Stranger Things: Tales From ‘85 (S1): Reactions & Theories

0:23 Hey y'all, and welcome back to Camp Nowhere, a Stranger Things podcast. My name is Lauren. And my name is Joel. We're so thankful you're here to listen to us process all things STRANGER THINGS. In this episode, we will be focusing entirely on the new animated series Stranger Things Tales from 85. Yes, but first. Spoiler alert. If you haven't yet watched Stranger Things in its entirety or the new animated spinoff series, be warned. We will be discussing a lot of spoilers, so go give the show a watch before giving us a listen, friends.

0:59 Totally. Now it's time for our first segment, quick recap and reactions. To kick us off, here's a couple brief clips of the Duffers and Tales From 85 showrunner and executive producer Eric Robles talking a bit about the new series. When we started talking about it, was there anything else we want to do with Stranger Things? This was one of our first ideas. The idea was kind of to evoke a feeling of an 80s cartoon. With animation, there's really no limits. Eric and and his team can just go wild and they have and they have.

1:35 What we've been able to capture is the magic of Hawkins in a new way. So our story takes place between seasons two and three, but we soon learn that nothing is quite as they thought it was. So get your flashlight, get your backpack, because it's going to be amazing. I'm so psyched to hear that we're getting an animated series. Is there a particular adventure that you're most excited with fans to see, and will there be any returning cast members? For the animated, well, the animated is, you know, it's a lot of our cast, but you know, it's going back in time.

2:09 It's like right post season 2, which is a really fun age. And because it's animated, we can keep them at that age as long as we want. But I think what's really fun about is, yeah, you get to see 11 and Will and Mike and Dustin and Lucas together again. And I think that's a blast because when we were growing up as kids, like we love Ghostbusters, but we love the real Ghostbusters 2 and in the Beetlejuice animated series. So hopefully it gives off the feeling that those shows gave us, which is it just gives you more time to spend with these these characters.

2:42 All right, so recap time. Stranger Things Tales From 85 picks up in January of 1985, right after Season 2 but before Season 3. The kids are back in Hawkins, still reeling from the last Upside Down invasion, when a strange new menace starts creeping through the town. The show kicks off on January 10th where a scientist burns what's left of a vine from an old Upside Down experiment, only for the ashes to drift under the snow and spark something new, like a vine like plant monster that soon begins growing beneath Hawkins.

3:19 Meanwhile, 11 and the core crew, so Mike, Dustin, Lucas, Will, and Max, are sneaking out of Hopper's cabin trying to be normal teenagers, but it's not long before they notice odd disappearances, weird plant life, and a series of escalating attacks. They quickly come to realize that the plant monsters need a human host within 12 hours or they die until evolution sets in and the plants just need some spores or a serum kind of thing that had been created by a scientist. The season follows the Core gang with some cameos from Nancy and Steve as they team up with a New Girl, Nikki, whose mom, Missus Baxter, is their substitute science teacher and is initially suspected of being the mastermind behind the threats.

4:12 As they dig deeper, they trace the danger back to a hidden lab in a secret serum that can supposedly regenerate life but also creates A monstrous plant queen that feeds on the stuff and tunnels under the town. The real villain turns out to be Missus Baxter's boyfriend, Daniel. It's always Daniel, I mean the boyfriend, a selfish scientist obsessed with the serum who loses control of the plant queen and ends up engulfed by it, making the creature even stronger and triggering a new gait to the Upside Down.

4:50 In the final battle the kid split up the so Mike in 11 try to lure the queen away from the gate. Which is funny because Dustin normally is a distraction, and he is a distraction here too. Lucas masks and Dustin are distractions, and Nikki revives her light blaster she created to sever the monster's arm. With Will holding the line and 11 using her powers to hurl debris at the Queen. They managed to stall the invasion, but not before the Queen itself starts opening a doorway to the Upside Down, setting up the stakes for whatever comes next.

5:33 The season ends with a peek into new plant life growing from the supposedly dead plant Queen in the Upside Down, hinting at another season to come in the future. Lauren, we'll talk about specific hits and misses soon, but for now, what are some of your just quick reactions to this first season of Tales from 85? Because I think it's safe to conclude there will likely be another season. Actually, as of very recently, it's been confirmed there will be a season like just found out, I think it's confirmed for the fall.

6:06 So that's super exciting. That's a. Quick turn around. I right, I know. So yeah, we'll have to do another episode at that point, but yes, most definitely. Honestly my quick reactions I feel like it exceeded my hopes and expectations. I was pleasantly surprised. It was genuinely really fun to watch. I appreciated that it was fairly kid friendly. I looked it up, it's rated TV-14. But honestly with parental guidance I don't know. I think it would be fine for kids younger than that to watch it. I would personally give it a 4.5 out of five star rating.

6:48 As much as I loved watching scooby-doo and The Goonies when I was a kid, I I honestly enjoyed Tales from 85 even more. Might I even be so bold as to say that I thought the writing for it was better than season 5 of Stranger Things? Like I found the plot line to be more compelling. So yeah, I think, I think I would agree with that last statement. It felt more core. Stranger Things. It did, yeah. Like the nostalgia, the just lighthearted fun and humor factor. Yeah, yeah. And they didn't. I mean, I know it's the first, I guess, season of this new animated series, but they didn't do one of the mistakes they did in Season 5 where they just introduced this new character and then like everything is about this new character 'cause it's like in Season 5, like, I don't care about Holly, respectfully.

7:45 Holly was in the show before she just. Didn't do anything. Yeah. It's like you're just kind of there and then in Season 5, I'm just supposed to care about you now and. Whereas like Nikki, she definitely is important in the in the season, but the whole story doesn't necessarily fully revolve around. Her and she doesn't have yeah. And like she doesn't have an unusual like what? What's the word I'm looking for? Like disproportionate amount of screen time compared to other characters. Yeah, I would agree.

8:23 Yeah, yeah. Did you have any other reactions like quick reactions that you wanted to share? Yeah, I mean, I think I, I think I mostly agree. It it yeah, it exceeded my expectations because I mean, the key things to keep in mind are that like when it's an animated series 2, it's significantly shorter in terms of screen time. Like each episode is 30 minutes or less pretty much. And with only 10 episodes, 30 ish minutes, you can't do nearly as much as a typical, like live action season of Stranger Things.

9:08 And so it's like you can't, yeah, like you can't get too crazy. But I mean, that's kind of the point though, is that it's it's it's more kid friendly. There's no profanity. There's no, like, there's some creepiness to it, but it's not, yeah, but it's not like it's not like Season 4. Like it's not, I mean. Kids watch Scooby-doo and Scooby-doo has creepy. Like, I have some creepy things, but it's not like the end of the first episode of Season 4 where Chrissy gets Becknud and it's like, incredibly disturbing.

9:52 Gets Becknud. Yeah. Well, yeah, it's just a very specific way of dying. And she just died in a very disturbing way. And it's like it. The animated show is just a lot more. Yeah, it's like, not. Nearly friendly, gory. Yeah. And gore, blood, profanity. Like that's mostly just not there at all. Yeah. In terms of the plot line, I appreciated the unique reversal. I was processing this with you, like in that. And what I mean by reversal is in the last episode where it's like it's put together that the queen plant thing is actually not trying to invade the real world.

10:47 Like it's not trying to invade the right side up, it's actually trying to get back to the upside down. And that where? It came from. Where it came from. And so it came to the right side up to accomplish its purpose of growing enough, but then it needs to get back to the Upside down for some reason. And so I just thought it was an interesting dynamic where instead of trying to close the gate to prevent the monster from invading our world, it's actually to close it so that they can't get back to the upside down, so that they don't like flourish or get even stronger over there.

11:31 And so there's a, there's a really cool shot where it shows the gate L and the plant queen. And it's cool how with this reversal going on, that L's in the middle, because normally L is facing the gate and the monsters coming out of the gate, and L's trying to stop that. But here LS actually standing in the gap like between the gate and the monster, trying to prevent the monster from entering through the gate. Yeah, you've heard of Malcolm in the Middle. Have you heard of? L in the middle. 11 in the middle, yeah, yeah, that creates a pretty cool dynamic.

12:17 Yeah. OK, well then I can kick us off with our next segment, hits and misses. So we'll we'll start with hits. Several things come to mind. The first thing I noticed was the music. Shocker. Oh yeah, that's good. It sounded so much like the OG Stranger Things that I thought Kyle Dixon and Michael Stein surely were the ones who composed the original score for this animated series. But then I looked it up and it turns out it was a composer named Brad Beak. Fun fact, Brad also scored the music for another cartoon we love called Gravity Falls that Joel introduced me to.

12:59 If you haven't seen that show, you should totally check it out. Please do. It has similar sci-fi adventurous vibes. It's so good. Yes, also shout out Brad because Homeboy killed it with the music. Yeah Tales from 85. It had that nostalgic sci-fi 80s feel that we just loved from the original series. Yeah, and not only their original score, but also some of the other needle drops were really cool. Totally tubular. Tubular and just nerdy moment for a second. I mean, we've been nerdy the whole time.

13:36 No, but I think about it. OK, but game gamer nerd moment, there's the scene where Elle is trying to get to. I think it's Mike and Nikki. They're yes, she found like she went into the void and she found that Mike is like hiding from a plant monster at the school. And so Elle's trying to get there. And Elle finds, I think like a bent over, like traffic or like a street sign or something, or something. And she decides to use it to like, snowboard down there. And the music that plays during that sounds a lot like Escape from the City from a game that I play on the game cue called Sonic Adventure 2 Battle.

14:27 There's a song called City. Yeah. Escape from the City, Where funny enough, Sonic is actually boarding down a hill, not. Running up a hill? Not running up that hill. Kate Bush is doing that right. He's boarding down the hill. Yeah, Sonic's boarding down the hill. Yeah. And it just sounds a lot like that. I'm like, oh, that's cool. Yeah. Yeah, totally. And that again makes me think of the whole nostalgia factor that we experienced in different ways watching this. I love the animation style and attention to detail.

14:59 I know I pointed that out to you as we were watching. It just seemed very 80s esque. The style itself I don't think would have worked as well if it looked like primary animation we see today, like in Pixar films and whatnot. It needed to stand out and feel more like what animation that in the 80s look like hand drawn, you know, painted cell cartoons, bold colors, simple shapes, limited movement. Yeah, the coloring too. Just very colorful, bright 80s. Yeah. And the animators did an incredible job making the show look like real life Hawkins, but in cartoon form.

15:43 Like, the intention to detail was insane. There were period accurate vehicles, walkie talkies, bikes, Walkman's tape recorders. I think Dustin had a Polaroid camera. You know, the way the classrooms look, the arcades, We could go on and on. Basically all the things we talked about in our episode on nostalgia was featured here. Right. Yeah. And yeah, like, the Winter Fest in particular was just adorable and nostalgic, and it reminded me of the winter Carnival that's in the cosy fictional town of Stars Hollow in the show Gilmore Girls.

16:19 Girls. Yeah, and I mean, honestly, also just season 3, Stranger Things. Totally. Yeah, Yep, because you have the carnival fair. Yeah, Yep. So something else that really stood out to us was the humor. Y'all, Nikki. This new character was especially hilarious. Joel and I loved her line from I think it was episode 3, entitled Evolution. Didn't get far, though. Shriveled up worse than my aunt Angela, something that she said. Like it, it was one of the, it was one of those things where like, you know, when a line is funny enough that you have to stop the show and rewind it because you want to hear it again.

16:59 We did. That's what we did. We did, I think, twice. Yeah. Like Nikki, I also am a Capricorn, although that might be where our similarities end. I think Milk Duds are gross personally. And I definitely. Can't burp all the state capitals. OK, That's love that for her. Yeah, we also loved in episode 7 called Enter the Storm, how she called one of her Knick knacks, though she doesn't like that term. She called it a Taser tot. Pauline, give me some of your totes. No, go find your own. OK, we also got to mention what Lucas said in episode 1 which is called Welcome to Hawkins New Kid.

17:40 Mr. Clark announces he's going on a sabbatical and Lucas, poor buddy, is V confused. Welcome back, new semester, new news to share with you all. I will be going on a sabbatical for the semester. He's going to become a priest. What? No, it means he's going on like a work vacation. Oh, why didn't he just say so? OK, but I think it's safe to say our favorite humorous moment was kind of from both episodes 7 and 8. So in episode 7, Dustin is with Daniel in his store during the winter storm. Can I trust you to mine the store?

18:25 Oh, guard it with my life. Right. OK. And then in episode 8, called the Party, Elle throws a massive tree through the store. And then, and then this is Dustin's response. You OK? I think Dan might ban me for life. OK. And then a bit later, Dan is also at the store with Chief Hopper, Officers Powell and Officer Callahan. And Powell says, I hope this place is insured. And Dan, poor Dan just Withers down to the snowy ground by their cop car. And he's like, no, no, no. I mean, I think that was his only source of income.

19:12 Poor guy. Like, I know he's the real bad guy here and all, but you at least feel for him a bit. You know when you learn about about his back story, the failed job as a scientist, and now he's losing his whole store. Right. But like, Can you imagine? Well, he did. I mean respectfully. He chose to trust this. Like leave the store with a child. I mean, but it's also the 80s. I guess so. But then Can you imagine you come back, child is not there, but your store is destroyed and there is just a tree like and not like a tiny like little palm tree.

19:48 We're talking like this was a massive, this tree had to be at least 100 years old. Just giant tree. Just. Impaling. The. Entire store and he's just like what do I do now?

20:04 I feel so bad for him. Yeah. Yeah. We we also rewound that because that was really funny. So Nancy's portrayal as a crazy person in order to help distract the security guard at the Weekly Watcher in episode 5 was also hilarious. Her performance. Yeah, was so good. Also, the voice actor for Nancy did a really great job and just like the cartoon depiction of her, I was like, that straight up looks like Nancy Wheeler. So yeah. And then after her performance, she climbs up the built to the Billboard to join Elle and Will.

20:44 And Elle is eating Cheetos and this is how that interaction goes. All right, what? I miss the orange. Is the best part. That's funny. The orange is the best part. Yeah, amazing. That's funny. Other hits include monsters and the use of science as a defense against them. So yeah, I mean, I love that throughout Stranger Things, both the live action and Tales from 85, that science has always been like a key part of it and like using science to understand the Demogorgons or Vagna or something. Yeah, it's like Bill Nye the science guy, but like, actually entertaining to watch too, you know?

21:32 And dangerous. Yeah, the stakes are a lot higher, but yeah. That's true, yeah. And so yeah, like we liked the for the monsters part, we liked the snow shark thing and the early. Yeah, they didn't know how to describe. In the early episode. Calling it a snow shark. I mean, it's basically yeah, Yeah. What else do you call it? Yeah. Snow shark the plant monsters, or vine dogs, the pumpkin monsters, also called the gourd hordes. I love that. And the queen monster more than Demogorgons. I mean, at least those different creatures were actually present during the final battle.

22:14 Oh, the use of flashbacks to build on the science plot line was also really well done. Because like you get. Yeah, because in the first episode starts with the flashback of some scientists that we don't know yet is tracking down this little monster. And then you get the same flashback again several episodes later. But you get the context right before that happens to help you understand how that fits in. So that's really cool. Yeah, It really helps us kind of understand, right, the back story of how these plant monsters even came about.

22:57 We never really got that kind of back story for how and where demic organs came from, did we? No, we did not want want. That would have been. That would have been helpful. Yeah, Nikki's knowledge of science and creative tinkering really came in clutch in terms of fighting the monsters. Plus, it's educational, which is always a win. And I think they did it in a way that wasn't. I hate to use Gen. Z lingo, but I think I'm about to. It wasn't, in my mind, cringy because there can be these. To me, it can be like the archetype of being this smart science kid who's like just super bubbly about everything can be kind of an annoying trope for me.

23:49 And so I appreciate that Nikki is, you know, rougher, tomboyish, Doesn't, yeah, doesn't really care what people think. Like she's she enjoys being a freak quote, UN quote. And so it's cool that they come that the writers combined that archetype with being really into science and like engineering in a way by creating like by tinkering with different machinery and stuff to make things. Yeah. So I mean, she knew about the calcium acetate to make a flammable goop. She also knew how to use potassium nitrate and sugar to make a smoke bomb.

24:35 And then, I mean, at the end, I mean, she also had this clutch thing where she just makes this light laser thing, and it's like, OK. Which was a really cool thing of like, how plants need light, But just like with water, it's like if they get too much of it, they'll actually die. Yeah. Yeah. And so true. Yeah. Just like with water, too much light, they'll actually die, too. Yeah. Another hit was the different relational dynamics and character qualities that mirrored the OG Stranger Things really well.

25:10 Oh, yeah. So Max was running a lot, so that checked out. Checks out, yeah. So then Lou, Max. So Lucas and Max, they were, they were adorable. They were. Yeah. Even though they were making some foolish decisions by climbing a rusty water tower in the dead of winter during like a winter storm. Massive snowstorm. I think on the TV screen when Elle was looking at the weather and the cabin, it said that there were like predicted like 13 inches of snow or something. Crazy. OK, I just thought about something.

25:48 How did they get down? We're never shown that. I don't think do it happened off screen. It happened off screen but you remember they have less time to. Work with. It's true, it's true. But that is something I thought about just now because one of the like tense moments was when they're climbing up the ladder and then the ladder like unhinges and starts to fall and it's like, Oh no, is Max going to die unhinged? Literally that was one of those things of like, Oh no, is Max going to die? It's like, well, why would I think she would?

26:22 Because she lives in the other seasons. But. But that's how. OK. But that goes to show that they really engulfed you in the story because yeah, I had a moment there. I'm like, oh, no, what's gonna happen? What's? Gonna happen to Max. And it's like you forget that. Oh well. It's like, but she's gonna live. Yeah, yeah. Yeah, so yeah, with the ladder gone I don't know how they got down. But anyway, if any of y'all listening know how they got down, leave a comment let us know. But before they got down she was really cold and one of her gloves had fallen off.

26:56 Yeah. And so. The cute moment was like. Like let's hold. Hands. Yeah, he like puts, Yeah, he like puts both their hands in the glove or something. And to warm her up. And say, yeah, so that was sweet. Elle was always just very protective of her friends, so that checks out. She even travelled through that crazy winter storm solo just because she saw that her friends were in trouble through her use of the void. Yeah. And the dynamic between Mike, L and Max, I feel like, was super spot on. Mike struggled to trust that 11 would make wise choices.

27:35 And Max kind of gently challenged him on that. She tells him that L can choose her own battles. And then L is arguing with Mike at one point and she says, you do not get to speak for me. Yeah. And I feel like we some of that dynamic did carry on into season. 3 for sure. Yeah, like it. That didn't seem out of place. Yeah. Yeah. And the dynamic between Nikki and Will was really sweet, too. Their relationship is similar in some ways to Will and Jonathan specifically. I'm thinking about how she embraces that idea of being a freak and not being normal because normal is boring.

28:19 Yeah. Like Jonathan. And Will they have that conversation in Season 1? I think yeah, yeah. Or wait or this is season 2. It's season. 2. Yeah, it's Season 2. Yeah, 'cause someone called him Zombie Boy. And he was, yeah, yeah. Yeah, that's so true. And I just really appreciated how Nikki realized at one point that she had treated Will unfairly. I think, like, when they were in detention, she kind of gave him the cold shoulder and but then she apologizes to him. And then she also humbled herself to apologize to her mom, Misses Baxter, who also had apologized to her, which is also just educational for kids and teens in a different way.

29:07 It helps them see that, like, the healthiest relationships are the ones that show an abundance of genuine grace, mercy and forgiveness. And yeah, I thought that was really sweet. Yeah, for sure. It really is impressive of how much the writers were able to fit into those 10 short episodes. Yeah, OK. I think we can move on to the misses the. Misses. OK, OK, so one I wanted to mention was that some of the dialogue did feel a bit repetitive or obvious. And that's, that's where it gets kind of grey for me because it I don't, yeah, it's basically for a younger audience.

29:53 And so with that, you are going to encounter, you know, and you're going to encounter situations a lot where characters are saying something. So on the nose. Like on the nose or overtly just to make sure that the younger people. Are like understanding. Are grasping it like they don't leave a lot to be implied. Yeah, yeah. And so that's where it gets kind of tricky for me where I'm like, I don't know how I would want to critique that. But for me as an adult, it's like, well, the the humor was a little too spot on at times.

30:33 I think. Yeah, there was 1 scene where they found like the gang found one of the plant vine things just dead on the ground I think in one of the earlier episodes and one of the characters asked like, where did this come from? And then I think Dustin says I don't know, but it must have come from somewhere. It's like I'm like, OK. See, that's but OK. But that even just makes me think of Scooby-doo. Yeah. Because yeah, I mean, the dialogue in Scooby-doo isn't, you know, like super what? What am I trying to think of?

31:15 Like low context? Like is it high context versus low context or what? I don't. Know, I just know that in some ways it's like a hard balance where it's meant to be a fun like light hearted, adventurous cartoon. But on the other hand, the writers also had the tension of this is kind of an intense plot line with a lot of moving pieces and like scientific concepts that need to be grasped. And so in that regard, I can understand why they might need to oversimplify or overstate things just, yeah, knowing the target audience, I think is helpful.

31:55 Yeah, yeah. So another myth I think is that although some of the character interactions were, you know, they coincided with how they would have acted in the series, I think. Like the live action? Yeah, yeah, yeah. Where? Yeah, like with the dynamic between Mike L and Max, that made sense how they interacted. But admittedly, I was surprised with the different acts of courage that Will took on because this is only this is Will after season 2. And there and there is a scene fairly early on where all the gang is taken up by this plant monster except Will.

32:40 And Will just takes this hammer axe thing and just beats the crud out of it. And I'm thinking where where is this Will in season 3 and season 4? You know that's true and where it just seemed like Will was. Bit of a continuity error. It seemed like Will was a lot more courageous in this show compared to how he was going to act in seasons 3 and 4. Because I mean, that's a thing that the writers made a theme of in season 5 where Will had to basically stop being afraid, accept himself and like overcome that fear.

33:21 But it seems like he was doing that just fine in in this show. So yeah, kind of a continuity error. OK, another one. The kids didn't seem to be super careful about what information they shared about Hawkins Lab and the Upside Down. Like they just kind of shared it with the newer characters as if it was just something clear or just. Like out in public when they were, like, bumming around, like, trying to, like, put the shoe box, like tip thingies out and like the Flyers, they were just kind of openly talking for the Hawkins Investigator Club.

34:02 It's like, what, Aren't you guys supposed to be really careful about who you're sharing these things with and where? And, like, because there's a risk of the government finding out because they're usually, you know, Big Brother, like, listening in on what's going on. But, yeah, that didn't seem to be as much of A concern in this one. Yeah. Yeah, what other misses can you think of? Yeah, I'd say maybe another one. It didn't always feel super realistic. Yes, I totally get it is fiction and so that's going to be the case.

34:35 But an example I'm thinking about is like the kids were rarely dressed appropriately for a massive. Winter storm. I know, I know. I don't know if I'm being too nitpicky, but I think at one point I looked at Joel and I'm like, why don't they have gloves on? Why are there? Why are their ears not covered? Massive snowstorm. Like, yeah, like you got to be freezing, but like they they just like have just like a light jacket and it's like, that's not gonna cut it, baby. It's. Like, that's Miss Congeniality.

35:02 You're you're dressed for the perfect Miss Congeniality date. You're not dressed for a winter storm. Exactly. Yeah. And yeah, So for the majority of the series, hardly anybody has their hands or their ears covered while they're outside in the thick of a Midwestern winter. And so not super realistic. We also don't get to find out what exactly the plant monsters were doing to their hosts. So were the hosts being possessed? Were they just knocked out? Like, why couldn't they remember many details about what had happened to them once they woke back up out of whatever trance like state that they were in?

35:44 But on the other hand, like you mentioned, the writers really only had so much they could fit into 10 episodes and that we're all, yeah, like 30 minutes or less. So I get that not maybe everything is going to be able to be explained. And real quick on the realistic piece, the like a significant part of the last few episodes was the goop that was on the headphones. And I'm just like, I don't understand how no one is noticing this because the headphones kept being passed around like that. I don't know that kid, that side kid character that we don't didn't really like.

36:29 Like he used it and then Nikki used it. It's like. That's the kind of thing that realistically, Dustin, at least, he's really observant, and I think he would have. He would have noticed. That and they made a connection. There's like this neon goop right on these headphones like and it's not even the same colour as the headphones. It's just I don't. Know, Yeah, no, yeah, that's a good point. Yeah, OK, this one, yeah, again, not trying to be too nitpicky, but in my personal opinion, the way that Hopper was portrayed at times I think seems slightly maybe more hot tempered and rude in this cartoon than he actually is in Stranger Things.

37:12 I don't know if that's a hot take, but I just, there were some moments where I'm like, yeah, I mean, he may be would have been a little bit frustrated if he came home and they were all there. But like, he also would have been thrilled to know that Elle, like had friends and he would have probably just been excited to see them in the long run. But he got like really upset and demanded that they all leave. So I don't know that that's something that I felt like was a bit of a miss character wise. I also wish we'd seen more of Nancy and Steve.

37:47 It was great to have a few brief cameos of them, but it felt like they initially got drawn into the mystery and the threat going on helped out a bit and then we just didn't see or hear from them again. Yeah, like, especially Nancy. Yeah. Like Nancy helped. She seemed invested and then she just was like, gone. She's just Thanos snapped out of there. It's like Blip, she's gone. Right. Yeah. Speaking of, did you feel like it was a miss to not have like any appearance by Joyce Byers? Like, why don't you think she was in the show?

38:22 Yeah. I mean, I would have loved for Joyce to be because Joyce is one of my favorite characters. But initially I think that there I mean when the time restraint like the time restraint of the show, like the episodes are shorter. Right. But I think also like for this plot line that Joyce probably just wouldn't have really been that relevant. Like Joyce? Other than maybe just trying to like, calm Hopper down and give him a little bit of perspective, right? Yeah, but yeah, Joyce. Yeah. I don't think Joyce really would have contributed much to the plot line unless they made the episode longer in order to give more room for Joyce to be a part of it.

39:06 Yeah, maybe if they were each like 45 minutes to an hour or something, they could have been more space. There could have been more. Yeah, more time. But I mean, we do have that mother figure role filled, right? But instead of it being Joyce, it's misses Baxter. Yeah, we do get to briefly see Karen Wheeler. So that was. Cool. But yeah, Misses Baxter was the main mom. Yeah, that's true. Maybe also, I don't know, maybe Winona Ryder just wasn't available or for this or interested in lending her voice for this project.

39:41 And her voice is so iconic, feel like it would have been tough for someone else to get it just right, you know? Any other misses you can think of? Love. No, I think I covered. Yeah, I think we covered it. Then I think it's time for our next segment. Ratings and fandom reactions. So I looked it up on a few different sites and here are the results. So less than a weekend. So we're recording. Yeah, less than a week after the show was released. IMDb. 5 out of 10 Rotten Tomatoes 63% from critics, 50 percents from fans.

40:27 Metacritic 5.2 out of 10. Yeah. So people are definitely split on how they feel about the show. So here's the thing. I really think that your experience of this series really has to do with how you approach it. If you're expecting it to be better than the live action, or really for it to just be like the live action, then you're gonna be disappointed because it's just, it's not like the live action and I don't think it was meant to be. It's, yeah. It's meant to be experienced in a whole through a whole different medium, right?

41:07 Yeah. Yeah, and that's a whole conversation of how the medium affects the message. But yeah, that yeah, that could be its whole its whole episode. But but yeah, if you expect this to be more of just a fun, family friendly spin off, which is how we approached it, that yeah, that it can be just like a fun, lighter show that can help to introduce the franchise to younger viewers. Though that actually does make me think of, I don't know if it's necessarily a miss, but just and like, it's just weird to me because I think about like, oh, this is a great show to use to introduce the show to younger viewers.

41:57 It's like, OK, but this doesn't take place at the beginning. Like it takes place between seasons 2 and 3. And so there is some context that the first two seasons establish. And it's like, OK, it just seems kind of odd for a young viewer to for this to be introductory material if it just jumps in the middle of the timeline. Do you think it would have been better for introducing it to younger viewers if it was maybe instead in between seasons 1:00 and 2:00 so that they can like do some more explaining on what happened in season 1 to kind of fill them in, but yet the events of season 2 haven't happened yet?

42:41 I mean, I think, I think that probably would have been a little bit easier like introductory wise, yeah. But then you don't have Max. Yeah, that's the thing. That would be sad, she's my favorite. And that's the thing too, is like story wise, there's yeah, there's stuff that's missing. But yeah, but, but we talked about it. It's like, yeah, but we think that they chose to do after Season 2 because then that way Max is in the show. Yeah. And yeah, we love Max. Max is great. Yeah, and we saw this, like someone pointed out, I don't know who, but someone pointed out that the the headphones for the Walkman that Nikki is listening to seem to be the exact same ones that Max uses in season 4.

43:29 I don't know if in this season 2 of Tales from 85 if they'll do anymore explaining on, like, does somehow Max end up with Nikki's headphones or is it just coincidental that they sell that kind at RadioShack and they just both, you know, got those. But yeah, I don't know. I just thought that was kind of cool. Yeah. So we didn't want any spoilers, nor did we want anyone else's opinions of this series to affect our own viewing and perception of the show in any way. So we intentionally waited until after we watched it to look up different fandom reactions on Reddit and whatnot.

44:13 So here are some of the patterns we found. We won't like, read specific things, but just patterns that we found. Reactions definitely seem sharply divided, with the notable split between fans who, like Joel said, enjoy it as a fun stylized spin off, and then others who see it as a step down maybe from the main series, so some positive patterns. Many fans call it solid, entertaining, or even better than season 5. I think I would fit in that category. Praising the animation, voice acting and nostalgic 1980s five.

44:51 We do agree that overall, the voices were pretty great. I know I mentioned Nancy's, but also I think Mike, Steve and Max were pretty spot on. And then for a side character, gosh, Chief Powell's voice, I'm like, was that just the actual actor that did that? I don't know. It was so, so good. There's appreciation for the color palettes, monster designs, and self-contained episode structure, with several redditors saying it feels like a lost season or companion piece that really recaptures the show's charm.

45:27 Some mixed reactions or like lukewarm reactions would be that. A common refrain is that it's not great, but fun. Kind of around a six or seven out of 10. Often enjoyed more by viewers who lowered their expectations. Some say the story is too predictable or safe, but still fine for a lighter animated entry set into the Stranger Things world. And then the overwhelmingly negative or critical patterns included just several people complaining that it feels like a children's cartoon that softens the stakes and tone of the original series.

46:07 These users wanted something darker or maybe more ambitious. Another recurring theme is canonicity frustration. So fans argue it doesn't make sense for major events like this to happen in 1985 with no felt overlap or acknowledgement of them in the live action series. And they wish the Duffers had chosen maybe a different town or era for the spinoff. And so, yeah, yeah. So we can move into our next segment series for Season 2 of Tales from 85 since it is confirmed, like we mentioned it, that will release sometime later this fall.

46:52 So the show ended using the classic wartime song We'll Meet Again, which was originally sung by Vera Lynn as the scene flips to the Upside Down where the Queen monster appears to be defeated and yet a little blue flower thing starts growing from it. This song is also used during season 3 of Stranger Things, which is kind of what led us to believe that there would be another season before the official announcement came out. So, Joel, curious, what do you think the blue flower is all about? Like do you have any theories on what might take place during the second season of Tales from 85?

47:38 Yeah, so I think that the blue flower is probably the result of whatever the Queen was wanting. Oh, OK. Because because Missus Baxter theorized that the reason that the Queen wants to go back to the upside down is because it has accomplished the growth that it needed to. And evolved enough and then also secured like longevity of its species, I think was something else that she mentioned, like wanted to make sure that species wouldn't die out. And she used the term flourish to describe going back to the upside down.

48:22 And so I think that this blue flower thing is the result. It like that's the goal that the queen was trying to accomplish was get back to the upside down. So that way these blue flowers will form from their bodies and maybe the blue flowers have some sort of special property or something, and that's what the queen was wanting to accomplish. Yeah, meanwhile, we don't even trust ourselves enough to have any flowers in our household. Well, we have like, we don't have our own plants maybe yet. Yeah, this.

48:57 Show kind of inspired me though. I'm like, Oh my gosh, we should get some plants. It's not like they're going to turn into like vine monsters or anything. I mean, what of what we know? Of what we know, yeah. So yeah, and I think other theory may be that Daniel could be alive potentially. So like like we see Daniel get chomped, but like we. By the plant the. Queen by the Queen like the Queen. But we don't ever see his body. It's like to. Be fair. And like if the and here's the thing, like they this all this show revolves around the idea of like supposedly reviving or regenerating life, right?

49:42 And so who's to say that won't happen to Daniel like that because Daniel was eaten by the queen that maybe he if he did die, maybe he actually is able to be regenerated? Yeah, what if the blue flower possesses some kind of quality in it that can, I don't know, Yeah. Revive life or like kind of have that whole fountain of youth effect where it can like keep you young and alive forever or something. I. Don't know. Maybe this is all speculation. Obviously we have no idea what what will happen. Yeah, yeah.

50:24 So good. I think it'll take place during Season 3, but maybe still before the events that we saw take place during Season 3, which is fun for me to think about because then I think there's a good chance we might get to see Robin. I think we're definitely gonna see Billy. I mean, yeah, I, I think there's a good shot of that. And part of this is because of the Billboard that was advertising for a Memorial Day weekend, opening day of the Star Court Mall. They made sure that you see that. And so maybe that'll be the date of the first episode of the next season.

51:03 Maybe it's like Memorial Day weekend, Star Court Mall is opening, which would check out because Season 3, I think it takes place during July. And so this would still, Memorial Day would be before that. Yeah. It'd be cool if we get to see Robin and her new, maybe budding working relationship with Steve at Scoops Ahoy. Maybe we'll get to see Dustin go off to Camp Nowhere, which, in case you guys didn't know, that's like the inspiration for the name of our podcast is the nerdy camp that Dustin goes to during Season 3 is called Camp Nowhere.

51:41 In terms of the plot line, there are so many places the story could go. Maybe Misses Baxter will try to complete Dan's experimental work, and it could accidentally trigger an Upside Down reaction from the blue flower thing that we saw budding at the end of the first season. Maybe that will cause her and Nicki to have to flee Hawkins, and then of course would pave the way for Mr. Clark's sabbatical to end and he'll resume teaching at Hawkins Middle School. Just a whole new mysterious threat. Awaken and Hawkins since the town seems to be cursed and whatnot.

52:20 You know As to what the threat could be, not entirely sure, but it would be cool for it to be focused around the Hawkins Investigator Club. Kind of gives like mystery gang scooby-doo vibes. Got to solve the mystery and could could evolve into like a recurring monster of the week type format similar to the kid size X-Files. Yeah Supernatural, scooby-doo. Or then a live action similar type thing would be Buffy the Vampire Slayer. OK, I think it's time for our last segment, the Lightning Round. So I'm going to ask you a series of questions to get your honest reactions and opinions.

53:01 For context, friends, Joel has not seen these questions, so you're going to get his raw thoughts. So here we go, number one. Number one, what's? 1. Callback or reference from the animated series that you loved. I liked. When So Elle went into the void and found Mike was at the school. And so she braces herself to go out in the snow and one of the things is that she takes some waffles with her. Yeah, that was cute. And. Nod to her loaf of Eggo waffles. Yeah, that was fun. That was really sweet. That's a good one, OK.

53:46 #2 #2 Did anything surprise you right away? While. Watching, I would say. I mean, honestly. I was. Surprised by the amount of creepiness that was still in the show. Like I was. Yeah, me too. Like there were definitely some. Moments like. Whenever, like whenever different people were possessed by the plant. Yeah, monster and. Their. Eyes, their eyes turn completely black and like, y'all whoa. Like, I I was surprised by that. Like I was expecting this to be a little more chill, right. Yeah, yeah. Well, and that kind of is a.

54:29 Good, you know, counteract to the arguments of people that the stakes aren't high enough or it's not dark enough. And I'm like, well, I mean, maybe. But also like those plant things would just attach onto people's faces and then their eyes would go completely black. And I'm like, that's kind of that's kind of scary. That's like something you'd see in a horror movie, right? Yeah. Yeah. Yeah, I another one too. I was surprised that someone actually died. Like from from what we know, Daniel died from what we know, from what we know, but.

55:08 Yeah, that was a question. You asked. Me before we started watching you were like, do you think anyone actually will die 'cause this is? Kind of like a kids show. And we were like, I don't know, maybe not. But yeah, it seems like it one person actually did and it was actually like a significant. Character because I was thinking, well in season 5 no one died except Colin. And it's like, and we didn't. Really care about her asthma respectfully, right? So, yeah, OK. #3 #3 Was there a moment? That made.

55:41 You go, OK, this matters to the larger story. When it. When we found out that the queen was feeding off of the different tunnels that were forming because the tunnels are key part of Season 2. And so. Yeah. And so that was good because yeah. So that way it didn't feel just isolated. Yeah. It felt like there was some relevance there. And then, of course, the the ending where it does the same thing as season 2's ending, where it plays We will meet again and the screen flips. Yeah. It makes you think about the.

56:29 Screen flip with the song every breath you take from the end of season 2 to show the mind player and that was. How we knew in that season. That oh, there's gonna be a season 3, Another one. Yeah. That was brilliant. Yeah, OK #4 #4 what moment? From the. Series felt most heartwarming or wholesome, no.

56:54 I would say. I mean, we already mentioned it, but I think I'd probably say Lucas and Max when they're irresponsibly at the top of a water tower in the middle of a winter storm. But hey, at least Lucas, like, offered his hand and one of his gloves, and that was, yeah, that was really sweet. That one was really good. I thought about that one. But is it OK if I share another one? Yeah, I, I really, I actually got a little bit teary eyed. I don't know if I'm just a softie or something. But with Nikki and Elle and them, like talking about how they never really got to have birthdays.

57:36 And then Nikki chooses to kind of share her birthday with Elle, even though it wasn't Elle's actual birth date. But yeah, she just like wanted her to be able to share in that. And it just the way Elle's face lit up and, and then whenever they had to kind of abruptly leave because Dustin was like, hey, you know, we got to go. Elle makes sure to smile at Nikki and just said, hey, like, have a happy birthday. And I, I just thought that was so wholesome. Really, really sweet. Yeah. OK #5 #5 do you think?

58:12 Nikki Will. Be in the next season. Why or why not? Yes.

58:20 Well, I mean, they did the thing at the end where they made a character for Nikki and their DND campaign, and so I don't know that. Implies that Nikki would. Be in the next season. Yeah. Because. Yeah. It's like, oh, Nick. Well, yeah. Because then because then we find out that missus Baxter and Nikki did move, but they just moved to like, another house in Hawkins. And so it seems like, OK, we're going to be, you know, maybe planting our roots. Plant pun. Yeah. So yeah, I think. Nikki will be back.

59:01 Yeah, I hope so. I like her character. Number six, number six if you had to. Describe. This show using only 80s slang. What are you saying? Like someone asks you what did you think of Tales from 85 and you're only allowed to respond using 80s slang? Oh man, OK. I'd say it was rad. Groovy is Groovy. 80s or is it 70s? 70s OK I, I yeah. Then rad Tubular. Yeah, yeah. Snow. Tubular. Far out. Far out, yeah. Yeah. That. I mean, I guess. That's 80s, but yeah, yeah, OK #7 #7 what is? The. Show saying about power, who has it, who misuses it and who resists it.

59:59 Oh man. OK. All right. Bit of a deeper. Question. Yeah. OK, what? Does the show say about power? Who has it? Who misuses? It who resists it.

1:00:16 OK. It's a hard one, yeah. That's a good. Question though, power, who uses it? I mean, I think I may need your help to think through that a little bit. So like who used power? Who has it or who has? It OK, well I. Mean L had power. Yeah, L for sure. You can maybe even say Nikki. Has it in the sense of she uses science and her like creativity and like tech savviness to create different tools and things that like aid the plot line and and help defend against the monsters. Yeah. I mean, knowledge is power, you know?

1:01:16 Yeah. So if you think of anyone else, let me know. But there's also who misuses it and who resists it. Yeah, I mean. Daniel. Yeah, Daniel. I mean, I think he definitely misused it. He kept a secret lab where he experimented on plants to see if he could revive plants. But if I remember correctly, he took a sample from the Upside Down and experimented on it, and it was successful in being able to revive that sample. But it's one of those, I think it's a Jurassic Park quote. It's one of those classic examples of like, the scientists were only asking if they could.

1:02:18 They never asked if they should. It's just like, have we thought about the risk and how those could definitely outweigh the benefits for sure. So yeah. Yeah, and then who resists power, I guess. If thinking. About like. Social power then I guess Nikki does because Nikki or. Like in terms. Of conformity like Nikki doesn't want to conform to like to how society says that she should live and so she resists that and chooses her own path. Nikki would have loved the conformity gate. Theory. Oh yeah, she would have been.

1:03:07 All about that do. Not conform to everything else. Yeah, that's really good. OK #8 #8 do you think? The Russian. Subplot will show up in the next season of Tales from 85. Why or why not to be? Completely honest? Probably no, even though there was the Billboard. Advertising for the Star Court Mall and that's where they like set up their base of operations. I mean. They could maybe like very briefly allude to it, OK, But I would think probably not because Season 2, the main thing about Season 2 was the Mind Flayer.

1:03:55 And in Season 3, I mean, yeah, in Tales from 85, they mention the Mind Flayer like maybe once. But the Mind Flayer doesn't really do anything in Tales from 85. So I think kind of in the same way, there may be something to hint at or like a little Easter egg that, hey, there's something Russian going on at the mall, but it wouldn't in any way affect the plot. OK, Yeah, Yeah. Time will. Tell yeah, OK #9 #9 who is the best? New character. In the Stranger Things universe, like best new character introduced in Tales from 85.

1:04:43 So we had Missus Baxter. Daniel Nick Baxter. Rosario. And then there were a couple other side characters that I don't know would come back. Yeah. I mean. Honestly, I just have to say. Nikki Nikki's fun. She she grew on me. At first I thought at first I wasn't sure if I would like her as a character, but she gets some more depth of like, not really. Having a lot of close. Friendships because they move all the time. And and then her wanting to care about her friends and with Elle and especially what you mentioned earlier about her, like humbling herself and asking for forgiveness when she was wrong.

1:05:33 Yeah, yeah, that's huge. I was like, that is huge. And so I really respect that. Yeah. When she did that and like, she apologized to to Will, Yeah, well, she also apologized to her. Mom. And I'm like, yeah. I yeah, my respect for her grew a lot after that. So yeah, I think I agree, Nikki. OK, last question #10 #10 what needle drops? Do you? Hope we'll get in the next season of Tales from 85.

1:06:12 Trying to think, yeah. Someones that we haven't had. I'm trying to think did we have any like actual needle drops that we haven't had from the other from like the OG show? There was a Black Sabbath song. Yes, I remember you. That was pretty. Cool, yeah. But no, they they like recycled, I think like Time After Time by Cindy Lauperolas used which that was also used I think in season 2. Snowball. Yeah, Snowball dance. I don't know, maybe like maybe another Journey song. Yeah. Because I. Think the only journey.

1:06:53 Song was in season 4 was separate ways, yeah. And so, yeah, maybe another Journey song like Faithfully or, or I mean, of course, don't stop believing, but there are other ones too. Yeah. So maybe maybe that or, I don't know, maybe some MJ, like maybe some Michael Jackson. I don't know. That would be cool, yeah. Yeah, it's. I think it's hard to. Be able to for them to get the right to use his music or Whitney. Houston, but they were able to get Prince they got. Prince they got Prince they. Can find a way to get.

1:07:31 It's like, surely they can get Whitney Houston. Yeah, I'm surprised we. Haven't had any. Whitney. Yeah. Yeah, I agree. That would be rad. OK. I think those are all my questions. Yeah, that about. Wraps it up. Thank you all so much for listening. If you enjoyed listening, give us a review on Spotify, Apple, Audible, Amazon, wherever in the world you're listening. Yeah, give us a rating. Let us know. Yeah, totally so. We were sad that Joyce wasn't in Tales from 85, so our next episode will be focusing entirely on the moms of Stranger Things.

1:08:10 If you have any thoughts about these protective yet sometimes oblivious Mama bears, we'd love to hear from you. You can contact us at [email protected] or on Instagram at our handle, Camp Nowhere Pod. Thank you all so much again and we'll catch you on the next one. See y'all later.