Hi

I'm a long time reddit lurker but I've never been moved to actually write anything- until now! I've just finished Stranger Things (1&2) and it is one of the best TV shows I have ever seen. If not the best, but then I've only watched two seasons. I'm not a big TV viewer- prefer movies personally, most TV on this side of the Atlantic is dross (Corrie, X factor, emmerdale etc) or too clever for its own good (I wanted to love you, Sherlock!) but I was just blown away by this show. The atmosphere, the characters, there's something about it that's just magical. The plot itself is rather familiar on paper (Alien meets ET meets It) but the way it's presented means it never stops being engaging and you never know where it might go next, so from the end of episode one you're totally hooked. I particularly admired how they kept the audience in the dark about the true form of the monster and the nature of Hawkins lab until the latter half of Series 1.

I mentioned the importance of characters earlier but honestly, everyone who has been cast in the show has been absolutely perfect for their role. None of them seem unbelievable or awkward in their roles, which can sometimes be an issue with child actors especially. Stand outs IMO are David Harbour as Hopper, Finn Wolfhard as Mike and the incredible Millie Bobby Brown as Eleven. Although I feel the latter's talents were a bit underused in the second series.

I'm not sure if anyone will agree with me, because everybody seems to love the Mike/El kiss scene and Steve and Dustin, but my favourite two moments were in Episodes 8/9 of Series 2. The first moment was when they were trying to get Will to remember in the shed, and Mike broke down describing when he first met him. That hit me right in the heart because I can remember my first days at school and I was basically a Mike. The emotional breakdown you could see on his face was just so raw it was genuinely upsetting, and I can't remember the last time anything on TV did that to me. My second favourite scene was when Mike confronted Hopper about forcing Eleven in to isolation. Again, the raw emotion on display was quite hard to watch. Finn Wolfhard, if you ever read this, you are a brilliant actor for your age and you deserve an Emmy nomination this year ☺. The other stand out scenes in my mind were the Eleven flashbacks in Series 1 and Joyce's comforting of Eleven at the school. You just want to give the poor girl a hug, don't you. It's all brilliant though, and such a refreshing change from the rubbish sitcoms/soaps/ grim police procedurals that dominate the airwaves these days.

I know I'm late to the party, sure, but better late than never and I'm so glad I came!

Oh and happy birthday Will Byers...