‘Stranger Things:’ a throwback to the 1980s and certi ed gold
By: Cornelious Jones
Staff Writer
The story starts in a small Indiana town. In the first episode a young boy named Will goes missing. His mother Joyce (Winona Ryder) is at loss by the kidnapping — but wait is that her son she can hear in the walls of her home?
Joyce takes an interest in colorful lights and can hear things coming from the walls, making her sanity questionable. Chief Hopper (David Harbour) the small-town Sheriff is able to empathize with Joyce but can’t understand what’s driving her strange behavior toward the whereabouts of her son.
Joyce has an older son Jonathan (Charlie Heaton) who really enjoys photography. Jonathan wants to find his brother but he just can’t figure out where he could have gone. It’s not easy on Jonathan to see his mother in such a state.
Meanwhile Will’s closest friends Dustin, Mike and Lucas try to find him. The boys stumble upon a young girl by the name of Eleven. Eleven is such an incredible piece of the story. She is powerful and gifted, she is as strong as Thor, and not even 5 feet tall.
Eleven is determined to stay hidden for as long as she can. Mike gives her shelter in his basement. The show leaves viewers wondering what happened to Eleven.
What would this excellent thriller be without a secret government building doing off-the-record experiments? Dr. Brenner, played wonderfully by Matthew Modine, is in charge of this secret
government building. There’s another world inside of our world in “Stranger Things.”
This other world is not so easy to figure out. How can you go to the other side, how can you come back and how did this world get here all baffle the viewer. There’s so much mystery to “Stranger Things.” All the characters on this show are not just likeable but lovable, especially
Barb, another character who disappears like Will.
I found myself understanding the storylines very well. The teen love, the missing son, the secret government experiments, the voices in the wall. Eleven and Chief Hopper put on some standout performances in this show.
The show takes place in the late 1980s and I can recall childhood memories from that time, so it makes the show especially entertaining for me.
I really liked the scenes where the boys were riding their bikes around town in a group of four. I remember riding my bike around town with a group of ten or more kids sometimes — it was the eighties, that’s how we rolled. The show also has so many hints to the early 1980s hits like “The Goonies,” “E.T.” and “The Twilight Zone.”
“Stranger Things” is like a break from reality. Entertainment done right is an escape from the monotony of work, society, taxes, bias and struggles. “Stranger Things” has all these attributes.
Entertainment has always been a sober escape for me in this chaotic world. I enjoyed “Stranger Things” mostly because it opens a window to a forgotten decade that I was child in.
There’s so much mystery to “Stranger Things.” All the characters on this show are not only likeable but lovable.
With Halloween being right around the corner I implore you to check out this show. It is certified gold in my book.
