Run up that hill and get ‘Stranger Things’
“I ask of life only that which makes it worth living: the love of friends.” – Justin Regier
The Secret World of Alex Mack meets Silent Hill is definitely my kind of show. Yet I was embarrassingly late to the phenomenon of Stranger Things, only getting into the series last fall as its fifth and final season was on the horizon. And ever since then I’ve been kicking myself in the privates with steel-toe boots for not jumping in sooner.
A true Twin Peaks for the modern age, the series has resided on Netflix exclusively (except for the final episode, which was released theatrically but only on New Year’s Eve and Day – yes, I caught it there) for the past decade. Thanks to Arrow Video, for the first time, the whole series has come to Blu-ray and 4K. Now everybody can enjoy this imaginative, engrossing, scary, and affecting program.
During Christmastime in 1983, Hawkins, IN turns upside-down (in more than one sense) with a pair of major events: the disappearance of Will Byers (Noah Schnapp) and the appearance of Eleven (Millie Bobby Brown). The former is a preteen boy whom the town searches fruitlessly for. Undeterred, his mother Joyce (Winona Ryder) and older brother Jonathan (Charlie Heaton) begin their own investigations after experiencing separate encounters with the paranormal. Jonathan’s search soon gets entwined with that of peers Nancy (Natalia Dyer) and her boyfriend Steve (Joe Keery) trying to find their friend Barb (Shannon Purser), who went missing soon after. Chief Hopper (David Harbour), head of the town police, also comes to believe that this is no ordinary missing persons case.
Meanwhile, Eleven is an escapee from a government research laboratory who runs into Lucas (Caleb McLaughlin), Dustin (Gaten Matarazzo), and Nancy’s brother Mike (Finn Wolfhard), Will’s best friends. Not knowing how to properly speak or write, she stays with Mike and convinces him to keep her hidden. Dr. Brenner (Matthew Modine) wants her back and has plenty of soldiers who take no prisoners. As the boys get to know El, she reveals not only that she’s seen Will, but also that she wields telekinetic abilities.
This is what the first season is about, but the subsequent four will have further mysteries and threats that build on what comes before. The horror in the series is akin to the work of authors like Stephen King, Clive Barker, and, um, me (I’ve been told that a scene in Kids See Ghosts 3 was remarkably similar to one in Season 4, which at that time I had not seen). However, there’s also a Goonies-like sense of adventure, John Hughes-level young adult drama, and Cold War espionage intrigue. All of which inevitably coalesce into a fight for survival against seemingly overwhelming odds where love and friendship prove to be the greatest superpowers.
In the following seasons (each starting one year after the last, despite being produced over the course of a decade), new friends get welcomed into the group. These include Max (Sadie Sink), Robin (Maya Hawke), Eddie (Joseph Quinn), and Erica (Priah Ferguson), the younger sister of Lucas. Additionally, circumstances bring the characters into interesting combinations (like Dustin and Steve or Hopper and Eleven) that create new dynamics.
The adult cast—playing scientists, military personnel, parents, Hawkins residents, etc.—also gets filled out impressively, a good number of them with a special connection to that era. In addition to Cara Buono (there from the start as the mother of Nancy and Mike), there’s Paul Reiser, Sean Astin, Cary Elwes, Brett Gelman, Jake Busey, Amy Seimetz, and Linda Hamilton. But special mention needs to be made of Jamie Campbell Bower. When he arrives and makes his presence known, you’ll see why.
Creators of the show the Duffer brothers handled most of the directing, but others like Shawn Levy and Frank Darabont (who knows a thing or two about King stories) have also taken part. The look and feel of the episodes is uniform with striking attention to detail but restraint on overloading with ’80s paraphernalia. That being said, the music choices definitely fit the time period and highlight some forgotten tunes to make sure they are forgotten no more (wonder why Kate Bush popped back up on the charts out of nowhere a few years back? This is why).
In Arrow fashion, there are extras galore. Each season has a disc for special features such as cast and crew interviews, bloopers, set tours, behind-the-scenes featurettes, table reads, scene analyses from the actors, animatics, and others. The limited editions also contain a book with writings and artwork, posters, a map of Hawkins, artcards, a patch, a 20-sided die, an arcade token, stickers, and more.
If you’re a Stranger, this set is an absolute must. My advice: act now while the Barnes & Noble sale is still in effect. Your collection won’t be rightside-up without it.
