It was her tone. Just like my relatives, she clearly means well. But doesn't know how to connect on his level (which is a common theme with adults in this show).

Amen. When the "social worker" showed up at his door, I feared the worst.

With all the competition for online content, if Netflix didn't renew, it would probably take Amazon about half a second to snap it up. This isn't an expensive network show looking for new life. This is a budget conscious streaming show building a steady stream of buzz. So, yeah, you're absolutely right about Netflix…

I also chuckled a bit at the "I don't know how you stopped me in mid punch and made me wet myself, so I'm going to confront you alone in the woods where there are no witnesses and you could use that unknown power to kill me" lack of foresight.

One throwback I've really appreciated is that the government conspiracy makes mistakes. We've become so conditioned to the "conspiracy that's always two steps ahead" trope, it was refreshing to see a gang that can't always shoot straight. It gives the kids a fighting chance.

Oh, absolutely. She's clearly trying very hard to connect with him. But she doesn't quite "get it," and overcompensates. I didn't mean to be critical of the character at all.

And Demon with a Glass Hand.

The Chinese, I'm guessing?

I started the series thinking that Ryder's Joyce was over-the-top. But as the series progressed, she moderates her performance from the initial hysteria over Will's disappearance, to more steely resolve as she becomes more convinced she's not hallucinating. The Christmas light Ouija board is the key moment.

The…

A key one you forgot is Jillian Guiler from Close Encounters. She's not the main protagonist, but I think her arc is the most similar to Joyce's in Stranger Things.

By the nature of the story, she is a more passive character. But like Joyce, she never gives up looking for Barry despite the fact that the government…

The Jedi are the peacekeepers for a thousand generations…unless just one goes bad, and then that's all she wrote. Luke should have known better than to try to start the whole thing up again.

Yep. This is it. If I had to pick one Simpsons episode that perfectly encapsulates why The Simpsons is such a cultural landmark, this is it. Phil Hartman role, clever song, celebrity cameo where they make fun of him the whole time, and great line after great line. The Batman exchange is my favorite Simpsons thing…

People have made a lot of jokes over the years about the kiss in Empire. But a lot of people forget that in the first film, Vader flat-out tortures Leia to get the location of the Rebel base. I doubt Lucas would have gone there had the idea of her being his daughter even remotely occurred to him.

It's funny because in the first film, Vader is clearly subordinate to Tarkin. The Vader we've come to know and love would never have let himself be described as being on a "leash." By Empire, he's the Emperor's second-in-command.

One of the things I liked about Force Awakens was the idea that there's still a military…

Agreed (although I would have liked to have seen Jedi split into two movies as Lucas originally planned). I got that Star Wars comic for Christmas. Took me forever to read it because I kept trying to insert what I've known about the characters for 39 years into what was on the page. Really dodged a bullet there.

Sure, that retroactively fits. But as a Star Wars obsessed lad, I still recall reading the Alan Dean Foster (ghostwriter of the Star Wars novelization) novel Splinter of the Mind's Eye. It was released between Star Wars and Empire, and I've since learned was meant as the story treatment for a cheap sequel in case…

Harrison Ford told Lucas during film that "you may be able to write this [crap], but you sure as hell can't say it."

"how much weight Alec Guinness was able to bring to his performance even before his character’s full backstory had been established"

Especially since Darth Vader and Luke's father were two separate characters when Star Wars was written. The Anakin Skywalker connection didn't occur until Lucas wrote Empire.

From Roger Ebert's review: "Because, in the new comedy "Bedazzled," Brendan Fraser falls in love with Frances O'Connor and, to win her, sells his soul to the devil, who is played by Elizabeth Hurley. Forget girl, I'm thinking. Seduce Satan."

And even if it was post-Transformers annoying Shia, you get to see him repeatedly slammed against the ceiling and floor. So it's got something for everyone.