Posted in: Movies, TV | Tagged: david harbour, entertainment, netflix, Rob Morgan, stranger things, television, winona ryder

Why All The Hype For Stranger Things?

I had a lot of stuff to do around the house this weekend, so I spent time catching up on various television shows like Lucifer, Gotham, etc. Last night I decided to give Stranger Things a shot. I've been hearing from so many people how great the show is and it seemed to come out of nowhere. I told a friend I was about to watch and was told to "say goodbye to my evening".

As of right now I'm halfway through the series and I don't get it. I understand the story and the nostalgia for the 80's. But I don't see why everyone is loving it.

I grew up in that era. I'm right around the same age the boys are supposed to be. I bought X-Men #134 off the shelf, watched Knight Rider, played D&D and had the bike that meant the world to me. I had a group of friends like that even. Those references made me smile, but as the episodes progressed I found the kids annoying and wished at times that Netflix had a fast forward option rather than just moving the slider.

I like David Harbour's character of Chief Jim Hopper and I'm curious what Dr. Martin Brenner (Matthew Modine) is doing. But Winona Ryder's Joyce Byers has lost it on a painful to watch level. And every time I see Rob Morgan pop up as Officer Powell, I think "Turk!" and want to watch Daredevil or Luke Cage. You think Turk might be in the Defenders or Iron Fist?

Again, at the halfway point, the series feels like someone tried to merge an episode of the X-Files with E.T. The Extraterrestrial. I'm not saying the show is bad. It feels like 1983 in every way possible. The horror elements are good and the mystery is interesting… but it's not great. I don't feel compelled to finish the series at this point. I don't have to know what happened to Will and Barb. And I don't get the outpouring of love for it.

I got a notification yesterday that the New Jersey Comic Con has added two actors from the series to the show. Randy Havens who plays the kids favorite teacher Mr. Clarke and Catherine Dyer who plays Agent Connie Frazier. So far we've seen the teacher in like three scenes and the agent in one… so I'm not sure how they're a draw. Folks who have seen the rest of the series may know the answer, but at this point I'd be more interested in seeing Havens for his roles on Halt and Catch Fire, Sleepy Hollow or Archer.

Getting excited about a television series is a lot of fun, especially when it's one you can binge watch. So I went into Stranger Things hoping to love it and so far it's just been decent. Like a new restaurant that all your friends are raving about, but when you go the food is good… but not great or amazing and maybe you'd go back if you are in the area… but you might just forget about the place.

I get that I'm in the minority here, but Stranger Things so far is just okay.

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