It wouldn’t be Friday the 13th without a little spooky action, but we’ll forgo axe murderers for Demigorgons. Stranger Things, probably the best non-MCU series that Netflix still has, finally returns for its second season on October 27, 2017, and the final trailer is awesome. In a huge switch from the first season, the kids aren’t having to convince the town that horrible things are happening, because those horrible things aren’t staying locked up behind the walls of the creepy research lab any more. The kids that are in this show, ten years from now, are going to be big stars in their own right, but the adult stars are lead by Winona Ryder and David Harbour.
Stranger Things 2 is set a year after Will’s return, and everything seems back to normal… but a darkness lurks just beneath the surface, threatening all of Hawkins. It’s 1984 and the citizens of Hawkins, Indiana are still reeling from the horrors of the demagorgon and the secrets of Hawkins Lab. Will Byers has been rescued from the Upside Down but a bigger, sinister entity still threatens those who survived.
I can’t wait for season 2, I was pleasantly surprised in season 1 as I didn’t know what to expect. It caught me and dragged me in.
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This show truly has everything. It comes from the heart, the acting is fantastic down the line, the characters have unexpected resonance and depth, the storytelling and direction have been modeled after the styles of towering geniuses, and the creators understand the towering geniuses so well that it all feels 100% authentic. Plus it has a cool retro score that sounds like it was composed by John Carpenter.
By the time I saw season 1 I had been exposed to some hype, but of COURSE it lived up to that, it was a show that became successful out of the blue, it was a hit on merit alone. Now season 2 comes with baggage. I don’t envy the Duffers, and yet I do.
Very rare for an homage to also work as the real thing. This one doesn’t just have the markings of 1980’s filmmakers, it’s not simply filled with cultural artifacts. Season 1 was made the way they don’t make them anymore, it had a slow-burn plot that sucked you in, largely through atmosphere, and by the time the big revelations arrived, as late as possible as the Duffers could get away with, it did not even matter what those revelations were, you had committed yourself to the show long before. The cult that sprang up around Barb was a bit mystifying, and I don’t like the way she was treated on the show. But other than that, this show REALLY deserves its hit status, and I’m looking forward to season 2 more than any movie in the next few years, other than the one coming out on December 15.
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So I canceled Netflix lol. I know they’re your be-all, but with them canceling most of their movie contracts and due to lose Disney in 2019, they’re not putting out enough good product to justify even the $11 a month. I will totally watch the MCU shows and Stranger Things off my brother’s subscription, but House of Cards has faded and they really aren’t churning out the kind of great original content I hoped they would. Stranger Things is OF COURSE the exception, and I really think you’d like This is Us on NBC as well because it does putting you back in the 1980s as well as anything I’ve seen other than Stranger Things. Plus it’s just damn fine TV.
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Honestly Netflix is now beginning to let me down too, big time, but even if I just watch Stranger Things in the coming year, along with Lemony Snickett, Foyle’s War, House of Cards, and the odd movie I can find that is not terrible, it is worth it to me.
Over the course of the past few years I have been consuming much less cinema and television, because my own responsibilities and pursuits took over. One month of Netflix is cheaper than a single night at the movies, and I get many more hours of entertainment.
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Im going to try moviepass and see how that goes
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Dave I heard that Netflix is spending 8 billion dollars on 80 original movies next year, and my heart sank like a stone.
I really thought they were going to be the savior.
This is the moment of the hero’s journey where Netflix refuses the call before they accept it, right? Because otherwise, when they descend to the underworld, they ain’t coming back to share what they learned.
Arrrggghhh.
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I’ve heard that too, and I’ve yet to see a Netflix original movie to match the quality of any of their best shows (though What Happened to Monday was ok). I dunno, man, they’re at a crossroads again.
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