Vox - Stranger Things season 1: news and episode reviewshttps://cdn.vox-cdn.com/community_logos/52517/voxv.png2017-10-25T16:10:01-04:00http://www.vox.com/rss/stream/121662772017-10-25T16:10:01-04:002017-10-25T16:10:01-04:00How Stranger Things got its retro title sequence
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<img alt="Stranger Things’ logo drafts" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/XeNZv2vB4ex47fSJMso4TTrjies=/150x0:1770x1215/1310x983/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/57321159/plain.0.0.jpg" />
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<p>Behind the old-school style in the opening credits.</p> <p id="rS258m">Back for a highly anticipated second season, Netflix’s <a href="https://www.vox.com/2016/8/8/12402236/stranger-things-season-1-netflix-reviews-recaps"><em>Stranger Things</em></a> does an impressive job remixing and referencing <a href="http://www.vox.com/2016/8/5/12380080/stranger-things-80s-spielberg-references-video">a whole lot of ’80s classics</a>. But the show’s tone owes a lot to the striking credits sequence that follows every episode’s cold open.</p>
<p id="JL8xX9">To give the show its retro opening look, production studio <a href="https://www.imaginaryforces.com/">Imaginary Forces</a> actually went back to an old-fashioned credits-making process. The team printed out the main logo on a type of film called <a href="https://www.npg.org.uk/collections/explore/glossary-of-art-terms/kodalith">Kodalith</a> and set up camera tests to see what it looked like when light passed through the film sheet. Using those shots as references, they then animated the sequence digitally.</p>
<p id="wtxibw">The logo itself (designed by the <a href="http://www.contendco.com/work/stranger-things/">content agency Contend</a>) was based off novel covers that <em>Stranger Things</em> creators Matt and Ross Duffer collected. The final result — riffing somewhere between Stephen King’s <a href="http://booksandnachos.com/images/Covers/DeadZoneBookCover.jpg"><em>The Dead Zone</em></a> and Nick Sharman’s <a href="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/91Gja7wzq%2BL.jpg"><em>The Cats</em></a><em> </em>— uses ITC Benguiat, a vaguely art nouveau font that has appeared on everything from <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Choose_Your_Own_Adventure"><em>Choose Your Own Adventure</em></a> books to a <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uQ2Ht2naHb8">1987 album by the Smiths</a>.</p>
<p id="LYqQPv">And if you want to make your own, you can use this <a href="http://makeitstranger.com/">customized title tool</a> by the creative studio Nelson Cash to write anything in the Stranger Things style. </p>
<p id="XrL1ok"><em>You can find all of </em><a href="http://bit.ly/voxyoutube"><em>Vox's videos on YouTube</em></a><em> and subscribe for the latest.</em></p>
https://www.vox.com/videos/2017/10/25/16544860/stranger-things-logo-intro-fontChristophe Haubursin2017-02-06T12:30:00-05:002017-02-06T12:30:00-05:00Stranger Things season 2: here’s everything we know
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<img alt="Stranger Things" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/NQIVHZTQgNfOMpu4rPLoadjG37A=/0x1:1797x1349/1310x983/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/50719193/ST_107-108_Unit_0754_R_CROP.0.jpg" />
<figcaption>Netflix</figcaption>
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<p id="tuA8UH"><em><span class="author-1074"> </span><a href="http://www.vox.com/2016/8/8/12402236/stranger-things-season-netflix" class="author-1074">Stranger Things</a></em><span class="author-1074"> season two is <a href="http://www.vox.com/2016/8/31/12728314/stranger-things-season-2/in/12166277">really happening</a>, and we now have <a target="_blank" href="http://www.vox.com/2017/2/5/14518164/stranger-things-season-2-trailer-netflix">a teaser trailer and a premiere date</a> — Halloween — to prove it.</span></p>
<p id="mg5ASa"><span class="author-1074">The </span>'80s-set Netflix thriller was one of the most<span> </span><a href="http://www.vox.com/2016/8/2/12328900/stranger-things-netflix-review-emotions/in/12166277">talked-about</a><span> </span><a href="http://www.vox.com/2016/7/17/12201098/stranger-things-review-netflix-winona-ryder/in/12166277">TV shows</a><span> </span><a href="http://www.vox.com/2016/8/10/12416672/stranger-things-netflix-review-original-story/in/12166277">of last summer</a><span>, in part due to </span><a target="_blank" href="http://www.vox.com/2016/8/10/12416672/stranger-things-netflix-review-original-story">its nostalgic appeal</a> and heavy reliance on <a target="_blank" href="http://www.vox.com/2016/8/5/12380080/stranger-things-80s-spielberg-references-video">references and homages to classic '80s horror and sci-fi</a><span>. And from the looks of the new trailer, </span><span>which dropped during the Super Bowl, the show's homage-heavy feel will continue apace. As my colleague Todd VanDerWerff wrote, "i</span><span>f you were wondering where the show will be going, the answer seems clear: </span><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0075860/?ref_=nv_sr_1"><em>Close Encounters of the Third Kind</em></a><span>, by way of H.P. Lovecraft."</span></p>
<p id="ZVpd51"><span class="author-1074">But that's only scratching the surface. Since news of <i>Stranger Things</i>' renewal first broke, the show’s cast, creators, and producers have dropped quite a lot of info about what to expec</span><span class="author-322">t, from</span><span class="author-1074"> plot details</span><span class="author-322"> to</span><span class="author-1074"> several new characters.</span></p>
<p id="nEAWYV"><span class="author-1074">Here’s what we know</span><span class="author-322"> so far</span><span class="author-1074">.</span></p>
<h3>The show will air on or around Halloween 2017</h3>
<p>The teaser trailer revealed that Season 2 of the series will air on Halloween of this year. That's a wait of a few extra months, given that the first season aired during summer. But given how dependent this series is on '80s horror tropes — even the teaser channels Ghostbusters<i> </i>and some scary <i>Close Encounters </i>with mysterious tentacle monsters — it makes sense as an air date.</p>
<p>Plus, a Halloween air date gives us more time to anticipate, and makes the show's rich debt to John Carpenter that much clearer.</p>
<h3>Season 2 will be "bigger and darker" — and may have some contemporary relevance</h3>
<p id="vL3RUF"><em class="author-322">Stranger Things </em><span class="author-322">d</span><span class="author-1074">irector and executive producer </span><a class="author-1074" href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0506613/">Shawn Levy</a><span class="author-1074"> recently told </span><span class="author-833"><a href="http://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2017/01/stranger-things-season-2-millie-bobby-brown">Vanity Fair</a> </span><span class="author-1074">that the </span><span class="author-322">show’s </span><span class="author-1074">second season</span><span class="author-322"> will </span><span class="author-833">double down</span><span class="author-1074"> on all the themes of season</span><span class="author-322"> one</span><span class="author-1074">, describing it as "bigger and potentially darker in its stakes."</span></p>
<p id="PehIPc"><span class="author-1074">But he also added the intriguing footnote that season two is about "the struggle to reclaim normalcy and maybe the impossibility of it."</span></p>
<p id="GrCIbB"><span class="author-1074">Given that season one ended with the town of Hawkins, Indiana</span><span class="author-833">,</span><span class="author-1074"> settling back into an uneasy routine after battling a giant supernatural monster from another dimension, Levy could be speaking in a purely nonallegorical sense. But it's also possible, given how much <a href="http://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2016/11/21/13664922/trump-normalization-dictator">the question of what is "normal"</a> has been on the minds of the American public lately, that Levy was speaking to broader concerns. Could </span><em class="author-1074">Stranger Things</em><span class="author-1074"> season two have an unexpected political relevance?</span></p>
<h3>Season one’s creative team and entire ensemble cast are returning — two of them with bigger roles</h3>
<p id="xD5Xl8"><span class="author-322"><em>Stranger Things</em>’ creative team,</span><span class="author-1074"> composed of '80s kids </span><a class="author-1074" href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1819972/">Matt</a><span class="author-1074"> and </span><a class="author-1074" href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1819973/">Ross Duffer</a><span class="author-1074">, will be back for the new season, as will producers Levy and </span><a class="author-1074" href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm2950264/">Dan Cohen</a><span class="author-1074">. Levy and the Duffers have said that season two will be very similar to season one in aesthetic, tone, pace, and the way the show focuses on its characters. Several of the show's season one writers </span><a class="author-322" href="http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/live-feed/stranger-things-season-2-details-924758">will also be back</a><span class="author-322">.</span></p>
<p id="q9tiBJ"><span class="author-1074">The main ensemble cast is returning</span><span class="author-322">, too</span><span class="author-1074">. On November 4, the </span><em class="author-1074">Stranger Things</em><span class="author-1074"> Twitter account shared s</span><span class="author-322">eason two’s</span><span class="author-1074"> first official cast photo — upside down in a cheeky homage to the show's alternate dimension.</span></p>
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<script charset="utf-8" src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js"></script>
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
<p dir="ltr" lang="vi">sƃuıɥʇɹǝƃuɐɹʇs#<br>ɹɐǝʎ ʇxǝu noʎ ǝǝs<br>uoıʇɔnpoɹd uı ʞɔɐq <a href="https://t.co/jYd1tDsPRi">pic.twitter.com/jYd1tDsPRi</a></p>
— Stranger Things (@Stranger_Things) <a href="https://twitter.com/Stranger_Things/status/794585018085478400">November 4, 2016</a>
</blockquote>
<p>Here's what that first cast photo looks like right-side up:</p>
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<img alt=" " data-mask-text="false" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/Qka15OBUGyxYt-IPh_ksolIjjCs=/800x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/7409179/stranger-things.0.jpg">
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</p>
<p id="R14CR1"><span class="author-322">The photo reveals that <em>Stranger Things</em>' lovable ensemble of teens and preteens is returning in force, including <a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm5611121/">Millie Bobby Brown</a> as Eleven. Initially, Ross Duffer <a href="http://www.ew.com/article/2016/08/31/stranger-things-season-2-details-duffer-brothers">hedged</a> on</span><span class="author-1074"> whether she’d be back, but TV Line has since <a href="http://tvline.com/2016/11/01/stranger-things-millie-bobby-brown-returning-season-2-eleven-netflix/">reported</a> that Eleven will definitely return in season two — and most likely as a series regular.</span></p>
<p id="Gjt7hn"><span class="author-1074">Two of our heroes will be enjoying more screen time in season two: <a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm6907855/">Noah Schnapp</a>, who plays season one Demogorgon-bait Will Byers, and <a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm6564737/">Joe Keery</a>, who plays Nancy Byers's boyfriend Steve, have been <a href="http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/live-feed/stranger-things-season-2-cast-938431">upgraded to regular status</a> for season two.</span></p>
<h3 id="EAXwOR"><span class="author-1074">There will be at least three new kid characters</span></h3>
<p id="5Nx2K3"><span class="author-1074">As you can see in the photo above, season two also brings new additions to the group: <a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm5584750/">Sadie Sink</a> and <a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm4223882/">Dacre Montgomery</a> are shown at opposite ends of the tableau. </span></p>
<p id="WHvWsf"><span class="author-1074">A casting call obtained by <a href="http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/live-feed/stranger-things-season-2-meet-three-new-characters-925040">the Hollywood Reporter</a> in September revealed that the roles that eventually went to Sink and Montgomery were for two new series regular characters named Max and </span><span class="author-833">Billy</span><span class="author-1074">. Max and Billy</span><span class="author-833"> </span><span class="author-1074">are step-siblings: Max (Sink) is a tough, tomboyish teenage girl, around age 13. Billy (Montgomery) is her older brother, a rebellious, edgy 17-year-old who’s rumored to have killed someone in the past. He’s described as the kind of kid who drinks and drives a black Camaro.</span></p>
<p id="6SkZC4"><span class="author-1074">Max is described as being "good on a skateboard" and having "a complicated history," in part because of her relationship with her brother, whose "violent and unpredictable nature" apparently comes out at home.</span><span class="author-322"> Season two </span><span class="author-1074">will undoubtedly explore their dynamic — though Billy, who’s reportedly only a </span><em class="author-1074">potential</em><span class="author-1074"> series regular, may not be around that much.</span></p>
<p id="yFzyfp"><span class="author-322">The casting call also mentioned a third character, Roman, who’s really intriguing. Roman’s gender and ethnicity initially weren't specified; the part <a href="http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/live-feed/stranger-things-season-2-cast-sean-astin-paul-reiser-linnea-berthelsen-944809">ultimately went</a> to Danish newcomer <a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm7535433/">Linnea Berthelsen</a>. Roman is an older teen with a traumatic past who has a mysterious connection to the experiments at the research facility. The initial casting description was quite vague, in keeping with the character’s cryptic, vengeance-driven purpose:</span></p>
<blockquote>
<p id="6b9vcD"><span class="author-1074">Roman, meanwhile, is described as a male or a female of any ethnicity between the ages of 30 and 38. After growing up homeless with a drug-addicted mother, he or she suffered a great loss at an early age and has been seeking revenge ever since. Roman is ultimately an outsider who doesn't understand how to connect with people.</span></p>
</blockquote>
<p id="x9DRAz"><span class="author-1074">This casting description has led some </span><em class="author-1074">Stranger Things </em><span class="author-1074">fans to speculate that the role is intended to be a kind of monster hunter archetype: a loner passing through town, seeking vengeance for a past transgression against her family. (Think </span><em class="author-1074">Supernatural</em><span class="author-1074">’s road-tripping brothers, but with less family drama and more monster killing.)</span></p>
<h3>New<span class="author-1074"> adult</span><span class="author-322"> cast members include Paul Reiser and Sean Astin in roles that call back to the '80s, and Brett Gelman as a conspiracy theorist</span>
</h3>
<p id="XmAdlX"><span class="author-322">The teens aren’t the only new faces. Former Goonie <a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000276/">Sean Astin</a> (<a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0120737"><em>Lord of the Rings</em></a>) <a href="http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/live-feed/stranger-things-season-2-cast-sean-astin-paul-reiser-linnea-berthelsen-944809">will return</a> to his '80s roots to play Bob Newby, "a kind-hearted nerd" who grew up in Hawkins, went to school with Will Byers'</span><span class="author-833">s</span><span class="author-322"> mom Joyce (<a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000213/">Winona Ryder</a>) and the local chief of police, and now manages the local Radio Shack.</span></p>
<p id="bm6Aj5"><span class="author-1074">Meanwhile, in keeping with what will be season two's </span><strong><a class="author-1074" href="http://www.ew.com/article/2016/08/31/stranger-things-season-2-details-duffer-brothers">previously announced</a></strong><strong class="author-1074"> </strong><span class="author-1074">homage to classic action-horror <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0090605/"><em>Aliens</em></a> — more on that below— the show's producers have cast <a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001663/">Paul Reiser</a>, who played the unforgettable villain Burke in the 1986 film. Burke was a smarmy bureaucratic shill for an evil research corporation, and on <em>Stranger Things</em>, Reiser will play a Department of Energy bigwig who sweeps in to Hawkins to hush up the events of season one. The more things change</span><span class="author-833">…</span></p>
<p id="DhCYlL"><span class="author-1074">Finally, actor and comedian Brett Gelman (<a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1728860/?ref_=nm_knf_t4"><em>Eagleheart</em></a>) <a href="http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/live-feed/stranger-things-enlists-brett-gelman-season-2-948778">will join</a> </span><em class="author-1074">Stranger Things</em><span class="author-1074">' growing season two ensemble as a disgraced journalist named Murray Bauman who now chases conspiracy theories. One of those theories</span><strong class="author-1074"> </strong><span class="author-1074">will lead Bauman to Hawkins to look into a cold case that might just have to do with the Upside Down.</span></p>
<h3 id="MeNoxj"><span class="author-1074">Barb is gone but not forgotten</span></h3>
<p id="pZqxYF"><span class="author-1074">For the doubters in the room who've been holding out hope that fan-favorite character Barb will be back, </span><em class="author-1074">Stranger Things</em><span class="author-1074">' New York Comic Con panel, held on October 7, had disappointing news. </span><a class="author-1074" href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1092086/">David Harbour</a><span class="author-1074">, who plays police chief Jim Hopper, made it clear she won't return: "I can assure you that Barb is very much dead." </span></p>
<p id="VHLBWz"><span class="author-1074">But Harbour also recently appeared on a <em>Stranger Things </em>panel held during a fan-convention cruise called <a href="http://www.fan2sea.com/">Fan2Sea</a>. While there, he dropped some intriguing information about season two's plot. </span></p>
<p id="NPXbmf"><span class="author-1074">According to Hollywood Life, Harbour <a href="http://hollywoodlife.com/2017/01/21/stranger-things-spoilers-season-2-sean-astin-winona-ryder-fan2sea-panel/">said</a> that Barb will continue to play a major part in the narrative, with Barb's best friend Nancy doing her best to make sure people remember her.</span></p>
<p id="FhyPQM"><span class="author-1074">"The question and the feelings that Nancy has that no one ever cares about her friend Barb are very much present in the beginning of the season," he said, noting that "Justice for Barb" would be a theme.</span></p>
<h3 id="6gY8qv"><span class="author-322">Will's sexuality may remain an unanswered question</span></h3>
<p id="nQvili"><span class="author-322">In </span><em class="author-322">Stranger Things</em><span class="author-322">' first season, 12-year-old Will Byers was the frequent subject of homophobic harassment and schoolyard bullying. Though we don't know Will's orientation, much </span><a class="author-322" href="http://www.inquisitr.com/3602450/stranger-things-fan-theories-will-byers-gay-noah-schnapp-social-media-debate/">speculation</a><span class="author-322"> and </span><a class="author-322" href="http://www.advocate.com/television/2016/7/26/homophobia-real-monster-stranger-things">commentary</a><span class="author-322"> has been devoted to this potential aspect of his character.</span></p>
<p id="eBCXp5"><span class="author-322">After watching the conversation build, the actor who plays Will, Noah Schnapp, who is also 12, decided to weigh in himself. In an Instagram post, he </span><a class="author-322" href="https://www.instagram.com/p/BLoV3nyDm1x/">wrote</a><span class="author-322"> that the character's sexuality was "beside the point," that hopefully everyone could "relate to being different," and that he hoped </span><em class="author-322">Stranger Things</em><span class="author-322"> will never actually answer the question.</span></p>
<p id="WYM7hJ"><span class="author-322">"A good book, or a good show leaves a lot of unanswered questions but makes you think," he said.</span></p>
<h3 id="jqixdJ"><span class="author-322">Season two’s nine episodes already have titles</span></h3>
<blockquote>
<p id="DIZ8Hw"><span class="author-1074">The adventure continues. Stranger Things 2 is coming 2017. </span><a class="author-1074" href="https://t.co/3H4WR3DGEj">pic.twitter.com/3H4WR3DGEj</a></p>
<p id="ANRPvf"><span class="author-1074">— Stranger Things (@Stranger_Things) </span><a class="author-1074" href="https://twitter.com/Stranger_Things/status/770961890985938944">August 31, 2016</a></p>
</blockquote>
<p id="VHAUKL"><span class="author-1074">In <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aXWG_kKDZlY">a video</a> Netflix released on August 31, fans were treated to a sneak peek at the episode titles for all nine episodes of</span><span class="author-322"> season two,</span><span class="author-1074"> which will feature one more episode than the eight-episode first season:</span></p>
<ul>
<li id="dcNi4D"><span class="author-1074">"MadMax"</span></li>
<li id="UE2xXi"><span class="author-1074">"The Boy Who Came Back to Life"</span></li>
<li id="RLINXw"><span class="author-1074">"The Pumpkin Patch"</span></li>
<li id="K3shjZ"><span class="author-1074">"The Palace"</span></li>
<li id="u2I65d"><span class="author-1074">"The Storm"</span></li>
<li id="QgqQXJ"><span class="author-1074">"The Pollywog"</span></li>
<li id="XXK4Zm"><span class="author-1074">"The Secret Cabin"</span></li>
<li id="6rsEVw"><span class="author-1074">"The Brain"</span></li>
<li id="rntX9M"><span class="author-1074">"The Lost Brother"</span></li>
</ul>
<p id="HTx6j1"><span class="author-322">Most of these titles seem to bear directly on the plot. </span><span class="author-833">"</span><span class="author-322">MadMax</span><span class="author-833">"</span><span class="author-322"> seems to refer to the new character Montgomery plays, while "The Boy Who Came Back to Life" refers to an in-show <a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/StrangerThings/comments/507q3c/spoiler_newspaper_clipping_from_end_of_season/">newspaper headline</a> about Will Byers’s miraculous return from the Upside Down in season one.</span></p>
<p id="iKtd4O"><span class="author-1074">What’s clear is that the titles seem to have the '80s theme firmly in mind, from the direct reference to <a href="http://www.vox.com/2015/5/15/8612481/mad-max-review-fury-road">the film franchise <em>Mad Max</em></a> to more oblique references to horror tropes found in slasher movies and films like </span><em class="author-1074">Evil Dead — </em><span class="author-1074">cabins in the woods, characters coming back from the dead, and scary things lurking in fields and fog.</span></p>
<h3 id="0FaqqE"><span class="author-322"><em>Stranger Things</em>’ creators are thinking of season two as a sequel that begins one year after the events of season one</span></h3>
<p id="UpSkHd"><span class="author-1074">The new season will pick up in the fall of 1984, a year after the events of </span><em class="author-1074">Stranger Things</em><span class="author-1074"> season one. O</span><span class="author-322">ne of the reasons the show is jumping forward in time is to keep up with the real-life growth of its younger actors. The result, <a href="http://www.ign.com/articles/2016/08/02/stranger-things-creators-on-how-season-1-ended-and-where-season-2-will-go">according to</a> Ross Duffer, is that "[t]hese characters have changed and the audience has to sort of fill in those gaps of what went on in that year."</span></p>
<p id="Trs4ZX"><span class="author-1074">Though Netflix’s original renewal announcement touted a second season of </span><em class="author-1074">Stranger Things</em><span class="author-1074">, </span><span class="author-322">the company</span><span class="author-1074"> is being billed </span><span class="author-322">the season</span><span class="author-1074"> as </span><em class="author-1074">Stranger Things 2</em><span class="author-1074">. This implies the second season is more like a second </span><em class="author-1074">series.</em></p>
<p id="UQqGlU"><span class="author-322">That is, it’s more like a sequel than a continuation of season one. A recent <a href="http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/live-feed/stranger-things-season-2-meet-three-new-characters-925040">logline</a> for the new season suggests that <em>Stranger Things</em> will be telling new stories with some of the same characters rather than necessarily picking up the old story:</span></p>
<blockquote>
<p id="NtnWJ4"><span class="author-1074">"When terrifying supernatural forces once again begin to affect Hawkins, they realize Will's disappearance was only the beginning. And so the adventure continues..."</span></p>
</blockquote>
<p id="axMWT3"><span class="author-322">In <a href="http://www.slashfilm.com/stranger-things-shawn-levy-dan-cohen-interview/2/">an interview with /Film</a>, Levy described the trajectory of season two as "continu[ing] with this set of characters while introducing a few critical key new ones next season" and "unearthing new problems."</span></p>
<p id="I3bcfQ"><span class="author-1074">But there will also be unanswered threads from season</span><span class="author-322"> one</span><span class="author-1074"> that the show continues to develop —</span><strong class="author-1074"> </strong><span class="author-1074">including the following three, as gleaned from the creators in several <a href="http://www.ew.com/article/2016/08/31/stranger-things-season-2-details-duffer-brothers">recent</a> <a href="http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/live-feed/stranger-things-season-2-details-924758">interviews</a>:</span></p>
<ul>
<li id="wwXKTx"> <span class="author-1074">Why did Hopper get into that mysterious car in </span><span class="author-322">the </span><span class="author-1074">season one final</span><span class="author-322">e</span><span class="author-1074">?</span> </li>
<li id="5wBgAJ"><span class="author-1074">What was Will coughing up in the bathroom?</span></li>
<li id="BV079A"><span class="author-1074">Was the Demogorgon that Eleven defeated the only one of its kind, or are there more lurking in the Upside Down?</span></li>
</ul>
<p> </p>
<figure class="e-image">
<img alt="Stranger Things" data-mask-text="false" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/SAAzRXHPXmwCs0JKS_8UE5bVyD0=/800x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/6801723/103_013r.jpg">
<cite>Netflix</cite>
</figure>
<h3 id="oM8Dvm"></h3>
<p> </p>
<h3 id="u5f3l3">
<span class="author-1074">Season </span><span class="author-322">two</span><span class="author-1074"> will feature an undercurrent of romance and jealousy</span>
</h3>
<p id="fXxPXX"><span class="author-1074">Love is in the air for some of </span><em class="author-1074">Stranger Things</em><span class="author-1074">' adult characters — but not everyone is happy about it. Harbour <a href="http://hollywoodlife.com/2017/01/21/stranger-things-spoilers-season-2-sean-astin-winona-ryder-fan2sea-panel/">also said</a> during the Fan2Sea panel that Astin’s new character Bob Newby will be Joyce's new boyfriend. But according to Harbour, Chief Hopper is none too happy about that.</span></p>
<p id="ybjcbn"><span class="author-1074">"We have Sean Astin … he’s Winona’s new boyfriend — much to the chagrin [of] the </span><span class="author-833">c</span><span class="author-1074">hief of </span><span class="author-833">p</span><span class="author-1074">olice," Harbour said.</span></p>
<h3 id="oM8Dvm">
<span class="author-322">The show </span><span class="author-1074">will draw</span><span class="author-322"> new</span><span class="author-1074"> inspiration from George Lucas and James Cameron</span>
</h3>
<p id="Ip8cgj"><span class="author-1074">The first season of </span><em class="author-1074">Stranger Things</em><span class="author-1074"> notably <a href="http://www.vox.com/2016/8/5/12380080/stranger-things-80s-spielberg-references-video/in/12166277">drew inspiration</a> from the works and ideas of Steven Spielberg, John Carpenter, and Stephen King. The second season, according to the Duffers, will draw inspiration from '80s action-adventure sequels — specifically, </span><em class="author-1074">Temple of Doom</em><span class="author-1074">, </span><em class="author-1074">The Empire Strikes Back</em><span class="author-1074">, </span><em class="author-1074">Aliens</em><span class="author-1074">, and </span><em class="author-1074">Terminator 2.</em></p>
<p id="BOzHHW"><span class="author-1074">The first two of these films are famous sequels by Spielberg and his frequent '80s collaborator George Lucas. The others introduce a new influence in the form of James Cameron. Speaking to Entertainment Weekly, Matt Duffer <a href="http://www.ew.com/article/2016/08/31/stranger-things-season-2-details-duffer-brothers">elaborated</a>:</span></p>
<blockquote>
<p id="dFr5JE"><span class="author-1074">I guess a lot of this is James Cameron. But he’s brilliant. And I think one of the reasons his sequels are as successful as they are is he makes them feel very different without losing what we loved about the original. So I think we kinda looked to him and what he does and tried to capture a little bit of the magic of his work.</span></p>
</blockquote>
<p id="mz5s96"><span class="author-1074">In other words, it sounds like anyone looking wanting to know how </span><em class="author-1074">Stranger Things</em><span class="author-1074"> season two will expand on season one should go watch Ridley Scott’s </span><em class="author-1074">Alien</em><span class="author-1074"> — famed for its mysteries, cosmic horrors, and suspense with gory payoffs — and then compare it to Cameron’s </span><em class="author-1074">Aliens</em><span class="author-1074">. The beloved sequel opts for more blockbuster action sequences, more character development, and more focus on the corrupt corporation whose greed provoked the clash with alien life to begin with. If that sounds similar to the strange <a href="http://strangerthings.wikia.com/wiki/Hawkins_National_Laboratory">research facility</a> doing barbaric science experiments and tampering with the Upside Down in </span><em class="author-1074">Stranger Things</em><span class="author-1074"> season one, it should.</span></p>
<h3>How Stranger Things got its retro title sequence</h3>
<div class="volume-video" id="volume-placement-3905" data-volume-placement="article" data-analytics-placement="article:middle" data-volume-id="10816" data-volume-uuid="e743590bd" data-analytics-label="How Stranger Things got its retro title sequence | 10816" data-analytics-action="volume:view:article:middle" data-analytics-viewport="video"></div>
https://www.vox.com/2016/9/7/12771886/stranger-things-season-2-what-we-knowAja Romano2017-01-29T22:56:33-05:002017-01-29T22:56:33-05:00Stranger Things' political SAG Awards speech was about standing up to real-life bullies and monsters
<figure>
<img alt="The 23rd Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards - Show" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/9W01cdeuNPY9MEFEHrP_dGzEPfY=/0x15:5382x4052/1310x983/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/52981271/633055510.0.jpg" />
<figcaption>Photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>“We will shelter freaks and outcasts — those who have no hope. We will get past the lies. We will hunt monsters.”</p> <p id="wc6IKz">One of the biggest surprises at the 2017 SAG Awards was the cast of<em> </em>Netflix’s <a href="http://www.vox.com/2016/8/8/12402236/stranger-things-season-netflix"><em>Stranger Things</em></a><em> </em>winning Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series over the casts of shows like <em>The Crown</em> and <em>Game of Thrones</em>. But perhaps <em>the</em> biggest surprise was the acceptance speech that followed. </p>
<p id="AFr71K"><a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1092086/?ref_=tt_cl_t2">David Harbour</a>, who plays Chief of Police Jim Hopper on the 1980s-set <em>Stranger Things</em>, accepted the show’s trophy while backed by his fellow cast members. He used the opportunity to deliver the most unexpected and thrilling speech of the night, offering a sly commentary on the current state of American and global politics.</p>
<p id="vxZCeg">“In light of all that's going on in the world today, it's difficult to celebrate the already celebrated <em>Stranger Things</em>. But this award from you, who take your craft seriously and earnestly believe, like me, that great acting can change the world, is a call to arms from our fellow craftsmen and women to go deeper, and through our art to battle against fear, self-centeredness, and exclusivity of our predominantly narcissistic culture,” Harbour shouted, assessing the <a href="http://www.vox.com/2017/1/28/14424528/trump-refugee-ban-impact">post-Trump America</a> that he has observed, and praising the power of art to transcend it. </p>
<p id="wTeZfJ">Though he never mentioned Trump directly, he called for unity, asking his fellow actors to, “through our craft, cultivate a more empathetic and understanding society by revealing intimate truths that serve as a forceful reminder to folks that when they feel broken and afraid and tired, they are not alone.”</p>
<p id="8uUpuI">Watching Harbour unleash those words and build momentum as the crowd cheered him on was like watching thunder roll in before the storm. His speech just got bigger and more powerful as he tied <em>S</em><em>tranger Things</em>’ fictional, nostalgic tale of demogorgons and upside-down worlds to everything we’ve seen in 2017 thus far, including President Trump’s sweeping <a href="http://www.vox.com/2017/1/28/14425354/donald-trump-cruelty">executive order on immigration</a>. He even offered a definitive answer to a recent debate over whether it’s okay to <a href="http://www.vox.com/identities/2017/1/26/14369388/richard-spencer-punched-alt-right-trump">punch a white nationalist in the face</a>.</p>
<p id="xz1cq9">“We are united, in that we are all human beings, and we are all together on this horrible, painful, joyous, exciting, and mysterious ride that is being alive. Now, as we act in the continuing narrative of <em>Stranger Things</em>, we 1983 Midwesterners will repel bullies,” Harbour said, bringing down the house as the crowd rose for a standing ovation. “We will shelter freaks and outcasts — those who have no hope. We will get past the lies. We will hunt monsters. And when we are at a loss amidst the hypocrisy and casual violence of certain individuals and institutions, we will, as per Chief Jim Hopper, punch some people in the face when they seek to destroy the meek and the disenfranchised and the marginalized. And we will do it all with soul, with heart, and with joy. We thank you for this responsibility.”</p>
https://www.vox.com/2017/1/29/14434726/stranger-things-sag-awards-speech-politics-trumpAlex Abad-Santos2016-08-31T11:50:03-04:002016-08-31T11:50:03-04:00Watch: Netflix teases Stranger Things season 2, coming in 2017
<figure>
<img alt="" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/m0FEwgnKjmjQjEUedqcfZXBI2Kk=/0x0:1797x1348/1310x983/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/50591115/ST_107-108_Unit_0754_R_CROP.0.jpg" />
</figure>
<p id="fbWdJP">During a blockbuster-rich summer that saw X-Men fighting the Apocalypse, <a target="_blank" href="http://www.vox.com/2016/8/8/12395474/suicide-squad-not-total-complete-failure"><i>Suicide Squad</i></a> trying to bring a dark edge to the DC Cinematic universe, and a <a target="_blank" href="http://www.vox.com/2016/5/5/11574504/captain-america-civil-war-movie-review">Captain America saga </a>causing a rift within the Avengers, the <a href="http://www.vox.com/2016/7/17/12201098/stranger-things-review-netflix-winona-ryder">biggest superhero/sci-fi success story of them all</a> was Netflix’s <em><a href="http://www.vox.com/2016/8/8/12402236/stranger-things-season-netflix">Stranger Things</a></em>, a little-known show about kids, dungeons, a Demogorgon, and telekinesis.</p>
<p id="ATmuOL">With a fraction of a fraction of the fanfare and hype that preceded Marvel and DC’s summer releases — and that’s if we’re being generous — <em>Stranger Things</em> became the breakaway hit of the season.</p>
<p></p>
<div class="chorus-snippet s-related" data-analytics-action="link:related" data-analytics-category="article">
<span class="s-related__title">Related</span> <a target="_blank" href="http://www.vox.com/2016/8/2/12328900/stranger-things-netflix-review-emotions/in/12166277">How Stranger Things captures the feel of watching '80s movies</a>
</div>
<p>And now, with Labor Day upon us, Netflix has announced the no-brainer decision we all knew was coming: <i>Stranger Things</i> will return for a second season in 2017. The streaming service broke the news with a cryptic announcement video (above).</p>
<p><em>Stranger Things </em><span>season two will run for nine episodes; it does not yet have a specific release date.</span></p>
<p id="oAwECp">The show’s producers, Shawn Levy and Dan Cohen, have said in interviews that it will be a continuation of what happened in season one and follow the same set of characters while expanding the show’s scope and adding new mysteries. <a href="http://www.slashfilm.com/stranger-things-shawn-levy-dan-cohen-interview/2/">They told Slashfilm</a>:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>[T]he plan is to continue with this set of characters while introducing a few critical key new ones next season. So I’ll just say that a lot of the big mysteries get answered at the end of Season 1, but we are very much kind of unearthing new problems and questions that merit future stories and future investigation in the most enjoyable way. So we are in love with our cast and our characters.</p>
</blockquote>
<p id="mVZkYl">The creative team behind season one, Matt and Ross Duffer, a.k.a. the Duffer brothers, will return to helm season two.<strong> </strong>We can only hope they bring Eleven with them.</p>
https://www.vox.com/2016/8/31/12728314/stranger-things-season-2Alex Abad-Santos2016-08-25T11:10:02-04:002016-08-25T11:10:02-04:00 Watch: Stranger Things and Parks and Rec take place in the same universe
<figure>
<img alt="" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/qcNjtmcscYj9uIGZcm0LizqZhhg=/129x0:1306x883/1310x983/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/50520715/Screen_Shot_2016-08-25_at_10.22.49_AM.0.0.png" />
<figcaption>The Late Late Show with James Corden</figcaption>
</figure>
<p id="77Iwzi">Ever since I fell madly in love with the Netflix series <em><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt4574334/?ref_=nv_sr_1">Stranger Things</a></em>, I’ve been tormented by certain unanswered questions. Sure, I’m curious about what happened to Eleven, but here’s the one that’s really driving me nuts: Does <em>Stranger Things </em>take place in the same world as <em><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1266020/?ref_=nv_sr_1">Parks and Recreation</a></em>? And if so, is <em>Stranger Things</em>’ Steve the father of <em>Parks and Rec</em>’s Jean-Ralphio?</p>
<figure class="e-image">
<img alt="Jean-Ralphio from Parks and Rec and Steve Harrington from Stranger Things" data-mask-text="false" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/qOWmjImoV7PVgpJKekY6dWTvsZo=/800x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/6992597/1472134740038.png">
<cite>Left, NBC. Right, Netflix</cite>
<figcaption>The resemblance is uncanny.</figcaption>
</figure>
<p id="ooBFWd">Luckily, Ben Schwartz, the actor who played Jean-Ralphio, is here to set my mind at ease — and the answer is an unqualified yes.</p>
<p id="11KNvT">In a web exclusive for <em>The Late Late Show with James Corden</em>, Schwartz explains everything:</p>
<p id="Xi7cHZ">"Jean-Ralphio probably lived 50 percent of his life in the Upside Down," Schwartz said, "but he was super cool<em> </em>there. Like, <em>he ran that shit</em>. He was super friends with the monster. When he met the monster it was a little kid, so by the time it was a full-blown monster, they had like a dance together."</p>
<p id="fownsk">This theory does, of course, raise another important question: Is the reason that Jean-Ralphio was so attached to Tom Haverford, to the point of dance-routine-based friendship, that Tom reminded him of the Demogorgon? If so, does that mean that the Demogorgon is secretly a thwarted entrepreneur?</p>
<p id="GrxPkU">"I’m assuming there’s a 100 percent chance of me being on <em>Stranger Things </em>seasons two through 100," Schwartz concluded, and logically so. Personally, I don’t see how the Duffer brothers can pass up this opportunity to really delve into the mythology of the shared <em>Stranger Things</em>/<i>P</i><em>arks and Rec </em>universe.</p>
<hr>
<h3>How Stranger Things got its retro title sequence</h3>
<div data-analytics-viewport="video" data-analytics-action="volume:view:article:middle" data-analytics-label="How Stranger Things got its retro title sequence | 10816" data-volume-uuid="e743590bd" data-volume-id="10816" data-analytics-placement="article:middle" data-volume-placement="article" id="volume-placement-2337" class="volume-video"></div>
https://www.vox.com/2016/8/25/12639838/stranger-things-parks-recreation-jean-ralphio-steve-harrington-ben-schwartzConstance Grady2016-08-17T10:00:05-04:002016-08-17T10:00:05-04:00Stranger Things’ monster is terrifying. It’s also a distraction from the true villains.
<figure>
<img alt="The Demogorgon from Stranger Things." src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/l74Rohef27Yr4Dh3l5Me7HBXYfc=/97x0:928x623/1310x983/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/50410317/demogorgon.0.jpg" />
<figcaption>The Demogorgon from Stranger Things. | Netflix</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Critical focus on the show's 1980s homages comes at the cost of ignoring its larger sci-fi influences.</p> <p id="lBCi26">It’s safe to say that <em><a href="http://www.vox.com/2016/8/8/12402236/stranger-things-season-netflix">Stranger Things</a></em><em> </em>is the <a href="http://www.vox.com/2016/7/17/12201098/stranger-things-review-netflix-winona-ryder/in/12166277">surprise sci-fi hit</a> of the summer. In eight brief episodes, the Duffer brothers managed to craft a vision of 1980s Indiana that feels both familiar and expansive, complete with a stunning alternate dimension shot in murky gray-green, with flakes of decomposed … something falling softly over a skewed version of the world.</p>
<p></p>
<div data-analytics-category="article" data-analytics-action="link:related" class="chorus-snippet s-related">
<span class="s-related__title">Related</span> <a href="http://www.vox.com/2016/8/10/12416672/stranger-things-netflix-review-original-story/in/12166277">Stranger Things proves we don't want totally original stories. We want familiar ones.</a>
</div>
<p><span>In the weeks since </span><em>Stranger Things</em><span> dropped, guides to its deep roots in '80s pop culture have popped up all over the internet. But although the show’s reverence for the '80s is undeniable, critical focus on any single decade comes at the cost of ignoring the larger science fiction influences entangled in the show’s pop culture DNA.</span></p>
<p></p>
<div data-analytics-category="article" data-analytics-action="link:related" class="chorus-snippet s-related">
<span class="s-related__title">Related</span> <a href="http://www.vox.com/2016/8/5/12380080/stranger-things-80s-spielberg-references-video/in/12166277">This Stranger Things supercut shows how meticulous the show’s '80s references really are</a>
</div>
<p><em>Stranger Things</em>’<i> </i>'80s trappings are most apparent <a href="http://www.vox.com/2016/8/5/12380080/stranger-things-80s-spielberg-references-video/in/12166277">on a visual level</a>: A scene where Mike, Eleven, and their friends frantically bicycle away from a threatening fleet of government vans strongly summons Steven Spielberg’s <em>E.T.</em> But our first glimpse of the show’s supernatural monster is a spitting image of <em>Halloween</em>’s Michael Myers, when the monster pauses among the laundry lines, a hulking shadow on the brink of changing everything. <em>Halloween</em> is a classic horror flick — but because it came out in 1978, it’s been excluded from most <em>Stranger Things </em>supercuts.</p>
<p id="onq184">When it comes to the show’s supernatural monster, 1980s allusions are a particularly limiting lens through which to examine the complex threads of its science fiction genetics — starting with its name.</p>
<h3 id="8BhrQm">The roots of <i>Stranger Things’</i> monster mythology extend far beyond the '80s</h3>
<figure class="e-image">
<img alt="The Graboid from 1990’s Tremors." data-mask-text="false" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/FhcSH8o0hr1T5T9F-UauuQi7dTI=/800x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/6947535/graboidtremors.jpg">
<cite>Universal Studios</cite>
<figcaption>The Graboid from 1990’s <i>Tremors</i>.</figcaption>
</figure>
<p id="hPzCq4">Nicknamed the Demogorgon after a demon prince from <em>Dungeons & Dragons </em>(which rose to prominence in the late 1970s), the show’s lurking beast is linked to some of the oldest monster stories in existence. Sinister creatures dubbed "demogorgons" appear in texts including <a href="https://www.dartmouth.edu/~milton/reading_room/pl/book_2/text.shtml"><em>Paradise Lost</em></a><em> </em>and <a href="https://andromeda.rutgers.edu/~jlynch/Texts/prometheus.html"><em>Prometheus Unbound</em></a>, apparently inspired by a book written by 14th-century poet and author <a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Giovanni-Boccaccio">Giovanni Boccaccio</a>.</p>
<p id="mCOVz6">Etymological notes aside, the monster’s behavior ties it closely to iconic creatures from films of the 1970s and 1990s. Specifically, the Demogorgon could be the interdimensional love child of <em>Jaws</em> (1975) and <em>Tremors </em>(1990).</p>
<p id="wh7v8r">Like <em>Jaws</em>’ rogue great white and <em>Tremors</em>’ giant toothy sand worm (or "Graboid," if you want to get technical), the scariest thing about the Demogorgon is its ability to strike at any moment, from any direction. Like <em>Jaws</em>’ shark, the Demogorgon is lured by blood, which we learn in a visually striking scene where Barb’s hand, injured in a humiliating drinking game accident, drips vivid red blood into a backyard swimming pool.</p>
<p id="WAg3p0">And like <em>Tremors</em>’ Graboid, the Demogorgon’s tulip-shaped head is essentially a giant, yawning mouth, lined with layers of gnashing teeth. All three monsters are essentially built from the same parts, with some slight differences in cosmetic finish. The Atlantic Ocean isn’t so different from the Nevada desert or from the walls and ceiling of the Byerses' house; all three take on a head-spinning vastness when there is the possibility of unexpected violence erupting at every turn.</p>
<p><q class="center" aria-hidden="true">Critical focus on any single decade comes at the cost of ignoring the larger science fiction influences entangled in the show’s pop culture DNA</q></p>
<p id="wqy2Od">Beyond the physical elements of its predatory nature, <em>Stranger Things</em>’ Demogorgon also resonates with one of <em>The X-Files</em>’ creepiest creations: the horrifyingly pallid, sewer-dwelling flukeman featured in "The Host," which aired during the show’s second season in 1994.</p>
<p>A classic monster-of-the-week episode, "The Host" begins on a Russian ship a few miles off the coast of New Jersey. When a crew member is tasked with investigating the ship’s malfunctioning sewage system, he is abruptly yanked into the overflowing tank of wastewater — only to be found a few days later, his body half-eaten.</p>
<p id="ZMQXsv">The pattern repeats shortly after, when a Newark sewage worker is pulled underwater by a similar force. Unlike the Russian sailor, he manages to escape alive. But in the aftermath of the attack, he vomits blood while showering — plus a slippery silver fluke worm that slides out of his mouth and down the drain, back to the sewer where the Russian ship’s powerful flukeman now lurks. Ultimately, the flukeman turns out to be a horribly mutated fluke worm, its body scrambled by waves of radioactive energy thrown off by the Chernobyl meltdown.</p>
<p id="QO1K3D">All this should sound very familiar to viewers who’ve made it to the end of <em>Stranger Things.</em><strong> </strong>In the first season’s final scene, Will excuses himself from the dinner table to wash up. In the bathroom, unknown to his mother and brother, he grips the sink, horrified as the world rapidly flickers between reality and the Upside Down’s moldering chill.</p>
<p><span>Suddenly, he coughs violently, and what seems like it might be a panic attack becomes even more unnerving when he vomits a gleaming slug into the sink — the same kind that slithered out of Barb’s mouth after her death. The Upside Down is still inside him, and not just in an emotional sense.</span></p>
<h3 id="bzeG8L">The Demogorgon is ultimately a distraction from the show’s true villains</h3>
<figure class="e-image">
<img alt=" " data-mask-text="false" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/FPxCfVl1n7J55DnZ8gC9lSfUcYk=/800x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/6947569/103_017r.jpg">
<cite>Netflix</cite>
<figcaption>
<i>Stranger Things’</i> real bad guys are at the Department of Energy.</figcaption>
</figure>
<p id="YMcI3c">When <em>Stranger Things</em> returns for a (not yet official, all-but-certain) second season, it’s reasonable to expect the plot will deal, in part, with the suggestion that Will is now a vector for the Upside Down, possibly even hatching its creatures inside his body. In the heat of Joyce and Jim Hopper’s hunt for Will in the Upside Down, it was easy to assume that the vine that inserted itself down Will’s throat was somehow feeding on him — but in light of that fat slug, it seems that it may have been depositing something that will inevitably resurface.</p>
<p id="BjWN5u">All of these elements add up to a monster that is ultimately a distraction, a clever tertiary red herring that distracts from <em>Stranger Things</em>’ true villains: the mad scientists at the Department of Energy. The Demogorgon is at the heart of <em>Stranger Things</em>’ most suspenseful scenes, but it’s also a senseless beast that shows no particular ill will toward any of the characters.</p>
<p id="I35h45">Like <em>Tremors</em>’ Graboid or <em>Jaws</em>’ shark, the Demogorgon is really just hungry, and humans happen to be its favorite food. It appears, it destroys, and it disappears again, with none of the complicated motivations and histories that humans bring to every interaction.</p>
<p id="jRO6dX">That isn’t to say the Demogorgon isn’t an effective and frightening presence; on a functional level, the Demogorgon's dumb hunger and deep roots in monster mythology help keep <em>Stranger Things</em> from going off the rails. The show<em> </em>manages to serve <a href="http://www.vox.com/2016/8/10/12416672/stranger-things-netflix-review-original-story/in/12166277">pitch</a><a href="http://www.vox.com/2016/8/10/12416672/stranger-things-netflix-review-original-story/in/12166277">-</a><a href="http://www.vox.com/2016/8/10/12416672/stranger-things-netflix-review-original-story/in/12166277">perfect nostalgia</a> because it does little to challenge conventional thinking about the world, freely drawing on familiar small-town tropes and Cold War conspiracy theories.</p>
<p id="9mTjNK">By contrast, <em>Fringe</em> (another recent television show that explored interdimensionality) had <a href="http://www.vox.com/2016/1/18/10782236/fringe-fox">more sweeping ambitions</a> that ultimately bogged down the show in meticulous discussions of the fraying politics between its two parallel universes.</p>
<p id="mt0xWl">On a structural level, <em>Stranger Things</em>' Demogorgon displaces attention from the show’s most insidious evil. By popping through walls or thundering through otherwise quiet woods, the Demogorgon adds instant danger that a more somber examination of the Department of Energy’s abusive scientific experiments could never provide.</p>
<p id="BMga27">Similarly, <em>Jaws</em>’ rogue shark becomes the vastly <a href="http://www.vox.com/2015/3/30/8311209/jaws-breakdown-beach-scene">more enthralling symbol</a> of a drier battle between local officials who squabble over the relative value of public safety versus tourist dollars. The suspense these monsters generate gives both stories the latitude to dissect trickier moral dilemmas by keeping viewers engaged and terrified.</p>
<p id="zIYo3s"><em>Stranger Things</em> is a love letter to the '80s, but ignoring influences beyond the arbitrary borders of any single decade ignores one of the best aspects of science fiction: the way stories endlessly riff on each other to question or clarify our world.</p>
<p>Whether it’s a malfunctioning great white in 1975 New England or a Demogorgon in 2016, science fiction monsters can serve as symbols for humanity’s worst temptations. It’s an ongoing process that is bigger than nostalgia, bigger than the 1980s, and bigger than <em>Stranger Things </em>itself.</p>
https://www.vox.com/2016/8/17/12476536/stranger-things-monster-80sMichelle Delgado2016-08-16T11:50:03-04:002016-08-16T11:50:03-04:00How Stranger Things got its retro title sequence
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<p>Netflix’s hit thriller <i>Stranger Things</i> does an impressive job remixing and referencing <a href="http://www.vox.com/2016/8/5/12380080/stranger-things-80s-spielberg-references-video" target="new">a whole lot of '80s classics</a>. But the show’s tone owes a lot to the striking credits sequence that follows every episode’s cold open. </p>
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<p>To give the show its retro opening look, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.imaginaryforces.com/">Imaginary Forces</a>, the production studio behind the sequence, actually went back to an old-fashioned credits-making process. The team printed out the main logo on film and set up camera tests to see what it looked like when light passed through the film sheet. Using those camera shots as references, they then animated the sequence digitally.</p>
<p>The main logo was based off novel covers that <i>Stranger Things</i> creators Matt and Ross Duffer collected. The final result — riffing somewhere between Stephen King’s <i>The Dead Zone</i> and Nick Sharman’s <i>The Cats</i> — uses ITC Benguiat, a vaguely art nouveau font that has appeared on everything from <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Choose_Your_Own_Adventure" target="_blank"><i>Choose Your Own Adventure</i></a> books to a <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uQ2Ht2naHb8" target="_blank">1987 album by the Smiths</a>.</p>
<p><strong>Correction:</strong> <a target="new" href="http://www.contendco.com/work/stranger-things/">The final iteration of the logo</a>, in ITC Benguiat, was designed by the content agency Contend, not Imaginary Forces. Imaginary Forces then designed the title sequence based off of that logo.</p>
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https://www.vox.com/2016/8/16/12490274/stranger-things-credits-designChristophe Haubursin2016-08-15T12:13:00-04:002016-08-15T12:13:00-04:00Stranger Things proves we don't want totally original stories. We want familiar ones.
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<figcaption>Kids with flashlights? Check. | Netflix</figcaption>
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<p>Truly original ideas rarely take off, but slight tweaks to favorite tales thrive.</p> <p id="CtfTuf">In a summer filled with overhyped sequels and new installments of elaborate film franchises, Netflix’s <em><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt4574334/?ref_=nv_sr_1">Stranger Things</a></em> has proved a surprising hit.</p>
<p id="YchoHK">That’s the thesis of <a href="http://www.vulture.com/2016/08/stranger-things-ghostbusters-and-the-value-of-less-hype.html">Vulture’s Jen Chaney</a>, at least, who compares the low levels of hype <em>Stranger Things</em> received before its July 15 release to that of the hype surrounding the new <em><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1289401/?ref_=nv_sr_1">Ghostbusters</a></em> movie, which came out the same day and has already seemingly faded from the public consciousness.</p>
<p id="h1K629">But hop down into the comments on Chaney’s post, and you’ll find a fairly common point of view expressed by a user <a href="http://www.vulture.com/2016/08/stranger-things-ghostbusters-and-the-value-of-less-hype.html#lf_comment=170336664:552214821">named yellow_king</a>. He writes:</p>
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<p>There's one key difference with the latest Ghostbusters and the other works mentioned: Ghostbusters was a remake, a known entity.</p>
<p>The only way to "return" to the wonderful days of excitement, discovery and organic fandom is to produce new, original works.</p>
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<p id="tcNnkw">What yellow_king says is a common refrain among those who discuss entertainment on the internet. "Not another sequel!" goes the comment in its most platonic form. "When will Hollywood come up with some <em>original ideas</em>?"</p>
<p id="miJ6lI">But of course, as other commenters chime in, <em>Stranger Things</em> is a knowing genre pastiche, an attempt to recreate the feeling of 1980s movies by assembling famous motifs and moments from them as if making a collage. Even the story is largely a riff on Stephen King’s novels of the period. Why does <em>Stranger Things</em> get to be "original" when a more direct remake doesn’t?</p>
<p id="HehfmJ">The answer is simple: We don’t really want original stories. We want to hear stories we’ve already heard, retold in slightly different ways.</p>
<h3 id="M6rLVQ">Truly original stories rarely do all that well</h3>
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<img alt="The Lobster" data-mask-text="false" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/XZyK_vE2xBUTnwRBsGRcIU4VWZw=/800x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/6485075/the-lobster-dom-L_02776_rgb.jpg">
<cite>A24</cite>
<figcaption>The Lobster qualifies as an "original" film.</figcaption>
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<p id="3nE41T">Let’s talk about what truly qualifies as an "original" film: <em><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt3464902/?ref_=nv_sr_1">The Lobster</a></em>. It’s a weird comedy that stars <a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0268199/?ref_=tt_ov_st_sm">Colin Farrell</a> as a newly single man who checks into a hotel where he is mandated to meet and partner off with<strong> </strong>the love of his life, within the span of 45 days. If he’s unable to do so, he will be transformed into an animal of his own choosing. (The animal he picks is in the title.)</p>
<p id="9qIXJw">Remarkably, the film has even more originality to it beyond that premise. It’s a real triumph of sustained worldbuilding, as director <a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0487166/?ref_=nv_sr_1">Yorgos Lanthimos</a> fills out a strange alternate reality where single people are turned into animals. It’s also filmed in a style that proves deliberately distancing, and its performances are filled with weird, muted blasts of heightened emotion that play as extraordinarily funny.</p>
<p id="m7op2D">Now, <em>The Lobster</em> did pretty well for an indie film in this day and age, especially one with as strange a premise as this one. It’s pulled in just over $9 million at the domestic box office since it opened in May, which qualifies as a big win for art house theaters in the warmer months.</p>
<aside id="GAXSs4"><q>When we say we want something "original," what we really mean is that we want something familiar, but just different enough to feel novel</q></aside>
<p id="GYJ5XZ">But still. <em>The Lobster</em> is a cultural outlier. You’re far more likely to have had random friends recommend any number of this summer’s sequels and remakes instead of its weirdo pleasures. It was never going to take over the zeitgeist in the way <em>Stranger Things </em>has.</p>
<p id="QPi4fN">And that’s fine. Looking at any random frame from <em>The Lobster</em> will confirm that the movie is Not For Everyone. But the fact that it didn’t suddenly start tearing up the box office charts is indicative, I think, of the fact that when we say we want something "original," what we really mean is that we want something familiar, but just different enough to feel novel.</p>
<p id="iN5DIS">Enter <em>Stranger Things</em>, which has inspired <a href="http://www.vulture.com/2016/07/stranger-things-film-reference-glossary.html">full glossaries</a> of its references and occasionally lifts shots and sequences wholesale from other movies and TV shows. And as I pointed out in <a href="http://www.vox.com/2016/7/17/12201098/stranger-things-review-netflix-winona-ryder">my review of the series</a>, the story is essentially a vague remix of elements from movies of the period in which it takes place.</p>
<p id="2QZ2zY">Most of the response to <em>Stranger Things</em> has been cloaked in the idea of nostalgia, in the thought that it really captures <a href="http://www.vox.com/2016/8/2/12328900/stranger-things-netflix-review-emotions">the feeling of its '80s setting</a>. But nostalgia is, in and of itself, a deeply familiar emotion. If <em>Stranger Things</em> had been called, say, <em>E.T.: The Series</em>, it would be harder to avoid just how derivative the show can be. But by maintaining half a step’s remove, the whole enterprise can be dubbed an "homage" or a "nostalgia trip."</p>
<h3 id="8olOAX">The real problem for this sort of show comes in season two</h3>
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<img alt="Mr. Robot" data-mask-text="false" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/_EVE3vzDMkQzGTRThR-sU48I480=/800x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/3918166/NUP_168440_0275.0.JPG">
<cite>USA</cite>
<figcaption>Didn’t we all have fun with Mr. Robot last year?</figcaption>
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<p id="qu77Ua">The same goes for the surprise success of summer 2015, USA’s <em><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt4158110/?ref_=nv_sr_1">Mr. Robot</a></em>, or even for 2014’s <em><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2356777/?ref_=nv_sr_1">True Detective</a></em>. Both series were built from homages to other filmmakers and stories, and in both cases, those homages were features, not bugs.</p>
<p id="Uvwtee">For instance, the most common complaint about the first season of <em>Mr. Robot</em> is that it was more or less <em><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0137523/?ref_=nv_sr_1">Fight Club</a></em> in TV series form. But the series didn’t really hide as much; indeed, for much of its fan base, the <em>Fight Club</em> similarities were a big part of the fun. And because the show kept viewers so distracted with how obviously not real one of its characters was, it was able to sneak much bigger twists right past them.</p>
<p id="vGUb5O">In the case of <em><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2356777/?ref_=nv_sr_1">True Detective</a></em>, a bog-standard police procedural was enlivened by nods toward weird fiction and obscure horror texts, which allowed for viewers to click through Wikipedia for hours after each episode. The mystery and horror elements fed into each other, at least <a href="http://www.avclub.com/article/void-true-detectives-completely-necessary-ridiculo-202002">until the finale,</a> when the "solution" proved to have next to nothing to do with the story’s more horrific aspects and was, instead, pretty standard murder mystery fodder.</p>
<p id="xQD9G7">The response to that finale was reflected in the responses to the second season of both shows, and it might even suggest the tricky road that lies ahead for <em>Stranger Things</em> as it looks toward season two.</p>
<p id="m9m7bI">Where the first seasons of <em>Mr. Robot</em> and <em>True Detective</em> seemed like heady brews of previous influences, the second seasons have attracted criticism for how empty they feel.</p>
<p id="AINu1n"><em>Mr. Robot’</em>s second season, currently airing, has better subsumed its homages (as Matt Zoller Seitz points out in <a href="http://www.vulture.com/2016/07/mr-robot-film-reference-close-read.html">this article</a>) in favor of deeper character exploration. I’m enjoying it, mostly, but many of the show’s fans miss the "spot the mystery" fun of season one. Similarly, season two of <em>True Detective</em> ditched the weird fiction (for the most part) and simply unleashed a <a href="http://www.vox.com/2015/8/10/9125723/true-detective-finale-recap-season-2">pointlessly convoluted noir plot</a>. It didn’t really work.</p>
<p id="89VTyl">The thing about artworks based heavily on homage and reference is that they eventually reach a point where they have to stand on their own two feet, because they stop feeling novel and start feeling overly familiar. Now that <em>Stranger Things</em> is a known quantity, the protection it has of feeling new but also familiar will largely dissipate, and the show’s writers will be left with the characters and storylines they’ve already developed. Will that be enough? Maybe, but season two might as well be marked with a sign reading "Proceed with caution."</p>
<div class="vox-cardstack"><a href="http://www.vox.com/cards/best-tv-shows-hbo-netflix-now/stranger-things-netflix">Stranger Things: Netflix creates the ultimate ’80s movie homage</a></div>
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<h3>Watch: How a TV show gets made</h3>
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https://www.vox.com/2016/8/10/12416672/stranger-things-netflix-review-original-storyEmily St. James