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How does a Stranger Things fan pass the time during this prolonged break between seasons?  Rewatching previous seasons of our beloved show is certainly an excellent option.  Another excellent option is playing Stranger Things Trivial Pursuit with other Stranger Things fans!  We recently teamed up with a few of the listeners of our podcast, started a Facebook Live broadcast, and played Stranger Things Trivial Pursuit.  We had a wonderful time and recorded the whole thing so we could bring it to you in podcast form.  We hope you have fun playing along! 

Did you hear that? Was that the fireworks? Did you see that? The trees are moving. Billy said the Monster can see Eleven. I think he is right and it has found the kids! Seconds later the creature’s vast tentacles burst through the walls of the cabin. El uses her considerable power to push the Mind Flayer back over and over. Her friends fight to help her. They shoot and chop at the vicious thing. They use all their might to tug El away from the grasp of its jaws. Ultimately they succeed and the Monster retreats but not before it manages to take a bite. Team Scoops Ahoy is on the run. Using a stolen key card they are finally able to rise to the surface. They sneak through back corridors and slip into a packed theater to make a plan. They need to buy some time. The eldest among them are still suffering the effects of the drugs given to them by the Russians. Elsewhere in Hawkins, Mike and the gang break into a grocery store to treat Eleven’s wounds. In a moment alone Mike apologizes to El for being jealous. He is so tongue tied he cannot say the word love out loud. This sweet scene in interrupted by Dustin calling a code red. The batteries give out on his walkie talkie so Eleven must return to the void to find him. Hopper hopes the government will come and provide backup. He is angry with Joyce for the way she spoke to them. What if they don’t come now? What is so dangerous about the Fair? Why did Joyce insist their children need saving from it? Alexei is able to communicate details about the Russian’s base. You need two keys that are kept in a vault. You need to know Planck’s constant to access it. Someone call Erica and offer her a sundae, She is a math genius. Alexei warns that people must not be near when the laser explodes. He has seen it turn people to dust. Hopper and Joyce arrive at the Fair and start investigating. Murray decides to purchase Alexei some tickets and show him how fun American Independence Day can be. Unfortunately Grigori catches sight of his former comrade and shoots him for being a traitor. Hopper follows the murderous man into the hall of mirrors. Due to a bulletproof vest Jim is unable to defeat Grigori but gets information on the location of the children. One of the fallen Russians radio provides the clue they need to find them. Back at Starcourt Robin tells Steve who she really had a crush on. Erica and Dustin track down the giggling pair in the bathroom. The plan to escape is to blend in with the crowd as the mall empties for the night. On their way to the bus they are spotted and have to run. Before long Team Scoops Ahoy is cornered. Time is running out. A car alarm begins to blare. Eleven, Mike and the gang appear and El launches the car at the enemies. Finally the kids are reunited but the joy is short lived. This “Red Dawn” situation is certainly related to the gate. The how and why remains a mystery. Billy is tracking El through the blood she shed in the grocery store. I fear he is closing in and the creature he serves won’t be far behind. 

E Pluribus Unum. Out of many one. Powerful is the Monster’s influence. Pulling all those that are infected towards the source. Countless innocent residents of Hawkins giving their lives to the Mind Flayer, as many become one. We must put our hope in the few that understand what consequences reopening the gate will bring. Team Scoops Ahoy has been discovered by the Russians. Steve and Robin sacrifice their freedom so that Dustin and Erica can get away. They say the simplest answer is the right one. Steve really does work for Scoops Ahoy and really did stumble across the secret compound by accident. Sure he was having a fun time solving a mystery with Dustin. I am not sure that Steve thought it would turn out to be real. I love that we got a vulnerable moment from Robin in this episode. She admits she had a crush on Steve. In a moment where it looks like our heroes can’t take much more Dustin and Erica save the day with a taser. Why do the Russians have this instrument? Do the Russians have creatures from the Upside Down captured here? Grigori wants to find Hopper. He is using violence to inspire Mayor Kline to give up information. I don’t think the Mayor has the information the intimidating Russian wants. In Illinois Hopper and Joyce are continuing to try to get information from the Scientist. Alexei is afraid. What will happen if he doesn’t do what his superiors want from him? He saw what happened to the last Scientist that did not produce results. Perhaps he will help the Americans. They seem to have experience with things involved in his mysterious research. At Hawkins Hospital the lights begin to flicker. Will feels the presence of the Mind Flayer. The kids proceed to the fourth floor to see what is going on. Nancy is running from the Monster. She barricades herself in a room thinking that it will give her a moment of safety, however the creature has a disgusting talent. It can break down into the slime that it is made of and squeeze through the grate at the bottom of the door. Nancy came really close to becoming a servant of the Mind Flayer. At the last moment Eleven is able to toss the creature off of Nancy. Then in an extraordinary burst of energy El launches the creature out of the window. The creature slinks into the sewer. They must find Billy. He may be able to shed some light on the plan. What should the next step be? In the void El is able to find Billy. We finally get some details on why he is filled with so much rage. Billy Hargrove was violent and angry long before the Mind Flayer came to town. The question remains can the kids stop this evil before it controls the mind of every resident in this town? What did Billy mean when he said this was all built for Eleven? What will happen now that the Mind Flayer has El in it's sight. Joyce is concerned that the man relaying a telephone message to Dr. Owens does not understand the gravity of the situation. You know who does understand the urgency of phone messages? Darrell and Addi would love to hear from you as this mystery continues to unravel. 

Some like it hot. The Mind Flayer does not. Eleven is worried that there is something wrong with Billy. Max says wrong is Billy’s default setting, but El can’t get what happened out of her mind. She closed the gate. There should not be any monsters left in Hawkins. Something still seems off. As dawn breaks Lucas is calling a code red. Maybe Eleven is right. Strange things continue in this town. At Scoops Ahoy the code has been cracked and a plan is forming. The doors are too well guarded. There has to be another way in. Robin buys a copy of the Star Court blueprints from the city. The plan is to crawl through the vents. Despite his lack of collar bones Dustin cannot fit in the small space. As luck would have it, everyone's favorite little sister is at the counter seeking free samples. They tell Erica the plan to defeat the evil Russians. The sassy little girl tells them that she will not agree to the plan until she is told what benefits she will gain by participating. The group minus Dustin has responded to the code red. They must come up with a way to corner Billy. Will says the Monster is back and will be looking for a new host. How will they know if the Mind Flayer is now controlling Billy? They head off to the pool to observe. Nothing seems too out of place, though Billy is shielded from the sun and sipping a slushy. Heat was used to drive the Monster out of Will. It is time to subject Billy to the Sauna test. Nancy and Jonathan crossed a line. They were summer interns at the Hawkins Post, not official reporters. Tom is very upset with this turn of events. Nancy and Jonathan are fired on the spot. After how she was treated by her coworkers, Nancy just wants to be right. She didn’t think of the ramifications of what losing a summer job would mean for the Beyer’s household. Tom doesn’t look so good. I wonder what is wrong with him. Hopper is on the case of the mysterious motorcycle man. He storms into the Mayor’s office and pressures him for details. At his mansion Larry unlocks a safe that contains a number of deeds for various pieces of land. After some more coaxing the Mayor reveals that all of these deeds represent land bought by the owners of Star Court. What are they developing now? Does it all tie back to the Russians? It is closing time at the pool. Two operations are taking place across town from each other. Mike is using a walkie talkie to lure Billy to the sauna. Back at Star Court Erica enters the vent for “operation child endangerment”. As things heat up at the pool. Billy is begging Max to let him out. Is this the man underneath the Monster? They don’t have time to ponder this thought as Will feels the Mind Flayer activate. A battle of strength and will begins between Eleven and Billy. Back at the Mall Erica is able to open the door allowing her team to finally investigate the boxes. They certainly do not contain Chinese food. Inside are tubes of what looks like green lightning bugs swirling in formation. Are these another vessel set to spread the affliction across the whole town or farther? Billy gains the upper hand on Eleven for a moment, but in a last burst of power she tosses him through a brick wall. Dustin and his team work to get out of the secret room. The buttons are not responding. Suddenly the secret room  that turns out to be an elevator begins to plummet. Across town Eleven is completely drained. The kids might have won this battle but the war is on. The man that controls the Newspaper in Hawkins is under the influence of the Monster and he is not alone. The Mind Flayer retreated but is not defeated. Keep your eyes open for all things strange.

Have you seen Heather? She’s a lifeguard at the Hawkins pool. She didn’t show up for her shift today. Come to think of it Billy isn’t there either. Perhaps they are “sick” together? Their fate is concerning but it’s far from the strangest thing to happen in this town. Nancy continues to investigate the rat problem even though her coworkers continue to tease her about it. I mean it is weird. Why would fertilizer, cleaning fluid and diesel fuel go missing from several locations around town? Perhaps it is time to check back in with Mrs. Driscoll. Meanwhile at Starcourt Mall Dustin and Steve are looking for Evil Russians. If only Steve could stay focused? Thank goodness they have Robin. She has cracked the code. The silver cat feeds is Lynx shipping company. A trip to China sounds nice is the Imperial Panda Chinese Restaurant. If you tread lightly leads to Kaufman shoes. When blue and yellow meet in the west. Perhaps this refers to the colors of the hands on the Starcourt clock. What is happening at 8:45? Who is meeting and for what? Max and Eleven are having a sleepover. In a unique twist on spin the bottle they use the game to decide who to spy on. The bottle lands on Billy and El dives into the void to see what he is up to. She is immediately shaken when she hears screaming. Max is initially not phased by this revelation but agrees to go to her house to investigate further. The girls find a bloody whistle and a lifeguard pack in the bathroom. The search for Heather switches to high gear. Mike and Lucas want to solve another type of mystery. The mystery of the female species. Will would love to distract his friends from their girl problems with a break from reality. He has created a new Dungeons and Dragons campaign. Will is soon moved to sadness and anger. It becomes clear that Lucas and Mike lack focus for the game. Dustin is nowhere to be found. Will storms off biking into the pouring rain. Max and El arrive at the Hawkins pool but they do not have swimming on their mind. The staff at the pool is no help. The girls must take matters into their own hands. They grab a picture of the missing lifeguard. El returns to the void to search for more clues. She sees a mailbox and a red door. The girls set off armed with the new information and find Heather’s house. They are understandably shocked to find the family sitting down to dinner. Billy is there acting like a gentleman. Heather steps out of the kitchen bearing cookies as if nothing is wrong. After an intense glare between Billy and Eleven the girls escape back into the storm. Left to return to dinner Heather and Billy quickly subdue Heather’s parents. Is this the work of the Mind Flayer? Does it hide in plain sight as harmless humans going about their normal routines. Monsters? No there are no monsters here. Is it a puppet master controlling the citizens of Hawkins? If any of these seemingly normal people start eating fertilizer like poor Mrs. Driscoll perhaps the men at the paper will take Nancy more seriously. Joyce is correct. There is still something going on in the lab. Someone made it painfully obvious to Hopper. They don’t want the Chief of Police looking into things. Is the lab connected to the Russians? Lucas and Mike go out in the storm and find Will in front of a destroyed castle Beyers. These boys may be distracted by girls but at the end of the day they will also be there for each other. This is very good news because he is back. I have no doubt who he is and worst of all he knows the girl that closed the gate lives. Can’t wait to see what happens next week. Keep your eyes open for all things strange. The Mind Flayer now has Eleven in his sight!

Billy is running for his life. He makes it to a payphone and dials 911. Before he can answer the operator his world is turned upside down. Literally Billy is taken to a dark mirror dimension. He is screaming for answers when he is faced with his doppelgänger. This made me wonder. Does the monster not only have the power to possess a body but also take the form of someone that you trust? If it wants Billy to bend to its will it must earn his trust. Nancy has found the perfect excuse to leave the office. She takes Jonathan to chase down a lead about the rats. Is this just a crazy old lady or the first sign that a new plague is upon Hawkins? Mrs. Driscoll did manage to capture one of the little monsters and it is acting very strange. The rat is desperately throwing itself into the bars of its cage as if being called on by a higher power. Last week I said the rats were not strong enough to host the Mind Flayer. Now this episode reveals the remnants of an exploded rat slinking to it’s master. I wonder if there is a rat monster in the Dungeons and Dragons manual? Perhaps the rats are too weak to be hosts but they can still be minions for the Mind Flayer. Billy is certainly showing the effects of his bite. The monster likes it cold so being a lifeguard is not ideal. Just like Will before him who also hosted the Mind Flayer it does appear that Billy can sometimes be in control. Luckily for Mrs. Wheeler Billy resisted the monster’s desire to hurt her. Also hurt in this episode are Eleven’s feelings and it is all Hopper’s fault. He scares Mike into not seeing El. This forces Mike to lie to her. El seeks advice from Max. Max assures her that even though friends don’t lie, boyfriends do. They decide on a boy free trip to the Starcourt Mall. The boys minus Dustin are on a mall mission of their own. Lucas says Mike should buy Eleven an apology gift. Lucas knows all about girl troubles. After all Max has dumped him five times. Dustin is hanging at the mall as well at Scoops Ahoy. He has enlisted the help of Steve to translate the Russian code. His other friends are not taking this revelation seriously enough so he is a little shorthanded on help. Luckily Robin speaks several languages and has genius ears. Questions are still stacking up. What do the strange sentences mean? Did the message come from Russia? Is the background music enough evidence to prove the message is from a more local source? Hopper may be rethinking his decision to mess with his daughter’s relationship. Karma seems to be getting back at him. He gets Joyce to agree to meet him for dinner. Looking handsome in his new clothes and ready to impress Jim waits for Joyce. Unfortunately a magnetic mystery has Joyce distracted. She is off on a journey of her own as she seeks the advice of Mr. Clarke. She totally forgets about her dinner with Hopper. So many questions left to answer. Billy brought the female lifeguard to the monster. Will she be another host? Will the town soon be dealing with an army of evil doppelgängers? The Upside Down always appears so dark and dead. Is the Monster intent on stripping our world of life and color? Is it trying to build a replica of its own world?  Until next week. Keep your eyes open for all things strange.

It's almost time for Stranger Things 3! On this episode of The Stranger Things Podcast Addi, Darrell, Blake, Chris, Adam, and Bradley discuss season 2 of Stranger Things. They discuss the season episode by episode. With Stranger Things 3 coming soon, they share their predictions and hopes for season 3, along with unanswered questions from season 2. They share their favorite moments and favorite episode of the season.

Are you ready for Stranger Things season 3? In this episode of The Stranger Things Podcast, Darrell, Addi, Bradley, Chris, Adam, and Beth recap season one of Stranger Things. Darrell gives a short summary of the episode then they talk about notable moments of each episode then answer a few questions, such as “what’s your favorite episode?” And “what unanswered questions do you have?”

Yottalogical (aka Adam), and Bradley join Addi and Darrell to discuss the music in Stranger Things. They talk about the music created by Kyle Dixon and Michael Stein and also the pop music featured in both seasons of the show. They discuss different facts and topics related to the music of this Netflix series. They go into a discussion about season one and season two individually.

We almost needed a bigger podcast to talk about all the connections between Jaws and Stranger Things! Addi, Darrell, and guest host Bradley, discuss the 1970 film Jaws. They share their thoughts about the film and how it ties into Stranger Things. Bradley shares amazing ties into Stranger Things and Jaws. Darrell pays a short tribute to David Ward. They talk about news items relating to the Duffer Brothers’ lawsuit and Stranger Things coming to baseball fields around the US. They talk about fun facts about the movie, their memories about the first time they watched the movie, and their favorite scenes.

Poltergeist left an indelible mark on the 80's and certainly still bears relevancy today. On this episode of The Stranger Things Podcast, Addi, Darrell, and Bradley talk about another movie that influenced Stranger Things: Poltergeist. For the news segment, they discuss the Stranger Things 3 trailer and all the details that come with it. They discuss their favorite parts of the trailer and of the film, and their memories of the first time seeing the movie. Some of their favorite parts were the guy pulling his face off and any scene with Zelda Rubinstein in it. Next, they jump into some fun facts about Poltergeist followed by some listener feedback.

Featured prominently in Stranger Things, this month Cory joins Addi and Darrell to discuss John Carpenters classic thriller, The Thing. They kick things off with news and rumors and general information about the movie. Then the three of them discuss their memories from the first time seeing the film and their favorite scenes of the movie. They wrap things up with fun facts about The Thing and listener feedback. Lastly, they announce next episode’s movie will be Poltergeist and don’t forget to stay strange! In our news section we reveal an upcoming book called Stranger Things: Darkness on the Edge of Town by Adam Christopher. We talk about a new Stranger Things prequel comic that will introduce us to test subject Six. And for all you board game fans, we're soon to be greeted with a special Stranger Things edition of Trivial Pursuit!

What do Firestarter and Stranger Things have in common? A powerful little girl, bad guys trying to do experiments, and both happened to be reviewed on The Stranger Things Podcast. Darrell, Addi, and Beth talk about Firestarter, how it ties into Stranger Things, their favorite moments in the movie, memories from the first time watching the firm, and more. One common favorite moment was the destruction scene at the end of the movie.

One of the most popular 80s movies, The Goonies, plays a major role in inspiration for Stranger Things. The film stars Corey Feldman, Anne Ramsey, and Sean Astin. In this episode of The Stranger Things Podcast, Darrell, Addi, and guest-host Faith discuss this iconic 80s movie, including talking about favorite scenes, memories from the first time watching the movie, and talking about how it relates to Stranger Things. They also share listener feedback, and news about Stranger Things.  

Regarded as one of the best sequels ever made, Aliens also serves as one of the main influences of Stranger Things. As we continue our series looking at the movies that inspired Stranger Things, we turn to fellow Golden Spiral Media host, Corey Meltcalfe to help make the journey to LV-426. We discuss our favorite moments from the film, memories from the first time each of us watched it, fun facts about the film, and of course, how it ties into Stranger Things. We also share their listener feedback as well as telling news about things related to Stranger Things. Some of our favorite moments include Ripley’s and Newt’s moments together, Ripley vs. the alien queen, and when Ripley decides to go back for Newt.

Addi, Darrell, and guest host Jeremiah, discuss the 1977 film Close Encounters of the Third Kind.  Jeremiah watched the film as a kid, but Addi and Darrell just recently watched it. They share their thoughts about the film and how it ties into Stranger Things. Darrell pays a short tribute to David Ward. They talk about news items relating to Stranger Things including Universal Studios Stranger Things Halloween maze is open. They talk about fun facts about the movie, their memories about the first time they watched the movie, and their favorite scenes.    

David Ward from the Don't Blink podcast joins us for this episode of The Stranger Things Podcast as we discuss the 1984 film Ghostbusters. David is a fan of Ghostbusters and cosplays as a ghostbuster (as well of other characters from other movies and shows). They talk about news, including some new revelations from Shawn Levy and David Harbour about season 3, and an exciting announcement from McFarlane Toys featuring the Stranger Things kids figures in their Ghostbusters uniforms. Read More... The post TSTP S2E16- Ghostbusters and Stranger Things appeared first on Golden Spiral Media- Entertainment Podcasts, Technology Podcasts & More.

Joined by Jeremiah Panhorst, Addi and Darrell, talk about the classic 1984 movie, Gremlins. They talk about the connections between Gremlins and Stranger Things. Some topics discussed are news, fun facts about Gremlins, how Stranger Things and Gremlins are related, memories from watching Gremlins for the first time, and favorite moments from the movie. Read More... The post TSTP S2E15- Gremlins and Stranger Things appeared first on Golden Spiral Media- Entertainment Podcasts, Technology Podcasts & More.

Stranger Things creators The Duffer Brothers have found inspiration from many films from the 80's, and perhaps none have been more influential than E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial. In this episode of TSTP, join Addi, Darrell, and John as they talk about the connections between Stranger Things and E.T. The Extra Terrestrial. This is the first episode of a series where we'll be watching movies that inspired Stranger Things. Some topics discussed are news, fun facts about E.T., how Stranger Things and E.T. are related, memories from watching E.T. for the first time, and favorite moments from the movie. Read More... The post TSTP S2E14- E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial and Stranger Things appeared first on Golden Spiral Media- Entertainment Podcasts, Technology Podcasts & More.

On April 6, 7, and 8, over 60,000 sci-fi, anime, gaming, and comic fans descended on the Kay Bailey Hutchinson Convention Center in downtown Dallas for Fan Expo Dallas. We were among them. For us, the biggest draw for this convention were the three stars from Stranger Things, Gaten Matarazzo (Dustin), Caleb McLaughlin (Lucas), and Sadie Sink (Max). Addi had prepared to cosplay as Eleven from Stranger Things season 1, and I would be cosplaying as season 1 Dustin. We take a look at Fan Expo Dallas while asking the question: Is Fan Expo Dallas a con worth traveling to? Addi and Darrell agree that the answer is YES! Read More... The post TSTP S2E13- Fan Expo Dallas 2018 Review appeared first on Golden Spiral Media- Entertainment Podcasts, Technology Podcasts & More.