Stranger Things is an eight-episode Netflix original series created by the Duffer Brothers. Upon its release, it gained phrase from audiences and critics alike. After having been recommended this series by multiple people, I began to watch it fairly recently. I cannot say it hooked me - otherwise I would have finished it days earlier - but it was entertaining enough to watch all the way through. A lot worked in terms of characters and their development, but there were two particular things that didn't work; which I will talk about later in this review.

In terms of positives, there is enough to phrase here. The characters and strong and effectively carry the show - the group of kids, who are the most central characters, are all particularly entertaining and witty - even if some of their performances aren't great. Winona Ryder's acting is by far the best, and David Harbour also gives a good performance (and a great character) as the police chief. The teenage characters aren't quite as strong, and the typical love triangle sub-plot bores, but none of them are bad. The character development throughout the series is great, making all the characters more and more likable as the series goes on. On the whole, the casting is excellent - everyone fits their part very well.

Thankfully, it is consistent in its quality. None of the episodes are bad; although none of them are fantastic either. For me, each episode scores a 7 or an 8. The consistency keeps it from getting boring, which made it a series which I wanted to watch to the end. The other positives include a great soundtrack which works very well with the show's themes and scenes; a fun, if very retro title sequence; and generally good dialogue throughout.

However, as mentioned above, there are two places in which this series falls down. The first of which is the lack of originality and clichés. This series is ultimately a homage of 80's sci-fi - there are scenes that reference, and steal from movies such as E.T., Aliens, The Thing, The Goonies and many more. At first the nostalgic references may work - but as the show goes on you release that it is not just referencing these movies, but blatantly stealing from them. Not one thing in this entire series is particularly original - everything becomes ridiculously clichéd and thus predictable. Unless this is the first movie or TV show you have ever seen, you will probably find the predictability and clichéness of this series very annoying (as I did).

The other main issue is that almost all the twists are revealed far too early. There are too few surprises. We learn most things before the characters do and then have to watch as they finally catch up with the audience, which sometimes takes multiple episodes. So when a big shock comes around for the characters, there is absolutely no shock for the audience; which ultimately makes a lot of the series much less effective.

But despite this, there are enough human dramas, engaging characters and sci-fi elements to make this an enjoyable eight episodes. In the end I would recommend this to a friend, even though this series falls short of the heights of the films it aspires to be.