When Stranger Things arrived in the summer of 2016 on Netflix, I devoured the series. Pretty much my entire Saturday was spent watching all 8 episodes in a marathon. Why? The series felt like it was targeted at me. Did I ride a bike, play D&D and proved to be a social misfit in the early ’80s. Yes! Although I had been doing that since the late ’70s. What was interesting was discovering the co-creators and twin brothers Matt Duffer and Ross Duffer were from nearby Durham, North Carolina. They talked about how the show featured elements from their ’80s childhood. They wanted the show to feel authentic. This led me to wondering if I had crossed paths with the Duffers at Cat’s Cradle during a Camper Van Beethoven show, the slam pit when Corrosion of Conformity played the Brewery or a party at Little Karen’s apartment in Carrboro. That’s when I looked their biography and realized they were born in 1984. I would have remembered the screams of a parent when their three-year-olds dived into the mosh pit. They weren’t even old enough to rent VHS tapes from Dave’s Videodrome in the early ’90s. Maybe I knew Duffer brothers’ parents? The good thing was that the first season felt like it was made by someone with memories of the ’80s. While the show is set in Hopkins, Indiana, there are names familiar to anyone who has lived in the Triangle. I can assure you that Raleigh, Durham and Chapel Hill don’t have an issue with demonic creatures. You have to go to Charlotte for that stuff.
The first season set up the premise of simple town in 1983 that doesn’t realize what’s happening beneath their feet. In this case there’s a mysterious place called The Upside Down. Will Byers (Noah Schnapp) get grabbed by a beastly thing called a Demogorgon and vanishes. His mother Joyce (Heathers‘ Winona Ryder) and the police chief Jim Hopper (Black Widow‘s David Harbour) search, but don’t realize they won’t find the kid above ground. This is when things get even more wild since it turns out there’s a top-secret government lab nearby. A lot of unusual things are being studied and explored there by Dr. Martin Brenner (Full Metal Jacket‘s Mattew Modine). One of his prime studies escapes. This is Eleven (Godzilla Vs. King Kong‘s Millie Bobby Brown), a girl with buzzed haircut and psychokinetic powers. She’s discovered by Mike Wheeler (It‘s Finn Wolfhard), Dustin Henderson (Pizza Movie‘s Gaten Matarazzo) and Lucas Sinclair (Concrete Cowboy‘s Caleb McLaughlin). She seems to be the key to finding Will since she knows how to get into the Upside Down. Also along for the adventure is Mike’s sister Nancy (Natalia Dyer) and and Will’s brother Jonathan (Charlie Heaton). Also causing trouble is local pretty boy Steve (Joe Keery) who bullies the boys with his perfect ’80s hair.
The second season takes place a year later when Will is hanging out at the video arcade and has visions involving what he experienced in the Upside Down. Max Mayfield (The Whale’s Sadie Sink) arrives at school to get the boys more interested in just tumbling polyhedral dice. The third season is best known for the giant Mall moving into the small town and devastating the small businesses. There’s a serious major twist when the kids discover that beneath the mall is more than the demon creatures of the Upside Down. This takes place around the 4th of July so there’s time at the pool. We also get to enjoy the sarcastic Robin (Maya Hawke) from the ice cream shop. The fourth season has the arrival of Eddie Munson (Gladiator II‘s Joseph Quinn), the high schooler who rules the school’s Dungeons and Dragons scene while pushing drugs on the side. Those miniature lead figures of Wizards and Orcs aren’t cheap. Plus it made a new generation of kids into Kate Bush fans. This too felt authentic because I spent the ’80s digging around in record shops for Kate Bush rarities.
No need to describe season five since I might spoil the whole show for you. But what I can talk about is how the Duffer Brothers really brought the show back to their childhood haunts. WSQK radio station is inside a building that resembles the abandoned WPTF AM radio building that is on the road between Cary and Raleigh. I used to drive down this street daily when I went to high school. It was a alluring building with its unique rounded architecture. Turns out the place is still fully furnished even though nobody has used it since for at least 50 years. I’ve seen recent photos of the inside of place. It’s a creepy and dusty time capsule of when the last person left for the night. Although the Duffer Brothers had the building remade down in Atlanta for the series. It’s truly one of the stranger things between Raleigh and Durham.
Nearly a decade after the first episodes, Stranger Things came to an end on Netflix. It’s remarkable feat in ’80s recreation storytelling as it’s both nostalgic and horrifying. There are a few times where I would remember some object on a shelf. In the midst of wondering what happened to my version of it, I would get a massive jolt from a monster from the Upside Down appearing on the right side up of the show. I was also shocked to think that in my lifetime Winona Ryder had gone from being the crushable Veronica in Heathers to a frazzled mother. There’s a lot going on over the course of 42 episodes (of varying lengths). Being able to marathon it all on Stranger Things: The Complete Collection feels like a trip back to my past in the ’80s and even to 2016.
Stranger Things Complete Collection: Deluxe Edition also has a 4K UHD release. There are versions that’s just the discs in 4K UHD and Blu-ray. But why wouldn’t you want the polyhedral die? The whole point of Stranger Things is the get absorbed into the nostalgia and the nightmare.
The Video is 1.78:1 anamorphic. You’ll get to see the details of the Upside Down and a few basements. The Audio is the original DTS-HD MA 5.1 surround and stereo audio for all episodes. Seasons 4 & feature a Dolby Atmos track. There is also an optional audio description track for the episodes. The Subtitles are in English.
Palace Arcade alloy-zinc coin-token for when you need to play Donkey Kong.
Self-adhesive Hellfire Club patch so you can be part of the D&D scene.
Exclusive Hellfire Club d20 dice for all your rolling needs.
Twenty-five artcards from all five seasons that are suitable for framing.
Five double-sided posters featuring original artwork by Kyle Lambert that are suitable for framing.
Double-sided fold-out Hawkins map so you can see both side of the town.
148-page perfect-bound artbook includes lots of photos and writings from the Duffer Brothers and others.
Season 1
Blooper Reel (1:27) includes how not to get out of bed, lots of dancing, falling during takes and a failed van stunt.
Interviews include The Duffer Brothers (5:46), David Harbour (5:06), Milie Bobby Brown (2:28), Finn Wolfhard (2:36), Gaten Matarazzo (2:59), Finn Wolfhard, Gaten Matarazzo & Caleb McLaughlin (3:25) and Shawn Levy (2:39). The Duffer explain how this was originally conceived as a movie, but the story just sprawled into a series. Millie gets into her character’s relationship with Dr. Brenner. The trio of once child actors talk about their chemistry.
Official Trailer (2:26) opens with a boom box playing a cassette.
“Eleven” Teaser Trailer (0:50) has the Duffer brothers discuss the character.
Behind the Scenes Image Gallery has third photos from the series being shot.
Official Stills has 27 press photos.
Season 2
Blooper Reel (2:03) has the kids calling their own reset, blowing lines, more dancing, eating messes, and other flubs.
Brazil Comic-Con Introductions (0:58) are a few of the actors who couldn’t make the trip down for the convention.
Behind the Scenes Featurette (2:06) takes us into 1984 with a bigger threat. There’s talk of the arcade and the new girl.
Millie Bobby Brown (3:55) has cast and crew discussing the actress. Shawn Levy talks about her ability to convey emotion without words.
Noah Schnapp (4:10) has the actors swearing he’s their favorite. Actor who plays Will has a better haircut here.
The Look (5:17) has the cast talk about how the authentic ’80s sets makes them feel like they’ve time traveled. Duffer Brothers talk about the accuracy of their atmosphere.
Interviews include director Andrew Stanton (4:35), David Harbour (11:17), Millie Bobby Brown (8:22) and Shawn Levy (5:09). Stanton goes into what it’s like to direct this project. He’s wearing a cool Rush t-shirt. Millie Bobby Brown talks about her character’s changes in the new season. Levy talks about doing a second season to a series that is now a cultural phenomenon. How do they balance taking the show up a notch without changing things for viewers too much.
Behind The Scenes Image Gallery has over two dozen pictures including the kids as Ghostbusters.
Official Stills has over three dozen pictures of the cast.
Season 3
Blooper Reel (3:55) has singing in the rain, flubbed lines, slingshot accidents and more dancing. The slate has them calling the show Lakeridge with three wolves in the logo.
Shot by Shot: Underground Fight (7:23) has three members of the cast breakdown a moment in the mall. They refer to a “Scooby-Doo shot” in the sequence.
Season 3 Table Read Featurette (1:25) has the cast sit down in 2018 to go over the script. They don’t actually do any reading since this was a teaser for the season.
Interviews include Maya Hawk (10:06), Dacre Montgomery (10:26), Millie Bobby Brown (4:53), David Harbour (20:57), Gaten Matarazzo (5:51), Caleb McLaughlin (3:40), Natalia Dyer (10:56), Charlie Heaton (7:45) and Noah Schnapp (4:54). There’s a lot of talk about the difference between the seasons.
Behind the Scenes Image Gallery has over a dozen shots of them working at the mall and other locations.
Official Stills has over 50 press photos of what could go wrong at a mall in the ’80s.
Season 4
Blooper Reel (3:54) has more blown lines, there’s a bit of boobies talk, Eddie jamming on his guitar, dancing and more. I guess they were trying to low profile the footage since the slate claims this is a show called Tareco.
Beyond the Screen: Dungeons & Dragons (10:02) gets into the role playing game that got a resurgence from the series. This explains the game for those who don’t own polyhedral dice.
Dungeons & Dragons: The Shocking Real History (6:10) explains how parent groups did try to get D&D banned from schools. This went to how a Michigan State student went missing in the tunnels beneath the campus.
Becoming Vecna (8:36) has Jamie Campbell Bower recount the audition where he had to read from the scripts of Primal Fear and Hellraiser. He was into playing the nightmarish creature.
Ending Explained – The Duffer Brothers (3:27) has them explain this is their Empire Strikes Back Season. Don’t watch this until you’ve seen all of season 4.
Kiss, Marry, Kill? (2:01) has three actors play the game with Felicia Day.
Behind the FX (5:28) shows how they made things looks real when Max faces off with Vecna. What did it take to compose the Mind Lair?
Geeked Vol 1 Unlocked Featurette (44:26) is hosted by Felicia Day. She talks horror movies with the Duffers and other parts of the new season.
Geeked Vol. 2 Unlocked Featurette (54:50) is more of Felicia Day going into parts of the season. Matthew Modine has a friendly chat with Millie Bobby Brown.
Trailer (1:14) lets us know that “it’s time.”
Official Stills has over 50 press photos from the season.
Behind The Scenes Image Gallery has over 120 shots from the crew. This was during the time in the pandemic when the crew made sure to wear masks on the set.
Season 5
Animatic Previs: Mac-Z Battle (10:55) has the giant fight captured in a lo-fi CGI which would have been so cool on a Playstation 2. This basically what the live action and the special effects directors had to match during production.
Animatic Previs: The Rightside Up (10:15) is another pre visualization of how the storyboards looked in motion. Almost do wish this was a video game.
Set Tour With Jamie Campbell Bower (8:31) has him take us around his family house. We get to see all the treats in the kitchen.
Mac-Z Battle Set Tour (2:27) is guided by Noah. They shot the exterior on a giant soundstage so it can be done in one massive shot (actually in pieces that will be stitched together in post production).
Chapter 4: Sorcerer Table Read (62:00) has the entire cast and crew gathered at a giant table for the episode. Winona Ryder is wearing a Jim Jarmusch button. They cut between the table and the actual episode.
Stranger Scenes includes Will In The Upside Down (9:26), Karen Vs Demogorgon (11:37) and The Rightside Up (18:56). As the cast and crew talk about each scene. Duffers explain how they needed all the characters to contribute to the final battle.
Behind The Episodes let cast and crew explain each one of the episodes. The times are One (14:29), Two (11:47), Three (12:05), Four (13:58), Five (10:46), Six (14:20), Seven (13:33) and Eight (18:56).
Cast Rewatches has the actors comment on scenes from the entire run of the show. It’s strange seeing how much they’ve grown up since the first episode. The times are Season 1 (17:26), Season 2 (20:35), Season 3 (15:16), Season 4 (32:07), Season 5 Vol. 1: Sadie Sink (4:26) and Season 5 Vol 2: Sadie Sink & Maya Hawke (4:46).
Date Announcement Trailer (1:53) let us know that the show was coming back and wrapping up with episodes on different dates.
Vol 1 Trailer (1:22) teases us with the radio station based on WPTF-AM in Cary.
Finale Trailer (1:27) gets us ready for the big ending.
Vol 1 Official Stills has over 40 press photos.
Vol 2 & Finale Official Stills has over 45 press photos that might spoil the ending.
Behind The Scenes Image Gallery has over 340 photos of what it took to finish the story. A slate shows that they used the name Cedar Lodge to somehow fool people into not thinking this was Stranger Things. There’s a lot of snaps of Frank Darabont working with the kids (that are now adults).
Arrow Video presents Stranger Things – The Complete Collection (Deluxe Edition). Directed by Duffer Brothers and others. Starring Winona Ryder, David Harbour, Finn Wolfhard, Millie Bobby Brown, Gaten Matarazzo, Caleb McLaughlin, Natalia Dyer, Charlie Heaton, Cara Buono, Matthew Modine, Noah Schnapp, Sadie Sink, Joe Keery and Maya Hawke. Boxset Contents: 42 episodes on 25 discs. Rating: Unrated. Release Date: July 28, 2026.
