Stranger Things

Stranger Things is a science fiction and horror television show premiering in 2016 on Netflix. Created by The Duffer Brothers and starring Winona Ryder. The show revolves around the fictional small town of Hawkins, Indiana, in the 1980s, which is beset by supernatural occurrences and mysterious disappearances connected to a secretive government lab. Starting with the disappearance of Will Byers, which sparks a manhunt, those close to him investigate, dragging their own contacts into the strange events. As the events progress, more and more people get dragged in, each operating semi-independently and occasionally crossing paths in their own investigations.

Four seasons have been released, with a fifth and final season set to release in 2025.

Watch it on Netflix here.

Tropes used in Stranger Things include:

Abusive Parents: Referenced several times, most notably with Billy and Neil Hargrove.
Action Mom: Joyce Byers jumps into an otherworldly Tunnel Network to save Hopper based on the information from her son Will.
Batter Up: Nancy Wheeler practices swinging a baseball bat as a weapon in "The Flea and the Acrobat".
Big Brother Bully: Billy, although technically a stepbrother.
Big Brother Is Watching: A scene in "The Vanishing of Will Byers" shows a group of people at the Hawkins National Lab covertly listening in on telephone calls. They installed a microphone in Hopper's residence and operate surveillance vans under the pretense of the company "Hawkins Power and Light".
Black and Nerdy: Lucas is into things like roleplaying games in the early 1980s.
Blinkenlights: A common feature of the machinery and instruments of Hawkins National Lab.
Brats with Slingshots: Lucas wields a Wrist Rocket as a slingshot, which he uses in the episode "The Upside Down".
Bring My Brown Pants: Troy pees himself in the gym when trying to fight back after being pushed down.
Cassandra Truth: Joyce Byers claims she can communicate with her son Will Byers through lights, which few seem to seriously entertain.
Coming of Age Story: Over the course of the series, we see this for the child/teen characters.
Dark World: The Upside Down is a distorted mirror of the regular world with hostile wildlife.
Death Faked for You: The Government fakes the death of Will Byers, producing a fake body stuffed with cotton to conclude the investigation.
Decontamination Chamber: At the start of "The Spy", Hopper is sprayed down and scrubbed by men in hazmat suits at Hawkins National Labs after returning from the tunnel.
Defictionalization: The Surfer Boy pizzas from the show were made into a frozen pizza product by Palermo's.
Down in the Dumps: The boys occasionally use a small garbage dump as a meeting place. When the government sends a helicopter to find them, they use a decaying bus inside it to hide.
Dumpster Dive: Lucas does this at school while looking for Dart in "Will the Wise".
Eighties Hair: As a Period Piece, many of the characters have eighties style hair. Steve Harrington even gives Dustin hair advice in season two on what products to use.
Enter Stage Window: Done in "The Vanishing of Will Byers" by Steve Harrington after a meeting with Nancy Wheeler is prevented by her parents.
Everytown, America: Hawkins, Indiana appears to be this, being a sleepy town before the start of the events of the show. Other characters refer to life in the city as separate from Haskins, and the main standout feature of the town is Hawkins National Laboratory, with plenty of scenes taking place in natural areas.
Evil-Detecting Dog: A dog barks at an ominous presence in "The Vanishing of Will Byers".
Fictional Document: Lewis's father can be seen reading "The Hawkins Post" newspaper in the episode "Dig Dug".
Fire-Breathing Weapon: Hawkins National Labs tries to handle incursions of otherworldly entities by sending a guy in a hazmat suit with a flamethrower to burn it down.
First Contact: Dr. Martin Brenner uses Eleven to make contact with the strange life form in a flashback, and it succeeds, though not peacefully.
Government Conspiracy: Activities related to Eleven, the disappearance of Will Byers, or the Hawkins National Laboratory are covered up by state and higher government employees, leading to interference with local law enforcement.
Greasy Spoon: Benny's Burgers is a diner style restaurant featured in the first two episodes of season 1.
Hazmat Suit: Worn by the men investigating the quarantined portion of Hawkins National Laboratory in the "The Vanishing of Will Byers".
Heroic Sacrifice: Bob volunteers to go it alone to the basement of Hawkins National Labs to reset the power and access the computer system, and dies to the monsters as a result.
High School: Some of the characters attend Hawkins High School.
Humanoid Abomination: The Demogorgon, a faceless humanoid monster in season one.
Improvised Weapon: When Dustin prepares to confront dart he dons hockey gear as armor and a hockey stick as his weapon.
Jack Bauer Interrogation Technique: Chief Jim Hopper beats up the state policeman who claimed to have found the body of Will Byers in the quarry for information after questioning him in the bar fails.
"Jump Off a Bridge" Rebuttal: At the dinner table Michael's father asks him if he would jump off a cliff just because his friends had done so in the episode "MADMAX".
Junior High: Where the kid characters start out.
Keeping Secrets Sucks: In "MADMAX" Nancy listens to Barb's parents talk about how they’re selling their house to hire Murray Bauman as an investigator to find Barb, expressing a real sense of hope to her while she knows that Barb is dead.
Lock and Load Montage: A short montage of Lucas gearing up for a solo expedition to the magnetic source features in "The Monster". Later in the same episode some employees of Hawkins National Lab get a more serious version.
Madness Mantra: Jane’s mother repeats various nonsense words over and over. They're memories of how she lost Jane.
Mama Bear: Joyce Byers and Jane's mother both count. Joyce went to great lengths to find her son Will Byers, and Jane's mother tried storming a government facility to find her daughter.
The Merch: A number of branded items featuring Stranger Things have been produced.
Mission Control: Dr. Sam Owens guides Bob over the radio in the episode "The Mind Flayer".
Morally-Ambiguous Doctorate: Dr. Martin Brenner is presented as one, given his involvement with MKULTRA and his poor treatment of Eleven.
Neck Snap: Eleven does this to a guard with her psychic powers in the episode "Holly, Jolly".
Nerd: Dustin, Mike, Lucas, and Will are a bit nerdy, being unpopular at school, and into nerdy topics such as radio and roleplaying games in the early 1980s.
- Bob Newby is a downplayed example nerdy, being a RadioShack employee with technical proficiency. While he uses corny lines and is somewhat socially awkward, he’s somewhat grounded.
Nothing but Hits: Most of the songs and pop culture references are to works with from the 1980s that still carried significant cultural value in The New Tens.
Ouija Board: Will's mother improvised one with Christmas lights over letters to communicate with Will using his ability to flicker the lights.
The Peeping Tom: Johnathan Byers is accused of being one after his photos he took of the party are found in season one.
Period Piece: The story is set in The Eighties.
Phone Booth: Chief Hopper uses a roadside telephone booth in the episode "The Monster".
Psychic Nosebleed: Eleven gets a nosebleed when she uses her powers.
Product Placement: Several examples:
- Coca-Cola cans are seen.
- In the Bradley's Big Buy grocery store an endcap display for Purina Cat Chow can be seen, and eleven grabs several packages of Eggo waffles, reaching past Aunt Jemima and Ore Ida products in the process.
- Barb's family has a dinner from Kentucky Fried Chicken.
- Three Musketeers candy bars are commented on during Halloween.
- The receptionist at the motel has a bag of food and a drink from Hardee’s in the episode "Dig Dug".
- Murray takes out a bottle of Stolichnaya Vodka in the episode "Dig Dug".
Psychic Powers: Eleven is able to stop a fan from operating at a distance, levitate object, slam people against walls, and more.
The Quiet One: Eleven rarely speaks, and only in short bursts.
Revolvers Are Just Better: Jim Hopper wields a revolver.
Slut Shaming: Graffiti on the Hawk Movie Theater sign calls Nancy a slut in the episode "The Monster".
Standard Cop Backstory: Chief Hopper has one, a deceased daughter.
String Theory: Murray Bauman has a board with string linking various documents and photos.
Suicidal Gotcha: Tory orders Mike to jump off a cliff while holding Dustin at knifepoint, with even Tory's friend cautioning him that it’s not a good idea. At the end of Tory's countdown Mike jumps, but is suspended partway down and then retracted thanks to a surprise intervention from Eleven thanks to her psychic powers.
This Is Reality: Mike comments that what’s going on is real, and not Dungeons & Dragons during a conversation in "Will the Wise".
Trademark Favorite Food: Eleven likes Eggo waffles.
Tunnel Network: Hopper discovers an otherworldly one beneath Hawkins based on the drawings of Will Byers.
Wake Up, Go to School, Save the World: Characters generally maintain their normal duties and social responsibilities while investigating the strange happenings in Hawkins on the side. There are some exceptions, such as Will's mother who stops working while her son is missing.
Walkie-Talkie Static: A little bit can be heard after the boys say over when they are communicating via walkie talkie in "The Vanishing of Will Byers".
Wall of Weapons: A large display of firearms is briefly shown during a Lock and Load Montage in Hawkins National Lab.
Weakened by the Light: d'Artagnan is a strange creature found by Dustin that does not react well to the light, seemingly causing it distress or pain.
Wild Teen Party: One is shown in the episode "Tick or Treat, Freak".
You Are Number Six: Eleven gets her name from the tattoo the government put on her arm.