I liked it quite a bit - but I wouldn't say I was totally in love with it. I thought there were certainly some episodes (particularly the ones helmed by the Duffer Brothers) that were stronger than others. But it was entertaining throughout. It's a B+ for me. I was actually surprised at how much I was moved by it - the acting is wonderful, the characters are beautifully drawn, and the entire thing unfolds at an admirable pace. I also loved the way it ended. I was hoping things wouldn't end tied up in a bow.
I'm five episodes in and think it's brilliant. Genius. The best original thing Netflix has ever made and possibly the best thing I've seen so far this year.
Outstanding. The nods to so many classic films of the era yet managing to remain so unique is positively joyous. It's all my favorite things in one series. And that girl is a REVELATION. Thank you, Duffer Brothers!
With this and Sense8, I've a new reason to love Netflix. Which means the Emmys will pretend it never happened.
"What can you expect from a bunch of seitan worshippers?" - Reginald Tresilian
I hate the phrase "love letter" but it really is a love letter to that time period when kids were allowed to be people and not Disney channel versions of what the media thought kids should be.
And be one of the most incredible things about this is the casting. They cast actual normal looking people in these roles and THAT is the biggest throwback to this kind of 80s inspired filmmaking as you can get.
Add me to the fans of this show. I was looking forward to it from the time I first saw the trailer, and then binge-watched via computer and have been watching with my husband via Roku.
I read an interview with the Duffer Bros. (can't recall where) in which they talk about the care that went into the casting and how, with the kids, they didn't want that (I'm paraphrasing) Disney-machine type child actor. I think they succeeded.
In another interview (again, can't remember where I read it) with David Harbour (Sheriff guy) and Millie Bobby Brown (Eleven), MBB said that one of the things she loved about the part was the head shave. :) I've also read that she was really good in some episode of The Intruders (where her character is possessed by a serial killer), which I've never seen this show at all, but I may have to look up that episode. Edit: Oh, so Intruders was a BBC show, and MBB is in the entire series/season. So I guess I'll have to buy the whole thing. (But it sounds like an interesting show.)
Also great to see so much of Winona. Somewhere, viewer comment or critic review, someone accused her of overacting, but I completely disagree. I have known people in real life who, especially when under stress, act and talk exactly the way she does on the show.
Edited to fix Millie Bobby Brown's name. ("Melanie??" Sorry, I'm a moron .... or was still half asleep this morning ... or both!)
There are instances where Winona is very "emotional" in this show, where she sounds exactly like "Old Winona" in EDWARD SCISSORHANDS. Does anyone else notice this??
Jordan, maybe? I don't know. I haven't seen Edward Scissorhands in (seems like) 100 years. She does sound, for lack of a better term, very "Winona Ryder-y." lol Anyway, I think playing the character as very emotional works, all considered. I don't think she plays it too much so.
Only on episode two and I'm in love. I love gavroche.
In our millions, in our billions, we are most powerful when we stand together. TW4C unwaveringly joins the worldwide masses, for we know our liberation is inseparably bound.
Signed,
Theater Workers for a Ceasefire
https://theaterworkersforaceasefire.com/statement
I really hope this show is not forgotten by the emmy awards.
In our millions, in our billions, we are most powerful when we stand together. TW4C unwaveringly joins the worldwide masses, for we know our liberation is inseparably bound.
Signed,
Theater Workers for a Ceasefire
https://theaterworkersforaceasefire.com/statement
I'm slow and just watched the first episode. Boy is it good. Manages to tribute those 80's films and be its own thing at the same time. Trying to stretch out my viewing on this one as I'm sure I will have withdrawals for an entire year waiting for Season 2.
I have missed Ryder's presence and she's quite good in this. She really is a superb actress and it's nice she has a chance to showcase her deep talent. She's able to show 10 things on her face at once. My favorite kind of actor. And the kids they got are all spot on to the period and style needed.
I finished the season today. I took it very slow watching one a day because I wanted that anticipation of watching a new episode.
I can now say that it's hands down, one of the best things I've ever seen and it sets the bar so unbelievably high for future series (and even a season 2) that I don't know how it's going to be possible to match it.
I stuck to a 2 episode per day plan to stretch it out. Loved every second. The best combo of ET/Super 8/It/Goonies. The kids who played Mike and Nancy looked like they were pulled right out of a Tim Burton movie. And that score! Perfection.
Boy, did I miss Winona Ryder. She is such a fascinating actress.
I binged this yesterday based on the high praise I read here. I wasn't disappointed, but I'm not nearly as enamored as everyone else.
The use of homage is an interesting and clever device, and it kept me watching, but it wasn't enough to overcome the frustratingly slow pacing of the storytelling, especially within the first four episodes. Since both the plot and its characters were such strict examples of "homage", it became pretty clear exactly how the story was going to play out. In one of the later episodes, Winona Ryder's character has a line something to the effect of, "my son disappeared a week ago" and I thought - only a week?? Feels like much longer.
After the first four episodes, it became clear that the overall vision was not about telling a story that contained examples of homage, but much more about the homage only.
The extracurricular plot elements/characters that weren't so strict, i.e. the ex-husband and his girlfriend, the red-haired best friend (I don't even remember her character's name), etc. were unneeded padding that simply slowed the pace. Try to imagine the show without those characters/sideways diversions of the plot. Would it have played out any differently? Perhaps the ex and his girlfriend are meant to have more significance in Season 2...?
I also found some of the homage to be jarring and inconsistent. For the most part, the Duffer brothers stuck to the 80s, but would inconsistently veer into more recent movies.
For example, I enjoyed the casting. Most of the younger characters were highly reminiscent of 80s child actors from the movies being honored. I definitely saw River Phoenix as Jonathan, Cory Feldman as Troy. I thought the young actor playing Will was reminiscent of a very young Elijah Wood. But some of the casting was confusing, i.e. "evil" Jane Lynch as Agent Frazier and "evil" Robert Pattinson as Steve (that hair!!).
I also found the scenes that demonstrated homage to Under the Skin to be extremely jarring. They took me waaaaaay too far out of the general Spielberg/Carpenter/King vibe. I can understand leaving the 80s era with the references to Minority Report because of the Spielberg/King connections, but why Under the Skin? I also know that Winona Ryder specifically wanted Meryl Streep's hairstyle from Silkwood, but to put her in the black leather jacket in the last episodes took the Silkwood reference a little too far, which also took me out of the vibe.
On the whole, I thought the series was enjoyable for the acting (especially Ryder), and the little game of "spot the homage". I was really impressed by the extent the homage device was used, even down to the cadence of how lines were written/delivered. My favorite example of that was, "mom... Mom... MOM!... cops."
Still, I know I won't jump into Season 2 immediately. I know I'll wait to see how it's reviewed first because I'm not sure how much farther a show that is based solely on homage can go without repeating itself, especially after how rife this season was with examples. It felt, to me, like they'd already shown the best of the best.
Perhaps the Duffer brothers will chose a different era/set of directors to homage next season?
gypsy101 said: "One of my favorite lines of the season, was Nancy's: "...Is that my dress?" I felt like it was an homage but couldn't place the reference."
Maybe not what you're thinking of but... In Disney's Tarzan, there's a scene where Tarzan has dressed Terk in Jane's yellow dress. Jane is talking with Tarzan, asking him to teach her how to speak gorilla. Just as the conversation gets slightly intimate (he 'teaches' Jane - unbeknownst to her - to say that she'll stay in the jungle with him), the tension is broken as Jane sees Terk in her dress. She says, "Stay? But I-I thought we'd already--Tarzan, I-I--Is that my dress?"
This isn't from that specific scene, but it's Terk in the dress:
I watched the first episode and so far it's just a bundle of cliches. Is this what I can expect from the whole series or does it find its own voice at some point?
hork, if that's all you got out of the first episode, then it may be that's all you would get out of the rest of the show. Maybe it's just not for you. Nothing wrong with that.
EDIT: I am officially a Barb convert. The tipping point was seeing her "alter" in the above film (LOVE her!). For the record, I am wearing a high-necked blouse and mom jeans as I write this.