If anyone knows me then they would know that the latest Netflix original “Stranger Things” was made basically for me. It is everything that I enjoy about movies wrapped up into one amazing show that is more like a movie than a TV show. The incredible quality and film making combined with great character development and nostalgia make this a show that is sure to break streaming records.
If you havent heard of Stranger Things then you need to listen up because you are missing what could be one of the best television shows in recent time. Netflix has produced some great quality content that I contend you would never see on regular cable and broadcast television and they once again have a hit on their hands. The show is a Netflix Original production created for the network by the Duffer Brothers and executive produced by Shawn Levy.
Stranger Things The Story
The nostalgia factor comes into play as we are introduced to the characters and the setting of the show, which is set in a quaint rural Indiana town in the 80’s. The show is a love letter to the 80’s in that it pays tribute to Steven Spielberg, Steven King and the coming of age tales such as The Goonies.
We are first introduced to four boys involved in an intense game of Dungeons & Dragon and quickly the story develops as one of them vanishes into thin air. Now his friends, family and local authorities must work together to discover the answers as to where the young boy has disappeared. Along the way the mysteries deepen as supernatural forces, government experiments and a strange young girl come into the picture.
Stranger Things Cast
The casting for Stranger Things was amazing in that the cast for the most part was made up from unknown actors. Despite this they were able to carry the storyline and really became the characters helping you to fall in love with them. Noah Schnapp as Will, Millie Bobby Brown as Eleven, Finn Wolfhard as Mike Wheeler, Caleb McLaughlin as Lucas Sinclair, and Gaten Matarazzo as Dustin Henderson were the main kids in the show and with the addition of this show to their résumé now have a solid foundation to build their acting careers.
There were some notable actors such as Winona Ryder who played the part of Joyce Byers, a single mother whose son goes missing. She was amazing in this role, you literally felt the pain that she was going through and the hope that she felt as she seeked out working to find her son Will. David Harbour, Cara Buono, and Matthew Modine are the other three actors who have a hefty resume with Modine really owning his meanacing character.
Stranger Things: The Story Telling
When I sat down to watch the show I was so excited to delve into this world that harkens back to some of my favorite films E.T., The Goonies, and Stand By Me. The coming of age stories and the sense of wonder and amazement that the youth in these movies presents. It really does a good job of bringing you into the story as you feel you were just like the kids in the show.
Ross Duffer and Matt Duffer recently talked about their nod to the 80’s classics from Spielberg, King, and John Carpenter and their importance of telling the story from a kids perspective while also taking perspective of the teens and the adults all in one story telling experience.
I mean, we were really inspired by not just “The Goonies,” but “Stand By Me,” where the kids are in very real situations with real danger….So, the goal was, could we capture that feeling? Could we make basically a long-form movie that evoked that feeling of our favorite things in the world, which were these books and these movies, mostly from the ’80s.
It was an era in which you just experiences the joys of going out with your friends, when all was right with the world and you just had to worry about was what game or adventure you and your friends were going to experience.
80’s Nostalgia Explosion
Just like the recent film Super 8 from director J.J. Abrams, Stranger Things tips its hat to the Nostalgia of the 80’s. A time in which millennial were being born and growing up. A time some may say was simpler and technology distractions fewer. You can tell from the first few minute of this television show that it is going to be unlike anything that you have ever seen. The only thing that I can compare it to would be The Wonder Years, although a different time period it still was an engaging meaningful and emotional story told from a childs perspective a pure perspective one of wonder and amazement of whats in the world.
The Duffer brothers along with the other film makers on the project did a very good job at making sure everything in the show was authentic to the time period. Lynda Reiss who was the props master on the show has talked about in recent interview the process of obtaining items from the era. She talked about how they wanted to make sure everything was true to the time period and not what people thought was the 80’s.
So from telephones, to automobiles, bikes, radios and more it was a search on eBay, flea markets, and estate sales to find the items to help populate the screen. She had a props budget of around $200 thousand dollars to spend for the 8 hours of television that was produced at film quality.
The music was another device used to push forward the story as well as bring back a nostalgia factor. You had music from The Clash with their hit song “Should I Stay or Should I Go Now”, Corey Hart’s “Sunglasses at Night” and Peter Gabriel‘s “Heroes” among many others.
You even have Austin based music group S U R V I V E who came on board to help compose music for the show. They were tasked with the responsibility of coming up with a musical feeling for the show that would pay homage to the period while not succumbing to 80’s musical clichés.
Stranger Things is More Movie than TV Show
Television these days is getting more and more to be like short form movies. Netflix streaming is the one leading the way giving film makers the opportunities that want when putting together their shows. Whether that is a certain amount of episodes in a season or the ability to do a project almost hands off. The audience is now expecting the quality of their television shows to match that of movies. That in turn can sometimes present problems as the budgets are totally different.
In the case of Stranger Things the Duffer brothers were able to use their love of film and bring that to television. Simple things such as transitions between scenes which is most often an after thought are in Stranger Things very well thought out. So if music is playing in the background of one scene it many times transitions to the next scene by having a character listening to that song on the radio. When it comes to the visual on screen transitions are just as effective, in one case a scene ends panning up to the sky and the next scene begins panning down from the sky. Everything about this show is so organic.
If you are going to start a new show or have trouble finding something to watch on Netflix then this is definitely a show that you should check out. Stranger Things is a magical show that will have you falling in love with the characters and the 80’s all over again.