Strange Things

Boy howdy. I gotta start doing these in the morning, first thing. After rehearsing, working out, showering, and eating, my gas tank is nearly empty and the clock is about to strike twelve and I'm awash in cliches and run-on sentences.

I had just downloaded some fascinating-looking articles from Theory and Event (a grand little journal, really) when my friend called to see if I were free to finish up season 3 of Stranger Things. I was, and we did. So in lieu of theoretical ruminations, I'll spend a few words on that.

Overall verdict? Enjoyable and generally well-adapted to the exigencies of a third season. The writer-director-creator team of the Duffer Brothers seemed to know that the bloom was off the rose the elements that garnered brought the show such praise when it first appeared are no longer as fresh as they were. The 1980s/Goonies pastiche style, cleverly incorporating some stars of the 80s (Winona Rider, Sean Astin), is expected rather than innovative. The appealing preteen task are now gangly teenagers (and the teens are now post-high-schoolers). And the Lovecraftian threat of the Upsidedown lacks some of the WTF mystery it once held.

Season 3 Stranger Things realizes this, making change one of its recurrent themes. Relationships evolve, youngsters mature, and body-horror transformations get inflicted on innocent townspeople and rats. Most of this worked for me. I appreciated adding a bit more diversity to the cast.

The Starcourt Mall setpiece works well (oh, how I miss you, Waldenbooks!), as does the "Scoops Ahoy" ice cream shop. The style is accurate enough (according to my memory) to reinforce how garish mid- to late-80s fashion was. The Russian/Red Dawn antagonists brought back Cold War feels. And the scary elements--human and otherwise--were quite effective.

And, without spoiling too much, I loved the treat of the "Neverending Story" duet.

I have little in the way of deep thought about this. Gas still on E.

But more tomorrow,

JF