Just starting this now, will binge until i fall asleep om the couch.
Television Stranger Things (Netflix Original) | CONTAINS SPOILERS
- Thread starter PeteReDevil
- Start date
Watched 7 so far and it’s certainly the same quality as the first. But then I am one of the apparent few people on earth who thought the first was merely good, rather than amazing. Its probably slightly better in fact, due to the lack of anything as daft as an instantly on hand fake dead boy body, and they do a very good job of pacing it. The kids are better too, and they were already one of the shows biggest charms.
The only major flaw so far (and I’ve not seen the last 2 so this might well change) is that they patently didn’t know what to do with...
Also the new “bully” isn’t convincing. Not because he can’t act, but ‘cos he looks like Zac Efron in a comedy wig doing an SNL bit.
The only major flaw so far (and I’ve not seen the last 2 so this might well change) is that they patently didn’t know what to do with...
Eleven...Her main arc is kinda done and Will takes her place as the spooky central focus of the plot, so she’s left to just drift around the edges. But as the shows most iconic character, they needed to give her something to do, so they shunt her into a weirdly out of place spin off episode, with a supporting cast of wholly unlikeable cartoon punks (who look like they’d have a mugging foiled in the opening scene of a Schumacher Batman film) and it doesn’t really work.
Also the new “bully” isn’t convincing. Not because he can’t act, but ‘cos he looks like Zac Efron in a comedy wig doing an SNL bit.
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You have a Moog now? I am jealous. I sold the Wave and few other pieces of analog gear (Sequential Circuits Pro-One) when my son was born. Regretted that decision ever since.
Yeah, just the Sub Phatty but love it. Got a Faderfox SC4 sequencer recently which pairs nicely with it and getting a lot more out of it now. DRM1 drum machine too, a few modular bits, and just got an Elektron Analog Rytm which I love. Would like a Pro One one day
Yeah, just the Sub Phatty but love it. Got a Faderfox SC4 sequencer recently which pairs nicely with it and getting a lot more out of it now. DRM1 drum machine too, a few modular bits, and just got an Elektron Analog Rytm which I love. Would like a Pro One one day
That's rad. A fun analog set-up
I've been listening to a few youtube sessions from SURVIVE ... thanks again !
btw I love the sequence around 30:00 here
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Okay, finished it.... Hmmmm.
I dunno whether the jarring badness of episode 7 ruined my momentum or something, but I zoned out a bit, for the last ep in particular. It wasn’t bad, but it didn’t feel very involving. Eleven came back and basically solved everything with magic again, like last season, Dustin had a ridiculous Jurassic World raptor moment with his pet creature (weren’t they supposed to be a hive mind ?) and Samwise McGooney bit the dust in the most cliched, telegraphed sequence imaginable, complete with the obligatory lingering slow motion “phew, that was close!” fake out.
It all felt a little obvious and lacking in tension. But I suppose they’d earned it, and it was paced very well up till then (terrible ep 7 spin-off showcase aside)... Not sure how many series they can milk out of essentially the same threat though. But I’m sure we’ll find out.
Once Dustin outgrows his adorable face, it’s all over.
It all felt a little obvious and lacking in tension. But I suppose they’d earned it, and it was paced very well up till then (terrible ep 7 spin-off showcase aside)... Not sure how many series they can milk out of essentially the same threat though. But I’m sure we’ll find out.
Once Dustin outgrows his adorable face, it’s all over.
Agree on points 1,2 and 4.
Disagree about 3 though
For me the Nancy pursuing Barb was necessary for a few reasons. It solidifies Nancy's personality, helps tie up some suspicions from first season and most importantly provides an outlet to explain how the fantastical hides among the mundane in the world which grounds the storyline to some degree. I think the Nancy/internet wikileak dude provides an essential angle to the story
What's the story for Netflix shows @Wibble re: the spoilers?
I think since it's a worldwide release, there's no need for spoilers now and people who haven't seen the whole season shouldn't come in this thread.
I think since it's a worldwide release, there's no need for spoilers now and people who haven't seen the whole season shouldn't come in this thread.
What was the point of Max's brother? Was expecting some sort of pay off but that entire story line was pointless.
The rule is no spoilers required after an episode has been aired and all episodes of S2 have been aired. I've adjusted the title accordingly.
Of course people can be nice and use spoilers if they want but I'm not reading this thread until I've finished.
I've just watched the finale. It really enjoyed it like I enjoyed the first series. My main observations were:
- It took too long to get Eleven involved in the story
- It was really weird to have Steven as the good guy throughout. Usually the jock is the bad guy till the end and then saves everyone in an act of heroism
- Max's brother was a pointless character
- Some of the relationships didn't develop as I thought. Joyce and Hopper, Nancy and Jonathan (despite the sex)
- The Eleven episode felt weird compared to the rest
- I'm not sure where they go from here. There are loose ends for another season but I fear it may become repetitive. Perhaps they can open a different dimension
Just finished watching, thought it was superb.
I really enjoyed Eleven's story, even if they kept her away from the main plot until right at the end. Thought episode 7 was a nice change in pace & let us find out about Eight who 'trained' Eleven to use her powers & that enabled her to close the gate. Eleven going beast-mode to close the gate was pretty awesome. I'm expecting Eight will figure in the next season, especially if 'Papa' is still alive - hopefully they will team up again.
Max was a good addition to the group, but I never got the dynamic between her & the brother. The brother was a pretty pointless character, kept waiting for him to do something useful/significant. Surely there will be some point & backstory to them next year.
The kids were brilliant, once again. The actor who plays Will in particular was superb.
I'd like them to go in a different direction from the Upside-Down world next year. Although the final scene did show the Upside-Down & the giant monster, I'm hoping Eleven closed the gate & they can focus on a different threat (maybe 'Papa' and other kids with powers?!)
Overall I really enjoyed it & look forward to season 3.
Max was a good addition to the group, but I never got the dynamic between her & the brother. The brother was a pretty pointless character, kept waiting for him to do something useful/significant. Surely there will be some point & backstory to them next year.
The kids were brilliant, once again. The actor who plays Will in particular was superb.
I'd like them to go in a different direction from the Upside-Down world next year. Although the final scene did show the Upside-Down & the giant monster, I'm hoping Eleven closed the gate & they can focus on a different threat (maybe 'Papa' and other kids with powers?!)
Overall I really enjoyed it & look forward to season 3.
I think the rule should be spoiler things regardless. Why stop people coming in to talk about it before they've watched the whole thing? Not everyone binge watches everything in 2 days.
Anyway, just watched the 3rd episode.
Weakest one yet, I thought. I believe that's pretty regular for a third episode though. Not much happened, other than the bonding between Dustin and the booger, although the ending was good with arld tornado legs.
Really enjoyed it...
There are some flaws...at times the pacing is a little bit off, and in a certain respect the "Get Will back" plot is pretty much identical to Season One - only instead of him going missing they've got something taking him over so to speak instead.
But its strengths lie in the characters who are all good fun and interact well together. New combinations like Dustin/Steve working together were entertaining and the show balances the horror aspects well with the cheesy sentimentalism. Also I think the whole "spooky government" aspect worked better this season too. The villain in the original season (Brenner I think?) lacked any depth and was basically a carbon cut-out bad guy. The main government/scientist this guy was more pragmatic and didn't steer into outright villainy, which made him a lot more interesting since you were never completely sure of his motivation/whether he'd screw over the heroes.
I do wonder where they'll go with a third season though. This one was much better than I expected it to be, but I'd say the main area they've got to explore that they haven't already are all the other "numbered" people with powers...and if episode 7's to go by then that's not a good thing. Still, they've known how to work things out so far so here's hoping it can keep up its quality. Suppose there's too much money to be made for them to cut it off without four/five seasons.
But its strengths lie in the characters who are all good fun and interact well together. New combinations like Dustin/Steve working together were entertaining and the show balances the horror aspects well with the cheesy sentimentalism. Also I think the whole "spooky government" aspect worked better this season too. The villain in the original season (Brenner I think?) lacked any depth and was basically a carbon cut-out bad guy. The main government/scientist this guy was more pragmatic and didn't steer into outright villainy, which made him a lot more interesting since you were never completely sure of his motivation/whether he'd screw over the heroes.
I do wonder where they'll go with a third season though. This one was much better than I expected it to be, but I'd say the main area they've got to explore that they haven't already are all the other "numbered" people with powers...and if episode 7's to go by then that's not a good thing. Still, they've known how to work things out so far so here's hoping it can keep up its quality. Suppose there's too much money to be made for them to cut it off without four/five seasons.
Also...
#TeamSteve
Just finished.
For me this series is still amazing, sure, there isn't as much 'freshness' as in the case of the first season but that's obvious given that the first one was pretty much something new on a global scale imo. I'm glad they retained the vibe around it, music, 80s theme and all that shit included, it's very well done. Plot wise it was okay, I think that you were able to figure more things out compared to the first season where some things could be too puzzling for some so they dumbed it down here.
I agree that they were keeping El away from the group for too long, making a bit disjointed, ditto Will and to a certain extent Mike, but I guess such was the idea behind it. El's episode was a bit random, I know that it was needed for the last episode, unleashing her powers and stuff and it will probably continue in S03 as I cannot believe they can drop Kali like this, but still. Hooper's done amazing job imo, Winona is still an amazing actress, dynamics between Steve, Nancy and Jonathan were okay, think that Max's brother was needed purely to make Steve's life go to shit this season, he's become quite a likeable character though.
As most of yous have already said, they've got quite a challenge on their hands for the third season not to make this shit repetitive and keep it fresh. Hope they'll manage
I agree that they were keeping El away from the group for too long, making a bit disjointed, ditto Will and to a certain extent Mike, but I guess such was the idea behind it. El's episode was a bit random, I know that it was needed for the last episode, unleashing her powers and stuff and it will probably continue in S03 as I cannot believe they can drop Kali like this, but still. Hooper's done amazing job imo, Winona is still an amazing actress, dynamics between Steve, Nancy and Jonathan were okay, think that Max's brother was needed purely to make Steve's life go to shit this season, he's become quite a likeable character though.
As most of yous have already said, they've got quite a challenge on their hands for the third season not to make this shit repetitive and keep it fresh. Hope they'll manage
Thanks, you saved me typing anything.
Alright, this new bully guy seems fecking pointless and massively annoying. The new girl hasn't done much so far either.
It seems pretty sloppy and messy so far, nothing really makes any more sense
about half way through episode 3 now.
It seems pretty sloppy and messy so far, nothing really makes any more sense
about half way through episode 3 now.Mike is also annoying as feck!
Nevermind those girls at the dance, Dustin.
They don't deserve you.
They don't deserve you.
Yeah the show would be completely fine without him. Although i missed season 1 and started watching season 2 at episode 3, and finished today. Maybe he was important last season.
Number 8 is pretty hot
when 008 introduces 011 to her mates they get "roles" so sound like D&D characters...
I actually enjoyed episode 7, probably my favourite so far
Binged all of it yesterday with my girlfriend. Last year we binged the first season as well. I thought it was way better the first time around. I enjoyed it but not nearly as much as last year.
Not a whole lot happened until half way through episode 4.
I liked Eleven going back to her mum, but the episode with her finding Kali was pointless and should have just been a 10-15 minutes part in total if even included at all. In general Eleven was not in it enough.
It seemed a little bit like Max was included to have a new girl in the group (because they've gotten rid of Eleven), but then she had to have some wannabe glam rocker for a big brother.
There was a few frustrating moments as well like when Bob died. You knew it was going to happen. He escapes and closes the door, but then decides the flimsy door will last long enough for him to take a breather even though the demo-dogs got through tougher glass earlier. Of course he's then taken out by a new demo-dog which has been casually waiting around in that area in spite of Joyce screaming her tits off for a while. Nevermind that bullets only seem to harm the demo-dogs at certain, hand-picked times.
And the hivemind not actually being a hivemind annoyed me no end.
I liked Eleven going back to her mum, but the episode with her finding Kali was pointless and should have just been a 10-15 minutes part in total if even included at all. In general Eleven was not in it enough.
It seemed a little bit like Max was included to have a new girl in the group (because they've gotten rid of Eleven), but then she had to have some wannabe glam rocker for a big brother.
There was a few frustrating moments as well like when Bob died. You knew it was going to happen. He escapes and closes the door, but then decides the flimsy door will last long enough for him to take a breather even though the demo-dogs got through tougher glass earlier. Of course he's then taken out by a new demo-dog which has been casually waiting around in that area in spite of Joyce screaming her tits off for a while. Nevermind that bullets only seem to harm the demo-dogs at certain, hand-picked times.
And the hivemind not actually being a hivemind annoyed me no end.
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I think what this show does extremely well is bring an 80s nostalgia for those that were kids at the time. Bicycle rides with your mates, walkie-talkies, D&D, bad hair, cold war paranoia etc. The clothing, the music, even the fonts, everything is done so well that it takes you back in time. A massive kudos to the directors and producers on that front.
Otherwise the story for me is rather weak. Supernatural beings invading from other dimensions and a bunch of kids being the unlikely heroes while blowing up government secret programmes and cover-ups etc.
A really enjoyable Halloween watch, a solid 7/10, but the praise it gets is a bit over the top.
Otherwise the story for me is rather weak. Supernatural beings invading from other dimensions and a bunch of kids being the unlikely heroes while blowing up government secret programmes and cover-ups etc.
A really enjoyable Halloween watch, a solid 7/10, but the praise it gets is a bit over the top.
Surprised at that since I thought the last 2 episodes of this season were the strongest of the series as a whole. I agree on episode 7 though and what helped me was that I zoned out while watching that since I could guess the ending of the episode almost as soon as it hit the gears. Also this show pandering to tropes instead of avoiding them is sort of the whole point.
I agree that the general mythology of supernatural stuff in ST is weak. But the overall characters and their personal storyline is strong and fun to watch. Both of these things work for me since currently I have a bitt of fatigue for 'dark' shows and also aversion to shows that are big on some kind of underlying mythology. A lot of serial shows who start with an engrossing story with arcs extending across seasons, fail to actually deliver on a good ending. Just avoiding tropes and revelling in bitter sweet or downright bleak arc endings has become so indulgent in movies and television that reverting to a some kind of fun happy ending is also good to watch.
What? How is that even possible?
I enjoyed it, though I think it lacked the charm of the first season. Episode 7 was bizarre and not good at all.
They definitely could have ended the series then and there. There aren't enough loose ends, except maybe for Papa, to inspire a third series. Bit disappointed that they've decided to continue it, because as it is, it's an incredible show. I feel any more is milking it.
Seen up to episode 7, both myself and the mrs thought the frist season was a fair bit better, to this point anyway.
I liked season 1 better.
Dustin is an absolute hero, almost shed a tear for him in the last episode.
Dustin is an absolute hero, almost shed a tear for him in the last episode.
I hope that for season 3 and beyond...
Will can get a little bit more luck. Not that I particularly think the character is interesting compared to the other 3, but the entire two seasons have been at his expense.
Episode 7 was really bad. I know cornball is supposed to be part of Stranger Things' charm but it was cringey and just not good.
I remember liking season 1 a lot more than I enjoyed that.
I remember liking season 1 a lot more than I enjoyed that.
Also, the Eleven vs. Max conflict felt cheap and uninspired. And what was the deal with Max's older brother? What did he add? There were a few navigation errors on this one that made it feel weaker overall, at least for me.