Friday Open Thread: Cannot Stop Watching 'Stranger Things'

by Jennifer Cumby

Image via Netflix

Normally, I'm struggling to stay awake through my umpteenth viewing of The Rockford Files or Columbo, but this week I've been staying up far too late glued to the Neftlix Original Stranger Things. 

I don't want to get yelled at for SPOILERS, so let's just agree that there might be spoilers, but even totally spoiled, the show is worth watching for its pure 1980s vibe. It's like if Tales From the Darkside, Scooby Doo, and an Afterschool Special somehow had Unsolved Mysteries' tragically cursed baby on a Very Special Episode of Family Ties, Halloween Edition. Oh, and with a soupcon of Dungeons and Dragons and a pinch of that pre-X-Files bad government E.T. kids-on-bikes thing. 

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Not to mention the PHONES! Nobody has a phone in their pocket. There are so many cords! Cords everywhere. Super long cords attached to every phone. 

Image via Giphy

And, no one's stumbling into traffic playing Pokémon GO! But, let's be fair  — there are some reminders of how good we have it these days — 22-inch tube TV with bunny ears and no remote anyone? Anyone? Yeah, me either.

Winona Ryder stars and Matthew Modine oozes around the edges. Everyone else fits a kind of Freaks and Geeks visual aesthetic that's both interesting and weirdly satisfying. These people look like themselves.  

Image via Giphy

Anyway, I like it! It's really, really good. And just like when we first got to bingewatch entire series by buying them on VHS (#BuffytheVampireSlayer), it's all I can do to be the grown-up working person I am and not watch just.one.more until it's 3 a.m.

So, what do you think? Have you watched it? Did you love it? Talk to me down below!