Stranger Things (Season 1 and 2) is brilliant. It is a clever combination of elements of Stephen King's "it" and Spielberg's "E.T" as well as combining elements from some of the most recognisable pieces of pop culture from the 80s.

The story is interesting following the disappearance of Will Byers where Winona Ryder plays (arguably) her greatest role in a while. It also follows a girl who has escaped from a scientific facility where people have been experimenting on her.

Without spoiling it, both series are brilliant. They both have there ups and downs (notably S2E7) but overall the story really carries it and the build up is perfect. Effectively there are three stories running alongside all the way through. Joyce and Hopper trying to find Will, Eleven and Mike doing the same thing but also exploring Elevens background and a bit of a teen story with Nancy, Jonathan and Steve.

It takes a push and a few episodes to get you gripped but by the last two you'll be so glad you stuck with it. Eventually, all the stories combine powerfully and to awesome effect.

The brilliance of ST is how its able to utilise the "80s nostalgia feel" in a way other films (like 2017s "it") couldn't. It doesn't focus on it or let it take up screen time, instead letting it sit in the background. The Duffer Brothers truly know how to helm the production.

The one biggest flaw it seems to have is that it doesn't trust the audience enough to let the actors speak for themselves, annoyingly ruining the greatest moments of acting with silly unneeded flashbacks to events that have only just occurred. I wish filmmakers would trust audience members to grasp simple visual storytelling and emotion and not do that. Although this is more of a bad directorial decision than a writing issue.

Stranger Things is well worth the watch, I absolutely love the tone of the show and the music is outstanding as well as perfect for the ambience. I feel it is a prime example of how we are living in the golden age of television. However, I'm only giving it a 9/10 because I feel the show hasn't yet reached its full potential and a few better directorial decisions and writing clean ups would make this show perfect.