Stranger Things, Season 1

With Halloween fast approaching, I've been craving all things creepy, strange, and suspenseful. I found all this and more in Stranger Things Season 1, which more than made up for the disappointment that was X Files Season 11. Not only that, the show gave me all sorts of nostalgic feels: The Goonies...Super 8...and, yes, even old school X Files. I loved it!!

And now, my (relatively) spoiler-free review:

Hawkins Indiana, early 1980s: Tweenage William vanishes while biking home from his friend's house. This sets the small town's residents to panicking, and no one more so than Will's mother Joyce who insists against all odds that her boy is alive...just not in her own reality (And she's not as crazy as she seems). And Will is only the first of the town's residents to disappear...seemingly without a trace. Around the same time, a mysterious girl with strange abilities appears and befriends Will's buddies. The girl, whom the boys name Eleven, and Will's disappearance seem connected as do other mysterious and supernatural events happening around the previously quiet town. And everything seems to point to Hawkins Laboratories. But only the boys and a tenacious sheriff seem brave enough to investigate.

The season ends somewhat ambiguously with a not exactly cliffhanger moment: You could leave it at that and imagine what happens next or you could keep watching into Season 2 (which OPL also owns). I am excited to do the later.

I somehow missed Stranger Things when it first aired on TV. But what better way to experience a movie or show than to check it out of the library? Besides, my recent almost-Halloween viewing timing was perfect. Plus, the show had everything I could ask for: Mystery, suspense, humor, great characters, and, BONUS!, an awesome soundtrack. 

This show is a new favorite of mine! --AJB