TV: Stranger Things

[epilogue]

It (2017) just made this show obsolete by pulling off the tone and setting way better so I have no interest in watching season 2 of this

i've never agreed with a jorge post as much as this one, but i still watched and enjoyed season 2

I haven't seen "It" so I can't really agree or disagree. But just based on the trailers I've seen, it seems to me that the tones of these projects are completely different. Also, the setting is the same? Did the update "It" so that it takes place in the 80s? That's unfortunate.

[LoathedVermin72]

The tone is very similar, and, yes, It takes place in the '80s. Which makes perfect sense. Contemporary audiences aren't going to feel nostalgic for the '50s in the way the original audience for the book would have, and this way the second movie can be set in present time.

[VinylGuy]

It was a wise choice to make it in the 80s. It didnt hurt the material.

Still, im not sure why you guys are comparing the tone of It with ST. Two different things, both of them cool in my book.

[E.H. Ruddock]

Has anyone else that watches this show read Dean Koontz's "Door to December"?

[epilogue]

The tone is very similar, and, yes, It takes place in the '80s. Which makes perfect sense. Contemporary audiences aren't going to feel nostalgic for the '50s in the way the original audience for the book would have, and this way the second movie can be set in present time.

Interesting that you like nostalgia in 'It' but not in Stranger Things.

For me it isn't the nostalgia that's important. The larger themes of America in the 50's is far more potent. What King was doing in the book had little to do with nostalgia and everything to do with the myth and menace of 50's Americana. Losing that kinda sucks. At least in my mind. Again, I haven't seen the film.

But the same holds true for the adult stuff in part two. There are so many great parallels to the whole "child abduction" boom/obsession/fear in the 80s that played so well in contrast with the 50's stuff in the book. Maybe they're using that as the starting point in the movie (the 80's stuff) but I have a hard time imagining what modern day equivalent will be. Anyway... my opinion on the matter is fairly meaningless until I actually watch the damn thing.

[tragabigzanda]

Has anyone else that watches this show read Dean Koontz's "Door to December"?

No but the Phantoms movie adaptation was unfairly maligned.

[epilogue]

Has anyone else that watches this show read Dean Koontz's "Door to December"?

I read Odd Thomas. Is Door to December one of the Odd Thomas books?

[tragabigzanda]

The tone is very similar, and, yes, It takes place in the '80s. Which makes perfect sense. Contemporary audiences aren't going to feel nostalgic for the '50s in the way the original audience for the book would have, and this way the second movie can be set in present time.

Interesting that you like nostalgia in 'It' but not in Stranger Things.

For me it isn't the nostalgia that's important. The larger themes of America in the 50's is far more potent. What King was doing in the book had little to do with nostalgia and everything to do with the myth and menace of 50's Americana. Losing that kinda sucks. At least in my mind. Again, I haven't seen the film.

But the same holds true for the adult stuff in part two. There are so many great parallels to the whole "child abduction" boom/obsession/fear in the 80s that played so well in contrast with the 50's stuff in the book. Maybe they're using that as the starting point in the movie (the 80's stuff) but I have a hard time imagining what modern day equivalent will be. Anyway... my opinion on the matter is fairly meaningless until I actually watch the damn thing.

Another vote for "placing the movie in the 80s works." Really well, in fact.

[E.H. Ruddock]

Has anyone else that watches this show read Dean Koontz's "Door to December"?

I read Odd Thomas. Is Door to December one of the Odd Thomas books?

No. Door to December is about a scientist-type that kidnaps and raises a little girl, basically in a sensory-deprivation tank, and she learns to use her mind in inter-dimensional ways, eventually using those powers to turn on the men who did this to her.

Pair that with Super 8, where you have a bunch of kids in the late 70's riding around town on their bikes, discovering a monster that was being hidden by the government but then escapes, ultimately kidnapping people in the town and causing power surges.

Stranger Things.

[epilogue]

Has anyone else that watches this show read Dean Koontz's "Door to December"?

I read Odd Thomas. Is Door to December one of the Odd Thomas books?

No. Door to December is about a scientist-type that kidnaps and raises a little girl, basically in a sensory-deprivation tank, and she learns to use her mind in inter-dimensional ways, eventually using those powers to turn on the men who did this to her.

Pair that with Super 8, where you have a bunch of kids in the late 70's riding around town on their bikes, discovering a monster that was being hidden by the government but then escapes, ultimately kidnapping people in the town and causing power surges.

Stranger Things.

[tragabigzanda]

Joey please go see It. I feel like this is one of those rare instances where everyone on RM can come together in harmony around one movie.

[Jorge]

Argo didn't like it

[LoathedVermin72]

For the record, I never said I "liked" the nostalgia in It.

[tragabigzanda]

Argo didn't like it

Really? No way am I searching for "It" posts. Can you summarize his feelings? Feel free to take some liberties to make Argo look like a nincompoop.

[Jorge]

I think he said "there was nothing good about it", which has become Argo's favorite thing to say about movies he doesn't like

[epilogue]

For the record, I never said I "liked" the nostalgia in It.

Fair enough. I inferred from your post that you were fine with the nostalgia in the 'It' film but you seem to be enraged by it on Stranger Things. But, you're right. You never said that.

[epilogue]

Do we have an 'It' thread? Searching for it is impossible and I can't seem to find it on a brief, lazy look.

[LoathedVermin72]

For the record, I never said I "liked" the nostalgia in It.

Fair enough. I inferred from your post that you were fine with the nostalgia in the 'It' film but you seem to be enraged by it on Stranger Things. But, you're right. You never said that.

The difference is that It doesn't bank on nostalgia the way ST does. It's not chocked full of eye-roll-y references. I think it changes the backdrop for reasons of relatability and topicality; the sociopolitical menace of '50s Americana isn't exactly a super potent/relevant theme for a mainstream audience right now.

[epilogue]

For the record, I never said I "liked" the nostalgia in It.

Fair enough. I inferred from your post that you were fine with the nostalgia in the 'It' film but you seem to be enraged by it on Stranger Things. But, you're right. You never said that.

The difference is that It doesn't bank on nostalgia the way ST does. It's not chocked full of eye-roll-y references. I think it changes the backdrop for reasons of relatability and topicality; the sociopolitical menace of '50s Americana isn't exactly a super potent/relevant theme for a mainstream audience right now.

Fair enough. I'm probably being too precious about it since it was damn near the only thing I really appreciated about the book. And I thought they handled it well in the old mini-series (flawed as that was).

[epilogue]

Just like S1, this thing got better as it went along. And just like S1, the penultimate episode was far better than the finale. Guys, really this thing was exactly like S1 but with WAY more CGI. They made it bigger and more gross. Much more phantasmagoria (which I really loved). They seemed to play down the nostalgia factor, too.

I could actually see someone liking S2 more than S1, actually. But to me they were consistent with each other. The final little coda on the finale was fantastic.

This show is best when it lets the character's lose. Millie Bobby Brown for Queen of Everything!