Stranger Things (Season 4)

— Less than a week after Season 4 became available, "Stranger Things" crossed the 1 billion hours viewed mark. That’s less of a surprise if you watched the final two episodes since they’re a staggering 3 hours and 44 combined minutes. Remember when episodes were 48-52 minutes to fit network programming? Episodes in season 1 of “Stranger Things” averaged 49 minutes and in season 2 they averaged 50 minutes. They edged up slightly in season 3 to 55 minutes, but in season 4 the average running time jumped to 79 minutes and it took almost 13 hours to view the 9 episodes. This is a case of unnecessary bloat made even worse since I think the word count per episode probably didn’t change much, only the moments of dark brooding, bloodletting, frightening sounds, and excessive use of special effects. Granted, it’s a complicated story line, with a battle taking place in an alternate dimension, but with groups at two different locations in our dimension, with different plans and different obstacles to overcome. Adding to the complexity, with each season, the cast of characters grows. Really, when you have a monster Vecna and the Demobats already in the script, couldn’t they kill off a few more characters and their related plotlines to spare us a final episode in the 5th and final season that runs 3-4 hours! In spite of everything, I watch each new season and find myself sucked into Hawkins, Indiana, with its penchant for invading monsters. I enjoy seeing Millie Bobby Brown and Winona Ryder, and I enjoyed season 4, even if there were times when I wished some of the special effects budget had gone toward hiring an editor willing to cut some of the effects and some of the “atmosphere.”) [Netflix streaming.]

---

[2016-2022 . 4 seasons, 35 episodes, 41-139 minutes/episode. Created by Matt and Ross Duffer. Starring Winona Ryder, Millie Bobby Brown, David Harbour, Finn Wolfhard, Gaten Matarazzo, Caleb McLaughlin, Natalia Dyer, Charlie Heaton, and Joe Keery.]
https://www.rogerebert.com/streaming/stranger-things-4-tv-review