It's going to be a continuation. You're also in the sharp minority of people who don't want to see it continued.
Spoilers Netflix Series: Stranger Things - Season 1 Thread
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I only worry that they can catch lightning in a bottle again with another season. I think it would be hard to duplicate the conditions that made this work so well.
^You could say that about almost any good show and the reality is that a lot of them either maintain their quality, or improve in the second season. Indeed, more than half the time it seems most good shows' first season is far and away the worst (or rather, least great.)
And so what if they do fumble it? It'd be a shame, no question but the first season is hardly going to evaporate out of existence.
And so what if they do fumble it? It'd be a shame, no question but the first season is hardly going to evaporate out of existence.
Yeah, but it's not like the second season of say Supergirl where the same type of adventures would continue. A lot of the first season was about the mysteries and the growth of the characters. The adventure had the kids standing up to bullies and standing tall with their weirdness, Nancy and Steve went from shallow cool kids to being good people and friends, Jonathan got out of his shell and being a part of something, Hopper was able to get closure over his daughter and so on. The demogorgon was a very personal foe in intimate surroundings. I think that could be harder to follow up than a typical show's first season.
And next we get to see the repercussions of all of that. Remember that in-universe the events of season one only play out over the course of about a week. Now that the characters are firmly established and some of the larger mysteries have been only hinted at, there's plenty of room to build on all that and take it somewhere new and interesting.
I'm certainly game to watch if another season comes along, I just have some trepidation, not saying they absolutely shouldn't do it.
Started watching this with a friend the other night. We're five episodes in, damn good series. Tense, love the presentation of the era its in and the child and adult actors are all very good. Of note Winona Rider and the sheriff.
Really great first seasons that get even better are pretty rare, almost as rare as great first seasons that stay nearly as good. The fact that this season told a pretty much self-contained story makes it all the more difficult for them to recapture that enthralling momentum. They have to start over introducing all new drama on pretty much every front, new character arcs, new plots, and they pretty much have to up the ante on all of them. That's part of why there is such a voice, minority though it may be, saying that exploring a different corner of this universe with all new characters would be a nice detour before coming back to this town to continue their story with some other threat that segues back into the specific dimensional tomfoolery of the first season and the characters involved here. I have high hopes either way, but i fear the disappointment that has greeted me in season two of so many other shows.
One positive thing is that some of the kids have considerably aged since the first season was filmed. So for production reasons they have to skip forward in time and they can focus on what strange things happened between the seasons. If they tried to continue straight from the end of the first season I would be more worried.
But still, continuing from such a self contained first season is difficult.
But still, continuing from such a self contained first season is difficult.
Did we watch a different show?
The ending of season one had tons of set up on it. Will is still possessed/consumed by the Demogorgon (or at least the Upside-Down's influence), Eleven is in hiding or recovering from her Phoenix blast, something's going on with the Sheriff and the FBI, we barely know anything about the Upside-Down itself and what other creatures lurk therein, and so on and so forth.
Why exactly do they need to "introduce new character arcs and plots" when they haven't even finished addressing the ones already introduced?
Yeah, this show uses a lot of tropes common (but by no means exclusive to) these kinds of 80's movies and one of them is indeed the school bullies. I suppose they could have done something more with them (and may yet in season 2) but the story isn't about them. They're just there to check a trope box, establish conflict and illustrate that our protagonists are social outcasts at school. That said, one look at the doting mother of one of those boys and you totally understand everything you need to know about him. Sometimes less really is more.
While the "popular girl's jerk boyfriend and his even jerkier friends/cronies" trope is also used, they surprisingly turned it on it's head by actually redeeming the the boyfriend and showing the "friends" to be two-faced and very insecure in themselves.
The makers of this show are clearly very much aware of the tropes they're playing with, but they're not above messing with them from time-to-time. I think they struck a very good balance on the whole.
Finished the season tonight and highly enjoyed it. I'm usually not big on movies/shows that are centered around kids but that mostly has to do with today's shows as often time the kids can come across as a bit precocious and pretentious beyond their years even for kids these days. But this series works with the child leads in creating that 1980s Spielberg vibe from Goonies and ET, the child actors all do a really good job here with particular note to the young lady playing "Elle."
It's weird to say it, but it's bad-ass the way she took a hard stance/stare when using her psychic powers. But all of the kids do a good job. Winona Ryder is really good in her role, same as the guy who plays the police chief/Sheriff. Really, I don't think I have anything negative to say about the cast other than *maybe* towards the soft-backed deputy guy and the pompadour teenager. His arc is decent but I wasn't sold on his turn around and redemption. His redemption was earned when it happened, but I didn't completely buy his turn around so it taints the whole second half of his arc.
I would have appreciated a bit more resolution on Sister's friend. I guess she's dead, but it seems like the news is never delivered to her and we never see her cope with the aftermath of it and how she "ended things" with her that night at the pool.
So the monster was attracted to blood? Has no one in this town gotten a cut or, hell, a period over the course of time the creature was free? I know it was only probably a few days to a week but over that course of time no one suffered an injury that caused them to bleed? (Or, again, had a period.)
I'm guessing the kid was somehow eating and drinking in the upside down realm. If not eating he had to have been drinking whatever passed for water or fluid there, children can be resilient but several days without food or water in a state of hightened anxiety/activity hiding from a monster?
Don't try and fool me, show, Elle is totally alive and will be back.
Again, really liked the show and look forward to the next season.
It's weird to say it, but it's bad-ass the way she took a hard stance/stare when using her psychic powers. But all of the kids do a good job. Winona Ryder is really good in her role, same as the guy who plays the police chief/Sheriff. Really, I don't think I have anything negative to say about the cast other than *maybe* towards the soft-backed deputy guy and the pompadour teenager. His arc is decent but I wasn't sold on his turn around and redemption. His redemption was earned when it happened, but I didn't completely buy his turn around so it taints the whole second half of his arc.
I would have appreciated a bit more resolution on Sister's friend. I guess she's dead, but it seems like the news is never delivered to her and we never see her cope with the aftermath of it and how she "ended things" with her that night at the pool.
So the monster was attracted to blood? Has no one in this town gotten a cut or, hell, a period over the course of time the creature was free? I know it was only probably a few days to a week but over that course of time no one suffered an injury that caused them to bleed? (Or, again, had a period.)
I'm guessing the kid was somehow eating and drinking in the upside down realm. If not eating he had to have been drinking whatever passed for water or fluid there, children can be resilient but several days without food or water in a state of hightened anxiety/activity hiding from a monster?
Don't try and fool me, show, Elle is totally alive and will be back.
Again, really liked the show and look forward to the next season.
If the series gets as far as 1987, they ought to use this song by The Smiths as one of the tracks played:
Elle doesn't spell it out for them, but her hysterically shrieking "gone!" when they asked about Barb seemed to get the message across.
I know a lot of people have pointed this out as a flaw and while I agree it feels like Barb gets forgotten, there's just not a lot of room in the show to dwell on it over much. Mainly, she's there to give the sister a more direct reason to be involved beyond vague concern for her little brother's friend and to demonstrate what will happen to him if they don't get to him in time.
I think it's one of those cases where an actor playing a part manages to elevate a character above what was really intended on the page. In only three or four scenes across two episodes, she managed to make enough of an impression that six episodes on people are still asking "but what happened to Barb?"
The creature seemed to be mostly sticking to a certain territory. Namely the woodland area around the lab and the houses that back up onto it.
It may also be restricted in where it can come through. The way I picture it is that when Elle opened that gate it fractured local space-time, causing cracks (for lack of a better term) to radiate out from that central point, creating weak spots where it could push through.
Well he did look pretty sickly and emaciated, so I don't think he ate or drank anything there. Or maybe he did since it's described as a realm of death and decay and carrion seems like a good way to make you look pale and sickly. Water may be more of a problem since I don't recall seeing any water at all of the other side. Most notably upside-down world version of the swimming pool was bone dry. Sure a lot of things looked damp, but more in a slimey, oozing decaying way than anything you could (or even want to) actually drink.
What a great show. My wife and I just binged it a few days ago. 8 episodes is a nice tidy sum to watch quickly.
It's not a straight fantasy or sci-fi show, it's kind of both. I guess depending on your tastes Ryder or some of the kids could be annoying, but it's a very good show.
It's not a straight fantasy or sci-fi show, it's kind of both. I guess depending on your tastes Ryder or some of the kids could be annoying, but it's a very good show.
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