Stranger Things

Oh Nostalgia, Nostalgia, Nostalgia.

Do I have to say it again? Stranger Things does one thing successfully and that is incorporate a plethora of age demographics for its audience. The show’s portrayal comes in the heart of the 1980s, making up a combination of Gen X and Millennial ages. When the 80s first come mind, we think of sex, drugs, and rock and roll. Then deeper, we look and see the bigger picture of communism coming to an end. People naturally latch onto their childhood memories, and that is what this show resembles. On top of that, the show is centered around a bunch of kids and their adventures, grabbing young children and teens to the tv.

Season 1, has the makings of a good show, with solid character development and mysterious plot line. The show does a nice job, specifically with the character development of Eleven, Nancy, Jonathan, and Steve. Personally I found the plot line intriguing and convincing, but it lacked detail leaving the viewer with vague ideas of what was going on. Typically, shows leave the second season to address these problems. However, Season 2 comes nowhere near to exploring new plot lines and characters. We literally are given two useless characters, Max and Billy, who appear out of thin air. We are given little to no explanation for their arrival except merely to keep other characters talking. And how did Eleven survive at the end because I have no clue. No new plots, no new characters, so why am I supposed to care? Oh wait, I don’t.

Season 3 slightly recovers and gives a few answers but it really doesn’t matter. Same town, same government mysteries, and it is almost like I expected what was going to happen. Once again, how did Hopper survive this time? The man is not only alcoholic-driven sheriff but also apparently a pro boxer worthy of taking on Russian Assassins. Hey, I am all for the childish material, but then you go ahead and try to make it serious.

At this point, I am only watching for educational purposes so I can critique the show later. I could go on for days about the discrepancies but then again, I don’t even remember the show because it repeats the same story lines over and over again, tragic. Stranger Things has revolved around its Season 1 success, ultimately making it what I call a “Societal Viewing”. It came out when Netflix was booming as business, now, I do not know what to think. Disney now owns Hulu, as well as their new streaming service, Disney +. The viewership of Stranger Things is truly keeping Netflix together, right now. I would hope they spend more time on the development of their prize show, rather than bank of the media success.

My Rating: 3/10

IMDb Rating: 8.8/10

Rotten Tomatoes: 93%

Common Sense Media: 4/5