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Stranger Thingssfourthseason pushes the bounds of a standard TV show with episode run-times swollen well beyond the norm.
When episodes eight and nine, a.k.a.
In May 2017, Iwrote a piecethat asked, Is the summer pop-cultural experience still defined by movies?
My conclusion was basically: no.
ButStranger Thingsproves that TV still has the stronger hold on hearts and minds.
According to theWall Street Journal,the budget forStranger Things 4was $30 million per episode.
(Neither number takes into account promotional costs.)
Does it feel bloated given those longer run-times?
At times, yes.
In 1980,The Empire Strikes Backwas the No.
1 movie in America for seven consecutive weeks.
In 1982,E.T.was No.
1 in late September, more than three months after its debut.
Movies dont do that anymore.
TV shows rarely do either.
Theres just too much cluttering the pop-cultural atmosphere for anything to stick for an extended period of time.
(The Duffer brothers seem to have anticipated that by making this season akin to a teen-slasher outing.)
Moviegoers will go seeTop Gun: Maverickto experience a measure of the adrenaline rush they got in 1986.
But the nostalgiaStranger Thingspeddles is much more layered.
Its an escape from legitimate anxiety that provokes resolvable anxiety, and that can be a relief.
Stranger Thingsis also quite openlynotnostalgic for what the 1980s actually felt like.
IfStranger Things 4is huge this summer, it wont be because it beefed up its run-times or visual effects.
