We decide what artistic endeavour passed approval to earn the Scorcher label from the past seven days & what also had the dishonour of being that week's Torture...
War and Mobsters have been the order of the day over this last week. My scorcher is full of material ripe for a film adaptation. I would love to see a screen version of No. 46 Squadron and all the triumph and tragedy associated with Tom Cundall and Co.
Sometimes you have to be careful what you wish for as not all book adaptations work out as my torture this week did not live up to expectations. I haven't actually read the novel but I am keen to give it a perusal.
The Scorcher
There are many books covering the events of World War I but not too many that focus solely on the newest form of warfare of the time: war in the air. Author V.M. Yeates was a fighter pilot with No. 46 Squadron and wrote his novel Winged Victory based on his and his fellow pilots experiences during the Great War.
Whilst this is a work of fiction, it is based around actual events and draws extensively from Yeates' memory for detail of the reality of war. His exposure to the ghastly goings on around him and the other flight crew are told in great detail through the eyes of the main protagonist Tom Cundall. Some of the supporting characters are heavily influenced by the people who fought alongside Yeates.
Yeates puts across the differing views of the pilots and the debates they share about the futility of war. Some of these views are unfortunately still as relevant today when compared with the conflicts still going on around the world. It is quite confronting to realise that soldiers had similar opinions about world leaders and the money grabbing ways of people who are out to profit from war. They are the same sentiments that many people feel today.
There is an awful lot of repetition in this story as Cundall goes on flight after flight, often with no real purpose or result. This can make the book quite a grind to get through but I chose to view it differently. I put myself fully into Cundall's position and treated it as an opportunity to experience the monotony and drudgery of war that he had to go through day after day. It helped me gain a better perspective of the character and allowed me to feel his frustration more as he questions what it is that he is actually achieving; other than constantly putting himself in danger of being killed.
Normally when people think about WWI the first thing that pops into mind is the endless trench warfare and the other types of battles that took place tend to be forgotten. It was very refreshing to get a real understanding of how these pioneering pilots fought in a new theatre of war.
It was fascinating reading about the dogfights and the fragile nature of these early aircraft. The everyday life on the ground was just as enthralling as the descriptions of the flights. It appears that their living conditions are a million miles away from what the average Tommy was having to put up with as they buried their heads in a foxhole; hoping that the next mortar shell would pass them by. By comparison Cundall and his friends live in relative comfort when not flying and are often found spending their evenings in drunken debauchery.
That isn't to say that they aren't under duress as shelling often occurs close to their quarters but nowhere near the same levels as the trenches. It is once the pilots take to the sky that their lives are truly in danger and because they are living with the knowledge that each day could very well be their last; you can excuse their excessive behaviour.
I would describe this novel as an aerial version of All Quiet on the Western Front with its pessimistic views about the ensuing conflict. The real tragedy with both novels is that the two authors were writing from the heart in the hope that tales such as these would help prevent more wars in the future. Yeates passed away before WWII commenced; I can only imagine what his thoughts would have been about the terrible events to come.
The Witch Trial:
Rumours of strange goings on in the neighbourhood of Hawkins have brought us to investigate and see if we can uncover what is taking place. Will we get to the bottom of what has happened to Will Byers and will anyone be burnt at the stake for these crimes? Read on to find out how our trial went. Who:
Director: The Duffer Brothers
Starring: Winona Ryder, David Harbour, Matthew Modine, Cara Buono and a whole host of young stars in the making What:
Horror/Drama Why:
Season One When:
Released 2016 Where:
Set in 1983 in Indiana
The Case For:
I have promised this trial on a couple of occasions now and thought it was high time to get round to putting the collaborators on the stand. I am not going to make any excuses for what follows as I am going to gush buckets of praise upon these souls.
For those that don't know what Stranger Things is about here is a rundown. The basic story is set during the early 1980's in the Midwest of America in the fictitious town of Hawkins. Will Byers a local kid has gone missing in strange circumstances. His three best friends Mike Wheeler, Dustin Henderson and Lucas Sinclair are determined to get to the bottom of what has happened. They are aided in this quest by a mysterious girl known only as Eleven. Meanwhile Will's frantic mother Joyce believes that Will is trying to contact her using psychic means. This irritates her eldest son Jonathan who thinks his mum is just having manic episodes in dealing with her loss.
Jim Hopper the chief of police leads the investigation and starts to think that Joyce might not be as crazy as she appears. Eventually Jonathan starts to also come to the same conclusion with the help of Nancy Wheeler, Mike's older sister whose best friend Barb also seems to have disappeared.
In the background there is some mysterious goings on by a secret government agency led by Martin Brenner and this agency has a connection to Eleven. Brenner's G-Men will use any means necessary to get her back to the laboratory.
This may all sound a bit convoluted but the actual plot unfolds in a manner that is quite easy to follow. The main characters are slowly introduced so you get a good handle on who is who and how each of these people relates to one another. As the episodes tick by you learn more about each person and the development of the main cast is handled very well indeed.
I feel it is best if I approach this slightly differently to normal as there are a lot of characters involved in this production. So I am going to work through them group by group or family by family if you like; and examine what were the most interesting moments or traits of each one.
With this approach in mind lets first look at the Byers family who, let's face it, are the main focus of the whole story. Will himself only has a small part to play. Noah Schnapp who has this role is very good at portraying the fear and dread felt by a boy scared out of his wits. In fact it is fair to say that in the vast majority of cases the casting director got everyone spot on for their parts. There is hardly anyone who seems out of place.
Elder brother Jonathan played by Charlie Heaton is the quiet natured outcast often seen in high schools. Most view him as a freak but straight from the off you can tell that Nancy Wheeler has a different opinion of him. The brotherly relationship shared between Jonathan and Will (shown in flashback) is one of closeness and caring; it is easy to see they both have a lot of love for each other.
One of the things that have probably helped to bring these siblings close together is the separation of their parents Joyce and Lonnie. Joyce has been left to bring up her boys pretty much on her own as Lonnie has moved away from town and basically washed his hands of family responsibilities.
You get a sense that one of the defining factors in the breakdown of that relationship has a bit to do with the mental health of Joyce. Winona Ryder imbues Joyce with a manic, unhinged presence. This is a woman on the edge; who seems to be one step away from becoming a nervous wreck. Now Will's disappearance does have a lot to do with this opinion but you can see that this event has just clicked her mental anxieties up another gear.
What is refreshing is that Joyce recognises that she is a little crazy and keeps telling the people around her that she knows she sounds like she is losing her grip on reality. Her reactions you feel would be normal for any parent feeling frantic when their child goes missing.
Through all this she does still maintain some semblance of self-preservation; none more evident than when she first gets an inkling that something from beyond our realm could be involved in the mystery. Her first instinct is to run which shows that below the surface she is still quite a sensible person.
This encounter actually triggers some calmness in her as she starts to realise she isn't clinging to some crazy notion of where Will has gone. Joyce starts to settle down from this moment and her behaviour becomes more rational once someone else also believes that for all her crazy antics; she might actually be correct in her convictions.
Even at her most vulnerable moments though, Joyce is still able to show the inner strength that she has gained from being an independent parent. I love it when she stands up to Lonnie who has come waltzing back in during this crisis and tries to throw his weight around. During this confrontation you can see Joyce for the loving, caring mother she is. Lonnie is well and truly put in his place as Joyce shows just how well she knows her children and clearly points out that Lonnie doesn't have a clue about either boy.
All the way through Joyce has this belief that she will find Will alive and there are only a couple of moments where she seems to waver in this opinion. At one stage during her investigation with Hopper she realises that it could take years to uncover the truth. It is here that you first see her convictions falter a little and near the end of the series we see this happen again.
It is a credit to Winona Ryder's performance that she is able to wring all these different emotions and nuance out of her role. The arc her character goes on from the start to the finish is probably the biggest out of all the cast; with the possible exception of Eleven who I don't want to discuss too deeply as she is best left to be discovered as the show unfolds. It was only on my second viewing that I got a true sense of just how far she had come during the season.
I mentioned Jim Hopper teaming up with Joyce to investigate Will's disappearance. It is probably more accurate to say that at first Hopper is reluctant to involve Joyce and wants to conduct the search solely with his fellow officers. Circumstances soon change his opinion as he starts to believe that the wild theory Joyce has might be true.
When we first see Hopper you get the impression that he is a man about town who likes to drink and mix with the ladies. There is no sense that this is an officer who takes his job seriously; instead you immediately think that this is a small town cop who is bored with the monotony of all that being a small town cop entails.
These reservations are soon dispelled as it is quickly established that Hopper is a more than capable policeman. He is a no nonsense guy too; willing to step outside of the law if it is going to help him get to the bottom of the case.
Hopper has his own history compelling him to solve this crime as he too knows what it is like to lose a child. This plays a big part in his motivation and also plays into the overall story. There is also a sense, although not explicit, that there is possibly a bit of history between Hopper and Joyce of a romantic nature.
Both of these are issues which he hasn't fully come to terms with or is willing to address; particularly what happened to his child and how that affected his life. It makes the anguish he feels later on when he is in the morgue all the more poignant as you can tell what emotional turmoil he must be experiencing.
There are also some great moments of humour from Hopper. As mentioned his no nonsense approach creates a few giggles but my favourite has to be his reaction when he first goes to see Joyce knowing she is onto something and he walks into the house and sees all the Christmas lights. If they made a television series focussing just on Jim Hopper's case files I would definitely watch it because he is such a badass.
Central to the plot and the family who are closest to the Byers are the Wheeler family; consisting of eldest child Nancy, her brother Mike, baby Holly and their mother Karen....and some guy who plays the dad but is barely heard from. Actually Ted Wheeler is pretty amusing; he gives off the impression of one of those fathers who just wants to go to work, have a beer and come home to his wife and 2.5 children.
It is in Mike's basement where the four boys; Will, Mike, Lucas and Dustin, spend their free time playing Dungeons & Dragons and discussing Star Wars and all those other things that twelve year old boys loved to do back in 1983. They are like The Four Musketeers; inseparable; dependant on one another and completely loyal.
Mike is the main instigator in getting Lucas and Dustin to go along with him as he is determined to find out what has transpired with Will. After coming across Eleven in the woods they soon realise that she might be a key factor in helping them locate Will and accept her into the fold.
The budding relationship between Mike and 'El' is very cute to watch and thankfully handled in a manner appropriate to the age of the characters. The way both Dustin and Lucas acknowledge having a strange girl in the group is also written realistically; one thinks it's cool, the other not so much. You can see by the way each of them reacts to whom and what El is; that these boys are all comfortable with expressing their opinion to each other without cause for concern or ridicule.
One of the major strengths of the show is just how well these kids all interact with each other. The camaraderie and bond that they share is onscreen for you to see. More important than the friendships they share is that they each act like children. The logical conclusions they come to are the sort of leaps that kids would come too. One example is how Mike comes up with a way for El to introduce herself to his parents and you can see how he came up with the idea because it would be normal for a child to think this way. The other strong point is that none of these child actors are annoying; there isn't one written simply to be comic relief and neither of them makes you cringe with their behaviour.
Now getting back to the other two Wheeler's who play a role in the show let me focus for a moment on how much I enjoyed Karen. Cara Buono, who is a veteran of television, is wonderful in a small role. Normally such a character would be dismissing of her children or not as sympathetic to their needs. Karen is the complete opposite. She tries to connect with Nancy when she can tell something is bothering her; she provides solace to Mike when he needs it and overall I was so impressed with what Buono did with the part and how original this characters perspective felt.
Nancy is our connective tissue to Jonathan. She is trying to start a relationship with Steve Harrington who seems to be one of the popular kids at school and Nancy isn't in that category. There is a mutual attraction and romance soon blossoms. Opinions vary greatly when it comes to Steve and your view of him will probably change from one episode to the next as it did with me. Overall I did end up liking him greatly; he might be a bit of a douche to begin with but he did redeem himself come the series finale.
Once again the writers do something to reinvigorate what could have become a stereotype. Steve's attitude towards Nancy the day after his party is one example that takes you by surprise as you are expecting something completely different from him. His final gesture with Jonathan is another example of how this person can surprise you.
It is interesting how Nancy does seem to behave in a different manner around Steve and it is picked up on by both Jonathan and her best friend Barb. They can see that she isn't being her normal self and what person hasn't acted differently to gain the attentions of someone they like?
One relationship that is clear for all to see is the way both her and Mike have that sibling love/hate rivalry. As the older sibling she wants her space and neither is happy when Karen suggests they need to stay close together. This is amusingly brought up by their father later on when he laughs off the suggestion that Nancy is with her brother of her own volition.
The difference between her relationship with Mike and that of Jonathan and Will is shown in stark contrast when she proves she has no idea how to contact Mike but Jonathan does. In this moment you can see that she realises how much Jonathan cares for his brother and how neglectful she has been towards hers. This leads to a beautiful tender scene between Nancy and Mike later on when they both agree to tell each other the truth only to then immediately break that promise by both telling a lie. It is one of the best whimsical moments of the series.
Nancy approaches Jonathan with the evidence that brings him to the conclusion that perhaps his mum isn't as crazy as he thinks. The two team up to search for both Will and Barb who has also vanished by this stage. No one seems as concerned about Barb's whereabouts except for Nancy who doesn't believe the explanation regarding her friend's disappearance.
That attraction between Nancy and Jonathan I mentioned earlier is played upon further as the two of them start to look into events. Whereas Nancy appeared to be acting different around Steve; you get the sense that she is able to be herself around Jonathan. There was one exchange in particular that highlighted to me that these two are more in synch; when we see that Nancy has swapped her baseball bat for Jonathan's handgun. No dialogue was needed, they each realised which weapon suited them most and got on with it. In another show there would have been a funny quip to accompany this change over; but the writers trust the audience enough to pick up on what is taking place between these two teens.
It would be remiss of me to talk about all these characters without mentioning two of the most important and those are our villains. Matthew Modine plays Dr Martin Brenner the man in charge of the government agents based in the Hawkins laboratory who are on the trail of Eleven. For large portions of the show Brenner doesn't say much and there are plenty of scenes where he doesn't utter a single word. This actually makes him more menacing as you don't know what he is thinking but you can tell that his motives are sinister by nature. I don't think we have actually seen his true motivation either because he is still a bit of an enigma. Does he view himself as a father figure to Eleven as she refers to him as Papa; or does he have cruel intentions? Something I think we will discover more of during season two.
The children come up with the nickname of the Demogorgon when referring to the mysterious entity they believe is responsible for taking Will. This is a denizen from their games of Dungeons & Dragons and is the beast that causes fear in Will when we first see them playing this game. It is only natural that they think of this creature as the thing that has taken Will. In reality it is a very clever use of the name as the Demogorgon is associated with the underworld. They refer to its dwelling as The Vale of Shadows which again ties in to the Dungeons & Dragons terminology. Eventually the Upside-Down will become a part of the narrative which confirms the kids were onto something with all these theories.
Part of the inspiration behind the Demogorgon's design I feel must have been the Slender Man; especially when viewed in shadow which it often is. It also seems to rely on certain senses; I don't think it is capable of hearing judging from the movements it makes. This is all very reminiscent of the creature from Alien.
So we have established all the main players and the three groups of investigators: the children; Joyce and Hopper; and Jonathan and Nancy. Each of these groups I felt had their own defined genre when it came to the approach the filmmakers took in representing their search for Will. The three boys and El seemed to be a kid's adventure similar in nature to Stand By Me or The Goonies. Joyce and Hopper definitely had more of the Sci-Fi element to their enquiries; whereas Jonathan and Nancy instilled more of the Horror aspect of the show. These components are wound together in such a tightly written narrative that neither one feels out of place.
All three of these genres are steeped in 80's nostalgia and the show itself revels in celebrating the early parts of this decade and all of the pop culture related to the era. There are posters for Evil Dead and The Thing adorning various walls; both films the creators are clearly influenced by.
One character asks "Do you guys read any Stephen King" and this is after we have seen a guard reading Cujo. These are nice little nods to the heroes of the Duffer Brothers. Likewise the score has a very strong connection to the sounds of John Carpenter; or Goblin who appear on a lot of Dario Argento's film scores.
Steven Spielberg's ET has a huge influence; the Byers family being a broken home is a standard Spielberg trope. The G-Men are also very reminiscent of the ones from ET; both when viewed out in the open and suited up in the Hawkins laboratory. There is even a touching scene where Eleven has to go out in disguise which reminds you of ET going out for Halloween. I don't want to dwell on all of the similarities or homages that are referenced; this excellent video I found online does a pretty comprehensive job of pointing out a lot of them:
It is fair to say that the Duffer Brothers have created this show with a lot of respect and admiration to what has gone beforehand. They aren't ripping off any of these films or books but have made their own series drawing on the best methods and ideas from these past triumphs. The things they admired have added to the inspiration behind creating something that feels familiar and yet new all at the same time.
The show is not without its stereotyped characters either and they do play upon a lot of tropes that appeared in many of the media that inspired the creators. What they do with these though is use them to their advantage. It is rare that the stereotypes feel out of place; they are there for a purpose to help propel the story.
It is a fine line to play as it would have been very easy to fall into parody but the writing is so good that nothing is wasted and everything is so well thought out. One fine example is when Barb parks her car away from Steve's house when she and Nancy are attending his party. It feels odd at the time and you think it is a misstep; but later on it comes back in and helps the story avoid a plot hole.
It is this attention to detail that really makes the writing stand out. I get the feeling that the original idea the Duffer Brothers had was allowed to gestate until they had all their ducks in a row before deciding to go ahead with filming. I can only commend them for this as it certainly is the shows biggest strength.
I touched briefly on the music and I have to say that I love the score and song choices throughout the whole series. The electronic synthesizer sounds are so reminiscent of the 80's and are perfect for the setting. Add to this the actual songs that are used fit the scenes they are chosen for so well. Take Waiting for a Girl Like You for one of Barb's scenes as an example; or Peter Gabriel's haunting version of Heroes as the police search the quarry. This in particular is one of the best filmed scenes from the series overall and has such a gut-punching impact that you will be wiping the tears from your eyes.
There are a lot of movie making tricks on display. Flashbacks are used and they have a real purpose to the story; such as when Will is shown drawing pictures and discussing different abilities. The flashbacks like these do aid the narrative and aren't here just to help establish a person's history. There are great transition shots, often triggered by something that is happening to Eleven; a coke can on television moves us to the Hawkins lab and her previous experience with a can of soft drink. In the same vein she hides in a wardrobe and it morphs into a scene of her in a similar enclosed space. Once again we are seeing just how well put together the overall story has been planned and I reiterate nothing that you see on screen is wasted; it all has meaning.
As well as the fancy techniques there are some quality character moments that get to the emotional core of the person. Eleven having a real adolescent experience and seeing herself as a pretty girl for the first time is truly a lump in the throat occasion. It is also touching when Dustin is discussing his friendship with Mike and the way he reacts to what he is hearing is just lovely. Probably the one set piece that really got to me was between Joyce and El and it was simply a hug from a parent who recognises that a child needs comforting. It made me realise it was probably the only moment of genuine tenderness that Eleven has experienced so far in her life.
The show might be a mystery solving crime story about a missing boy and it might have monsters, secret government organisations and strange realms; but more than anything else it is a story with a lot of heart and one that shows the love shared between friends and family. For my way of thinking this came shining through and was one of the main reason I fell in love with this debut series.
The Case Against:
My issues are mere annoyances more than glaring problems; after all I have stated how well I thought the series was scripted so I would be really surprised to have taken umbrage with the story. One of the things that I can see wouldn't be to everyone's taste is the 80's setting. The 80's is a decade often derided for bad fashion and the height of cheesiness and it might grate on some people.
There seems to be a lot of people split down the middle in their evaluation of Joyce, in particular Winona Ryder's performance. I will admit that at first she does come off as a bit too hyper and my first impression was that I don't want to listen to her in hysterics for eight episodes. Thankfully as I have said she does calm down and gives a more balanced performance but I can see how she would have put a lot of people off from the way she acts when we first meet her.
I had more of an issue with her ex-husband Lonnie than with Joyce. I know Lonnie isn't a major character so they didn't need to develop him too much. He let me down the more screen time he received. At first I thought he was going to be the Dad who didn't really want to leave but no, he turned out to be the douchebag everyone expects him to be. It would have been great if they could have worked on that small amount of nuance that was hinted at just a little bit more.
Now I love Hopper but I am afraid out of everyone he more than all the others did things that affected my goodwill towards him. The first thing and it is only a minor thing that I hate every time I see it onscreen, is when he leaves his home and fails to switch off the television! It is one of my pet peeves and it always, without fail, makes me think the person doesn't care about their electricity bills.
One of the very few times I thought the writers made an error was when Hopper tells one of his associates his phone is out of order, only to proceed later on to call his ex-wife. It might have been to keep his partner out of his home, but that wasn't explicit. I know he is a badass but I also have a hard time believing that he could have taken out three operatives single handed without making enough noise to alert the others before he got to them. These are petty nit-picks I know.
There are larger parts of Hopper's arc that I had further issues with. Hopper losing his daughter is probably the worst of all the tropes the writers used. I didn't feel the script needed it. His backstory of being a big city cop now working in a small town was sufficient enough. They could have played on his unconcerned, devil may care attitude. He feels this way because nothing ever happens in Hawkins that compares to his time living in the city.
I know that his loss gives him the motivation to want to find Will alive because he can understand what Joyce is going through but his role as a police officer and having the chance to do something with meaning should have been all the reason he needed. This brings me to the Hopper flashbacks that occur in the final episode. While I can appreciate their inclusion because of what they are telling us; I thought they only interrupted the flow of the episode which took away from the overall impact of the finale.
Some of his choices at the end of the show are also baffling and seem out of character. Without trying to spoil things I had a hard time reconciling some of his decisions when compared to the behaviour we had previously seen him display. I can only put this down to Hopper feeling he had no other choice if he was to achieve his goal. There is an indication that this will be addressed in season two and I hope so.
Out of all our main characters the only other ones that caused some eye rolls were the triumvirate of Nancy, Jonathan and Steve. It was more so with Nancy and Jonathan and most of my problems happen in episode five. There were two key points that annoyed me and both are because we see them far too often in horror.
The first was Nancy and Jonathan separating from one another as they follow a bloody trail in search of the Demogorgon. The minute they do; you just know one of them is going to come a cropper. This action was redeemed in the following episode when Dustin asks Mike and Lucas if they remember what happened in 'The Bloodstone Pass' when they separated; which reflects their closer camaraderie and hints nicely at the bloody trail. So I forgave this faux pas on reflection.
But I could not forgive Nancy for stepping on a twig when trying to be sneaky. Of all the worst horror tropes included in this setup; this one by far made me groan at the TV screen. Admittedly it left the episode on a cool cliff-hanger but come on, don't resort to common conventions guys!
My other gripes are to do with this trio's interaction with the Demogorgon itself. There is a huge leap of logic from Nancy when she concludes that blood attracts the Demogorgon. I might have missed it, but I can't remember a moment when this became apparent to anyone. If I did miss it then I apologise and will stand corrected.
Steve freaks out the first time he sees the Demogorgon and I appreciated his reaction; it seemed natural. However he quickly regains his composure and rushes to the rescue. Now if that was me I don't think I could have recovered that quickly and come to the aid of someone who I was recently in conflict with and a girlfriend who Steve thinks might not be as into him, as he is into her. It would have been hilarious if he just kept running and left them to it!
I feel I have to mention this as it bugged me the whole series and I hope it doesn't offend anyone; but will the catering department please make sure that Natalia Dyer eats a sandwich or something next season. I seriously felt concerned for her health; there is no meat on her at all.
There are a couple of things I want to bring up about some of the minor characters. I know there is a lot of love for Barb and I really hope that they resolve more of her story in season two. It perturbed me how the only person who seemed bothered about her disappearance was Nancy. There was hardly any investigation into Barb's disappearance. In a small town people should know that she just wouldn't up and leave and this sort of behaviour is out of the ordinary for her. I would have expected there to be more of a connection made between Will and Barb from the police. Even though Hopper isn't as present at the station at this point; at the very least Powell seems capable of these logical connections; Callahan on the other hand maybe not.
I will be honest and say that I hated Callahan and it annoyed me immensely that they called him Callahan too. He is such a douche. He doesn't seem smart enough to be a cop; he is so stereotypical of the country hick officer. Most of all he is so insensitive nearly every time he speaks. Callahan offends Nancy when discussing Barb; he hits a nerve with Hopper when he talks about Joyce but worst of all is his attitude at Benny's.
It troubled me greatly what takes place with Benny; I didn't think there was any need for this course of action from the government agents at the time. What do they stand to gain; all they are doing is drawing more attention from the local constabulary. Callahan's attitude is far too flippant when he makes comments to Hopper and I liked how Hopper's response kind of put Callahan in his place. I could well imagine Callahan being the sort of person who enjoyed peeling the wings off of flies when he was a child!
Moving from one person who doesn't seem too bright to one who is; I do very much like Mr Clark. He is an awfully smart teacher and is far too well read for someone teaching middle school. His interactions with the boys is nice but it is very convenient how he always has a solution to their problems. Clark's character helps to move the story along as he is often used to provide an explanation to help answer some part of the plot the viewer might have questions about.
I have said how much I admire Cara Buono's performance as Karen Wheeler but come on; surely she must visit the basement on occasion. How can Mike get away with hiding Eleven down there without his mum needing to go get something from downstairs?
I save my last criticism for the Demogorgon and the nods to Aliens afforded it. In Aliens we see victims trapped in a nest and when we get a glimpse late on of the Demogorgon's lair we see a similar situation. I felt this came out of leftfield and was a little bit shoehorned in for my liking. There is no hint as to why the Demogorgon acts the way it does so I am hoping that this is all part of the set up for season two. Until then I will reserve judgement on this final twist in the tale.
Verdict:
If only I was twelve years old and friends with these kids. I too could then battle Demogorgon's in the Upside-Down. Instead I will have to console myself with endless re-watches of this marvellous show.
