Television Stranger Things (Netflix Original) | CONTAINS SPOILERS

BD

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Watched it and enjoyed it as I went along, but it wasn't as good as season 1 I don't think. Decently watchable, but hardly memorable. Some good moments, but also some real eye-roll inducing moments.

I know it's a big part of the show to play on common tropes, but the scene at the end when Hopper and Joyce counted down from 3 before turning the keys was ridiculous.

Oh, and the young sassy girl was awful annoying at times.
 
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Garethw

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Stranger things season four commissioned. It’s a never ending story...
 

amolbhatia50k

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Really enjoyed the third season. Yeah it was silly and goofy at times, and maybe could have done with being a tad more rooted in reality, but Stranger Things does what it does brilliantly - it's meant to be a light, slick, warm, fuzzy, snappy and most importantly fun ride. And it hit all the right notes in that regard. I wasn't bored for a moment.
 

Snow

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Really enjoyed this season. It was overtly cartooney and caricaturey at times, but it's pulled off in such a fun manner. Better than season 2.
  • Steve's character has become one of the best in the show. The girl with him, their bond/chemistry was excellent.
  • On the other hand, Nancy and dourface were pretty aimless and uninteresting.
  • The Russian evil-ness was a tad cheap and never felt as interesting as white hair papa.
  • The humour was on point and the acting was excellent from pretty much everyone.
  • Can see the actor playing Billy going on to do some very good work.
You mean the guy who weeks after graduating from a well known acting school in Australia booked season 2 and the lead in Power Rangers? Dude is great, like a new version of Jake Gyllenhaal.
 

amolbhatia50k

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You mean the guy who weeks after graduating from a well known acting school in Australia booked season 2 and the lead in Power Rangers? Dude is great, like a new version of Jake Gyllenhaal.
Can't say kiddy stuff like Power Rangers (which I loved as a kid) interests me now. Good to hear he's prominent though. Seems a talented.
 

robinamicrowave

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Enjoyed this season. It's definitely better than season two. The Russians are shite, though.
 

Snow

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Can't say kiddy stuff like Power Rangers (which I loved as a kid) interests me now. Good to hear he's prominent though. Seems a talented.
Power Rangers did the same thing every other franchise did, went darker. The kind of movie you'd like if you like Pacific Rim. Breakout movie for Naomi Scott as well.
 

Sylar

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Season 3 was awesome
Can't wait for season 4

They could have ended it after 3, and it would have wrapped up nicely despite a few big unanswered questions

But I'm glad it will continue. Some of the new additions were great

And I did like how they split them to then bring them altogether at different points, and those last few eps were great.

Right size for the season in terms of EPs
 

Eleven-Eighteen

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Season 3 was really really good. I wasn't looking forward to it much because I hated the trailer, but damn did the show do things that I absolutely did not expect.

Almost feels like the show is 'growing older' with its fan base (which I think was primarily teenagers).

Going into the last episode, I thought "alright then, no more seasons after this one" but now I cannot wait to see what happens in Season 4. Can't believe they pulled some of the shit that they did
 

cesc's_mullet

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Your opinion is wrong.
Nah, I'm certainly right. Though it was enjoyable.

- childish love stories
- forced bickering, whilst in a Russian base, when the fate of everyone is on the line
- singing when the fate of everyone is on the line
- people using comical radio call signs when the fate of everyone is on the line

Etc.

This kind of stuff brings it right down and destroys any sense of dread or threat that had been building.
 
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Season 3 was really really good. I wasn't looking forward to it much because I hated the trailer, but damn did the show do things that I absolutely did not expect.

Almost feels like the show is 'growing older' with its fan base (which I think was primarily teenagers).

Going into the last episode, I thought "alright then, no more seasons after this one" but now I cannot wait to see what happens in Season 4. Can't believe they pulled some of the shit that they did
Do you not think a lot of the fan base are 80’s kids who love the show for the nostalgia? No idea what the demographics are big I know a lot of people aged 35-45 who watch it - admittedly I don’t know any teenagers!
 

robinamicrowave

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And that's it finished! Better than season 2, thankfully. Maybe just about as good as season 1, only without that feeling of freshness the first season had. Spoilers below, obviously.

The Russians were shite villains - basically just anonymous nobodies with no real motives beyond being evil, power hungry, and Russian. They initially tried to acknowledge the whole "communism vs capitalism" thing, what with the Starcourt mall directly above the base, but that never amounted to much in the end. In the end it all became increasingly plot-driven in the second half of the season - that's totally fine, and makes for great popcorn TV, but it means that any themes were kinda left hanging. I think I need to stop expecting this show to be anything more than fun, algorithmically generated nostalgia. It's very good at being just that, helped in large part by the kids, Joyce and Hopper, and the location, but you get the feeling that the writers don't really care about developing anything outside of the absolute essentials.

I'll never feel compelled to go back and revisit this over and over again, but it's great TV in the moment. It never asks too much of you, the world it's set in is pretty immersive, all the performances are really likeable (apart from whatever they did with Hopper in the first half of this season). You can easily sit and watch this without having to work that hard, and that's something it's really aware of. That sounds like I'm giving it a back-handed compliment but comfort food TV is as essential to the viewing experience as all those super-serious prestige dramas we've had since the turn of the millennium. Sometimes it's good to just sit down, throw this on, and watch some kids try to fight aliens. I'm glad they went for something different with the ending - it wasn't yet another case of El pointing at something and screaming until the monster went away.

So yeah, a good season overall. Considering I wasn't really planning on watching this I think they did the job of holding my interest for eight episodes. I mean, they're gonna cop out of Hopper's "death" within like 30 minutes of the season 4 premiere, and I imagine that El & the Byers family won't have moved so far away that they're out of the story now. So the ballsier moves they made in the finale will be reversed and quite a lot of Hopper's monologue about "growing up and changing" will be forgotten about, but that's not a huge crime I guess. I'm not sure how much longer they can really sustain the Mind Flayer / Upside Down thing for without it getting tiresome, but that's something the writers have been worried about themselves:

"We’re thinking it will be a four-season thing and then out ... I don’t know if we can justify something bad happening to them once a year."
 

Lay

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Just finished it, I thought it was great and way better than season 2 which I barely remember. Keeping the group apart was a good idea.
 

The Cat

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Finished it last night. Enjoyed it. Theories in spoilers.

I have a funny feeling that the American mentioned is going to be the guy who used to run the facility and it's a decoy from it being Hopper.

I also think Hopper has somehow been sucked into the Upside Down and that's where the next season will focus on the kids trying to get him back and him realising he can allow them to grow up.
 

The Boy

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Really not much I can say outside the spoiler button!

Halfway thru episode 4 now. Why’d they turn Hopper into a bumbling idiot?
Such a shame Hop was such a great character in season 1 and almost as good in 2, in this one he just becomes a joke with the incessant bickering with Joyce.

It has to be Dr. Brenner (El's Dad). Eleven losing her superpowers and then the flashback scene where she was being trained for those powers probably indicates to that. Additionally, Hopper has been given a decent emotional farewell and it wouldn't be the best way forward to bring him back
Hopper will be back it's widely reported that he's been contracted for a fourth season, so unless they're planning a ton of flashbacks I expect he'll survive somehow.

Hopper aside there were some real positives in this season, Billy got a purpose which was good, I love Robin she was a brilliant addition to the cast, in fact the whole scoops troop were brilliant, highlight of the show. But nothing has made me laugh harder at the TV for ages than Neverending Story!

I am the same age as the kids would be now if they were real if that makes sense ie I was 12 in 1985 the references, the feel and the humour are brilliant in this show, the horror, well it's difficult to keep that up over 3 seasons once its all been figured out.

Except if you haven't seen this and are contemplating it - its well worth it.
 

Damien

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Part of me thought they could have stopped at season one, which had the perfect beginning middle and end.

I'm not sure how they could stretch out the plot for another two seasons at best. They experimented in season two with the whole Heroes 'there are others out there' plot but will it be revived?

I wouldn't be surprised if Hop isn't really dead.
I don't think so, as that stand-alone episode was so unpopular. Guess it depends which route they'll go with Eleven. They've been very reliant on her powers, so with the next "big bad", they'll probably want to try and get her powers back which could go down a few routes:
  1. finding one of the earlier experiments
  2. finding Dr. Brenner
  3. the other kids train her powers back
Really hate how the characters just stand around waiting for something bad to happen, like Nancy and Will’s bro in the hospital.

Also, why did Hopper just stand there after he killed the Russian assassin? Could he not have just got the feck out of there back to where Joyce was?
After Russian Arnie was killed in the machine, sparks were flying everywhere so would have been too dangerous to get past.
Finished it. Really enjoyed it, 8 episodes seems to be the sweet spot for me on these type of shows. Perfectly bingable over 2 or 3 nights.

Team scoop was the real story thread highlight for me. No America without Erica. Dingus Steve and Robin were brilliant together too. Think Steve has probably been the best character over all 3 series.

I'm in for a 4th season, the music and nostalgic feel is just my thing.
Steve and Dustin are a great combination and have been throughout the series. They seem to get the best out of other characters that are in their orbit as well, though think Robin and Erica were really good additions.
Finished it. Thought the first two eps were a bit slow but I'm ok with that. It really picked up from ep 3. Really enjoyed it until the final ep:

The emotional segment at the end was completely undermined because if Suzie that fat cnut didn't spend 5 minutes singing a stupid song, Hopper and Billy would have been alive. Also, Max gets over Billy's death a little too quick.

Also, could The American in the credits sting be the Russian translating dude?
Surprised the Suzie and Dustin segment was forgotten about after what happened with Hopper. Would have thought there would have been at least a bit of resentment but guess they were just trying to wrap everything up.
bald eagle... :lol:

Hoop clearly went through to the upside down. It was the only move he could make unless he wanted to die right there and then.
Looks like it, though he wouldn't stay alive there for long unless the Russians pulled him out, which given the mid-credit scene showing they have one of the upside down beasts in Russia is pretty likely.
Five episodes in and it's great. Perfect blend of nostalgia and fun.

Could honestly watch a spin-off just about the ice-cream team. Steve and Dustin are easily the show's best two characters and Erica and Robin were great additions.

Also is Millie BB supposed to be that wooden or is she just a shite actress? I swear she was better when she didn't say anything.
Just think she's trying to act the role of someone who has been locked away from human interaction for a big portion of her formative years and doesn't fully grasp the language. Think Eleven being awkward/wooden is a prerequisite.

Finished it last night. Massive improvement on Season 2 and almost on a par with the 1st. After a slow start I really began to look forward to every episode. Agree that there's no way
Hopper is dead but I really wish they'd have got rid of Nancy, Winona, Jonathan and back of the neck boy over Billy for instance. I don't think the show needs any of them.

I didn't mind the one note Russian baddie. Again that was just riffing on a classic 80's action movie trope. Also is it just to me but did all the kids seem to age except Dustin? His hairy legs were freaking me out though. That Neverending Story singalong :lol:
Nancy, Jonathan, Will and Mike are the weakest but I can't see them killing off a regular character like one of those.
 

Sylar

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Also you cant have everybody like Dustin and Steve. Will and mike, arent that bad and work ok in what they are doing.

Nancy and Jonathan is cringe at times when its just the two of them. They work ok with others around them however and arent horrible imo.
 

Big Andy

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My 10 year old wants to watch this after seeing the Stranger Things Skin in Fortnite.

Had a check here https://www.commonsensemedia.org/tv-reviews/stranger-things/user-reviews/adult to see what the general consensus was and I’ve realised that there’s a lot of prudes about.

Especially this cnut who banned her SEVENTEEN YEAR OLD from watching it because of a few “shit” and “asshole” lines...

Had to make a stand with my own child on this one.
I didn't even make it past the first 20 minutes. My 17-year old daughter wanted to try this show so while everyone else was in bed (thank goodness), I agreed to watch it with her. What bothered me the most was the bad language coming out of children's mouths. I can tolerate some swearing in movies when adults are the culprits because I know they know better and are choosing to say those lines, but any director/screen writer who thinks it's o.k. and encourages kids to use that kind of language obviously does not have any scruples and I don't trust what other messages will come from that kind of director/writer. I know one reviewer felt this show displayed some Christian messages but I don't think Christ would be able to stand the language or the befouling of our youth any more than I could. Unfortunately, my daughter didn't see things my way and she was pretty miffed with me for not wanting myself or her to continue watching it. Hopefully she'll eventually see my turning it off as a good example of even adults choosing what they watch carefully.
Personally, I reckon Jesus would dig Stranger Things personally.
 

Pogue Mahone

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My 10 year old wants to watch this after seeing the Stranger Things Skin in Fortnite.

Had a check here https://www.commonsensemedia.org/tv-reviews/stranger-things/user-reviews/adult to see what the general consensus was and I’ve realised that there’s a lot of prudes about.

Especially this cnut who banned her SEVENTEEN YEAR OLD from watching it because of a few “shit” and “asshole” lines...



Personally, I reckon Jesus would dig Stranger Things personally.
I wouldn’t let my 10 year old watch it. Mainly because some of the horror/scary scenes are very intense and fairly gory. Big chance of causing nightmares if someone that young watched it. You know your own kid best, though.

The language is pretty fruity but wouldn’t be a deal breaker. There’s also a fair bit of snogging and references to sex/lingering shots of people in swimsuits. Again, you’ll know best whether or not this will cause a problem for you/your kid.
 

Pagh Wraith

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Winona Ryder is still incredibly annoying in this but an enjoyable season overall. Lighthearted but enjoyable. Still can't believe someone has made a show centred around children that aren't getting on your nerves after a few minutes.
 

hasanejaz88

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Seen the whole season now and the best way I sum it up is Gareth Marenghi's Darkplace with a million dollar budget. I don't know where to place, it tries to not take itself seriously to point that it becomes slapstick at times and takes away from the serious sci-fi horror theme.

I hated the first two episodes, then it gathered pace in the middle and looked good, then the plot turned just stupid and the ending was cliched and 'meh'. Season 1 was amazing, Season 2 was good, this was just decent at best.
 

Big Andy

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Why does Will never fess up about feeling the mind flayer? He did it in S2 and he did it again in S3 with his neck goose bump thing...
 
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Moby

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Finally got around watching this. Loved the season to bits. The finale was brilliant as well.

Been an incredible show so far. Looking forward to the next one.
 

Volumiza

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Season 1 was 8 out of 10 but a rubbish ending
Season 2 was 7 out of 10 with a good ending

Season 3! Awesome. They've completely ramped up everything good about it and kept the story really tight for the whole 8 episodes! Brilliant season.
 

GhastlyHun

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Why does Will never fess up about feeling the mind flayer? He did it in S2 and he did it again in S3 with his neck goose bump thing...
But there was at least one instance in S3 where he told the others about it, and I think he more than once says something like "he's here".
 

Big Andy

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But there was at least one instance in S3 where he told the others about it, and I think he more than once says something like "he's here".
After about the 3rd time...

He's also a giant cnut for not telling his mum about that slug thing he coughed up at the end of S1...