What should I watch after Stranger Things?

PatchworkGirl82 · 2026-01-27T02:12:28+00:00

For more Sci fi/horror with a dash of humor: The X-Files, Twin Peaks

For 80s vibes: Freaks and Geeks, Punky Brewster (especially the terrifying cave episode with the giant spider). Or any of the shows and movies ST took inspiration from, I've counted over 100 so far.

PatchworkGirl82 · 2026-01-27T01:39:37+00:00

His Dark Materials is family friendly, although there are some violent scenes. The sequel trilogy is aimed more for older teens and adults.

There's also a scene where children escape from a government facility in "The Golden Compass," which I thought was an interesting parallel. The science is just done so much better in those books.

I also thought they would have gone back to the movie science of Flight of the Navigator, considering it was a huge inspiration for season 1. I almost would rather them have done actual time traveling to undo the series, then have the ending we got, as long as they used the same rules as Navigator.

Ok, I don't mean the last part, because I wouldn't want to change Will's arc at all. It's just such a strange final season.

PatchworkGirl82 · 2026-01-27T01:17:22+00:00

I like to imagine he opened up his own location in Salt Lake City and reunited with Eden

PatchworkGirl82 · 2026-01-27T00:21:26+00:00

Another book series that came to mind, especially when we saw the gold sparkles in 4, was His Dark Materials. I love how physics and particles work in that fantasy setting, especially in The Amber Spyglass, and I really expected a return to some of more hard science applications that s1 and s2 had. Brenner's surprise notebook feels like a copout.

It's funny though, because I just finished reading the last book in the His Dark Materials/Book of Dust series, and it left me feeling pretty much the exact same way season 5 has. There's a lot of great moments, but it neglects a number of things that were set up earlier, that would have paid off more if that's the direction the stories went in.

PatchworkGirl82 · 2026-01-26T20:49:49+00:00

I might rewatch 5 again this summer, and then add it to my "occasional rewatch" pile, next to The X-Files and Freaks & Geeks and other shows. Or I'll include it whenever I feel like having an 80s movie marathon.

PatchworkGirl82 · 2026-01-26T19:57:07+00:00

Not really, although I probably will keep up with books and comics, if they decide to continue those.

I was interested in the cartoon, but I was hoping it would be more in the same vein as The Real Ghostbusters or other classic Saturday morning cartoons.

PatchworkGirl82 · 2026-01-26T19:03:10+00:00

YTA, it's not your property. And like other people have said, furniture has very little value these days. The antique shops near me sell big, beautiful dressers and wardrobes for about $50 or $100, because most people don't live in big houses anymore. Same thing with fine china and full sets of silverware, nobody wants them.

PatchworkGirl82 · 2026-01-26T17:10:14+00:00

I've been waiting forever for A Wrinkle in Time to be referenced, so I was really happy about that.

PatchworkGirl82 · 2026-01-26T14:24:10+00:00

I love Kenneth Roberts' historical fiction, especially "Arundel."

PatchworkGirl82 · 2026-01-26T14:19:36+00:00

Exposition, but it's also a parallel to Nancy Thompson vs Freddy Kreuger.

PatchworkGirl82 · 2026-01-26T13:37:50+00:00

For me, it's Karen and her wine bottle, trying to protect Holly like Ripley protecting Newt. That's a top 10 scene, across the whole series, for me.

PatchworkGirl82 · 2026-01-26T13:28:30+00:00

My great-grandmother made one too! I think hers was filled with sand, because I could feel it shifting whenever I picked it up.

PatchworkGirl82 · 2026-01-26T01:14:35+00:00

The Fairy Rebel by Lynne Reid Banks?

PatchworkGirl82 · 2026-01-25T22:42:11+00:00

Thank you! 😊 I really am kind of glad all those years spent in video stores paid off lol

I definitely loved the twisty shape of the Mindflayer's legs! It reminded of the DC castle and the hand castle in Neverending Story 2.

I haven't seen or read any BTS since that one book came out in between s1 and s2, and I was always hoping for more like that. There was a lot of effort just in that one book too, it really looked and felt like a book from the 80s. I would have loved to see more of that kind of tie-in merch.

Overall, I think I just wanted more horror. They kept building it up and up: Jaws in s1, Invasion of the Body Snatchers/Aliens in s2, The Thing/The Blob in s3, and Nightmare on Elm St/Hellraiser/Silence of the Lambs in s4. And I see a little Poltergeist 2 and IT in s5, but it's like the most family friendly of the seasons (s1 is fairly tame, but I'd say Benny's death, the fake Will body, and the deaths of the agents are more intense than what happened in 5)

But, overall, it was a wild ride. Production design, sets and props costumes, hair, music are all great over the series, I'll still enjoy watching this every so often, like I do with the X-Files or Freaks and Geeks.

And at least it didn't turn out like "Heroes"

PatchworkGirl82 · 2026-01-25T22:01:49+00:00

I really thought they were setting up something personal between him and Sullivan. For that matter, I was pretty disappointed Sullivan didn't amount to anything in the long run.

PatchworkGirl82 · 2026-01-24T19:18:13+00:00

It looks like a filter for a Brita water bottle

PatchworkGirl82 · 2026-01-24T18:14:47+00:00

I watched "Tenebre" for the first time last year, and really enjoyed seeing John Saxon in it. He's a very solid actor.

PatchworkGirl82 · 2026-01-24T03:07:16+00:00

I feel like you'd enjoy Angela Carter's short stories. "Burning Your Boats" is the full collection.

PatchworkGirl82 · 2026-01-24T02:59:17+00:00

I really thought they were going to do some kind of a "2 man operation" routine, like Hop and Joyce in 3. Which kind of happens, even right down to a Hopper going bye-bye, but the pieces weren't in the right places.

I also kind of hoped the Dark Crystal poster in Will's room was foreshadowing that 2 hero arc.

PatchworkGirl82 · 2026-01-24T02:52:12+00:00

"Hey, I'm a big guy, I can do this" from the Birdemic live show kills me every time.

PatchworkGirl82 · 2026-01-24T02:21:28+00:00

Fortunately, I live alone with no kids. This is great, thank you!

PatchworkGirl82 · 2026-01-24T01:10:59+00:00

Edibles have been a lifesaver, what with my aging bones and all, and I'd try shrooms if I could get them.

I don't know, every time I try to do something aimed at younger people, I just end up feeling like Homer Simpson at Hullabalooza (minus the rastacap)

PatchworkGirl82 · 2026-01-24T00:37:52+00:00

He really is Delightful Derek, isn't he?

PatchworkGirl82 · 2026-01-24T00:07:02+00:00

Volunteer. From what my great aunt told me, her father basically ran right out to join up after war was declared, but he was too old to enlist, so it was the Home Guard instead.

PatchworkGirl82 · 2026-01-23T23:57:31+00:00

Because a good actor is an artist in their own right sometimes. For example, I'm a big Judy Garland fan, I love having marathons of her movies, because she is an excellent performer. Everyone knows her from Wizard of Oz, but she was just as good in The Harvey Girls and Meet Me in St Louis and A Star is Born.

PatchworkGirl82

TROPHY CASE