When Stranger Things ended, some fans were so upset by the finale they became convinced that there was still more to come. Thus emerged an elaborate theory, dubbed “Conformity Gate,” that Netflix was planning to surprise-drop one more episode that would right all the wrongs of season six’s eighth episode, the feature-length “The Rightside Up.”
That never happened (we got a pretty revealing making-of documentary, though), but Netflix did have more Stranger Things in the pipeline: the animated spin-off series Tales From ’85.
Tales From ’85 dropped all 10 of its episodes this week, and it’s unlikely to please anyone who bought into “Conformity Gate.” That’s not to say the new series is completely bad; it’s entertaining enough, and the young actors brought in to voice the core characters do a good job replicating the original stars. The soundtrack also kicks ass, with the familiar electronic score (and a slightly tweaked theme) meshing well with those retro needle drops.
But even casual fans of Stranger Things will be left wondering why this exists beyond allowing Netflix to further cash in on the mega success of the live-action series. Instead of feeling like a project that brings anything new to the table, Tales From ’85 reheats the hits, honing in on the show’s most vibrant era. It takes place in the snowy winter months between seasons two and three; Starcourt Mall hasn’t yet opened, but there’s already anticipatory buzz about it.
The plot wisely focuses on the kids: there’s just a little bit of Steve and a tiny bit of Nancy, minimal Hopper, and no Joyce. It follows an adventure that is required to be more minor than major; otherwise, it’ll mess with the continuity that’s already been established.
Even with that narrative restriction hanging over it, Tales From ’85 does feature a few new characters. Most important among them is Nikki Baxter, voiced by Marty Supreme‘s Odessa A’zion, who blusters into Hawkins when her mother (voiced by Janeane Garofalo) steps in as the kids’ substitute science teacher. Nikki is tough and cool and becomes sort of a mentor for Will. She’s an important friend for him long before season six’s big coming-out scene, and she’s so crucial to the gang that she not only helps them fight off a threat from the Upside Down, but she’s also invited to join the Dungeons & Dragons game at the end.
Of course, there’s no way for this Robin-meets-Eddie character to retroactively insert herself into Stranger Things season three, but when Tales From ’85 ends, she and her mother are still in Hawkins. Presumably, Mom got a teaching job elsewhere before the summer rolled around? Considering how many characters Stranger Things added into the mix as it went along, it’s probably for the best.
But maybe the most unbelievable part of Tales From ’85—for me, anyway; your annoyances may vary—is the revelation that Hawkins has its own tabloid newspaper, very much modeled after the legendary Weekly World News. It’s called the Weekly Watcher, and its editor, Cosmo, is voiced by Robert Englund, which is a nice callback not only to his Stranger Things live-action role as Victor Creel but also to his status as an ’80s horror icon.
When Cosmo gets his mitts on a photo that could blow Eleven’s cover, the kids spend an entire episode scheming to steal it back from “Hawkins’ number-one trash magazine.” It makes sense that Hawkins, a place where quite a lot of weird stuff happens, would have a paper like this—but it’s still kind of an odd choice for a local publication. What’s his distribution like, exactly? Does the Hawkins Post compete with it for ads? Did the Weekly Watcher sort of fade away after the winter of 1985? Did Cosmo take his “snake boy” library and depart for sleazier pastures?
We’ll never know—much like we’ll never know what happened to Nikki, unless Tales From ’85 returns for more. While it seems very likely Netflix will be dipping back into Stranger Things to squeeze more content from one of its most recognizable IPs, we’re not convinced an animated series that feels nostalgic for a show that was already about nostalgia is the most rewarding choice.
Stranger Things creators the Duffer Brothers have teased a spin-off of their own that sounds more like a prequel rather than a side quest. That sounds more tempting than the leftovers offered by Tales From ’85—but at this point, could it be time to let Stranger Things hibernate for a while? Someone should probably make sure Netflix isn’t planning anything resembling Squid Game: The Challenge for the Upside Down before it’s too late.
Stranger Things: Tales From ’85 is now streaming on Netflix. The soundtrack really is good, we promise.
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