The original post: /r/television by /u/emceerez on 2025-11-30 18:03:49+00:00.
I finally decided to give this VERY hyped and VERY lauded show a try, but there is no way I’m making it past the first season. How the hell is this show this popular? It’s literally nothing more than a high budget, shittier version of better movies.
It’s insulting to the viewer how much this show doesn’t stand on its own two feet. Talk about unoriginal! Reference porn is NO substitute for an actual story… King and Spielberg have done this shit too many times to count. Take away all the synths and 80s text fonts and the near constant “HEY OLD PEOPLE! REMEMBER THIS TOY/MOVIE/SONG?” moments, and there’s hardly any substance left. In fact I’d argue there’s no substance at all. They should have named it “Nostalgia Things.” It’s concerning that there are people out there who consider this writing to be deep.
I’ve seen The Goonies, I’ve met all these nerdy ass kids before. It’s been done. I liked it when I was 10 years old (I guess). And hey, Winona Ryder: chill with the overacting… you don’t have to hyperventilate for 90% of your screen time. And that cop is the classic “Damaged lawman with a tragic past” nonsense we’ve all seen before. Not to mention the jock, the outcast, the prep. Oh brother. I kept waiting for these characters to get better but they never do.
And the pacing is shit! Like, this show should be a two hour movie, not an 8 hour TV show. SO much filler, SO many pointless shots of people riding bikes. I was checking my phone the whole time. And the “mystery” plot was pretty damn obvious, too.
Last (but certainly not least), the biggest flaw of this show IMO, are the child actors. Screaming or staring blankly is NOT good acting, I’m sorry. Juxtapose that with the over the top adult actors (Hi Winona), and I mean, what are we doing here? It is nearly impossible to stay immersed for anyone above a 9th grade education level. It’s a high school play with a 10-million-dollar budget.
I lost brain cells watching this show. But hey, they have a song by The Police, so all is forgiven. (P.S. most 80s music SUCKS!)