I've Seen STRANGER THINGS

Article first published as STRANGER THINGS Review on Seat42F.

Do you remember the movie genre that is uniquely 1980s about a bunch of kids getting over their heads in an adventure? It’s a bit campy, but can also be a bit scary, and when the young actors are well chosen, it’s among the best of film for those who grew up in that era and hold a special nostalgia for it in their hearts.

If so, then Netflix’s newest series, STRANGER THINGS, created by twins Matt and Ross Duffer (Hidden), (appropriately for this piece) credited as The Duffer Brothers, is going to seem very familiar to you. Set in the 80s, the story is that of four RPG-playing boys, one of whom, Will (Noah Schnapp, Bridge of Spies), goes missing early on in the pilot. While the adults, including Will’s single mother, Joyce (Winona Ryder, Edward Scissorhands, Black Swan), go looking for Will, his friends, against their parents’ orders, join in the hunt, unable to just sit on the sidelines and wonder what happened to their pal.

It’s funny, most television shows and movies, unless made specifically for children, don’t allow the youngest members of society to act on their own and with peers in a big way. Generally, in stories like this one, the focus would be on the parents and the law enforcement officers who are trying to solve the case. Yet, in STRANGER THINGS, the plotline is divided, allowing us to see Will’s mom and the local police chief’s, Hopper (David Harbour, The Newsroom, The Equalizer) side of things, but giving at least equal time over to the kids.

Make no mistake, that is a plus for STRANGER THINGS, which has assembled a very talented group of youngsters, the best-known of which is Schnapp, who will be the least seen. The leader and best friend to missing Will is Mike (Finn Wolfhard), whose sister, Nancy (Natalia Dyer, I Believe in Unicorns), is the boy-crazy outsider who will presumably get drawn into her little brother’s journey, eventually. Dustin (Gaten Matarazo) is the awkward one who feels like the funny, chubby guy, but without being chubby, and whom harbors a crush on Nancy. If STRANGER THINGS were truly made in the 1980s, then the last member of the group, Lucas (Caleb McLaughlin), would be the token minority. While less developed in the pilot than the others, I hope that the show has more in store for Lucas than that.

Now, up to this point, I’ve only laid out the program as a missing child story, but it’s more than that. Like the best of the 80s flicks, there is an unearthly bend. In this case, it’s a secret lab led by Dr. Martin Brenner (Matthew Modine, Weeds, The Dark Knight Rises), which has other-wordly things in it. There’s also a strange child named Eleven (Millie Bobby Brown, Intruders) who has a connection to it. STRANGER THINGS doesn’t jump the gun by giving us much information at all about this lab, but it’s certain that Will’s disappearance will tie into it.

Which leaves the overall tone creepy, like the best of Netflix’s little-watched Hemlock Grove or a classic horror film, while serving the fun-loving attitude of the era. It’s a period piece that really does feel, so far, like it was made in the period in which it is set, and is thoroughly enjoyable. This type of story has been begging for more than two hours to explore itself in, and STRANGER THINGS finally delivers on that. Combined with a couple vintage-style comedy series, the streaming service is setting itself up as a destination for taking risks, as I wouldn’t expect any other network to pick up something like this, and this risk is worth taking. I think Netflix may very well have a hit on its hands.

STRANGER THINGS’ eight-episode first season will be available on Netflix on July 15^th.

PROOF a Bit Flimsy

Article originally published as PROOF Review on Seat42F.

TNT’s newest drama is PROOF. Dr. Carolyn Tyler (Jennifer Beals, The L Word) is a respected surgeon who has had a near-death experience and lost her teenage son. She’s found a way to go on, putting thoughts of an afterlife out of her head, until she is approached to study what comes after living from a scientific perspective. She’s fundamentally opposed to what she considers a waste of time, but for the right reasons, can be persuaded to try to find PROOF of what happens to us.

The thing that gets a grounded person like Carolyn to look into this is a little girl. Well, that and her own experiences. When billionaire Ivan Turing (Matthew Modine, Weeds, Full Metal Jacket) proposes the idea, Carolyn is quick to shoot it down. But appearances aside, she’s not a heartless person, and she softens when confronted with a kid who has recently visited the “other place.” It’s a bit too cheesy and done-before an event, and it doesn’t exactly start the show off on the right foot.

Carolyn is not alone in her quest, of course. She has an assistant, young intern Dr. Zed (Edi Gathegi, House M.D.), who brings a more open mind, and Janel Ramey (Caroline Rose Kaplan), who works for Turing and so is probably a spy in her midst. That’s it for now, Carolyn embarrassed for anyone to know what she’s doing, but swayed by the extraordinary amount of money Turing is offering (which of course will be used for charity because television archetype heroes cannot be the least bit selfish).

But she has other things pulling her attention, too. Her boss, Dr. Oliver Stanton (Joe Morton, Scandal, Eureka), doesn’t know about her extra-curricular activity, nor does Carolyn want him to, though I doubt she’ll be able to hide it since she’s doing her research at the hospital. At home, she has a daughter, Sophie (Annie Thurman, Dark Skies), and spanning the two worlds, an ex-husband, Dr. Len Barliss (David Sutcliffe, Gilmore Girls). There’s also a man who claims to be in touch with the other side, Peter Van Owen (Callum Blue, Dead Like Me, Smallville), whom Carolyn (no surprise!) distrusts.

PROOF is an odd bird. It starts off with a very serial concept, the main character being tasked to find proof of life after death. The characters are decently well developed with some driving forces that would lend themselves well to an ongoing story. Yet, the way the first hour deals with a single patient indicates that it will be a repetitive procedural, Carolyn finding one person each week through which to continue her research, and the whole set up is rote. Doing this makes the program far less compelling.

If Carolyn ever solves the essential question at the heart of the series, it would be over. But I don’t think she will, which is disappointing, PROOF setting itself up for failure right from the beginning. No one knows what comes after death, and it’s unlikely that anyone ever will. Those who are spiritual enough to believe there is something don’t have a way to test that theory and report back on it, and anyone who thinks they do is considered to be on the fringe, possessing no concrete evidence. Yet, the pilot of PROOF, from the start, tells us there is more than life. So how can Carolyn’s project possibly end?

The idea at the heart of PROOF is an intriguing one and I like the pilot OK, I just have little confidence in this series going forward. The central premise is too flimsy and closed-ended, the procedural element is heavy, and the cast is just a bit too much structured like practically every other show in the genre, with no real surprises in the makeup. As such, I just don’t see this as a series to get excited about

PROOF premieres Tuesday, June 16^th at 10 p.m. ET on TNT.