"You shut up!" "No! You shut up!"

Above is just one of the amazing lines of dialog you will hear in stranger things - over and over and over and over again. And Winona's winy voice while she screams every line? It makes you jump to turn the volume down! The dialog in this show is often painfully annoying, only equaled by the screaming deliveries. And it is constant! The grating nature of how the characters scream at each other does not let up for the entire season.

Screeching aside, Stranger Things is obviously well produced. Everything came together in terms of look, effects and sound - there is a very consistent style that works perfectly for a show with this science fiction/horror theme. It doesn't take long to discover that budget and (nuts and bolts) filmmaking are huge upsides to this show. The producers should be (and I'm sure are) really happy with their creation.

And what is Stranger Things? I'd call it a hybrid science fiction/horror tale involving several families from a small American town, with special focus on the kids. The kids are the main characters, and the viewers become involved in their epic adventure. Stranger Things borrows and steals ideas form other film makers and writers, with generally a 1980's feel. There are a lot of interesting ideas ranging from weird science to mental powers to horrific monsters from bizarre alternate realities. Interestingly though - none of it feels fresh - because every idea is a lift from another source.

I admit I was pretty excited for this show based upon the premise, but my anticipation was quickly squashed in the first two episodes. I love homage, borrowing - even outright stealing of ideas if they build into something better than the original. But when ideas are taken and squandered, it's just frustrating.

I'm not talking about the obvious Carpenter, Spielberg or King lifts - all of which were done (imo) with class. The Carpenter'esque title design, music is excellent. The King horror ideas work pretty well! Most of the Spielberg stuff would be lifts from Poltergeist, and his skill at directing kids - which, again, is pretty slick in how the ideas are merged.

But this gets to my gripe - which is very specific - This is the second time Dan Simmons' Summer of Night has been blatantly ripped off - and not in a way that does any justice to this amazingly entertaining book. The first time this book was ripped off was JJ's Super 8 (yea... starting to get more convincing, eh?) - a movie that clearly shares a lot of the same qualities as Stranger Things. Dan Simmons is a brilliant writer, and while Summer of Night is far from his greatest book, it is a very special book to him. The book has a real personal touch, the kids are so believable and captivating, and their trials... to see the blatant lifts, right down to specific character details and story events... it's frustrating!

so... my ax is super sharp due to all the grinding - if you like this show, I strongly recommend reading Simmons' Summer of Night.

this show? Annoying well made rip off? 6 out of 10