Stranger Things

John Fraim

www.midnightoilstudios.org

Content

Introduction

The Duffer Brothers

Series Bible

Pilot

Season One

Season Two

Season Three

Characters

Symbolism

Technique

Dramatic Structure

2

Introduction

In our culture, it becomes increasingly difficult to differentiate the real from the unreal. What a simple dichotomy of a question this seems. But it is a question difficult to answer. Especially with the rise of Fake News. There is so much more Truth from Bull Shit to separate out.

There is a new dramatic structure demanded of streaming tv services like the Netflix streaming. Modern screenplay structure for Hollywood films is useful, but the appearance of this story on the rebel, renegade Netflix, says it all really.

Perhaps one of the greatest series in this new golden age of TV has been the science fiction and nostalgic return to the 80s in American television. Mostly, thanks to the Netflix phenomenon known as Stranger Things. Created by Matt and Ross Duffer, the setting of the story in the past is a time that many Americans want to return to. Especially, many of the Baby Boom and Millennial generation. Or, such is our theory.

The series Stranger Things starts its third season on Netflix to some of the greatest anticipation in the history of streaming television. For instance, the YouTube trailer for the third season of Stranger Things has garnered (as of this writing) over 23 million views and 60,000 comments.

The anticipation for the third season of Stranger Things is incredibly high all over the net and social media. As well as America’s gossip machine. It’s been two years now since the last episode in the Stranger Things series.

There are articles about the third season in the Hollywood Reporter and other important entertainment blogs or publications. Speculation about the third season is growing and growing until it is almost a constant buzz with the shows group of loyal fans.

I can see why as I’ve Bing-watched the entire Stranger Things series up to season three so far. This is something critics for episodic storytelling (Netflix) not connected to cable but based on the Internet. It’s quite an experience to watch the

3 growth of one of the most popular episodic shows yet on the wildly popular Netflix today.

My step daughter Sarah and stepson Drew have been trying to get their mother and me to break the cord to cable tv. I told her that it would be hard for me to give up shows like Bonanza and Gunsmoke reruns, or current shows like 90 Day Financee, 48 Hours, Moonshiners or Hard Time. There is a whole different world out there Sarah told us continually. And even bought us a Raku device when we lived in Palm Desert.

Despite all of their encouragement to us to cut the cable, we didn’t do anything about signing up for a streaming service like Netflix. That is, until about a month ago when we had a brief discussion and agreed Netflix was something to try. In the first few weeks on Netflix, I noticed my wife got more and more involved in shows on Netflix. I was still into my cable TV shows, the major programs from our local Spectrum cable company in town.

Then, I couldn’t take another episode of Antique Road Show, Bounty Hunter, Airplane Repo, My 600 Pound Life, Hard Time, Forensic Files, 48 Hours. I got into Netflix and watched an incredible episode in the Dark Mirror series, a type of anthology of various science fiction stories.

The first Netflix program I watched was “USS Callister” the first episode of the fourth series of anthology series Black Mirror. Written by series creator Charlie Brooker and William Bridges and directed by Toby Haynes, it first aired on Netflix with the rest of series four on 29 December 2017. The episode follows Robert Daly (Jesse Plemons), a reclusive but gifted programmer and co-founder of a popular massive multiplayer online game who is bitter over the lack of recognition of his position from his coworkers. He takes out his frustrations by simulating a Star Trek-like space adventure within the game, using his co-workers' DNA to create sentient digital clones of them. Acting as the captain of the USS Callister starship, Daly is able to order his co-workers around, bend them to his will, and mistreat them if they get out of line. When Daly brings newly hired Nanette Cole (Cristin Milioti) into his game, she encourages the other clones to revolt against Daly. In contrast to most Black Mirror episodes, "USS Callister" contains overt comedy, and has many special effects. As a fan of Star Trek, Bridges was keen to introduce many details from the show into "USS Callister", though the episode was

4 conceived mostly with The Twilight Zone episode "It's a Good Life" and Viz character Playtime Fontayne in mind. The episode has received positive reception, with reviewers praising the allusions to Star Trek, the acting, and the cinematography, though the plot garnered mixed reviews. Some critics saw the episode as being about male abuse of authority, and have compared Daly to recent events surrounding internet bullies and Harvey Weinstein. In 2018, the episode won four Emmy Awards, including the Outstanding Television Movie and Writing for a Limited Series, Movie or Drama.

Then, the other night in bed, I found I could sign in to the Netflix account with my iPhone. It signed in and picked a series called Stranger Things to watch.

Below we provide a summary of the eight episodes of the first season of Stranger Things along with the title of each episode as well as the director and writer of the episode. Also below is a list of the cast members in the series.

After watching the first season almost on a straight Bing, I feel I can give a different perspective on this amazing series than a long-time fan of the show who watched it all in real time, waiting a week or more between episodes of the show. These loyal fans of the series, perhaps one of the greatest audiences of any show in the history of Netflix, have followed this brilliant episodic tv series team.

Who are these young millennial Duffer Brothers I wonder. They are certainly a brilliant team. Reminding me of the Cohen Brothers and their amazing partnership. To Bing-watch Stranger Things (like I did) offers an interesting experience of viewing the series from a current viewer perspective of entire series. Anyone who is able to Bing-view the season of a show on episodic tv obtains a certain perspective just from experiencing a dramatic season of a show in a condensed form.

5

1. The Duffer Brothers

“There’s a particular feeling that I experienced in those summers in North Carolina that we are attempting to recapture because they were the best times of our lives … As much as Stranger Things is a love letter to these films and books we grew up loving – it’s just as much a love letter to our own childhood in North Carolina.”

Matt Duffer

Twin brothers Matt and Ross Duffer were born in Durham, North Carolina on February 15, 1984 and are known professionally as the Duffer Brothers. Matt Duffer recalls, “We grew up in the suburbs of Durham, kind of in the middle of nowhere by a tobacco farm. We had woods and creeks, tobacco fields train tracks. It was beautiful.”

The brothers were first attracted to film with Tim Burton’s Batman in 1989 when they were just five years old in the first grade. As Matt recalls, “I remember seeing a TV commercial for it and going, ‘I want to see that.’ It was dark for that age and it took a little convincing, but eventually our mom let us see it, and then we fell in love with Tim Burton. He has such a signature style that even at a very young age – like first grade – we were able to track from film to film.” During this early time, Matt notes, “We started to learn what it meant to be a director, [and] we started to find other directors we liked … obviously, Steven Spielberg being one of the main ones. From that our love for movies grew. Also, our dad was a big movie goer. He’s not in the arts himself, and none of his friends liked going to the movies particularly, so we were his movie-going partners. We just went to every movie regardless of whether it was appropriate or not for children. We went to everything.”

They began making films in the fourth grade using an Hi8 video camera that was a gift from their parents. In fifth grade they made our first “feature-length

6 film” which was an adaptation of this card game called Magic: The Gathering. Their best friend lived next door to them and was their partner in making their first movies. As Ross Duffer recalls, “Every summer as soon as we got off from school, we would all start brainstorming the next movie to make, and we would spend all summer making it. We never went to camp. We just stuck around the neighborhood and wandered around and made these movies.”

* * *

They attended the private Duke School for Children from grades K-8. The teachers at the school were positive and encouraging. As Matt remembers, “The teachers found out I loved making movies, and they were very encouraging. No one was like, ‘Let’s be realistic, maybe you should also study to be a lawyer.’ People said, ‘You can do whatever you want to do.’ No one told us how difficult it was going to be. If anything, we were very deluded when we came out here, but I think that was actually good because I think you have to be a little insane.” At Duke School, author Charles Frazier’s daughter was in their class. Frazier’s book Cold Mountain shot to the top of the bestseller lists in 1997. “I saw Cold Mountain become a big phenomenon, and that showed me it was possible. We were from this small city in North Carolina, but we can still make a cultural impact! That was unbelievable to me.”

Ross Duffer recalls the supportive environment and how friendly everyone was. “I remember just wandering around being able to shoot in basically any restaurant or property we wanted to. Everyone loved the idea of us making movies. I remember we did one movie where the opening was shot in an abandoned mall, and we just asked this mall to let us in before it opened at like 5 in the morning, and they said sure. It was just this incredible experience. You can’t go and ask, ‘Can I film in a mall before it opens?’ in L.A. That won’t go over very well. We learned that very quickly when we went to film school in California. Everyone in L.A. is jaded about film, but there was just an excitement about it in North Carolina.”

After Duke School, they attended Charles E. Jordan High School in Durham. At Jordan they had a drama teacher named Hope Hynes who played a major role in their career. “She was incredible,” Matt says. “She more than anyone influenced us. We’re terrible actors, but I just wanted to be part of the drama department because she was an incredible director. She was fantastic with kids, and fantastic with people who hadn’t acted much. She was brilliant, and I still pull from the lessons I learned from her.”

7

In their junior year in high school, they were doing a musical. Neither Ross nor Matt can sing so they weren’t going to be part of it. But they asked their drama teacher Hope Hynes if she would let them do a documentary on her and the process of putting together the musical. She let them do the documentary and they really got into documentary films because of a documentary film festival called Full Frame at the Carolina Theater. Full Frame. Their whole goal was to get into the Full Frame festival. But in the end, they were not let in and got about 100 rejections. But Matt notes that it was an amazing experience putting the documentary together. “That was when we first learned how to edit,” he says. Besides this, they volunteered at the Full Frame festival and this allowed them so see many documentaries and discover many documentary filmmakers.”

They continued to pursue filmmaking in high school and realized that they would have to leave Durham to pursue their film ambitions. In Durham, Matt recalls that “We were the only ones really into movies as much as we were. We were weird in that sense. We were certainly the only people making movies.” Ross adds, “We had this plan mapped out very early on. We knew that we were going to go to film school, that we were going to California.”

* * *

In 2004, at twenty years old, they left North Carolina for California where they went to Chapman college in Orange, California. They studied film at Chapman’s Dodge College of Film and Media Studies. During their years in college, they made a number of short films. They were writers & directors on the 2005 short film We All Fall Down (winning the Best Short at the 2005 Deep Ellum Film Festival in Dallas) and editors on the 2006 short film The Big Toe. In 2007, they were given the opportunity to meet with producer Mace Neufelf, who had produced the film The Hunt for Red October. Under his guidance, they created their senior thesis project, a short film titled Eater. It was one of five films selected to represent Chapman at the annual First Cut screening of the DGA.

After college, they continued to make short films, working on them in various capacities. In 2008, they produced Story Night at Norms and The Milkman. In 2009 they wrote Abraham’s Boys and Road to Moloch. In 2012, they wrote Vessel. They directed none of these short films except for Abraham’s Boys (where they were also editors and producers).

8 Between making the short films, they wrote a feature-length script for a post-apocalyptic horror film called Hidden. The script was acquired by Warner Brothers in 2011 and the Duffer Brothers were hired to direct the film in 2012 which was released in 2015. It is a story about a young family surviving for over 300 days in a deep bunker. Outside and above the bunker lurk “The Breathers” with glowing eyes sounding like Darth Vader, they stalk the night on the lookout for the family. The film stars Alexander Skarsgard, Andrea Riseborough and Emily Alyn Lind. The producer was Richard Zanuck and it was Zanuck’s last film as the producer died before filming began.

Hidden never made it to theaters, instead receiving a home release with mixed reviews. As reviewer Mike McGranaghan notes in The Aisle Seat Movie Reviews, “It takes a lot of elements that have been done countless times before and dutifully trots them out in a rote fashion” making it “predictable and uninspired.” When the Duffers do try to add an original twist at the end, McGranaghan notes “they bungle it with overly dark cinematography, choppy editing that makes it difficult to tell what's going on, and a howler of a credibility-straining final scene … Hidden isn’t the worst thing you’ll ever see, but it doesn’t do anything that hasn’t already been done – much better, mind you - on The Walking Dead or dozens of other movies about people trying to survive after a deadly outbreak. It’s pretty generic stuff.”

However, other reviewers like Daniel Kurland were more sympathetic to the film on the horror film site Bloody Disgusting. At the end of the mainly positive review, Kurland notes “Hidden might not be a perfect film, but it’s one that plays with a bunch of themes ahead of the curve while still subverting the norm in the process. It’s easy to see how this film could grab M. Night Shyamalan’s attention, spurring him to bring the duo over to the equally unpredictable first season of Wayward Pines. On top of this though, Hidden shows the work of growing filmmakers that are clearly only getting started and hopefully this title won’t remain hidden for much longer.”

At the time, Hidden felt to the Duffers like they’d gotten their big break — and blown it. As Matt told Vulture’s Adam Sternberg, “You’re banging on the door for years, and they finally let you in the party. And then they’re like, ‘That was an accident. You don’t actually belong here. Get the fuck out.’ Your dreams come true, and then they don’t.”

It was a low point for the Duffers. But Ross notes they used this low point to their advantage to re-evaluate the film business. As he says, “I don’t think Stranger

9 Things would exist without it, because it was us being disillusioned with movies, the things we fell in love with, and then seeing this other opening in television that, if we really want to tell the kind of stories we want to tell, maybe we were just looking in the wrong place.” They now became excited about the prospect that television was becoming more cinematic.

* * *

Although the film Hidden had limited success, the script for Hidden attracted the attention of famous film director M. Night Shyamalan who was working on a Fox television series called Wayward Pines. Shyamalan hired them as writer/producers on the series. With Wayward Pines, the Duffer Brothers made their first foray into television, learning how to create a television series. Together, the Duffer Brothers penned season 1 episodes “The Truth,” “Choices,” “A Reckoning,” and “Cycle.” As Ross told Rolling Stone, “That became our training ground, and M. Night Shyamalan became a great mentor to us. By the time we came out of that show, we were like, ‘OK, we know how to put together a show.’ And that’s when we wrote Stranger Things.”

The initial inspiration for the plot of Stranger Things came from the 2013 film Prisoners, starring Hugh Jackman as a man searching for his missing daughter. Wanting the show to have something more, the Duffers began discussing “more childlike sensibilities,” like having a monster devouring people. They also discussed bizarre experiments conducted by the government during the Cold War that they had read about, especially those of Project MKUltra. This led to the show taking place in the ‘80s, which also allowed them to pay homage to all the films they had loved growing up.

However, two weeks after they conceived the idea, they threw it away, believing there was no way they’d be able to create it due to their inexperience with television. But their work on Wayward Pines gave them television experience and confidence that they could create a television series.

* * *

In addition, the brothers began to see a more creative potential for their ideas in television. Part of this potential was that it offered a better place for a new type of character-driven horror story. As Matt Duffer told Finn Cohen in an 8/11/16 interview in the New York Times, “If you’re doing a movie, the minute you put a monster in it, it becomes a horror movie. And if it’s a horror movie nowadays, it’s

10 basically a haunted house ride. You’re trying to get jump scares every six, seven minutes. You just don’t have the time to spend with characters. We love monsters, but if it was a movie, it would be all about the monster. But a place like Netflix, they actually care a lot more about the characters. So, we’re able to tell these very character-driven stories and also appease our childlike sensibilities by putting a flesh-eating monster in it.”

Apart from the current horror genre and its attachment to movies, they were also looking to utilize the new concepts of length for stories. Unbound to traditional two-hours for films, the so-called Golden Age of television was created in large part by new conceptions of story length. Increasing story length provided for deeper characterizations and more character-driven stories. As Ross Duffer told Finn Cohen in the New York Times interview, “This is really the first time I can think of in history that people are able to come up with a story, and they’re able to go, how long should this be? Should this be six hours? Should this be seven hours? Should this be 11 hours?”

* * *

They wrote the show’s pilot script (then titled Montauk) and created a 20- page pitch bible. They also created a mock trailer composed of 20-30 films that had inspired the series. They were rejected by 15-20 networks, a major concern being that four of the major characters were kids, but the show itself wasn’t necessarily for children. Execs wanted the show to either be made for children or to have the story centered on Hopper investigating the paranormal occurrences in the town. The Duffers refused to comply with these demands because they felt everything interesting about the story would be lost.

In late 2014, Dan Cohen, Vice President of 21 Laps Entertainment, brought the script to director-producer Shawn Levy. Cohen told Levy, “It’s by these twin brothers no one’s ever heard of. And it may be the best pilot I’ve ever read.” Levy agreed and worked with Cohen to bring the Duffers’ vision to life. With Levy and Cohen’s backing, they pitched the series to Netflix and within 24 hours Netflix had bought the entire season.

By April 2015 it was decided that the that the show would be targeted for a 2016 release. The Duffers began their writing and brought both Shawn Levy and Dan Cohen on board to start the casting and filming as executive producers of the series. The show would be set in the early 1980s in the fictitious town of Hawkins, Indiana. It would offer an homage to ‘80s pop culture and inspired aesthetically

11 informed by the works of Steven Spielberg, Stephen King, John Carpenter and George Lucas among others.

It was released on July 15, 2016. There weren't great expectations. Netflix puts out new stuff no one hears about all the time. But Ross remembers eating out in Los Angeles a week later and listening to the tables around him talk obsessively about the show. The buzz continued to grow and the show soon began to develop an online cult following. Review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes gave the series an approval rating of 95%. On August 31, 2016, Netflix renewed the series for a second season of nine episodes, which were released on October 27, 2017. In December 2017, Netflix renewed the series for a third season of eight episodes, one less than the former season. While season two followed season one by one year, season three would come two years after season two.

https://www.mrporter.com/journal/the-interview/meet-the-twins-behind-istranger- thingsi/2699?setupsession=false

12

2. Stanger Things Series Bible

The original idea for the series was pitched to studios in the form of what’s known in the industry as a series bible. At eleven pages, it was short for a series bible. Rather than enclose their bible pitch on the usual white sheets of paper, the Duffer Brothers were creative in creating the series bible. The cover was in the form of an old Steven King novel. In an 8/7/16 article in The Daily Beast, Matt Duffer discusses the cover. “When we were selling it, we made a fake Stephen King paperback cover for the show. We actually used the Firestarter paperback and put our title and an image of a fallen bike on top of it, so when we were trying to come up with titles, we would type them out onto this paperback cover, and it would help us. And Stranger Things sort of sounds like Needful Things—it sounded like it could have been a Stephen King book from the ‘80s.”

The bible begins with a very short “Introduction” section. One of the interesting things is that it is pitched as an eight-hour epic sci-fi horror epic. This translates to eight episodes per season and is much shorter than the traditional length of a twenty-two episodes per season. This twenty-two-episode length was standard when the majority of TV aired on the three (and later four) major broadcast networks. Occasionally a show would start in the summer, instead of as usual in the fall, and only have 13 episodes, but if it was picked up to go further, it would get the standard 22. Now, with cable and other distribution outlets, the length of season has changed and is usually anywhere from 10 to 22 episodes. Cable tends to favor 13 episodes, but the numbers are fluid. At a target of just eight episodes per season, the bible for the series finds a new shorter length target somewhere between the length of a mini-series and the traditional thirteen to twenty-two-episode tv series.

The Introduction continues noting that the series is set in “Long Island in 1980 and inspired by the supernatural classics of that era, we explored the crossroads where the ordinary meets the extraordinary. The feeling of fear and wonder as Elliott approaches a fog-drenched shed in E.T. … the helpless dread that consumes Chief Brody as he watches a boy and his raft get dragged under the

13 water by an unseen monster in Jaws … the crackling television in Poltergeist … the horror of a cackling clown in It … the friendship and adventure of Stand By Me. Emotional, cinematic, and rooted in character, Montauk is a love letter to the golden age of Steven Spielberg and Stephen King – a marriage of human drama and supernatural fear.”

The next section of the series bible is entitled “The ‘Montauk Project’ Conspiracy.” Before the series final name of Stranger Things, it was first called Montauk (on the cover of the series bible pitched about the series.) The title says much about the idea for the series as the Montauk Project still represents one of the greatest conspiracy theories in American history. It is a conspiracy that’s secrets still remain untapped.

In this section, we are given a brief history of the conspiracy theory. In 1942, as WWII raged across the ocean, the Air Force established Camp Hero on the eastern-most point of Long Island – Montauk. The bases initial objective was to protect America against possible German invasion. The already enormous base was expanded during the Cold War. A long-range radar dish was added, and it became a focal point of Soviet surveillance. Around this time, the base allegedly began to conduct a series of top-secret experiments. The codename: The Montauk Project. The project involved the most cutting-edge developments in science, No one knows for sure what these experiments entailed, but the chatter runs a gamut of the weird and wonderful. Alien contact … time travel … telepathy … alternate dimensions …mutant monsters … you name it, someone claims it happened at this base.”

The next section in the bible is titled “Story.” The bible notes that “We begin at Camp Hero in the fall of 1980, a few months before the base will shut down by the U.S. government. A mysterious experiment has gone horribly awry. And something has gotten out. On this very night, a young boy, Will Byers, vanishes into thin air. His disappearance has a potent effect on the small-town community, particularly on his best friend Mike Wheeler, his brother Jonathan and his mother Joyce and the reluctant Chief of Police, Jim Hopper. We follow each of these characters as they grapple with and investigate Will’s disappearance.”

“As they peel back the layers of this mystery, they will all arrive at the same shocking conclusion: Will was abducted by supernatural entities which were inadvertently released during an experiment. These entities exist between dimensions and have begun to feed on life from our world – Will’s disappearance is only the beginning …”

14

“Over the course of the series, the “tea” or “tip” that separates their world from ours will begin to spread across Montauk like a supernatural cancer. This cancer will manifest itself in increasingly bizarre paranormal ways. Electrical fields will be disrupted. Strange fungi will grow on structures and people. A heavy fog will drift in from the Atlantic. The temperature will plummet. Food will rot. Gravity will fluctuate. People will glimpse bizarre entities in their homes and businesses. There will be an escalating number of ‘vanishings.’ The entire town will become ‘haunted’ – an in grave danger. If people can disappear … can an entire town?”

“In order to save Will and the town, our heroes will have to outsmart federal agents and tap into the preternatural abilities of a mysterious child telepath named Eleven, who has recently escaped from Camp Hero. Eleven will ultimately give them access to this ‘in-between” dimension, a nightmarish reflection of our own, where they will find themselves face to face with unimaginable horrors – horrors from which some of them will never escape. Those who do will forever be changed.”

The bible discusses “Structure” after the Story section. “Montauk will be structured like a film. There will be a definite beginning, middle and end. There will be no loose ends after the finale, and all of our lead characters will have complete arcs. The limited nature of the project will allow us to target film actors for adult leads. For example, Ewan McGregor or Sam Rockwell for Hopper, Naomi Watts or Marisa Tomei for Joyce.”

“Act One (episodes 1-3) will depict the ‘vanishing’ of Will Byers and the resulting fallout in the community. Chief Hopper will investigate the disappearance, only to find his case obstructed at every turn by shadowy federal agents; Mile will meet and bond with Eleven; Jonathan will become fixated on a supernatural ‘tear’ inside his shed; Joyce will make paranormal contact with Will. By the end of the act, our disparate characters will all arrive at the same conclusion: Will was abducted by supernatural forces and taken in a realm which exists beyond human senses.”

“Act Two (episodes 4-6) will have the town of Montauk becoming increasingly ‘haunted,’ raising the stakes as out characters desperately attempt to uncover the mystery. Several peripheral characters will come to the forefront, including Terry Ives, a local conspiracy theorist, and Mr. Clark, a middle school teacher. We will also delve deeper into Eleven’s terrifying backstory, and Mike

15 will travel into this alternate dimension for the first time. He will return with proof that Will is alive. But if he wants to save him, he will need help. This act will end with our desperate characters and storylines coming together.

“Act Three (episodes 7-8) will climax with characters working together to outsmart the military, venture into this alternate dimension, save Will, and, hopefully, close this ‘tear’ once and for all.”

The section “Tone and Style” is the next section of the Stranger Things bible. In this section it states “The visual style will be energetic, creative and cinematic. The framing will be bold, the cinematography will be dark and constantly on the move; the pacing will be fast. Since Montauk is set in the fall of 1980, the show will feature many period details (wood paneled station wagons, analog technology, Empire Strikes Back in theaters, Blondie on the radio, etc.). While this will add a fun nostalgia factor to the show, these details must never overwhelm the story or characters; Spielberg’s early films have a certain timeless quality to them, and we will strive for the same. The soundtrack should similarly feel period but timeless. Classic songs will only come from sources such as radios and TVs; most of the music will be original, which we imagine as a cinematic, eerie, modern synth sound, inspired by classic early John Carpenter scores like The Thing and The Fog.”

The next section of the bible is titled simply “Horror” and describes the type of horror in the series. “The horror in Montauk is supernatural – but rooted in science. Dark matter, black holes, worm holes, alternate universes, string theory … we want to use the mathematics of theoretical physics to ground our horror in reality.”

“Our supernatural entities will remain mostly obscured throughout, hidden in the shadows, tucked away just off screen. When we do glimpse them, they will be terrifying, unforgettable, strange, their design taking inspiration from the masters of the grotesque: Clive Barker, Guillermo Del Toro, H.R. Giger and Masahiro Ito (Silent Hill). To believably realize our entities on screen, we plan to employ a combination of prosthetics, trained movement artists, subtle CGI, and some good old-fashioned fog and shadow.”

“The show will also prominently feature yet another type of horror: the human kind. The supernatural terrors unleashed on our town will in certain ways personify the evil that exists beneath the perfect façade of this small town. Abuse, divorce, violence, cruelty, substance abuse, depression, death … our characters

16 will struggle with the darkness of the human condition. How do you cope with the abundance of evil in the world? And, in the end, is it worth it?”

The next four sections of the series bible are broken discuss the four major groups of characters in Stranger Things: The Kids, The Outsider, The Teenagers and The Adults.

The Kids are composed of four boys: Mike Wheeler, Lucas Conley, Will Byers and Dustin Henderson.

The Outsider is the orphan girl Eleven with the power of telekinesis.

The Teenagers are Jonathan Byers and Nancy Wheeler.

The Adults are Jim Hopper the chief of the Montauk police and Joyce Byers, mother of Will and Jonathan.

The final part of the bible is the “Franchise Potential” section. The bible states that “The hypothetical sequel will take place in the same town, only ten years later, in the summer of 1990. Our kids will now be young adults, with new lives, new problems; many of them will have moved out of Montauk, spread out across the country for school and work. But the re-emergence of horror in Montauk will bring them back to their hometown, where they will have no choice but to join forces again. This will allow us to explore many of the same characters, themes, and horrors from the original series, but with a new ensemble of actors and a fresh time period.”

The Stranger Things bible in its original form can be seen at … http://www.zen134237.zen.co.uk/Stranger_Things/Stranger_Things_-_Bible.pdf

17 3. Pilot “The Vanishing of Will Byers”

First of all, provided below is the teleplay of the pilot script for Stranger Things “The Vanishing of Will Byers.” Directed and written by the Duffer Brothers. It offers a leading example of the new type of set-up for episodic dramatic stories. Internet streaming like Netflix does rather than the old Blockbuster store concept.

https://www.dailyscript.com/scripts/STRANGER-THINGS-1x01-The- Vanishing-of-Will-Byers-2ND-PINK.pdf

The Teleplays offers much to any writer willing to learn about the new medium for dramatic writing called episodic, Internet television. The teleplay “The Vanishing of Will Byers” offers a brilliant example of how to set up a series so that there are many unresolved questions and mysteries that can always continue onward into new episodes and weeks of anticipation.

I just experienced that amazing piece of art called the first season of Stranger Things. In many ways, for me, it was like watching the reemergence of the Twilight Zone. Much like Hollywood’s legendary movies Casablanca and Citizen Kane, much seemed to come together to create this series almost magically, of a phenomenon Jung identified as synchronicity, or, meaningful coincidences.

The original creation of Stranger Things seemed to have many coincidences in its creation. So many things came together at one time. One of the greatest ensembles of actors to ever work together in an episodic tv series. Almost perfect casting in the series. Some lucky events that allowed some of the actors to become free to be in the series.

18 4. “The Weirdo on Maple Street” The Hook Into Large Viewership / Second Episode Resurrection of a Modern ET

Based on research from Netlix, the second episode can hook up to 70% of loyal series’ audience. Stranger Things accomplished this task in the summer of 2016 after the second episode “The Weirdo on Maple Street” was released. It much the story about a mysterious girl with a shaved head who is discovered by some boys and brought to one of the boy’s home where the girl is hidden in his basement.

Just by the very act of harboring a type of alien from another world, this episode of Stranger Things particular references the real storyline of ET. The young boy of Stranger Things who hides Eleven is so similar to the young boy in ET who hides ET. There is a particularly worthwhile act for both boys in both films to perform. Protection from the world who is out to capture and most likely kill the creature ET or the girl Eleven.

Like in the legendary Spielberg film, we are given the girl in Stranger Things of Eleven – much like ET – alien to our particular world, lost within it. Eleven serves as a type of symbol for this modern version of ET. It shows a strong understanding of not only the images of the great master image makers like King, Spielberg and Lucas. But also, it seems to offer up something more.

The symbolism and mythology at much of the heart of the series is the protection of a particular type of “other” who has escaped from a world. There is the constant question if this is the world of the government.

In some important symbolic ways, Stranger Things episode two “The Weirdo on Maple Street” offers up the ET story packaged in a modern version. In many ways, how the millennial Duffer brothers, both millennials, revision the symbolism at the center of ET. The Duffer brothers threw their major punch with episode two of the series. One that possessed powerful symbolism to a past power movie symbol.

19 5. Season One (7/15/16)

Premise: The first season begins in November 1983, when researchers at Hawkins National Laboratory open a rift to the "Upside Down", an alternate dimension. A monster from the Upside Down escapes and abducts a boy named Will Byers. His mother, Joyce, and the town's police chief, Jim Hopper, search for Will. At the same time, a young psychokinetic girl called Eleven escapes from the laboratory and assists Will's friends, Mike, Dustin, and Lucas, in their own efforts to find Will.[2]

1 - “The Vanishing of Will Byers” Directed by The Duffer Brothers (TDB) / Written by TDB

In November 1983, in a U.S. Department of Energy laboratory in the town of Hawkins, Indiana, a scientist is attacked by an unseen creature. In a suburban Indiana basement, with four adolescent boys debating the best way to defeat a mythical Demogorgon in a Dungeons & Dragons game. While bicycling home from the game session with his friends, 12-year-old Will Byers encounters the creature and vanishes. The next day, a young girl with a shaved head and wearing a hospital gown steals food from a local diner. The owner, Benny, takes pity on her and feeds her before calling social services. From a tattoo on her arm, he learns that her name is Eleven. A woman posing as a social worker arrives and kills Benny. Armed men search the diner for Eleven, but she escapes. Will’s mother Joyce believes she hears Will’s voice on a distorted phone call, but her phone short-circuits. Will’s friends Lucas, Mike, and Dustin search for Will in the woods and find Eleven.

2 – “The Weirdo on Maple Street” Directed by The Duffer Brothers (TDB) / Written by TDB

The boys bring Eleven to Mike’s house, where she sleeps in the basement. The next day, Mike nicknames her “El.” She says that “bad people” are looking for her and refuses to meet Mike’s parents. Scientists from the laboratory find a substance oozing from the walls of Joyce’s home. At Mike’s home, Eleven recognizes and points out Will in a photo. Dustin and Lucas want to inform Mike’s parents about

20 Eleven, but she uses psychokinesis to stop them. While searching for Will, Mr. Clarke, the boys’ science teacher, discovers a scrap of a hospital gown outside the laboratory grounds. Nancy goes with her friend Barb to a party at her boyfriend Steve’s house. Will’s brother Jonathan investigates the woods where Will went missing. Hearing screaming, he runs to help but finds only Steve, Nancy, and their friends roughhousing around Steve’s swimming pool. He secretly photographs them. Barb, left alone by the poolside, vanishes. Joyce receives another call from Will, hears music from his room, and sees something coming through the wall.

3 – “Holly, Jolly” Directed by Shawn Levy / Written by Jessica Mecklenburg

Barb wakes up in an empty and decaying pool. She screams for Nancy and attempts to climb out but is dragged down by something unseen. Joyce strings Christmas lights around her home to talk to Will, who can turn them on and off. Hawkins Lab director Dr. Martin Brenner allows Hopper to view the lab’s security camera footage. Hopper realizes it is fake. He and his deputies research Hawkins Lab, Brenner, and a woman named Terry Ives who claimed her daughter was taken by Brenner. Eleven has a flashback in which Brenner, whom she calls “Papa,” has her put in solitary confinement for refusing to telekinetically harm a cat. Nancy worries about Barb, who is missing. Steve and his friends discover Jonathan’s photographs. They destroy them and his camera. Nancy recovers a photo of Barb by the poolside and returns to Steve’s house to search for her. Nancy finds Barb’s car and sees the creature in the woods. Joyce establishes a code with Will using the lights, which he uses to tell her that he is alive but unsafe. He tells Joyce to run as a creature begins to climb through her wall. Will’s apparent body is discovered in the water at a quarry.

4 – “The Body” Directed by Shawn Levy / Written by Justin Doble

Eleven proves to the boys that Will is still alive by making contact through Mike’s walkie-talkie. Joyce goes to the morgue to view the body and refuses to believe it is Will. The boys give Eleven a makeover so they can sneak her into school. Joyce hears Will in her living room wall. Tearing away the wallpaper, she sees him behind a membrane. At school, Eleven uses Mr. Clarke’s ham radio to channel Will talking to his mother. Joyce demolishes the wall with an axe but reveals only her front porch. Nancy discovers a figure behind Barb in Jonathan’s photo. Jonathan realizes that the figure matches his mother’s description of the creature: a humanoid figure with long arms and no face. Nancy tells the police about her

21 missing friend and subsequently admits to her mother that she slept with Steve. When she tells Steve about the police, she is irritated that he cares only about not getting in trouble with his father. Hopper confronts the state trooper who found Will's body and beats him until he admits he was ordered to lie. Hopper goes to the morgue and finds that Will’s supposed body is a dummy. He breaks into Hawkins laboratory.

5 – “The Flea and the Acrobat” Directed by TDB / Written by Alison Tatlock

Will’s father Lonnie assures Joyce that her experiences are hallucinations. The boys conclude that Will is trapped in an alternative dimension which Eleven calls the Upside Down. Hopper discovers a portal in the basement of the lab. He is knocked out by the lab’s guards and wakes at home. He searches his house and finds a hidden microphone. After Will’s funeral, the boys ask Mr. Clarke about other dimensions. He tells them that a high-energy spacetime tear could create a passage between dimensions. The deputies inform Hopper that Barb’s car was found by the state; Hopper finds the state’s involvement suspicious. Positing that a tear in spacetime would disrupt Earth’s electromagnetic field, the boys follow their compasses. Eleven remembers being placed in a sensory-deprivation tank to telepathically eavesdrop on a man speaking Russian; while listening, she comes across the creature. Scared of encountering the creature again, Eleven redirects the compasses. Lucas notices the distortion and confronts her. Mike defends her, he and Lucas fight, and Eleven telekinetically flings Lucas off Mike. While Dustin and Mike tend to the unconscious Lucas, Eleven disappears. In the woods, Nancy and Jonathan find a wounded deer. The creature drags the deer away, and Nancy and Jonathan follow the trail of blood. Nancy crawls through a passage to the Upside Down and discovers the creature feasting upon the deer. She snaps a twig and draws the creature’s attention.

6 – “The Monster” Directed by TDB / Written by Jessie Nickson-Lopez

When she can’t get out of the portal by herself, Jonathan pulls Nancy through and saves her from the monster. In her bedroom, she is afraid to be alone and asks Jonathan to stay. Steve sees them together through her bedroom window and assumes they are dating. The next day, Nancy and Jonathan resolve to kill the monster and purchase supplies from an army surplus store. During a fist fight with Steve, Jonathan inadvertently assaults a police officer and is arrested. Joyce and Hopper track down Terry Ives, who is catatonic and tended by her sister Becky.

22 Becky explains that Terry underwent Project MK Ultra testing while unknowingly pregnant; she believed her daughter Jane was kidnapped by Brenner at birth. Joyce and Hopper conclude Eleven is likely Jane. Eleven recalls being asked to contact the monster and how her contact opened the portal to the Upside Down in the laboratory basement. While searching for Eleven, Mike and Dustin are ambushed by bullies Troy and James. Troy holds Dustin at knifepoint and demands that Mike make a suicidal jump into the lake where Will’s body was discovered. Mike jumps but is levitated to safety by Eleven, who dispatches the bullies. Lucas sees agents leaving the laboratory and realizes they are heading to Mike’s house.

7 – “The Bathtub” Directed by TDB / Written by Justin Doble

Lucas warns Mike via walkie-talkie that government agents are after them. Mike, Dustin, and Eleven flee the house. Eleven telekinetically flips a van that blocks their path, and the kids escape. Lucas reconciles with Mike and Eleven. Joyce and Hopper are called to the police station because of Jonathan’s assault. Jonathan and Nancy reveal their knowledge of the monster to Joyce and Hopper. The group contacts Mike and his friends and they rendezvous. They ask Eleven to search for Will and Barb, but her earlier feats have left her too weak to find them. To amplify Eleven’s powers, they break into the middle school and build a sensory-deprivation tank. Eleven finds Barb’s corpse with a slug-like creature crawling out of her mouth. With Joyce’s help, she finds Will alive, hiding in the Upside Down “Castle Byers,” his backyard fort. Hopper and Joyce break into Hawkins Laboratory but are apprehended by security guards. Nancy and Jonathan resolve to kill the monster and steal their hunting gear back from the police station. In the Upside Down, the monster breaks into the fort where Will is hiding.

8 – “The Upside Down” Directed by TDB / Story by Paul Dichter / Teleplay by TDB

Hopper gives up Eleven’s location to Brenner in exchange for access to the portal. He and Joyce enter the Upside Down. Hopper recalls his daughter Sarah struggling to breathe before her cancer diagnosis. Nancy and Jonathan booby-trap the Byers’ home, then cut their hands to attract the monster with their blood. Steve arrives, intending to apologize to Jonathan about their fight. The monster attacks but disappears before springing the trap. Steve gets in his car to leave but stays when he realizes the monster is returning. The monster springs the trap but escapes back to the Upside Down. Eleven and the boys hide in the middle school. Mike asks Eleven to a school dance called the Snow Ball and kisses her. Brenner and his

23 agents arrive to get Eleven back. Eleven kills most of them but collapses of exhaustion. As Brenner cradles her, the monster appears. The boys carry Eleven to a classroom and hide as the monster slaughters Brenner and the agents. Hopper and Joyce find the monster’s nest in the Upside-Down town library. Will is there, unconscious with a tendril down his throat. At the middle school, the monster finds the children, but is pinned and disintegrated by Eleven, who vanishes. Hopper and Joyce perform CPR on Will and revive him. Will is hospitalized and reunited with his mother, brother, and friends. Hopper is reluctantly picked up by a black car. One month later, Nancy has gotten back together with Steve, and both are friends with Jonathan. Hopper leaves the other food in a box in the woods. Will coughs up a slug-like creature and has a vision of the world as the Upside Down, but he hides this from his family.

Season One Main Characters

• Winona Ryder as Joyce Byers • David Harbour as Jim Hopper • Finn Wolfhard as Mike Wheeler • Millie Bobby Brown as Eleven (“El”) • Gaten Matarazzo as Dustin Henderson • Caleb McLaughlin as Lucas Sinclair • Natalia Dyer as Nancy Wheeler • Charlie Heaton as Jonathan Byers • Cara Buono as Karen Wheeler • Matthew Modine as Martin Brenner

Season One Recurring Characters

• Noah Schnapp as Will Byers • Joe Keery as Steve Harrington • Shannon Purser as Barbara “Barb” Holland • Ross Partridge as Lonnie Byers • Joe Chrest as Ted Wheeler • Mark Steger as the Monster • Rob Morgan as Officer Powell • John Paul Reynolds as Officer Callahan

24 • Randall P. Havens as Scott Clarke • Aimee Mullins as Terry Ives • Catherine Dyer as Connie Frazier • Peyton Wich as Troy • Cade Jones as James • Chester Rushing as Tommy H. • Chelsea Talmadge as Carol • Tinsley and Anniston Price as Holly Wheeler • Chris Sullivan as Benny Hammond • Tobias Jelinek as lead agent • Susan Shalhoub Larkin as Florence (“Flo”)

25 6. Season Two 10/27/17

Premise: On Halloween 1984, Will Byers finds himself the target of the Upside Down a year after his disappearance as a large tentacled figure named the Mind Flayer soon terrorizes the citizens of Hawkins, drawing back Joyce and Hopper as well as Will's close friends; Mike, Dustin and Lucas. The group along with Californian newcomer Max must join forces once again to prevent the threat from increasing.

9 – “MadMax” Directed by TDB / Written by TDB

Almost a year after the events of the vanishing of Will, a psychic girl with a tattoo identical to Eleven's, marking her as “008,” is working as part of a criminal gang in Pittsburgh. Back in Hawkins, Will, Mike, Dustin and Lucas meet a new girl at school, Maxine ("Max"), who immediately captures the interest of Dustin and Lucas, while her older brother Billy antagonizes Steve. Mike and Nancy are still dealing with the losses of Eleven and Barb, respectively. Will has been experiencing "episodes", hallucinations of the Upside Down that feature visions of an enormous, tentacled creature. Joyce and Hopper take Will to be seen at the lab by the new head scientist, Dr. Owens. Later, Hopper goes home to a cabin in the woods where he lives with Eleven, who is revealed to still be alive.

10 – “Trick or Treat, Freak” Directed by TDB / Written by TDB

In flashbacks, Eleven manages to escape from the Upside Down, but is forced to remain hidden in the woods to avoid the government agents. In the present, the kids prepare for Halloween. Eleven asks to go trick-or-treating, but Hopper insists that she needs to remain hidden. Hopper investigates when pumpkins patches all over town suddenly start rotting. Nancy wants to tell Barb's parents the truth about her death, but Steve says that it is a bad idea, as the government agents might come after them if they told anyone the truth. Instead, they attend a Halloween party, where Nancy gets drunk and berates Steve until he leaves. Jonathan takes Nancy home. Mike, Will, Dustin and Lucas go trick-or-treating, later joined by Max. During the night, Will has another episode and tells Mike about his visions. Mike

26 admits that he is still trying to contact Eleven. Eleven tries to contact Mike using her powers but is unsuccessful. Dustin returns home after trick-or-treating and finds a strange creature in his trash can.

11 – “The Pollywog” Directed by Shawn Levy / Written by Justin Doble

In flashbacks, Hopper finds Eleven in the woods and sets up his grandfather’s hunting cabin as a place for her to live. In the present, Bob, Joyce's boyfriend, encourages Will to stand up to his fears. Nancy persuades Jonathan to help her on a mission to tell Barb's parents the truth. Hopper asks Dr. Owens to investigate the pumpkin-rotting incidents. Dustin tries to learn more about the strange creature he found, a small, slug-like animal that he names D'Artagnan ("Dart") and shows it to the other kids at school. Will describes his hallucinations, and they conclude that Dart is from the Upside Down. Eleven leaves the cabin to look for Mike; she sees him arguing with Max and mistakes them as flirting. Joyce discovers an image of Will's vision on the video camera Will carried while trick-or-treating. Dart escapes; Will finds it, which triggers another hallucination. Will follows Bob's advice and confronts the shadow monster, but it forces a shadow tentacle down his throat.

12 – “Will the Wise” Directed by Shawn Levy / Written by Paul Dichter

Will wakes up to the concern of Joyce and his friends. Joyce takes Will home, but finds him acting strangely, and he starts drawing scribbles on numerous pages. Joyce calls Hopper for help, and together they discover the scribbles line up, forming a vast network of vines. Hopper recognizes an area and leaves without telling Joyce. Nancy and Jonathan are caught by undercover lab agents when they try to contact Barb's mother. Dr. Owens shows them the portal to the Upside Down, admits Barb died from it, and that they want to prevent other governments from learning of it. When they are released, Nancy reveals she recorded Owens' admission. Lucas tries to get closer to Max but Billy warns Lucas to stay away. Dustin finds that Dart has broken out of its cage, and devoured his pet cat, and is a baby version of the Demogorgon monster. Eleven, after an argument with Hopper, finds Hopper's research into her biological mother, Terry Ives, and tries to contact Terry with her powers. Hopper digs into one of the tainted fields, and finds a tunnel leading to the Upside Down.

13 – “Dig Dug” Directed by Andrew Stanton / Written by Jessie Nickson-Lopez

27

Hopper becomes trapped in the tunnels and passes out. Will has a vision of Hopper's state, but Joyce cannot figure out its meaning, and she recruits Bob to help. He identifies the network as a map under Hawkins, and where Hopper was trapped. Nancy and Jonathan visit local conspiracy theorist Murray for help. Murray knows the public will not accept their story as-is but suggests watering down the story to make it more believable, to blame Barb's death on toxins from the lab. Lucas privately reveals the events of last year to Max to gain her respect, but she rebuffs him. Dustin traps Dart in his basement and gets Steve to help recapture it. Eleven leaves to find Terry Ives, who is catatonic and cared for by her sister. Eleven is able to communicate with Terry, gaining her memories of trying to rescue her at Hawkins Lab before she was subject to an intentional severely brain- damaging dose of shock therapy. Eleven finds there was another girl trained like her. Joyce, Bob, Will, and Mike are able to rescue Hopper, though lab personnel soon arrive and set the tunnels on fire, causing Will to collapse in agony.

14 – “The Spy” Directed by Andrew Stanton / Written by Kate Trefry

Will is rushed to the lab and demonstrates memory loss. Dr. Owens speculates that the shadow monster is like a virus in Will, which has spread to his brain; damaging the tunnels may be lethal to Will. Nancy and Jonathan spend the night at Murray's where they admit their feelings for each other, then return to the Byers home and discover Will's drawings. Dustin contacts Lucas, and the two, along with Max and Steve, attempt to trap Dart at the local junkyard. There, Max opens up to Lucas, explaining that Billy's attitude is a result of his father remarrying Max's mother, a situation Billy was unhappy with. The four find that Dart is but one of a pack of adolescent monsters, and they are trapped in a bus until the pack suddenly runs away. At the lab, Will discovers a location on his map that the monsters want to avoid, located near the lab. Owens sends a team to investigate, but it is a trap; the team is attacked by the adolescent monsters who subsequently make their way into the lab itself. They realize that the monster has manipulated Will.

15 – “The Lost Sister” Directed by Rebecca Thomas / Written by Justin Doble

Eleven leaves to Chicago find the other girl from Terry's memories. There, Eleven tracks down Kali, the girl with psychic powers from Pittsburgh, along with others of her gang. The two reconnect, and Kali shows her prowess with her abilities, and now with the help of her gang, trying to exact revenge on former Hawkins lab

28 scientists for what they did to her. Kali helps Eleven improve her powers by helping to channel her anger. Eleven joins them as they attack Ray, the lab technician that performed shock therapy on Terry, who claims Dr. Brenner is still alive. Kali tries to have Eleven kill Ray, but Eleven refuses when she finds Ray has two daughters. They flee back to the gang's base, and Kali insists Eleven either stay and avenge her mother or leave. Eleven has a vision of Mike and Hopper at the lab, in trouble, and decides to return to Hawkins, while Kali and her gang escape from the police.

16 – “The Mind Flayer” Directed by TDB / Written by TDB

The pack of creatures overwhelm the lab, killing many. Mike convinces Joyce to sedate Will, preventing the creatures from tracking them. Mike, Will, Joyce, Hopper, Bob and Owens are trapped in the lab's security room, and when the power goes out, Bob volunteers to reset the breakers to allow them to escape. Owens stays behind to help guide the rest out, and while Mike, Will, Joyce, and Hopper escape, Bob is caught and killed by the pack. They regroup with Nancy, Jonathan, Steve, Dustin, Lucas and Max who have come to the lab. The group figures that the shadow monster is controlling Will and the pack, and if they kill it, its influence on those will end. They tie Will up in his tool shed, redecorated so that Will cannot recognize it when he wakes, preventing the monster from locating him. Joyce and Mike are able to get through to Will who taps out a message in Morse code, "CLOSE GATE". Suddenly the house phone rings, and the monster identifies their location. They barricade themselves in the house as the pack moves in. However, as the monsters close in, Eleven surprisingly arrives at the Byers and dispatches them.

17 – “The Gate” Directed by TDB / Written by TDB

After a brief reunion, Eleven and the group devise a plan to close the gate to the Upside Down. Hopper and Eleven head to the lab to close the portal, while Jonathan, Nancy, and Joyce purge the virus from Will by overheating him. Mike, Dustin, Lucas and Max enter the tunnels to lure the pack away from the lab, though Steve initially refuses to help. Billy, having been told to find Max by his father, arrives and gets into a fight with Steve. Max eventually sedates him, and Steve agrees to help. The teenagers enter the tunnels and enact their plan but are cornered by Dart. Dustin calms Dart long enough for the group to escape. Despite the Mind Flayer's attempts, Eleven unleashes her anger and successfully closes the portal. A

29 month later, the lab has been shut down, Barb has been given a proper funeral, and Owens forges a birth certificate for Eleven for Hopper. The kids Mike, Eleven, Dustin, Will, Lucas and Max attend the school's winter dance Snow Ball, unaware that in the Upside Down, the shadow monster is still alive, towering over the school.

Script for “The Gate” https://drive.google.com/file/d/1EasclDkVNDf6l4AizuFdRRROCb38lDcW/view

Season Two Main Characters

• Winona Ryder as Joyce Byers • David Harbour as Jim Hopper • Finn Wolfhard as Mike Wheeler • Millie Bobby Brown as Eleven (“El”) • Gaten Matarazzo as Dustin Henderson • Caleb McLaughlin as Lucas Sinclair • Natalia Dyer as Nancy Wheeler • Charlie Heaton as Jonathan Byers • Cara Buono as Karen Wheeler • Matthew Modine as Martin Brenner • Max Mayfield • Billy Mayfield

Season Two Recurring Characters

• Noah Schnapp as Will Byers • Joe Keery as Steve Harrington • Shannon Purser as Barbara “Barb” Holland • Ross Partridge as Lonnie Byers • Joe Chrest as Ted Wheeler • Mark Steger as the Monster • Rob Morgan as Officer Powell • John Paul Reynolds as Officer Callahan • Randall P. Havens as Scott Clarke • Aimee Mullins as Terry Ives

30 • Catherine Dyer as Connie Frazier • Peyton Wich as Troy • Cade Jones as James • Chester Rushing as Tommy H. • Chelsea Talmadge as Carol • Tinsley and Anniston Price as Holly Wheeler • Chris Sullivan as Benny Hammond • Tobias Jelinek as lead agent • Susan Shalhoub Larkin as Florence (“Flo”)

Why ST2/E1 (madMax) is Perfect Storytelling http://www.justinkownacki.com/storytelling-genius-stranger-things-2-episode-1/

https://www.writeyourscreenplay.com/stranger-things-podcast-p1/

31 7. Season Three 4/4/19

Premise: By mid-1985, the era whose box office was dominated by Back to the Future, Mike and Eleven have developed a romantic relationship, as have Max and Lucas. The heroes and heroines are living seemingly normal lives, though one year after the defeat of the Mind Flayer, things are not all what they seem in Hawkins. The town has a new leader, the morally corrupt Mayor Kline, whose administration supported and presided over the construction of the new Starcourt Mall. With the Fourth of July approaching, strange things start to happen: Lucas’ sister Erica discovers a mysterious new threat, and a lifeguard at the community pool suddenly disappears, triggering fear in those that still have the events from the previous year fresh in their minds.

Season Three Main Characters

• Winona Ryder as Joyce Byers • David Harbour as Chief Jim Hopper • Finn Wolfhard as Mike Wheeler • Millie Bobby Brown as Eleven • Gaten Matarazzo as Dustin Henderson • Caleb McLaughlin as Lucas Sinclair • Noah Schnapp as Will Byers • Sadie Sink as Max Mayfield • Natalia Dyer as Nancy Wheeler • Charlie Heaton as Jonathan Byers • Joe Keery as Steve Harrington • Dacre Montgomery as Billy Hargrove • Cara Buono as Karen Wheeler • Maya Hawke as Robin

Season Three Recurring Characters

• Priah Ferguson as Erica Sinclair

32 • Francesca Reale as Heather

Season Three Guests

• Cary Elwes as Mayor Kline • Jake Busey as Bruce

33

8. Characters

Main Characters

Joyce Byers (portrayed by Winona Ryder) is the mother of Will and Jonathan Byers and is divorced from Lonnie Byers, the father of her two children. Joyce works as a retail clerk at Melvald’s General Store located in the downtown area of Hawkins, Indiana. She was born and raised in Hawkins, and she attended Hawkins High School with the future chief of police, Jim Hopper, and her season two love interest, Bob Newby.

Jim Hopper (portrayed by David Harbour) is the chief of Hawkins Police Department. Hopper divorced after his young daughter died of cancer, which caused him to lapse into alcoholism. Eventually, he grows to be more responsible, saving Joyce's son as well as taking Eleven as his adopted daughter. Mike Wheeler (portrayed by Finn Wolfhard) is son of Karen and Ted, younger brother of Nancy, and one of three friends of Will Byers. He is an intelligent and conscientious student and is committed to his friends. He develops romantic feelings for Eleven.

Eleven (portrayed by Millie Bobby Brown) nicknamed “El,” is a young girl with psychokinetic abilities, an unusual appearance, and a limited vocabulary. She escapes from Hawkins Laboratory where experiments were being performed on her. She befriends Mike, Dustin, and Lucas and develops romantic feelings for Mike. It is eventually revealed that she is actually Jane Ives, the biological daughter of Terry Ives.

Dustin Henderson (portrayed by Gaten Matarazzo) is one of Will’s friends. His cleidocranial dysplasia causes him to lisp. He befriends Steve Harrington in the second season.

Lucas Sinclair (portrayed by Caleb McLaughlin) is one of Will's friends. He is wary of Eleven yet befriends her later on. In season two, he becomes a love interest for Max.

Nancy Wheeler (portrayed by Natalia Dyer) is the daughter of Karen and Ted, older sister of Mike, and girlfriend of Steve Harrington.

34 Jonathan Byers (portrayed by Charlie Heaton) is the older brother of Will Byers and the son of Joyce Byers. Considered an outsider at school, he is a quiet teenager and an aspiring photographer. He is very close with his mother and brother. Karen Wheeler (portrayed by Cara Buono) is the mother of teenager Nancy, middle schooler Mike, and toddler Holly.

Martin Brenner (portrayed by Matthew Modine) is the scientist in charge of Hawkins Laboratory and the experiments performed there. He is manipulative and remote. He and his team are searching for Eleven.

Will Byers (portrayed by Noah Schnapp) is the younger brother of Jonathan Byers and the son of Joyce Byers. He vanishes after encountering the monster that escaped through a rift to the “Upside Down,” an alternate dimension, discovered by the Hawkins Laboratory scientists. Schnapp was promoted to series regular for the second season, after recurring in the first.

Maxine “Max” Mayfield / “Madmax” (portrayed by Sadie Sink) is Billy’s younger step-sister, and the tomboy of the group who catches the attention of both Lucas and Dustin.

Steve Harrington (portrayed by Joe Keery) is the boyfriend of Nancy Wheeler. A popular student at the high school, he initially tries to develop a relationship with Nancy and ostracize Jonathan Byers, though he comes to regret the latter. Keery was promoted to series regular for the second season, after recurring in the first. Billy Hargrove (portrayed by Dacre Montgomery) is Max’s older step-brother. Bob Newby (portrayed by Sean Astin) is a former classmate of Joyce and Hopper, who now runs the Hawkins Radio Shack and becomes Joyce’s boyfriend, putting him at odds with Hopper.

Sam Owens (portrayed Paul Reiser) by is a Department of Energy executive who replaced Brenner at Hawkins Laboratory who is as committed to science research and stubborn as his predecessor, but much more empathetic to the residents of Hawkins.

Robin (portrayed by Maya Hawke) is an “alternative girl” bored with her job until she stumbles onto one of the secrets of Hawkins. She will be introduced in the third season.

Recurring Characters (season one)

35 • Joe Chrest as Ted Wheeler, husband of Karen, father of teenager Nancy, middle schooler Mike, and toddler Holly. • Rob Morgan as Calvin Powell, one of Hopper’s officers. He is serious and by the book. • Shannon Purser as Barbara “Barb” Holland, best friend of Nancy Wheeler. She is concerned that her friendship with Nancy may be threatened by Nancy’s relationship with Steve. • John Paul Reynolds as Phil Callahan, another of Hopper's officers. Not nearly as serious as his partner, he still works hard in the search for Will Byers. • Mark Steger as the Monster, a creature that exists in the Upside Down. Referred to as “the Demogorgon” by Mike, Lucas and Dustin. • Catherine Dyer as Connie Frazier, Brenner’s FBI enforcer who has no qualms about murdering those who have come into contact with Eleven. • Randy Havens as Scott Clarke, the boys’ teacher. He encourages their interest in science and technology and helps them whenever asked. • Hugh Holub as the lead scientist at Hawkins Laboratory. • Tobias Jelinek as the lead agent at Hawkins National Laboratory, who assists Brenner. • Cade Jones as James, a school bully who hangs around with Troy. • Anniston and Tinsley Price as Holly Wheeler, daughter of Karen and Ted, younger sister of Nancy and Mike. • Susan Shalhoub Larkin as Florence (“Flo”), the secretary at the Hawkins Police Station. • Tony Vaughn as Russell Coleman, the principal at Hawkins Middle School. • Peyton Wich as Troy, a school bully of Mike, Lucas, Dustin, and Will. • Charles Lawlor as Donald Melvald, the owner of a convenience store where Joyce Byers works. • Chester Rushing as Tommy H., former friend of Steve, and boyfriend of Carol. • Chelsea Talmadge as Carol, former friend of Steve, and girlfriend of Tommy. • Robert Walker-Branchaud as an agent of Hawkins Laboratory who disguises himself as a repairman. • Cynthia Barrett as Marsha Holland, Barbara Holland’s mother. • Aimee Mullins as Terry Ives, a woman who claims her daughter, Jane, was stolen from her shortly after she gave birth, but she has since gone into a mental state where she is unaware of her surroundings. She is the biological mother of Eleven. Recurring Characters (season two)

36 • Linnea Berthelsen as Kali / Eight, a young woman with illusion manipulation abilities, who along with Eleven, were experimented on at the Hawkins Laboratory but later managed to escape. Vanathi Kalai Parthiban portrays a young Kali. • Catherine Curtin as Claudia Henderson, Dustin's mother. • Brett Gelman as Murray Bauman, a former journalist that became a conspiracy theorist, who visits Hawkins to go after a cold case. • Priah Ferguson as Erica Sinclair, Lucas’ younger sister.

Recurring Characters (season three)

• Francesca Reale as Heather, a popular lifeguard at the Hawkins Community Pool who becomes the centerpiece of a dark mystery.

Guest Characters (season one)

• Ross Partridge as Lonnie Byers, the ex-husband of Joyce Byers and father of Jonathan and • Will. He has a much younger girlfriend named Cynthia. • Chris Sullivan as Benny Hammond, owner and chef of Benny’s Burgers, and friend of Hopper. • Andrew Benator as a scientist at Hawkins Laboratory. • Glennellen Anderson as Nicole, a classmate of Nancy, Steve and Jonathan. • Pete Burris as the head of security at Hawkins Laboratory. • Jerri Tubbs as Diane Hopper, Jim’s ex-wife. • Amy Seimetz as Becky Ives, Terry’s sister who takes care of her. • Elle Graham as Sara Hopper, Jim and Diane’s daughter, who died of cancer. • Executive producer Shawn Levy makes a cameo appearance as a morgue worker. Guest Characters (season two)

• Kai L. Green as Funshine, a member of Kali's crew. • James Landry Hébert as Axel, a member of Kali’s crew. • Anna Jacoby-Heron as Dottie, a member of Kali’s crew. • Gabrielle Maiden as Mick, a member of Kali’s crew. • Aaron Muñoz as Mr. Holland, Barbara’s father. • Karen Ceesay as Mrs. Sinclair, Lucas and Erica’s mother. • Drew Scheid as Nancy, Steve and Jonathan’s classmate.

37 • Pruitt Taylor Vince as Ray, a technician at Hawkins Laboratory who electrocuted Terry Ives, contributing to her deteriorated mental state. • Arnell Powell as Mr. Sinclair, Lucas and Erica’s father. • Will Chase as Neil Hargrove, Billy’s father, Max’s stepfather, and Susan’s husband. • Jennifer Marshall as Susan Hargrove, Max’s mother, Billy’s stepmother and Neil's wife. • Joe Davison as a technician at Hawkins Laboratory.

Guest Characters (season three)

• Cary Elwes as Mayor Kline, a politician who is more concerned with his own image than with the people of the small town of Hawkins. • Jake Busey as Bruce, a journalist for “The Hawkins Post” with questionable morals and a sick sense of humor.

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One of the most brilliant jobs of casting is evidenced in Stranger Things. Casting director Carmen Cuba demonstrates a Shaman-like magic about her. A sense of knowing how to draw the best people together to tell a story at a particular moment in time. It seems that a great casting director must possess a sense of the true souls of characters in a story. And more, the casting director must be good at pulling them into the project.

The below casting is a brilliant combination of actors and actresses pulled together for the right project at the right time.

And also, a daring move of the creators to have children be at the center of this story. Children right before they become teenagers.

Winona Ryder https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/arts-and- entertainment/wp/2016/07/20/winona-ryder-is-great-in-stranger-things-but-dont- ask-if-this-is-her-big-comeback/?utm_term=.7adadeeba89f

38 MATT We looked at 1,000 kids. Most kids, you can turn off their auditions after five seconds, because there’s nothing authentic about it. The minute we saw Gaten [Matarazzo], who plays Dustin, we basically cast him off the first tape that he sent in. When you see someone like Gaten, and he pops the way he does, you’re just like, “This kid, we’re putting him in the show, 100 percent.”

39 9. Symbolism

Set in Recent Not Distant Past

Set in the Past of 1983 in the fictitious Hawkins, Indiana. A past remembered by many members of a current generation called the baby boom generation. Perhaps a wise choice. A year after initial story rather than ten years or twenty-five years like It. The Duffer’s first planned on a ten-year interval between season one and two in their bible. But luckily, it was only one year as allowed some interesting dramatic ideas into script that aged for just one year rather than ten.

Someone Missing

A boy/son is missing when the story begins. His disappearance hangs over the atmosphere and mood of the pilot script. The symbolism and mythology of something missing when a story begins. Missing one of the great story ideas.

Appearance of a Strange Girl

At the same time, a young girl with a shaved head named El shows up as a type of runaway and is taken in to the basement room of a teenage boy’s home. She is also searching for something, just like the mother of the missing boy is searching. The stranger in a community. Who has felt this before?

Mysterious Government Operation

Groups The Kids The Teenagers The Adults

Teenage gangs in high schools of the 80s. Two boys’ gangs against each other throughout Season One of the show. They confront each other in their middle school and again next to a crater of water. The hero of the story and protector of the young runaway girl with the shaved head walks to the edge of the crater and

40 steps over the side and falls towards the water below. Suddenly, his fall is stopped halfway down the rock cliff and he is pulled magically back up and over the boys gathered at the edge of the cliff, looking down.

A type of coming of age story mixed with battling the difficulties of the times, the Baby Boomer generation would understand this time the best.

Synchronicity / Different People Coming Together To Create

There is little doubt in my mind that Stranger Things is a Duffer Brothers product. However, at the same time, it is incredible how many people are drawn together to the project at a particular moment in time. The cast and coming together of all the elements to make Stranger Things is an amazing, dramatic story by itself.

It offers an incredible example for others out there attempting to create in the emerging, new episodic form. It didn’t seem to be as much of a change in genre of story as a change in the structure of the story.

Stranger Things went for a niche of storytelling hours in its creation of

For example, note the variation of writers and directors on the eight episodes creating the first season of Stranger Things.

Villains

“There’s always the supernatural evil, but the real evil in his stories is always human in nature.” Matt Duffer

The villain is never defeated over the course of one season in the script for a successful Netflix series. The villain has always come back next season. Always a little wiser and tougher. Against a wiser and tougher Hero/Heroine. To do this, the hero/heroine uses materials and concepts close to shows like the X-Files mixed with a touch from director David Lynch.

Within the grand category of villains, is the rather common group of government men working at a fenced in unit. A certain paradox is created in the mind of audience. How can government workers be villains? This type of naivety fills the atmosphere of the story.

41 The government villain remains vague. It represents a group associated with the government experimenting with the minds of citizens. It is populated with the usual government forces. The same forces that we have seen before in The X-Files.

Relationships

The network of relationships is intense in Stranger Things. It is a small town in the Midwest of the early 80s. It was the time of intense social relationships in middle school.

* * *

Vigilant Citizen – 8/24/16 - The Hidden Symbolism of Stranger Things

The series begin with four friends, Mike, Will, Dustin and Lucas, playing Dungeons & Dragons. Mike, the dungeon master, sets up the premise of his friends’ quest. He also sets up the premise of the entire series.

The Demogordon monster is first seen as a piece on the game board

“Something is coming. Something hungry for blood. A shadow grows on the wall behind you, swallowing you in darkness. It is almost here.”

While the boys are ultimately faced with the horrifying world of government mind control, their adventure is constantly compared to a Dungeons & Dragons quest. Will, the boy who gets abducted by the government, is the wizard of the party. The strength of wizards reside in their minds as they are capable of magic and other paranormal things such as teleportation and telekinesis. As we’ll see later, this is what Theta MKULTRA programming is about.

Essentially, the series’ creators are the dungeon masters taking the viewers on a 10-hour quest. But while D&D is about fantasy, the events happening in Stranger Things are based on some very strange things that actually happened.

More importantly, Stranger Thingsalso brought to the forefront of popular culture a subject that has been taboo for decades: The world of MKULTRA and its horrifying practices.

42

Continuously opposing truth with fiction, the horror of reality with the bliss of fantasy, the ugliness of mankind with the innocence of children, Stranger Things has a strong dualistic undertone. This is epitomized by the fact that the adventure takes place on two separate realms, the “real world” and the “Upside Down,” a dark, evil version of reality. Although separate, these realms are connected through a gateway, one that nearly nobody knows about.

While most critics focus on the “nostalgia” factor of Stranger Things, the series is about much more than 80’s aesthetics. It addresses a disturbing aspect of American history and, through overt and subtle symbolism, reveals the deeper, metaphysical implications of the elite’s never-ending quest for power.

Stranger Things is not a documentary, however. It is a “science fiction” show that ends up depicting MKULTRA as a weapon against communism. While subtly alluding to abuse, the series presents a rather whitewashed version of MKULTRA, one that is devoid of its more gruesome aspects. This might lead viewers to believe that MKULTRA is “not so bad” or worse, that it is all fiction.

In the end, the series accomplishes what symbolism does: It reveals to those in the know while concealing to those in ignorance. Either you believe that the story is an apt reflection of the powers that be and the dark forces that rule them … or it is nothing but a creepy Dungeon & Dragons quest told by masterful dungeon masters.

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Netflix's Stranger Things: A Theory On Nostalgia – Wisecrack Edition Wisecrack on YouTube 10/26/17 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ELFZARNWBJY

Toys as important symbol in ST … not nostalgia.

Sammy Potatosalad1 year ago I didn't grow up in the '80s (I'm younger), and I found the series so compelling just by its story and characters. It wouldn't work as well without the Cold War era, but

43 it does not rely on nostalgia. I'm not nostalgic for any pop culture stuff in that time period, and I love the show!

Sebaxtain1 year ago I think stranger things primarly benefits from going with this pre Internet era because it makes the small town feel even more isolated and pretty much on it's own when being attacked by Aliens. The pop culture references are a nice little bonus.

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Genre mashing in ST … Most producers they talked to didn't like the idea of the "genre mashing" they were doing--that it should have just focused on Hopper or just focused on the kids, or something like that. But a large part of the magic of the show lies in the fact that they kinda turned this whole thing into one great vision.

The assessment of Strange Things (ST) by many viewers and critics is that it uses nostalgic symbols from the past to create much of its almost supernatural storytelling power. This is true to a certain extent in that ST fills its story with the technology, entertainment, toys, gadgets, songs, images from a shared time in history, the shared time of an entire generation of people in society. Like the power of an old 45-rpm record spun at basement dance parties, a song that created the musak of our period of time, this is the power the decade of the 80s has when invoked again.

It is the evocation of the decade of the 1980s that informs the real power of ST. Spielberg contributes to the evocation of the decade to Baby Boomers. His movies dominated the screen of the collective unconscious of the time. Or, whatever one wants to call it.

There was a feeling and memory of growing up in the 80s decade and living the life of a young person. The life of adventure, freedom, exploration. The time of secret clubs and words and handshakes. Of special games like Dungeons & Dragons. Of monsters and heroes of these games. Of so many symbols for young girls of this period.

Stranger Things opens with a game of Dungeons & Dragons. Villain and hero are identified immediately by one of the young gamers, Will Byers. There is a short shot of these two players on the board of the game: a type of hero figure and

44 the grotesque figure of a monster. The camera holds on this image for a few seconds to make sure it is imprinted into our audience mind.

It is full of images from the lives of two boys growing up in the 80s decade. Their first years. It puts the memories of the two Duffer brothers right in the center of the millennial generation at 35-years old in 2019. While it certainly offers homage to the heroes of the Duffer boys at the time – Steven Spielberg and Stephen King – it really offers homage to the special childhood of two twin brothers growing up in Durham, North Carolina in the early 80s. This is what the movie is truly about, the substance that powers the story. A story about the unsolved mysteries of our childhoods.

* * *

The Stranger Things series provides powerful images of the childhood for two important generations of Americans: the Baby Boom generation and the Millennial generation. The Baby Boom generation are millennials (in their 30s) during the early 80s period of the series. Todays’ millennials are born and grew up in the 80s, raised by their Baby Boomer, mid-thirty-year old parents.

In this sense, the ST series is much more than about the childhood of just a few young kids in an Indiana town. The childhood presented in ST is meant to symbolize the childhood of an entire generation. In other words, it is best understood by members of the Baby Boom and Millennial generations. Yet, Stranger Times has had a significant influence beyond Millennial and Baby Boom generations.

The symbolism of time is the key symbol in Stranger Things. For reasons we’ve suggested above. It is a powerful statement of nostalgia directed at two generations – Millennials and Baby Boomers – but really something in the back of the mind of many. In many ways, it is a fantasy attempt of the Duffer Brothers to recreate those special years of their lives when film and movies were so special to them and tools of a growing creativity. The attempt of two twin brothers to bring back their early years of making films.

45

10. Technique

Everyone analyzes ST as a film tribute to famous filmmakers and authors of a particular genre of storytelling called horror and adventure at the same time. While there is a powerful return to a decade in the lives of two generations as a key symbol, there are many new techniques employed in ST. A few are listed below.

Time in Flashbacks

The audience doesn’t always know it’s a flashback at first. Little attempt to explain. Let the audience figure this out for themselves. Let them do some work in creating the story themselves. Confuse them is OK. Let them work their own way out of their confusion. Time is confused in this new form of flashback. For it always contains a flash forward in it, set off by the slightest breeze.

Minimalistic Storytelling

Beyond flashbacks, many other events/things/images in Stranger Things that the writers do not attempt to explain. A rare quality in storytelling. The reader, viewer audience needs to participate in the creation of the final artistic product. Marshall McLuhan might label many images and events in Stranger Times as “cool” or not providing much information, needing participation of the audience, reader, viewer in completion of the particular piece of art.

46 11. Structure

With Netflix as the platform, The Duffer Brothers were not limited to a typical 22- episode format, opting for the eight-episode approach. They had been concerned that a 22-episode season on broadcast television would be difficult to "tell a cinematic story" with that many episodes. Eight episodes allowed them to give time to characterization in addition to narrative development; if they had less time available, they would have had to remain committed to telling a horror film as soon as the monster was introduced and abandon the characterization.[17] Within the eight episodes, the brothers aimed to make the first season "feel like a big movie" with all the major plot lines completed so that "the audience feels satisfied", but left enough unresolved to indicate "there’s a bigger mythology, and there’s a lot of dangling threads at the end", something that could be explored in further seasons if Netflix opted to create more.[34]

Dramatic structure has been a captive prisoner of the length that media outlets, in all their grand mercy, offer as distribution outlets to creative filmmakers.

The episodic series is such a new and happening medium, the police forces of the Internet have yet to catch up with it.

One needs to consider the overall dramatic structure of the eight episodes of the first season of Stranger Things. What is the dramatic structure? Does it consist of eight great little encapsulated screenplays? Or, do the eight screenplays contribute to that thing called the first season of an incredibly successful Netflix series called Stanger Things.

A new dramatic structure is suggested by episodic TV like Netflix. The 8 Episode - Story Structure is provided in Stranger Things. Is eight the magic number for episodes or will things change soon?

47 If eight is the magic number of for a season of television, then it seems that one who wants to be successful in serial television needs to think in terms of eight sections of one’s story.

In a September 2016 analysis, Netflix found that Stranger Things "hooked" viewers by the second episode of the first season, indicating that the second episode was "the first installment that led at least 70 percent of viewers who watched that episode to complete the entire first season of a show."[60] For those familiar with the Upside Down, that basically means people had to find out: What happened to Barb?

Netflix examined viewing behavior for 30 popular original and licensed series to identify the “hooked episode” — the first installment that led at least 70 percent of viewers who watched that episode to complete the entire first season of a show.

It has four main storylines and each one tackles a different aspect of the mystery. There are four main mysteries in this show: The monster, what Hawkins Lab is up to, where Will is, and what Eleven's deal is. I think it was great how each of the plots tackled one of these mysteries and intertwined at the end. The boys met Eleven and unraveled that mystery. The Joyce plot was about Will and where he was. Hopper investigated the Hawkins Lab part of the story. And the teens were involved in the monster plot. Each one was so entertaining and when they all combined it was so satisfying.

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Writers Digest

6 Lessons Writers Can Learn from Netflix’s ‘Stranger Things’ By: Jess Zafarris

https://www.writersdigest.com/online-editor/lessons-writers-can-learn-netflix- stranger-things

10/24/17

48 1.Leverage nostalgia—but do so creatively.

Instead of rebooting an old series or movie, the creators of Stranger Things drew nostalgic music, design elements, character tropes and themes from 80s classics such as The Goonies, E.T., Alien and other films—while also creating an entirely new story. Netflix does everything it can to play up this aspect of the story; they even released a series of posters harking back to other 80s favorites (images courtesy of Netflix):

So what does this mean for writers? In Alan Moore’s superhero graphic novel Watchmen, he builds a bleak and gritty tone by drawing a stark contrast between the optimism and apparent indestructibility of classic comic heroes and the violence and mortality of his own protagonists. The scenery and language of Victorian Gothic novels brim with the crumbling remnants of a courtly past. Meanwhile, Steampunk fiction draws upon Victorian technology and fashion. JK Rowling spun her iconic Harry Potter series using threads that pluck the heartstrings of those who grew up on Tolkien-esque high fantasy and classic coming-of-age stories—while still creating a story that feels fresh.

As a hypothetical example: Suppose you admire the way Poe builds suspense and dread in his short stories—leverage his techniques to create a tense scene in your next thriller novel, or use Poe-inspired symbolism to allude to his stories.

2. Do unexpected things with classic tropes.

From its coming-of-age adventure to the Alien-esque Demogorgon to Joyce’s Cassandra Truth, Stranger Things is a veritable remix of classic storytelling tropes. But its writers also do an excellent job of subverting the expectations attached to those tropes.

Eleven harks back to film characters like Leeloo and E.T. and other reticent alien- like characters, and like them she holds secret abilities, but her backstory and her unique abilities make her a dynamic and interesting character who doesn’t feel clichéd. Jim Hopper appears to be the stereotypical cop-show police chief initially, but ultimately takes a secondary role to the show’s less-likely heroes. Plenty of stories throughout the ages—The Chronicles of Narnia and Alice in Wonderland, just to name two—tell of hidden worlds and alternate realities. The Upside-Down in Stranger Things follows the same trope, but takes it in a new, suspenseful

49 direction, weaving in horror elements and a darker means of “accessing” the mirrored realm.

Even if you leverage storytelling elements as old as time, you can avoid swerving into unpleasant clichés by allowing your characters to fill surprising roles and your stories to veer in unexpected directions.

3. Don’t be afraid to blend genres.

One particular strength that makes Stranger Things so accessible—even to those who generally aren’t interested in TV shows in its category—is its diverse blend of genres, including suspense, sci-fi, horror, comedy and even YA. You can take advantage of this approach in your own work to surprise and delight your readers.

Granted, blending that quantity of genres can be a serious challenge, so sometimes two will do the trick. Some of the most memorable films and books owe their popularity to a hefty helping of comedy bound to another genre—think of Princess Bride, Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy or the works of Terry Pratchett and Christopher Moore. Writing a YA book centered around teen drama? Blend in suspenseful elements for an unexpected hook.

Stranger Things also manages to reach viewers of all ages, largely due to its rich and dynamic characters of different age groups (kids, teens, adults) and genders. Moreover, it doesn’t rely heavily on traditional gender roles and expectations, but still portrays each character’s emotional depth and story arc in a realistic way. Many writers will tell you that it’s folly to attempt to target multiple age groups in your writing, but when it’s done effectively, it allows a vast array of readers to connect with your characters and doesn’t limit you to people in a specific demographic or interest group.

4. It’s okay to avoid explanation.

If you’ll follow me down the rabbit hole of the horror genre for a moment, sometimes the scariest monsters are the ones we don’t get explanations for. How did the curse start in It Follows? How do you break it? We don’t get these answers. We also don’t get a why. What’s the explanation for Jack Torrance going crazy in The Shining? (I’m thinking of the film, in particular.) Are there ghosts? Or is it cabin fever? What’s up with Jack appearing in the photograph from 1921 at the end of the film?

50 One of the best parts of Stranger Things—as of now—is the lack of explanation for the Monster (the Demogorgon—shout-out, D&D fans!) and the Upside-Down. And, really, Eleven’s telekinesis. If the Upside-Down is some sort of monstrous, alternate-world reflection of present day, then does that make the Monster some sort of reflection of Eleven? Clearly, they’re intrinsically tied, with Eleven disappearing after disintegrating the Monster. (Or, it simply took all of Eleven’s power to disintegrate him, causing her to disappear.)

So many questions, so little answers—yet. Don’t be afraid to leave your readers wondering. Sometimes the best stories are when readers can fill in the gaps. We don’t need an origin story to be terrified of a monster; nor do we always need an explanation for the rules of a world. (Although, you should be spending time creating all of these details yourself, just for reference.)

5. Your setting—and the details!—matter.

I love the setting of small towns—it adds a special creepy element to things when everyone knows each other, but there are still secrets. Think Bemidji, Luverne, Vermilion Parish, Twin Peaks, Bon Temps, Sunnydale, Wayward Pines, etc. (I’m not revealing the shows; you can look them up if you don’t know! And if you don’t, watch them!) But, a story doesn’t even need horror or sci-fi tropes to utilize the small town setting: think Stars Hollow, Mayberry, Dillon, Smallville, Pawnee, etc.

Even if you don’t recognize all of those fictional settings, I bet a couple of them stand out. Or you’re imagining others. These towns all have a rhythm to them—an expectation. They almost exist as a character themselves. The setting of Hawkins, Indiana and the Upside-Down are no different. They perfectly capture this balance of secrets in small town American, and the horror of a mysterious, sci-fi world. Blending the two together makes a great story—even if we don’t get all the answers for what’s happening in the Upside-Down.

6. Explore the depth of your cast, and flip expectations.

The depth of the cast in Stranger Things is incredible—and I don’t just mean the kids, whom I’ll touch on in a second. There’s a great parallel working between the characters of Jim Hopper and Joyce Byers—one who lost a daughter years ago and refuses to let go of her, lying to people about what she’s doing now; and one who’s desperately trying to find a son who has disappeared for no reason. The two of

51 them seem to walk the line of sanity, as Hopper struggles with his alcoholism and Joyce struggles to cope with the loss of Will—and that no one will believe her.

There’s the scheming Dr. Brenner, whose moments acting as “Papa” to Eleven are cringe-worthy and difficult to watch. His mysterious presence creates a sort of “mad scientist” aura in the show. As does the taking and raising of Eleven as a child—which creates all kinds of mysteries. Was she born with powers of telekinesis? Did Brenner’s experiments precipitate the appearance of these powers? Why do they call her Eleven?

And, lastly, the kids. It was refreshing to see the kids band together to uncover and solve the mysteries that the adults couldn’t—and sometimes wouldn’t believe. And while it draws on some of the tropes we’ve seen in stories like It, The Goonies, and Stand By Me, something about Eleven standing in front of the roaring Monster that just survived a hail of bullet fire is courageous, inspiring, and outstanding. And she does it to protect her friends.

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Dramatic Structure Based on Various Steps

3

5

8

13

22

(In process)

The Biography of the Series

A critique has the benefit of having all of the artist/authors/filmmakers in front of him/her at a particular point in time. A critic might also be a biographer in these times.

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52 In a dismal movie season, Netflix’s ‘Stranger Things’ is our great summer blockbuster Washington Post 8/18/16 Emily Yahr

What happened to this year’s summer movie season?

This is the time when the world craves a bombastic blockbuster that not only rakes in a gazillion dollars but has the cultural impact to keep people talking. This year, all possible contenders fell short: “Suicide Squad” made a ton of money but by all accounts didn’t make any sense. “Ghostbusters” was dampened by raging controversy. “Finding Dory” was cute, yet far from Pixar’s greatest. “Independence Day: Resurgence” has already been forgotten. Same with “Captain America: Civil War.” And did anyone really need another “Jason Bourne” sequel?

[REVIEW | ‘Suicide Squad’ is as bad as you’ve heard]

Now it’s mid-August, so we’ve basically reached the dregs of the movie release cycle. Where was our “Jurassic World”? “Inside Out”? “Guardians of the Galaxy”? “The Dark Knight Rises”? Fear not: Even though an all-around successful, clever and suspenseful movie couldn’t be found in multiplexes, it turns out that we really did get a summer blockbuster.

How did that happen? Even Netflix wasn’t expecting the critical praise and unstoppable buzz the show has received. “The big surprise for us has been ‘Stranger Things,'” Netflix chief content officer Ted Sarandos said in a Hollywood Reporter roundtable. “These are brand-new filmmakers, [creators] the Duffer brothers, and with a cast of complete unknowns.”

Part of the reason the show feels like a movie: Throughout all eight episodes, creators and twin brothers Matt and Ross Duffer lovingly pay tribute to many classic movies from the 1970s and 1980s, such as “Alien” and “Stand By Me.” Eventually it becomes a game — how many references can you spot? One fan video in particular does a tremendous job of tracking all of them, from “E.T.: The Extraterrestrial” to “The Goonies” to “Firestarter” to “Close Encounters of the Third Kind.”

There’s also a heavy dose of ’80s scenery (those clothes! those haircuts! those phones!) and Stephen King’s horror sensibility. The author himself recently

53 tweeted that watching “Stranger Things” is like watching “Steve King’s greatest hits.” “I mean that in a good way,” he added. Tapping into that kind of nostalgia is a brilliant move, and one that is constantly seen at the movies. But the Duffer brothers, who were also writers on Fox’s sci-fi drama “Wayward Pines,” had no interest in going the film route — even for a story that would have fit perfectly on the big screen, if compressed in two hours.

“If you’re doing a movie, the minute you put a monster in it, it becomes a horror movie. And if it’s a horror movie nowadays, it’s basically a haunted house ride. You’re trying to get jump scares every six, seven minutes,” Matt Duffer told the New York Times. “But a place like Netflix, they actually care a lot more about the characters. So we’re able to tell these very character-driven stories and also appease our childlike sensibilities by putting a flesh-eating monster in it.”

At the end of it all, though, it’s simply really fun to watch. The Hollywood Reporter critic Daniel Fienberg sums it up: “With a juicy comeback role for Winona Ryder, a cast of unknown youngsters inspiring countless ‘Who’s your favorite?’ online pieces and a spooky premise that’s brought to life vividly despite a moderate budget, ‘Stranger Things’ is a callback to countless summer movies several generations grew up on,” he wrote. “And it’s in most ways superior to anything at the multiplex, or on TV, this summer.”

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The Monster in Stranger Things 2 In the second series of the Netflix drama, the show goes deeper in exploring the after- effects of physical and emotional trauma.

Atlantic 10/30/17

Sophie Gilbert

Stranger Things 2, which is much darker than the first season, leans fully into King’s exploration of emotional damage and the unknown. Virtually every character in Hawkins is wounded in some way. And the thoughtfulness with which the show’s creators, the Duffer Brothers, portray their experiences is what most distinguishes Stranger Things from its source material.

54 One of the most maddening tropes within disaster movies is how characters who’ve endured extreme trauma tend to instantly recover as soon as they’re rescued (picture the survivors of Jurassic Park smiling serenely in the helicopter at the end). Stranger Things was guilty of this to some extent in its first season, as my colleague Lenika Cruz pointed out—when Will first wakes up in the hospital, his friends babble excitedly about how rad Eleven was, and what crazy powers she had, without any real acknowledgment that she’s also very much, to their knowledge, gone. Stranger Things 2, though, is inflected from the start with the sense that, even a year later, its characters are still deeply altered by what happened to them.

The loss of Barb is also profoundly felt in the first episode. Nancy (Natalia Dyer) weeps in the bathroom when she visits Barb’s parents, who are dealing with their own loss by denying it, selling their house to give money to a “journalist” who assures them he can find Barb. In the library, Nancy freezes when she sees a girl with red hair, and then lashes out at Steve (Joe Keery), her boyfriend. “It’s like everybody forgot,” she tells him. “It’s like nobody cares.”

In the same way that Will’s friends use Dungeons & Dragons as a framework to understand what’s happening in Hawkins, Stranger Things 2 employs its supernatural storylines to explore trauma in the real world.

Like King does in It and Gerald’s Game, Stranger Things 2 explores the heritage of trauma, and how it can be passed from one person to another. This is most clearly embodied by Billy (Dacre Montgomery), an archetypal bully and the older stepbrother to Max (Sadie Sink).

Stranger Things 2 echoes this insight by emphasizing that Billy uses his aggression to relieve the trauma he experiences at home, but also that it reverberates through Max. “My stepbrother’s always been a dick, but now he’s just angry all the time,” she tells Lucas. “And well, he can’t take it out on my mom. … I guess I’m angry, too.”

Eleven, absent from her friends for almost all of the second season, has her own painful progress, and her relationship with Chief Hopper is one of the most intriguing elements of her storyline. Hopper, who was revealed in the first Stranger Things to have lost his daughter to a fatal illness, begins to see Eleven as a replacement.

55 Fandom Page https://strangerthings.fandom.com/wiki/Stranger_Things_Wiki

Duffer Brothers Eater, a student film made when they were at Chapman College. a rookie cop works the night shift at a police station with a cannibal prisoner on the loose, in this college short from the Duffer Brothers (Stranger Things) Thriller about Crime in Live-Action—USA

Stranger Things emerged with little fanfare to become the breakout series of the Summer TV season. A nostalgia-infused horror series filled with homages to 80’s Spielberg and John Carpenter flicks, it’s been all the rage at SotW’s virtual watercooler on Slack, and on the internet at large. As always is the case with these happy surprises, the show’s creators, the Duffer Brothers, seemingly burst out of nowhere to become the toast of Hollywood. But, of course, no creators this talented come out of nowhere; they have to toil and learn their craft like any of the rest of us. So, in proving that point, today’s short is Eater, an early college short from the director duo, made during their time at California’s Dodge College. Even this early example betrays the Duffer Brothers love of genre filmmaking. An atmospheric thriller with just the right bit of corniness, the film is taut, spooky, and has just a touch of the supernatural. Frankly it’s a lot of fun and a worthy feature on the site, if without the Stranger Things tie-in. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Xx-YMJhAIg

References to 70s and 80s movies in Stranger Things … The Goonies - Alien - E.T the Extra-Terrestrial - Firestarter - Poltergeist - Close encounters of the third kind - A nightmare on Elm Street - Explorers - The Shining -Stand by me - Carrie - Commando https://vimeo.com/175929311

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Pat Verducci Anatomy of a TV Pilot: Stranger Things 8/3/16 https://patverducci.com/anatomy-of-a-tv-pilot-stranger-things/

The one-hour drama, written and directed by the Duffer Brothers (twins from North Carolina,) is a masterclass in genre, character, story and thrills. The pilot is sublime. And I’m going to break it down structurally so you can see how they introduce the concept of the show and its wide cast of characters, all while delivering on story in every single scene. Here’s the breakdown. Because it’s a Netflix show, there are no commercials. Still, it has a traditional 4 act plus a teaser structure, and ends with a cliffhanger. I’ve inserted the act breaks where I felt they fell….

TEASER Super: Hawkins Indiana 1983 Energy lab—we see a scientist running through a hallway. Something’s escaped and is chasing him. He rushes into an elevator and seems safe, but looks up and a terrifying creature sucks him into oblivion. Meanwhile in a basement “rumpus room,” four 12-year-old boys (Mike, Will, Lucas, and Dustin) play a game of Dungeons and Dragons. They get freaked out when the Demagorgon appears on the board. Mike’s mom comes down the stairs and tells them to break it up. It’s late– they’ve been playing for hours. Will, Lucas and Dustin leave on their bikes and drive off into the night. Will peels off to head to his house and rides past an area in the forest that says, “Restricted.” He gets scared by something and crashes his bike. He runs to his house, tries to call for help, but there are weird monster sounds on the phone. He runs for the shed outside the house, and loads up his gun. He points it at the door, but the lightbulb behind him weirdly lights up. He turns around and is sucked away by the creature. TITLE SEQUENCE (if you were alive in the 80’s you will feel like it’s the 80’s again.) Super CHAPTER ONE: THE VANISHING OF WILL BYERS ACT I

57 A sloppy dude wakes up in the morning, brushes his teeth, then swallows some aspirin with a Schlitz. He’s not in good shape, clearly drank too much the night before and lives in a trailer. As he gets dressed, we see he’s the chief of police. (how great is this char intro?) Will’s mom Joyce and older brother Jonathan realize he’s gone. Neither of them know if he came home last night as they were both working. Joyce calls Mike’s mom. Will’s not there. At Hawkins Middle School, Mike, Lucas and Dustin arrive and wonder where Will is. They are bullied by two jerky kids. Mike’s older sister Nancy and her BFF Barb talk about Nancy’s new boyfriend Steve Harrington. Barb’s worried Nancy’s going to be popular now. Nancy says “Don’t be silly.” She meets Steve in the bathroom. They kiss. He wants her to come out with him that night. She says “Ok, meet me eight. To study.” Hopper, the police chief, shows up at the station. Joyce is waiting, tells him Will is missing. He doesn’t take her seriously. She’s desperate, “Please, find my son!” At the lab, weird scientists arrive and we meet the head guy, Dr. Brenner. Something has escaped. They all put on protective suits. They enter a weird chamber, and see a strange monster-y portal in the wall. Someone says, “The girl can’t have gone far.” ACT II A weird girl, with a shaved head, wearing a hospital gown, wanders in the woods. She’s hungry, sneaks into the kitchen of a diner, tries to steal food. The owner, Benny, catches her. At school, the boys are excited because their new nerdy AV club equipment just arrived. Lucas says, “When Will sees this he’s going to blow his shit.” A nice teacher tells Lucas to watch his mouth. Hopper shows up. In one of the best scenes in the pilot (seriously, just watch it,) Hopper questions the boys. They tell him where Will usually rides his bike. They want to help look. Hopper says no. Joyce and Jonathan look for Will near his old fort. Joyce FLASHES BACK to her entering the fort to show Will that she got tickets to the movie POLTERGEIST. We see that she loves him a lot and they are close. At the diner, the owner gives the weird girl some food. He tries to ask her questions, but she won’t talk. She has a tattoo of the number eleven on her arm. He asks her name. She says, “Eleven.” He calls social services. The girl stops a squeaky fan with her mind.

58 ACT III Hopper searches for Will on the route he took home, and finds his bike, crashed. Back at the lab, a bunch of guys are eavesdropping on all the phone calls being made in town. Joyce calls her ex Lonnie, and leaves a message that Will is missing. Hopper arrives with the bike, thinks that Will ran home. He goes into the shed, discovers the bullets and the gun. Now he’s worried. He’s getting a search party together. (see how the conflict is escalating?) Mike’s mom won’t let him go search for Will. Nancy says she’s going to study at Barb’s. Her mom says no way. Mike tells his mom that Nancy’s going to sneak off with Steve Harrington. Nancy’s pissed at Mike. The search party moves through the dark woods. The nice AV teacher talks to Hopper. Hopper says his daughter Sarah lives with her mom in the city. When he walks away, another searcher tells the teacher that Hopper’s daughter died a few years back. (see how exposition is woven subtly in a scene where they are actively pursuing the goal of finding Will?) Mike contacts the boys on their walkie talkies. They need to search for Will. They sneak out and meet on their bikes. Steve climbs up to Nancy’s window. She lets him in. At the diner, a “Social Services” lady comes to collect the girl. She shoots Benny dead. The girl runs, kills two guys with her mind. She escapes. Dr Brenner is now after her. (I’ve linked this terrific scene below so you can watch.) ACT IV The boys start searching the forest where Will’s bike was found. Steve climbs in Nancy’s window and quizzes her for the test. They kiss. When she says she’s not going to sleep with him, he accepts it. We can see she really likes him. Jonathan has made posters. Joyce apologizes for not being there for him, working so hard. He starts to cry, thinks it’s his fault that Will disappeared. Joyce says Will is close, she feels it in her heart. The phone rings. She can hear Will’s voice and some creepy sounds, then the phone explodes. It was Will on the phone! The boys are searching, flashlights going. It’s pouring rain. Dustin is scared, wants to go back. They hear a strange noise, stop, frightened. Mike’s flashlight lands on the weird girl’s face. She’s shivering, cold. END EPISODE ONE

59 NOTES

Stranger Things as a cultural phenomenon.

Down With the Old Canoe: A Cultural History of the Titanic Disaster – Stephen Biel

The symbols of our times and how ST taps into them.

Coming together of synchronicity. Casting. Netflix. Entertainment company. M. Night.

Popular TV and Movies of 2016

2016 in Film https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2016_in_film#January–March

2019 Decade in Film (the 2010 decade) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2010s_in_film

2016 TV –(Neilson Ratings)

Television in 2016 was all about court rooms, cat fights and comebacks. There was also an oversupply of sports narratives where the underdogs came out on top. U.S viewers were witnesses to historic comebacks against even more historic odds– from LeBron James’ Cleveland Cavaliers beating the bookmakers to best the Golden State Warriors to the curse-breaking Chicago Cubs defeating the Cleveland Indians to Peyton Manning challenging Father Time himself for a chance to ride off into the sunset with the Lombardi Trophy (in front of one of the largest U.S. TV audiences ever).

60 While the Super Bowl held the top spot for another year in a row, other sporting events, such as the Olympics and World Series cracked the top 10 after being held out in years past.

Underdogs thrived in hit TV dramas as well, extending the reign of what critics suspect is the second golden age of content. These underdogs crawled from swirling, suffocating masses during the heat of battle in an effort to reclaim a throne. They made names for themselves in legal dramas, both based on fiction and not-so-distant actual events.

In the end, viewing audiences were the real winners, as they were able to enjoy some compelling content and watch what and when they wanted to via time- shifting. While the usual drama heavy weights still benefit greatly from Live+7 viewing, reality TV offerings prove it’s not all zombies and dragons. In fact, the reality genre accounted for almost one-third of the Top 10 list when ranking on the percent lift from time shifted viewing. Last year’s Top 10time-shifted programs only included one reality show. Additionally, the lift that time-shifting has given the top shows continues to grow. This year, the top time-shifted show gained a 279% lift from seven days of viewing, compared to the 240% that last year’s top time-shifted show gained. https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/fien-print/duffer-brothers-talk-stranger-things-916180

TOP 10 PRIMETIME TV PROGRAMS OF 2016 - REGULARLY SCHEDULED

Rank Program Originator Persons 2+ Rating Average No. of Viewers

1 BIG BANG THEORY, THE CBS 6.7 19,938,000

61 2 NCIS CBS 6.7 19,885,000

3 NBC SUNDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL NBC 6.4 19,283,000

4 WALKING DEAD AMC 6.3 18,824,000

5 BULL CBS 5.8 17,645,000

6 NCIS: NEW ORLEANS CBS 5.2 15,618,000

7 SUNDAY NIGHT NFL PRE-KICK NBC 5.0 14,952,000

8 DESIGNATED SURVIVOR ABC 4.9 14,915,000

9 CBS+NFLN THU NT FOOTBALL CBS 4.9 14,785,000

10 BLUE BLOODS CBS 4.8 14,414,000

TOP 10 TIME-SHIFTED TV PROGRAMS OF 2016 (RANKED BY % CHANGE IN VIEWERS)

Rank Program Originator % Increase in Viewers from Time-shifted Viewing

1 BETTER CALL SAUL AMC 278.7%

62 2 AMERICAN HORROR FX 245.5% STORY

3 ACS: PEOPLE V. OJ FX 238.6% SIMPSON

4 SUITS USA NETWORK 233.4%

5 REAL HOUSEWIVES OF BRAVO 217.0% OC

6 PREACHER AMC 206.5%

7 GAME OF THRONES HBO PRIME 192.6%

8 LAST SHIP, THE TURNER NETWORK 188.1% TELEVISION

9 TEEN MOM II SSN7 MTV 186.3%

10 REAL HOUSEWIVES BRAVO 184.5% BEV HILLS

TOP 10 TIME-SHIFTED TV PROGRAMS OF 2016 (RANKED BY ABSOLUTE DIFFERENCE)

Rank Program Originator Absolute Difference in Viewership

63 1 WALKING DEAD AMC 10,435,000

2 BIG BANG THEORY, THE CBS 9,160,000

3 DESIGNATED SURVIVOR ABC 8,980,000

4 GAME OF THRONES HBO PRIME 6,986,000

5 THIS IS US NBC 6,886,000

6 NCIS CBS 6,817,000

7 EMPIRE FOX 6,511,000

8 BULL CBS 6,454,000

9 BLACKLIST NBC 6,396,000

10 X-FILES FOX 6,226,000

2017 Netflix Forbes – Most Binged Shows on Netflix (12/11/17)

And finally, here are the shows that brought us together this year and it’s no surprise that fans ranked Stranger Things as the top show to binge together as a family. Here are the top ten shows that scored points for family-viewing: Stranger Things, 13 Reasons Why, A Series of Unfortunate Events, Star Trek Discovery, Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life, Riverdale, Fuller House, Chef's Table, Atypical and Anne with an E.

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