I grew up in the 1980s. I remember Back to the Future and The Soviet Union. I remember New Coke being a thing. Since I live in a major city, I had a few malls to choose from. For the residents of Hawkins, Indiana, many of these things are new. (Back to the Future was released on July 3, 1985, during this season’s time frame.) They also have a new mall in town, which has all but killed Main Street.
Speaking of killing, The Mind Flayer is back, so Eleven, Dustin, Lucas, Jonathan and Co. have their work cut out for them. Add to this the discovery of another menace: Soviet operatives underneath the new Starcourt Mall. In fact, they’re the reason that the Mind Flayer is active. They’re trying to drill a hole to the Upside-Down. To what end isn’t made clear, but the Mind Flayer is up to something. It starts with rats consuming fertilizer and becomes stranger from there. All of this is happening while Mayor Larry Kline just wants to put on a nice Fourth of July show.
When you’re trying to use several elements in a story, you have to find balance. Here, there’s definitely nostalgia. We even get to see several clips of Back to the Future. Observant fans will notice stores at the mall tht still exist, like Burger King and The Gap, and those that are no longer with us, like Sam Goody and RadioShack.
There’s even a Jazzercise studio. It’s a franchise that uses jazz music to set the tone for the exercise. It started in 1969, but became big in the 1980s. Oh, how I would have liked to have forgotten that. I think I was in the fifth grade when they had my entire elementary school do it. It must have been in shifts, but all of the students had to participate. I remember some being enthusiastic about it. I remember doing the bare minimum necessary to look like I wasn’t just standing there.
Anyway, I digress. Many of the nostalgic elements blend into the background. You might see an old logo or something. The big thing is the Soviets. I think we’re to assume here that the Soviet Union somehow built a huge secret underground base, put a mall on top of it and hoped no one would notice? Well, someone noticed. Dustin happened to build a receiver that picked up one of their transmissions.
The other side of this is the tension. You have good against evil. Those that were fighting for good are still doing so, only in different groups. But even the bad guys are nostalgic. (How many old movies and cartoons had Soviets as the enemy?) I mean, it works. They are a pretty solid enemy. However, it seems odd that they have that large a base with that many people (in uniform) that went unnoticed except for some pesky kids.
From what I’ve read, the show was meant to last three to five seasons, although there is talk of a fourth. Given how this one plays out, I’m not certain what the next will look like. Each season so far has focused on going between dimensions. If I recall, the first season was the only one not to take place on a holiday, although it does happen between Halloween and Christmas. Will the next one take on Thanksgiving? Will there be a new enemy from another dimension? I’d settle for an explanation of the whole Soviet angle. And please, don’t tell me it was Moose and Squirrel.
IMDb page
Speaking of killing, The Mind Flayer is back, so Eleven, Dustin, Lucas, Jonathan and Co. have their work cut out for them. Add to this the discovery of another menace: Soviet operatives underneath the new Starcourt Mall. In fact, they’re the reason that the Mind Flayer is active. They’re trying to drill a hole to the Upside-Down. To what end isn’t made clear, but the Mind Flayer is up to something. It starts with rats consuming fertilizer and becomes stranger from there. All of this is happening while Mayor Larry Kline just wants to put on a nice Fourth of July show.
When you’re trying to use several elements in a story, you have to find balance. Here, there’s definitely nostalgia. We even get to see several clips of Back to the Future. Observant fans will notice stores at the mall tht still exist, like Burger King and The Gap, and those that are no longer with us, like Sam Goody and RadioShack.
There’s even a Jazzercise studio. It’s a franchise that uses jazz music to set the tone for the exercise. It started in 1969, but became big in the 1980s. Oh, how I would have liked to have forgotten that. I think I was in the fifth grade when they had my entire elementary school do it. It must have been in shifts, but all of the students had to participate. I remember some being enthusiastic about it. I remember doing the bare minimum necessary to look like I wasn’t just standing there.
Anyway, I digress. Many of the nostalgic elements blend into the background. You might see an old logo or something. The big thing is the Soviets. I think we’re to assume here that the Soviet Union somehow built a huge secret underground base, put a mall on top of it and hoped no one would notice? Well, someone noticed. Dustin happened to build a receiver that picked up one of their transmissions.
The other side of this is the tension. You have good against evil. Those that were fighting for good are still doing so, only in different groups. But even the bad guys are nostalgic. (How many old movies and cartoons had Soviets as the enemy?) I mean, it works. They are a pretty solid enemy. However, it seems odd that they have that large a base with that many people (in uniform) that went unnoticed except for some pesky kids.
From what I’ve read, the show was meant to last three to five seasons, although there is talk of a fourth. Given how this one plays out, I’m not certain what the next will look like. Each season so far has focused on going between dimensions. If I recall, the first season was the only one not to take place on a holiday, although it does happen between Halloween and Christmas. Will the next one take on Thanksgiving? Will there be a new enemy from another dimension? I’d settle for an explanation of the whole Soviet angle. And please, don’t tell me it was Moose and Squirrel.
IMDb page
No comments :
Post a Comment