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Season 1 Stranger Things

The Vanishing Of Will Byers

Stranger ThingsNovember 6, 1983: An incident occurs at the Hawkins National Lab in Hawkins, Indiana. Something beyond the lab’s control escapes into the surrounding suburbs.

A marathon weekend session of Dungeons & Dragons breaks up, and Mike Wheeler has to give up being the Dungeon Master and return to school the following day. His friends Lucas, Dustin and Will all get on their bikes to head home, but the sight of a strange, towering humanoid figure sends Will off the road. He ditches his bike and races home on foot, only to find that both his older brother and his mother are still at work. Something beyond Will’s comprehension takes him.

Joyce Byers, Will’s mother, files a missing child report with the local police, though the initial response from Hawkins’ police chief is a bit underwhelming. Mike, Lucas and Dustin are all warned to stay home, rather than going to look for Will. Across town, a mysterious girl in a hospital gown is taken in by a restaurant owner, who pays for his kindness with his life when armed agents come looking for her. The girl manages to escape, and runs into Mike, Lucas and Dustin, who are doing precisely what they’ve been told not to do.

written by Matt Duffer & Ross Duffer
directed by Matt Duffer & Ross Duffer
music by Kyle Dixon & Michael Stein

Stranger ThingsCast: Winona Ryder (Joyce Byers), David Harbour (Jim Hopper), Finn Wolfhard (Mike Wheeler), Millie Bobby Brown (Eleven), Gaten Matarazzo (Dustin Henderson), Caleb McLaughlin (Lucas Sinclair), Natalia Dyer (Nancy Wheeler), Charlie Heaton (Jonathan Byers), Cara Buono (Karen Wheeler), Matthew Modine (Dr. Martin Brenner), Joe Chrest (Ted Wheeler), Joe Keery (Steve Harrington), Rob Morgan (Officer Powell), Ross Partridge (Lonnie Byers), Shannon Purser (Barbara Holland), John Paul Reynolds (Officer Callahan), Noah Schnapp (Will Byers), Mark Steger (Monster), Chris Sullivan (Benny Hammond), Andrew Benator (Elevator Scientist), Stefanie Butler (Cynthia), David Dwyer (Earl), Catherine Dyer (Agent Connie Frazier), Salem Hadeed-Murphy (High School Principal), Randy Havens (Mr. Clarke), Hugh Holub (Scientist), Tobias Jelinek (Lead Agent), Cade Jones (James), Anniston Price (Holly Wheeler), Tinsley Price (Holly Wheeler), Anthony Reynolds (Agent), Susan Shalhoub Larkin (Florence), Tony Vaughn (Principal Coleman), Peyton Wich (Troy), Brenda Wood (Local Newswoman)

LogBook entry by Earl Green

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Season 1 Stranger Things

The Weirdo On Maple Street

Stranger ThingsMike, Lucas and Dustin gain the trust of the girl known only as Eleven, and Mike lets her stay at her house…even though he fails to mention this to his parents. He starts out sneaking food down to her, but then skips school to stay home and try to learn more about her. All he learns is that “bad men” took her – and when she points to Will Byers’ face in a school picture, Mike realizes that the same bad men may have taken Will.

Chief Hopper begins taking the search for Will more seriously, when he is called to the scene of another disturbing crime – the apparent suicide of the man who initially discovered Eleven. With the attention of the police shifted to that crime, the same agents who killed that man descend upon the Byers’ home, searching for signs of anything unusual – for example, what escaped from Franklin National Laboratory. They find the evidence they’re seeking.

No one can find any evidence of where Will Byers has gone. His older brother, Jonathan, pays his estranged father a visit, making sure that he hasn’t taken Will in (willingly or otherwise). And Joyce, Will’s mother, gets another garbled phone call, followed by an electrical event that convinces her Will is alive and trying to send her a call for help.

written by Matt Duffer & Ross Duffer
directed by Matt Duffer & Ross Duffer
music by Kyle Dixon & Michael Stein

Stranger ThingsCast: Winona Ryder (Joyce Byers), David Harbour (Jim Hopper), Finn Wolfhard (Mike Wheeler), Millie Bobby Brown (Eleven), Gaten Matarazzo (Dustin Henderson), Caleb McLaughlin (Lucas Sinclair), Natalia Dyer (Nancy Wheeler), Charlie Heaton (Jonathan Byers), Cara Buono (Karen Wheeler), Matthew Modine (Dr. Martin Brenner), Joe Chrest (Ted Wheeler), Joe Keery (Steve Harrington), Rob Morgan (Officer Powell), Ross Partridge (Lonnie Byers), Shannon Purser (Barbara Holland), John Paul Reynolds (Officer Callahan), Noah Schnapp (Will Byers), Mark Steger (Monster), Chris Sullivan (Benny Hammond), Stefanie Butler (Cynthia), David Dwyer (Earl), Catherine Dyer (Agent Connie Frazier), Randy Havens (Mr. Clarke), Tobias Jelinek (Lead Agent), Charles Lawlor (Mr. Melvald), Bethany Anne Lind (Sandra), Anniston Price (Holly Wheeler), Tinsley Price (Holly Wheeler), Chester Rushing (Tommy H.), Susan Shalhoub Larkin (Florence), Chelsea Talmadge (Carol), Robert Walker-Branchaud (Agent Repairman)

LogBook entry by Earl Green

Categories
Season 1 Stranger Things

Holly, Jolly

Stranger ThingsJoyce Byers, convinced that her missing son can communicate with her by influencing electric lights, and gathers every lamp in the house in one room to await further contact. Hopper, running out of places to look for Will, tries to search the grounds of the high-security lab supposedly run by the Department of Energy, only to find that they don’t seem to want him searching there. Will’s friends, with Eleven insisting that Will is still alive, set out to find him, but they manage to be present when Will’s body is found in the water at a nearby quarry. And only Nancy seems to be aware that something has happened to her friend Barb.

written by Jessica Mecklenburg
directed by Shawn Levy
music by Kyle Dixon & Michael Stein

Stranger ThingsCast: Winona Ryder (Joyce Byers), David Harbour (Jim Hopper), Finn Wolfhard (Mike Wheeler), Millie Bobby Brown (Eleven), Gaten Matarazzo (Dustin Henderson), Caleb McLaughlin (Lucas Sinclair), Natalia Dyer (Nancy Wheeler), Charlie Heaton (Jonathan Byers), Cara Buono (Karen Wheeler), Matthew Modine (Dr. Martin Brenner), Joe Chrest (Ted Wheeler), Joe Keery (Steve Harrington), Rob Morgan (Officer Powell), Shannon Purser (Barbara Holland), John Paul Reynolds (Officer Callahan), Mark Steger (Monster), Glennellen Anderson (Nicole), Cynthia Barrett (Mrs. Holland), Pete Burris (Hawkins Head of Security), Hugh Holub (Scientist), Cade Jones (James), Charles Lawlor (Mr. Melvald), Aimee Mullins (Terry Ives), Miles Mussenden (M.P. Officer Patrick), Anniston Price (Holly Wheeler), Tinsley Price (Holly Wheeler), Ron Rogge (State Trooper O’Bannon), Chester Rushing (Tommy H.), Chelsea Talmadge (Carol), Sierra Vemeyer (Ally), Christie Waldon (Marissa), Peyton Wich (Troy)

LogBook entry by Earl Green

Categories
Season 1 Stranger Things

The Body

Stranger ThingsCertain that something tried to emerge from the wall of her home and attack her while she was communicating with her missing son, Joyce Byers is in disbelief when she is told that his body has been found. The town begins grieving for her, but Joyce refuses to believe that the body is Will’s, and is frustrated that no one believes her story about the attacker from the wall. Will’s friends also don’t believe that he’s dead, especially after Eleven demonstrates a way to hear him – but not respond to him – via radio. Nancy asks Jonathan Byers to develop new copies of the last photo he took of Nancy, only to see the faceless creature in the background: Joyce was right when she said she saw it come through her wall. Finally, Hopper’s suspicions lead him back to the morgue, to the body itself…only to find that Joyce was right about that too.

written by Justin Doble
directed by Shawn Levy
music by Kyle Dixon & Michael Stein

Stranger ThingsCast: Winona Ryder (Joyce Byers), David Harbour (Jim Hopper), Finn Wolfhard (Mike Wheeler), Millie Bobby Brown (Eleven), Gaten Matarazzo (Dustin Henderson), Caleb McLaughlin (Lucas Sinclair), Natalia Dyer (Nancy Wheeler), Charlie Heaton (Jonathan Byers), Cara Buono (Karen Wheeler), Matthew Modine (Dr. Martin Brenner), Joe Chrest (Ted Wheeler), Joe Keery (Steve Harrington), Rob Morgan (Officer Powell), Ross Partridge (Lonnie Byers), John Paul Reynolds (Officer Callahan), Noah Schanpp (Will Byers), Danny Boushebel (English Teacher), Jason Davis (Test Subject), Arthur Lee Dozier V (Greg McCorkle), Ron Fallica (State Trooper), Marianne Fraulo (Patty), Adam Gagan (Ground Controller), Salem Hadeed-Murphy (High School Principal), Randy Havens (Mr. Clarke), Cade Jones (James), Jon Kohler (Funeral Director), Shawn Levy (Morgue Worker), Christopher Cody Robinson (Test Pilot Shepard), Ron Rogge (State Trooper O’Bannon), Paul Ryden (Field Reporter), Tony Vaughn (Principal Coleman), Peyton Wich (Troy), Mark Withers (Gary)

LogBook entry by Earl Green

Categories
Season 1 Stranger Things

The Flea And The Acrobat

Stranger ThingsHopper breaks into the Hawkins National Lab facility and unwittingly gets as far as a sealed biohazard lab before he is overcome by men in hazmat suits. He awakens at home, which he proceeds to tear apart until he finds a listening device. As they prepare for Will’s funeral, Mike and Will’s other friends learn of a place called the Upside Down from Eleven, and make plans to find it. Having both seen the creature, Jonathan and Nancy plan to go looking for it, unaware that this search will also take them to the Upside Down. Hopper tells Will’s mother, Joyce Byers, that she was right – the body found was not really Will’s body. Eleven goes missing. So does Nancy. And they’re not the only ones.

written by Alison Tatlock
directed by Matt Duffer & Ross Duffer
music by Kyle Dixon & Michael Stein

Stranger ThingsCast: Winona Ryder (Joyce Byers), David Harbour (Jim Hopper), Finn Wolfhard (Mike Wheeler), Millie Bobby Brown (Eleven), Gaten Matarazzo (Dustin Henderson), Caleb McLaughlin (Lucas Sinclair), Natalia Dyer (Nancy Wheeler), Charlie Heaton (Jonathan Byers), Cara Buono (Karen Wheeler), Matthew Modine (Dr. Martin Brenner), Joe Chrest (Ted Wheeler), Joe Keery (Steve Harrington), Rob Morgan (Officer Powell), Ross Partridge (Lonnie Byers), John Paul Reynolds (Officer Callahan), Noah Schanpp (Will Byers), Mark Steger (Monster), Andrew Benator (Elevator Scientist), Pete Burris (Hawkins Head of Security), Bill Eudaly (Pastor Charles), Kaylee Glover (Jennifer Hayes), Randy Havens (Mr. Clarke), Pete Holub (Scientist), Tobias Jelinek (Lead Agent), Charles Lawlor (Mr. Melvald), Andre Pushkin (Russian Man), Susan Shalhoub Larkin (Florence), Jerri Tubbs (Diane Hopper), Tony Vaughn (Principal Coleman), Robert Walker-Branchaud (Agent Repairman)

LogBook entry by Earl Green

Categories
Season 1 Stranger Things

The Monster

Stranger ThingsJonathan helps Nancy escape from the Upside Down with seconds to spare, and spends the night at her house watching over her. This doesn’t go unnoticed by her classmates, but when Jonathan tries to defend Nancy’s honor, he goes overboard, landing in juvenile detention after taking a swing at a police officer as the fight is broken up. Hopper and Joyce Byers visit a woman who Hopper believes may be Eleven’s mother, only to find that her mind is gone. As Lucas prepares to go it alone to find Will, Mike and Dustin argue over whether to salvage Mike’s friendship with Lucas. Someone instead comes looking for them, and they’re helpless without Eleven by their side.

written by Jessie Nickson-Lopez
directed by Matt Duffer & Ross Duffer
music by Kyle Dixon & Michael Stein

Stranger ThingsCast: Winona Ryder (Joyce Byers), David Harbour (Jim Hopper), Finn Wolfhard (Mike Wheeler), Millie Bobby Brown (Eleven), Gaten Matarazzo (Dustin Henderson), Caleb McLaughlin (Lucas Sinclair), Natalia Dyer (Nancy Wheeler), Charlie Heaton (Jonathan Byers), Cara Buono (Karen Wheeler), Matthew Modine (Dr. Martin Brenner), Joe Chrest (Ted Wheeler), Joe Keery (Steve Harrington), Rob Morgan (Officer Powell), Aimee Mullins (Terry Ives), John Paul Reynolds (Officer Callahan), Mark Steger (Monster), Amy Semetz (Becky Ives), Glennellen Anderson (Nicole), Andrew Benator (Elevator Scientist), Adam Boyer (Hunting Store Owner), Catherine Dyer (Agent Connie Frazier), Randy Havens (Mr. Clarke), Hugh Holub (Scientist), Tobias Jelinek (Lead Agent), Cade Jones (James), Linda Kang (Female Clerk), Kevin Patrick Murphy (Grocery Store Manager), Anniston Price (Holly Wheeler), Tinsley Price (Holly Wheeler), Chester Rushing (Tommy H.), Susan Shalhoub Larkin (Florence), Chase Stokes (Reeves), Chelsea Talmadge (Carol), Robert Walker-Branchaud (Agent Repairman), Peyton Wich (Troy)

LogBook entry by Earl Green

Categories
Season 1 Stranger Things

The Bathtub

Stranger ThingsLucas radios Mike, Dustin and Eleven to warn them: the bad men are coming to the Wheeler house. The kids make a hasty escape, pursued at dangerous speeds by “Hawkins Power & Light” vans. Eleven used her powers to cut off the pursuit, and Lucas is finally convinced she is on their side. The kids go into hiding, while Jonathan and Nancy tell Hopper and Joyce about their encounter with the creature. Using Will’s two-way radio, Hopper locates and rescues the kids, but Eleven is no longer able to reach Will in the Upside Down…but she then reveals that she might be able to find them if she tries again in an isolation tank. Barb cannot be recovered, but Eleven does find Will Byers, trapped and on the verge of death. Hopper and Joyce decide to take the fight to the lab on their own.

written by Justin Doble
directed by Matt Duffer & Ross Duffer
music by Kyle Dixon & Michael Stein

Stranger ThingsCast: Winona Ryder (Joyce Byers), David Harbour (Jim Hopper), Finn Wolfhard (Mike Wheeler), Millie Bobby Brown (Eleven), Gaten Matarazzo (Dustin Henderson), Caleb McLaughlin (Lucas Sinclair), Natalia Dyer (Nancy Wheeler), Charlie Heaton (Jonathan Byers), Cara Buono (Karen Wheeler), Matthew Modine (Dr. Martin Brenner), Joe Chrest (Ted Wheeler), Joe Keery (Steve Harrington), Rob Morgan (Officer Powell), John Paul Reynolds (Officer Callahan), Noah Schanpp (Will Byers), Shae Britt (Mary Mack Girl #2), Jackie Dallas (Jen), Catherine Dyer (Agent Connie Frazier), Charles Green (Movie Theater Manager), Randy Havens (Mr. Clarke), Tobias Jelinek (Lead Agent), Amy Parrish (Troy’s Mom), Anniston Price (Holly Wheeler), Tinsley Price (Holly Wheeler), Chester Rushing (Tommy H.), Susan Shalhoub Larkin (Florence), Chelsea Talmadge (Carol), Robert Walker-Branchaud (Agent Repairman), Abigail Whitlock (Mary Mack Girl #1), Peyton Wich (Troy)

LogBook entry by Earl Green

Categories
Season 1 Stranger Things

The Upside Down

Stranger ThingsTaken into custody by armed guards as they try to gain entry to Hawkins National Laboratory, Joyce Byers and Hopper strike a questionable deal: they will be given the chance to enter the Upside Down and search for Will, if Hopper reveals Eleven’s whereabouts. Jonathan and Nancy, completely counter to Hopper’s instructions, retrieve their stash of munitions and set a trap for the monster. Hopper and Joyce find the Upside Down to be a slime-festooned mirror image of Hawkins, where Will, near death, is ensnared in a mass of tentacles. Dr. Brenner and a small army descend upon the school gym to take Eleven prisoner, only to find that her powers have grown beyond their ability to contain her. The ensuing battle weakens her, but the resulting bloodshed brings another monster out of the Upside Down, one that she may have to sacrifice herself to stop. Even if Will Byers can be retrieved from the Upside Down, can he truly recover from his ordeal?

telepaly by Matt Duffer & Ross Duffer
story by Paul Dichter
directed by Matt Duffer & Ross Duffer
music by Kyle Dixon & Michael Stein

Stranger ThingsCast: Winona Ryder (Joyce Byers), David Harbour (Jim Hopper), Finn Wolfhard (Mike Wheeler), Millie Bobby Brown (Eleven), Gaten Matarazzo (Dustin Henderson), Caleb McLaughlin (Lucas Sinclair), Natalia Dyer (Nancy Wheeler), Charlie Heaton (Jonathan Byers), Cara Buono (Karen Wheeler), Matthew Modine (Dr. Martin Brenner), Joe Chrest (Ted Wheeler), Joe Keery (Steve Harrington), Rob Morgan (Officer Powell), John Paul Reynolds (Officer Callahan), Noah Schanpp (Will Byers), Mark Steger (Monster), Lucius Baston (Technician), Pete Burris (Hawkins Head of Security), Catherine Dyer (Agent Connie Frazier), Elle Graham (Sarah Hopper), Tobias Jelinek (Lead Agent), Susan Shalhoub Larkin (Florence), Jerri Tubbs (Diane Hopper)

LogBook entry by Earl Green

Categories
Season 2 Stranger Things

MADMAX

Stranger ThingsHanging out at the local arcade as in fall 1984 is a perfectly ordinary activity, unless you live in Hawkins, Indiana and your name is Will Byers and it’s been a year since the most terrifying experience of your life. One moment he feels like a storm is brewing outside the arcade, the next moment he – and the arcade – are in the Upside Down, and the storm clouds part to reveal an enormous spider-like creature. And then, just as suddenly, Will is back among his friends, who are more interested in who has beaten Dustin’s high scores and left only the name “MADMAX”. By coincidence, the boys have a new classmate named Maxine (though she prefers to go by Max); when they try to find out more about her, she leaves them a note to leave her alone…not that this discourages Justin or Lucas. Will’s mother takes him to Hawkins National Lab to speak to a doctor there about his recent experience; both Will and Joyce have to be reassured that the lab is under new management, and Dr. Owens is looking out for Will. Another vision of the Upside Down, this time longer and scarier, grips Will. Elsewhere, Police Chief Jim Hopper has a dinner guest with a liking for Eggos.

written by Matt Duffer & Ross Duffer
directed by Matt Duffer & Ross Duffer
music by Michael Stein & Kyle Dixon

Stranger ThingsCast: Winona Ryder (Joyce Byers), David Harbour (Jim Hopper), Finn Wolfhard (Mike Wheeler), Millie Bobby Brown (Eleven), Gaten Matarazzo (Dustin Henderson), Caleb McLaughlin (Lucas Sinclair), Noah Schanpp (Will Byers), Sadie Sink (Max), Natalia Dyer (Nancy Wheeler), Charlie Heaton (Jonathan Byers), Joe Keery (Steve Harrington), Dacre Montgomery (Billy), Cara Buono (Karen Wheeler), Sean Astin (Bob Newby), Paul Reiser (Dr. Owens), Linnea Berthelsen (Roman), Joe Chrest (Ted Wheeler), Catherine Curtin (Claudia Henderson), Brett Gelman (Murray Bauman), Kai L. Greene (Funshine), Randy Havens (Mr. Clarke), James Landry Hebert (Axel), Anna Jacoby-Heron (Dottie), Gabrielle Maiden (Mick), Rob Morgan (Officer Powell), Chelsea Talmadge (Carol), Glennellen Anderson (Nicole), Cynthia Barrett (Mrs. Holland), Alan Boell (Adams), Gilbert Glenn Brown (Cop #4), Matty Cardarople (Keith), Madelyn Cline (Tina), Abigail Cowan (Vicki), Brian F. Durkin (Cop #1), Joe Davison (Nerdy Tech), Lauren Halperin (Dr. Owens’ Assistant), Christopher Johnson (Cop #2), Fenton Lawless (Merril), Charles Lawlor (Mr. Medvald), David A. MacDonald (Flamethrower Soldier), Aaron Munoz (Mr. Holland), Tinsley Price (Holly Wheeler), Susan Shalhoub Larkin (Florence), Tony Vaughn (Principal Coleman), Ricardo Miguel Young (TV Reporter)

Stranger ThingsNotes: Everything about the arcade feels spot-on, such as Dragon’s Lair taking the world by storm in 1984, but one minor detail had to be changed for the story to work: neither Centipede nor Dig Dug allowed more than three characters on their high score screens. Neither game would have had room for “MADMAX” or “DUSTIN” on their high score tables. Paul Reiser isn’t just the Mad About You guy or the My Two Dads guy; his role as Burke in 1986’s Aliens gives him some serious genre cred.

LogBook entry by Earl Green

Categories
Season 2 Stranger Things

Trick Or Treat, Freak

Stranger Things1983: Having used her powers to defeat the demogorgon, Eleven finds herself alone in the Upside Down version of the high school. She follows the sound of echoing voices until she finds an exit to the school in normal space. The gateway closes behind her and she tries to return to Mike’s house, only to find it surrounded by police and federal agents.

Halloween, 1984: Eleven has been secretly living with Chief Hopper since her return from the Upside Down. She proposes a reunion with her friends, none of whom know she survived, under cover of trick-or-treating, but Hopper flatly refuses: she has to stay in hiding. Mike’s older sister Nancy is wracked with guilt over the disappearance of Barb a year ago, while her boyfriend Steve would rather forget everything that happened and never mention it again. A simmering feud between two local farmers annoys Hopper, until he learns that every farm in Hawkins is suffering from the same problem – crops rotting in place. Will’s visions of the Upside Down continue, each one more terrifying than the last, even as he and his friends go trick-or-treating dressed as the Ghostbusters. Eleven tries to reach out to Mike, to no avail. And something lurks in the garbage can at Dustin’s house.

written by Matt Duffer & Ross Duffer
directed by Matt Duffer & Ross Duffer
music by Michael Stein & Kyle Dixon

Stranger ThingsCast: Winona Ryder (Joyce Byers), David Harbour (Jim Hopper), Finn Wolfhard (Mike Wheeler), Millie Bobby Brown (Eleven), Gaten Matarazzo (Dustin Henderson), Caleb McLaughlin (Lucas Sinclair), Noah Schanpp (Will Byers), Sadie Sink (Max), Natalia Dyer (Nancy Wheeler), Charlie Heaton (Jonathan Byers), Joe Keery (Steve Harrington), Dacre Montgomery (Billy), Cara Buono (Karen Wheeler), Sean Astin (Bob Newby), Paul Reiser (Dr. Owens), Joe Chrest (Ted Wheeler), Catherine Curtin (Claudia Henderson), Rob Morgan (Officer Powell), Shannon Purser (Barbara Holland), John Reynolds (Officer Callahan), Chester Rushing (Tommy H.), strongChelsea Talmadge (Carol), Sam Ashby (Werewolf), Lynne Ashe (Happy Homeowner), Tonya Bludsworth (Government Agent #1), Danny Boyd Jr. (Grandkid), Karen Ceesay (Mrs. Sinclair), Madelyn Cline (Tina), Jim E. Chandler (Government Agent #2), Joe Davison (Nerdy Tech), Priah Ferguson (Erica Sinclair), Shea Jones (Goth Girl Samantha), John Paul Martson (Government Agent #4), Shannon Mayers (Government Agent #5), Al Mitchell (Eugene), Cameron Newton (Jason Voorhees), Desmond Phillips (Government Agent #6), Cody Land Pressley (Drunk Teen #1), Tinsley Price (Holly Wheeler), Alex Van (Hunter), Andrew Wilson Williams (Scary Clown), and Toasty the Squirrel

LogBook entry by Earl Green

Categories
Season 2 Stranger Things

The Pollywog

Stranger Things1983: Finding Eleven in the woods after her escape from the Upside Down, Chief Hopper all but adopts her. They clean up a cabin in the woods that belonged to Hopper’s grandfather, where he promises she will be safe. Basic ground rules are set: she’s to keep the windows and doors closed, and never leave the cabin. As long as she can abide by those rules, and stay out of sight, Hopper promises the “bad men” can’t hurt her again.

Halloween, 1984: Returning home from trick-or-treating, Dustin finds a snail-like creature in his family’s trash can, and promptly does what any kid dressed as a Ghostbuster would do: he puts it in the “ghost trap” that’s part of his costume. When he shows it to his friends, though, Will Byers has a visceral reaction – he’s seen something like this before. Still, Dustin seems to think that the creature is his new pet. Eleven decides that she’s fed up with Chief Hopper’s house rules and her isolation. Bob, Joyce Byers’ boyfriend, tries to befriend Will and give him advice on how to deal with his fears, but only too late as Joyce spots in the background of the VHS tape of the boys’ trick-or-treating the same enormous, multi-legged creature that has shown up in Will’s drawings. It’s that same creature that Will sees approaching him after a second close brush with Dustin’s new pet leaves him in the Upside Down…

written by Justin Doble
directed by Shawn Levy
music by Michael Stein & Kyle Dixon

Stranger ThingsCast: Winona Ryder (Joyce Byers), David Harbour (Jim Hopper), Finn Wolfhard (Mike Wheeler), Millie Bobby Brown (Eleven), Gaten Matarazzo (Dustin Henderson), Caleb McLaughlin (Lucas Sinclair), Noah Schanpp (Will Byers), Sadie Sink (Max), Natalia Dyer (Nancy Wheeler), Charlie Heaton (Jonathan Byers), Joe Keery (Steve Harrington), Dacre Montgomery (Billy), Cara Buono (Karen Wheeler), Sean Astin (Bob Newby), Paul Reiser (Dr. Owens), Catherine Curtin (Claudia Henderson), Randy Havens (Mr. Clarke), Rob Morgan (Officer Powell), John Reynolds (Officer Callahan), Chester Rushing (Tommy H.), Sam Ashby (Werewolf), Lynne Ashe (Happy Homeowner), Cynthia Barrett (Mrs. Holland), Harper Cavanaugh (Young Girl on Swingset), Abigail Cowan (Vicki), Bethany DeZelle (Mother at Swingset), Cameron Newton (Jason Voorhees), Suzanne Jordan Roush (Doris, High School Receptionist), Drew Scheid (Sweaty Teen Boy), Susan Shalhoub Larkin (Florence), Christi Waldon (Marissa), Andrew Wilson Williams (Scary Clown), Donna Wright (Elderly Math Teacher)

LogBook entry by Earl Green

Categories
Season 2 Stranger Things

Will The Wise

Stranger ThingsJoyce pulls up to the school in a panic as Will’s friends watch him standing in an almost comatose state in the middle of the school football field. As far as any of them know, Will is having another “episode”. What they don’t know is that, in the Upside Down, some sort of supernatural force is attacking Will – not so much consuming him as inhabiting him. He awakens with fragmented memories of what happened to him in the Upside Down, and Joyce and Chief Hopper try to jog his memory. Will draws something on dozens of pieces of paper, which form a maze when Joyce and Hopper assemble them. Hopper deduces that Will has drawn a series of vines, and goes to check his hypothesis. Dustin checks on his new pet, which he has named D’Artagnan, only to discover that it’s a bouncing baby demogorgon.

written by Paul Dichter
directed by Shawn Levy
music by Michael Stein & Kyle Dixon

Stranger ThingsCast: Winona Ryder (Joyce Byers), David Harbour (Jim Hopper), Finn Wolfhard (Mike Wheeler), Millie Bobby Brown (Eleven), Gaten Matarazzo (Dustin Henderson), Caleb McLaughlin (Lucas Sinclair), Noah Schanpp (Will Byers), Sadie Sink (Max), Natalia Dyer (Nancy Wheeler), Charlie Heaton (Jonathan Byers), Joe Keery (Steve Harrington), Dacre Montgomery (Billy), Cara Buono (Karen Wheeler), Sean Astin (Bob Newby), Paul Reiser (Dr. Owens), Catherine Curtin (Claudia Henderson), Joe Chrest (Ted Wheeler), Randy Havens (Mr. Clarke), Aimee Mullins (Terry Ives), Chester Rushing (Tommy H.), James DuMont (Middle Aged Man), Drew Scheid (Sweaty Teen Boy), Susan Shalhoub Larkin (Florence), David A. MacDonald (Flamethrower Soldier)

LogBook entry by Earl Green

Categories
Season 2 Stranger Things

Dig Dug

Stranger ThingsAfter digging a hole in the ground near the epicenter of Hawkins’ rotting crops, Chief Hopper has stumbled upon a new entrance to the Upside Down…which then seals itself behind him with a thick web of vines. Vines inside the tunnel-like passage start to envelop him. Lucas tries to tell Max the truth of what happened in Hawkins a year ago, but has a hard time convincing her that this knowledge is dangerous. Dustin decides D’Artagnan has overstayed his welcome. Eleven goes to find her mother, but discovers much more than that. At Joyce’s house, it takes a fresh pair of eyes – namely, her boyfriend Bob – to point out that Will’s labyrinthine drawing corresponds to a map of Hawkins. From this, they’re able to find Hopper’s truck, and set out to rescue Hopper himself. But vans from Hawkins National Labs appear as well, and men in hazmat suits armed with flamethrowers begin trying to beat back the spread of the Upside Down. But as the vines scream in agony, so does Will Byers.

written by Jessie Nickson-Lopez
directed by Andrew Stanton
music by Michael Stein & Kyle Dixon

Stranger ThingsCast: Winona Ryder (Joyce Byers), David Harbour (Jim Hopper), Finn Wolfhard (Mike Wheeler), Millie Bobby Brown (Eleven), Gaten Matarazzo (Dustin Henderson), Caleb McLaughlin (Lucas Sinclair), Noah Schanpp (Will Byers), Sadie Sink (Max), Natalia Dyer (Nancy Wheeler), Charlie Heaton (Jonathan Byers), Joe Keery (Steve Harrington), Dacre Montgomery (Billy), Cara Buono (Karen Wheeler), Sean Astin (Bob Newby), Paul Reiser (Dr. Owens), Matthew Modine (Dr. Martin Brenner), Joe Chrest (Ted Wheeler), Catherine Curtin (Claudia Henderson), Brett Gelman (Murray), Aimee Mullins (Terry Ives), Pruitt Taylor Vince (Ray), Amy Seimetz (Becky Ives), Kerry Cahill (Staff Nurse Caitlin), Matty Cardarople (Keith), Karen Ceesay (Mrs. Sinclair), Cory Chapman (Lab Technician), Priah Ferguson (Erica Sinclair), Paul Vincent Freeman (Security Guard), Virginia Kirby (Motel Owner), Arnell Powell (Mr. Sinclair), Ben Taylor (Friendly Trucker)

LogBook entry by Earl Green

Categories
Season 2 Stranger Things

The Spy

Stranger ThingsWill and Hopper are rushed to Hawkins National Labs. While Hopper is sprayed down for toxic chemicals, Will screams as if he’s on fire. A later experiment shows that Will has a link to the Upside Down: the attempts to beat the Upside Down back into submission with fire causes Will unimaginable pain. The unlikely duo of Steve Harrington and Dustin go looking for D’Artagnan, who couldn’t even be contained in Dustin’s family’s storm shelter. They’re later joined by Max and Lucas, who has promised that this will prove to Max that everything he has told her about Hawkins is real. Steve risks his own skin to invite D’Artagnan to dinner, but the creature suddenly bolts away. Armed soldiers descend into the Upside Down, but can they do anything to it or its inhabitants without
killing Will Byers?

written by Kate Trefry
directed by Andrew Stanton
music by Michael Stein & Kyle Dixon

Stranger ThingsCast: Winona Ryder (Joyce Byers), David Harbour (Jim Hopper), Finn Wolfhard (Mike Wheeler), Millie Bobby Brown (Eleven), Gaten Matarazzo (Dustin Henderson), Caleb McLaughlin (Lucas Sinclair), Noah Schanpp (Will Byers), Sadie Sink (Max), Natalia Dyer (Nancy Wheeler), Charlie Heaton (Jonathan Byers), Joe Keery (Steve Harrington), Dacre Montgomery (Billy), Cara Buono (Karen Wheeler), Sean Astin (Bob Newby), Paul Reiser (Dr. Owens), Brett Gelman (Murray), Helen Abell (Radar Tech), Brian Brightman (MP Guard #1), Kristopher Charles (MP Guard #2), Joe Davison (Nerdy Tech), Priah Ferguson (Erica Sinclair), Sheena Kharazhi (Exam Room Nurse), Mary Kraft (ER Doctor), Brian LaFontaine (Doctor #2), Wendel A. Matthews (Lead Rift Soldier), Brandon O’Neill (Neurologist), Vince Pisani (Doctor #1), Michael Shienefelt (Rift Soldier #2)

LogBook entry by Earl Green

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Season 2 Stranger Things

The Lost Sister

Stranger ThingsFinding further clues among her mother’s papers about children in and around Hawkins who disappeared at roughly the same time as Hawkins National Labs began experimenting with boosting the power of the human mind, Eleven learns that her aunt is selling her out and escapes to catch a bus to Chicago to search for what she believes is her “lost sister”. She meets Kali in Chicago, a young woman of roughly the same age with similar abilities. Kali is the de facto leader of a gang of mentally unstable criminals, and she directs her powers toward the goal of hunting down everyone involved with her kidnapping as an infant. She convinces Eleven to join her, and they set out to avenge themselves upon a man who, in the early 1970s, was a security guard at Hawkins National Labs. Kali is prepared to kill him, like she’s killed others before him…but she insists that Eleven do the honors instead, to prove her loyalty.

written by Justin Doble
directed by Rebecca Thomas
music by Michael Stein & Kyle Dixon

Stranger ThingsCast: Winona Ryder (Joyce Byers), David Harbour (Jim Hopper), Finn Wolfhard (Mike Wheeler), Millie Bobby Brown (Eleven), Gaten Matarazzo (Dustin Henderson), Caleb McLaughlin (Lucas Sinclair), Noah Schanpp (Will Byers), Sadie Sink (Max), Natalia Dyer (Nancy Wheeler), Charlie Heaton (Jonathan Byers), Joe Keery (Steve Harrington), Dacre Montgomery (Billy), Cara Buono (Karen Wheeler), Sean Astin (Bob Newby), Paul Reiser (Dr. Owens), Matthew Modine (Dr. Martin Brenner), Linnea Berthelsen (Kali), Kai L. Greene (Funshine), James Landry Hebert (Axel), Anna Jacoby-Heron (Dottie), Gabrielle Maiden (Mick), Aimee Mullins (Terry Ives), Pruitt Taylor Vince (Ray), Amy Seimetz (Becky Ives), Avis-Marie Barnes (Elderly Woman), Alan Boell (Adams), Keith Brooks (Gas Station Clerk), Paul Vincent Freeman (Security Guard), Jarrett Michael (SWAT Member #1), Vanathi Kalai Parthiban (young Kali), Thomas Tull (Man on Street), Wes Kidd (SWAT Member #2), P.J. McDonnell (Mentally Ill Man)

LogBook entry by Earl Green