TV Thread - beware, [expletive] can get spoilery

[BottenFieldofDreams]

Stranger Things 2 was just as great as everyone says.
One thing I especially like, is that having watched too much television and movies, you expect the dumb jock or the lame step dad to be worthless or worse, especially where they have sexy, dangerous rivals in Jonathan and the Sheriff. But Steve (in Season 1) and Bob both prove to be ballers. It's a really cool play on convention.

One point: Episode 7 with the punk rock crew was like a bad Marvel pilot. That was bad. But the show is excellent. There are so many things I love about it.

[CardsofSTL]

I actually thought Stranger Things 2 was a better season than 1.

[ghostrunner]

I actually thought Stranger Things 2 was a better season than 1.

I thought the first season was more atmospherically like an 80's movie rather than dropping a lot of direct references, so to me it felt like more of a "ripoff" even though I loved it. This season was more direct with winks to Ghostbusters, Goonies, ET but I thought the story stood better on it's own than the first season.


Agree that episode 7 was botched. So unlike the rest of the show in how fake that gang felt. Ideally you should have been left wanting to watch a whole show about them, but the whole episode seemed hastily conceived. I did like the Indian girl though.

[SHOW]

I really hope "Papa" isn't alive. I liked the character but that's hokey.

[BottenFieldofDreams]

I actually thought Stranger Things 2 was a better season than 1.

I thought the first season was more atmospherically like an 80's movie rather than dropping a lot of direct references, so to me it felt like more of a "ripoff" even though I loved it. This season was more direct with winks to Ghostbusters, Goonies, ET but I thought the story stood better on it's own than the first season.


Agree that episode 7 was botched. So unlike the rest of the show in how fake that gang felt. Ideally you should have been left wanting to watch a whole show about them, but the whole episode seemed hastily conceived. I did like the Indian girl though.

[SHOW]

I really hope "Papa" isn't alive. I liked the character but that's hokey.

Regarding your spoiler, it's a concern for me that's where they'll go for the next season.

[SHOW]

And I didn't like the Indian girl, which compounds the concern a little. I'm probably being unfair, but I have seen 'gaining control of his powers' too many times in the last few years. I felt the Indian girl was just a little flat and comic-booky. If she got more run out in Season 3 I'm sure I'd like her more, because the show and the characters are all so well done, that episode aside.

But all of this might be a bit demanding and disingenuous to a show that has delivered so much. They'd probably nail it.

[Jocephus]

if season 1 of ST was an A, this was a B. good but not as tight as the 1st

[SHOW]

the chicago suicide squad was embarrassing.
billy and max were fine, i guess, but added just about nothing.
the last 15 mins of s2 was so dumb. i was looking at the clock
i don't know how hopper kept forgettnig about El
i did also have a moment, while watching el "learn her powers", of 'ok, its the force'. i guess i knew that anyways but it seemed more obvious as i watched them film someones hand kinda moving around and then stuff was supposed to happen. i realize i'm a hypocrit as i've enjoyed this "pwoer" in comics, movies, tv shows but it just really hit me "what am i watching here?". i suppose i'm getting old

i was fooled on bob staying as a good/decent person.
i enjoyed the parallels to alien/aliens
the acting, atmosphere and nostalgia are still top notch. story was fine too, other than a few quibbles

[MrCrowesGarden]

I actually thought Stranger Things 2 was a better season than 1.

I thought the first season was more atmospherically like an 80's movie rather than dropping a lot of direct references, so to me it felt like more of a "ripoff" even though I loved it. This season was more direct with winks to Ghostbusters, Goonies, ET but I thought the story stood better on it's own than the first season.


Agree that episode 7 was botched. So unlike the rest of the show in how fake that gang felt. Ideally you should have been left wanting to watch a whole show about them, but the whole episode seemed hastily conceived. I did like the Indian girl though.

[SHOW]

I really hope "Papa" isn't alive. I liked the character but that's hokey.

Regarding your spoiler, it's a concern for me that's where they'll go for the next season.

[SHOW]

And I didn't like the Indian girl, which compounds the concern a little. I'm probably being unfair, but I have seen 'gaining control of his powers' too many times in the last few years. I felt the Indian girl was just a little flat and comic-booky. If she got more run out in Season 3 I'm sure I'd like her more, because the show and the characters are all so well done, that episode aside.

But all of this might be a bit demanding and disingenuous to a show that has delivered so much. They'd probably nail it.

Regarding the spoiler, I believe I've seen the Duffer brothers say it's going to happen eventually.

[ghostrunner]

[pioneer98]

Stranger Things 2 was just as great as everyone says.
One thing I especially like, is that having watched too much television and movies, you expect the dumb jock or the lame step dad to be worthless or worse, especially where they have sexy, dangerous rivals in Jonathan and the Sheriff. But Steve (in Season 1) and Bob both prove to be ballers. It's a really cool play on convention.

One point: Episode 7 with the punk rock crew was like a bad Marvel pilot. That was bad. But the show is excellent. There are so many things I love about it.

I agree. Many of the characters start out as kind of cardboard cutouts of stereotypes (jack, step dad, nerd, etc) but they evolve from there.

Season 2 had a tall order to follow up season 1. With season 1, they were able to slowly reveal a little bit each episode about what exactly the characters were up against. With season 2, the cat is mostly out of the bag. So they weren't able to use that tension as much, but it was still pretty darn good.

I agree with those that said episode 7 was weak and that the 2nd to last episode was probably the best.

[go birds]

the ric flair 30 for 30 was absolute must see tv WOOOOOOOOOOO

[BottenFieldofDreams]

if season 1 of ST was an A, this was a B. good but not as tight as the 1st

[SHOW]

the chicago suicide squad was embarrassing.
billy and max were fine, i guess, but added just about nothing.
the last 15 mins of s2 was so dumb. i was looking at the clock
i don't know how hopper kept forgettnig about El
i did also have a moment, while watching el "learn her powers", of 'ok, its the force'. i guess i knew that anyways but it seemed more obvious as i watched them film someones hand kinda moving around and then stuff was supposed to happen. i realize i'm a hypocrit as i've enjoyed this "pwoer" in comics, movies, tv shows but it just really hit me "what am i watching here?". i suppose i'm getting old

i was fooled on bob staying as a good/decent person.
i enjoyed the parallels to alien/aliens
the acting, atmosphere and nostalgia are still top notch. story was fine too, other than a few quibbles

One of the things I really like about Stranger Things is that being a love song to the 80's it has license to do silly and cliched stuff like the Snow Ball, or all the teen characters reading the revealed code in unison (that moment was so Goonies I died of joy) and get away with it. Interestingly, that's also a thing I liked about comic book movies, before they flogged that horse to death so they could ride its corpse forever into the future.

WRT to my comments above, I started watching Beyond Stranger Things with Dean Pelton, and it sounds like both Steve and Bob, were maybe not necessarily supposed to turn out good initially.