting and terrifying villain.
- Later, Vecna arrives and he overshadows The Mind Flayer by a mile.
- Mark Steger does a nightmarish and astounding performance as a Demogorgon. And that's just one of the phenomenal acting performances in the show (as previously mentioned in WIR# 5).
- The episodes are well-paced and thought up. They also range in runtime depending on how long they must be in order to properly keep the story of the show flowing and developing (for example, the series finales often last as long as an hour or more).
- Being set in the 1980s, the show has a couple of nice throwbacks and references that are from the 80s era, like how Mike, Lucas, Will and Dustin dress up like the Ghostbusters.
- The song, “Friend’s Don’t Lie”, is well-sung.
- The wardrobe is an awesome embodiment of what 80s fashion looks like.
- Speaking of Vecna, he is an extremely terrifying villain not just for what he does, but the fact that he was just like El, with the same powers and he was misunderstood and taunted. He helped El, but then got revenge by doing something extremely disturbing.
- The scene where Max runs from Vecna all the while "Running Up That Hill" from Kate Bush plays is considered by many to be the series at its best.
Bad Qualities
- The Season 2 episode, "The Lost Sister", is considered to be the weakest episode in the series due to it having little effect on the rest of the plot.
- Some consider the use of 80's nostalgia to be overwhelming or cringe-worthy. Like Lucas's spiel about new Coke in season 3. This wouldn't have raised many eyebrows if it weren't for the fact that the scene before was pretty dire.
- Cast inflation.
- Many plot lines feel unnecessary or watered-down due to the fact that there is so many characters to write for. Nancy and Jonathan got the trash plot in season 3, and in season 4, the writers would add a love triangle to keep the interest of the audience, even though it was jarring and didn't feel deserved.
- Season 4 was considered hard to follow since the audience had to watch almost 4 whole stories every episode.
- Chrissy's death in Season 4 was deemed to be controversial by fans seeing as she could've had potential as a new character.
- Plot armor has created a discourse within the fans of the show.
- Some fans argue for character deaths, others argue that Stranger Things is "not the kind of show" to kill off characters.
- Millie Bobby Brown and Noah Schnapp (who play Eleven and Will Byers, respectively) have expressed their distaste for the show's plot armor.
Reception
The series received critical acclaim. It has been received positively for its characterization, atmosphere, acting, soundtrack, directing, writing, and homages to 1980s films. It has received numerous nominations and awards.
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