Stranger Things: Tales from '85

Stranger Things has a great vibe. It pulls on nostalgia for old farts like me with 80s culture that was still rife during my 90s upbringing. And it plays on some of the core adventure tropes I still believe in, where you can just go places and do things and you won't die if you aren't doing anything too extreme (some exceptions apply). In essence, I enjoy the Stranger Things universe even if it's not a world-altering masterpiece. Sometimes you're craving the simplicity of McDonald's.

Tales from '85 is more from the Stranger Things universe and that's fine. The animation is nifty and lends itself even better than the live action for some of the magical absurdity of the multi-dimensional world -- those later seasons were suffering like all other CGI-fests on real-world effect constraints. They got some different voices too which'll help extend the franchise and they become a-okay after the initial episode adjustment period.

You get 10 episodes in total (with a second season already greenlit) with it taking place after mainline S2 (I think?), so the characters are locked in and you're on a nice, limited, spring break adventure. They even inject in a few new characters that're fine even if "lore" complicating, but if you care about that then you're thinking about this show too much. Plenty of deeper wells to draw from if you want to reflect on the world at large and think deeply.

I remember reading headlines about this potentially being a Telltale cast-off that went from game to TV show. I’m doubtful that’s true, but I do have to wonder re: Netflix’s own interactive ambitions and how this may have originally started there (before the party-game directional reset). But other than consider the machinations of TV productions, it stands on it's own as it is just fine.

If you're looking for some simple brain fodder in the fun universe of Stranger Things, I recommend it. But if you're a freak who struggled to enjoy the series as it evolved (talent changes, story beat directions, etc) then I suspect this, and many other things in life, will not please you.

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