Stranger Things (Netflix)

[Riceball]

How did Joyce get the $40,000 so easy? Seems odd that in '86 a struggling single mother with kids would have that much money in the bank.

It was mentioned in the message by the guard (forget his name) that Hopper has a college fund set up for 11 and Joyce was to pull the money from there. This still begs the question of how she was able to access the account, unless things were far less strict back in the '80s, Hopper should have been the only one able to access the account since I don't recall Joyce and Hopper having married unless Joyce was appointed 11's legal guardian, in which case that might allow her access to the account.

 

[CadetTK2386]

I assume since Joyce was most likely made El's legal guardian after Hopper's suspected death, she would have access to El's Trust fund.
I'm also lead to believe that Hopper probably didn't have $40,00 saved away, even if it was part of a Trust for his daughter who passed away years ago, that I'm sure the fund was actually set up by Dr. Owens for Hopper and El.

 

[Axlotl]

This is the first time I haven't been able to watch this show, and I'm really bummed about it.

 

[Riceball]

I assume since Joyce was most likely made El's legal guardian after Hopper's suspected death, she would have access to El's Trust fund.
I'm also lead to believe that Hopper probably didn't have $40,00 saved away, even if it was part of a Trust for his daughter who passed away years ago, that I'm sure the fund was actually set up by Dr. Owens for Hopper and El.{/quote}

It's also very possible that Hopper had a life insurance policy through the Hawkins police dept. and/or a pension. So when he "died", that money probably went into trust for 11.

 

[RodanAZ]

All of the D&D talk sent me digging... still have the books I bought back in the early 80s. Maybe even the late 70s... a little fuzzy on when I started playing.

I remember all the "satanic" hoopla at the time. About as dumb as the same kinds of hysteria about popular music.

Really enjoying Stranger Things this season. Looking foward to the last two episodes, and a little irritated we have to wait.

 

[Psab keel]

I too wondered where Joyce got that kind of cash. I sort of assumed the lab paid her off to keep her quiet about what they were doing. I mean they had the financial resources to do all kinds of research, and relocate her to California. It stands to reason they could have given her some money to set aside for anything she might need. $40,000 is a lot of money in the early 1980's but it would probably pale in comparison to the lawsuits she could bring against the lab after what they put her through. Then again this was my theory and I could very well have missed the real explanation.

 

[Riceball]

I too wondered where Joyce got that kind of cash. I sort of assumed the lab paid her off to keep her quiet about what they were doing. I mean they had the financial resources to do all kinds of research, and relocate her to California. It stands to reason they could have given her some money to set aside for anything she might need. $40,000 is a lot of money in the early 1980's but it would probably pale in comparison to the lawsuits she could bring against the lab after what they put her through. Then again this was my theory and I could very well have missed the real explanation.

It was mentioned specifically by the guard that called Joyce that Hopper has a college fund for 11 and that she was to tap into that for the 40K.

 

[Riceball]

All of the D&D talk sent me digging... still have the books I bought back in the early 80s. Maybe even the late 70s... a little fuzzy on when I started playing.

View attachment 1582404

I remember all the "satanic" hoopla at the time. About as dumb as the same kinds of hysteria about popular music.

Really enjoying Stranger Things this season. Looking foward to the last two episodes, and a little irritated we have to wait.

I had all of those, plus a few more, when I was a kid, I really wish I still had them if only for the nostalgia value.
Speaking of D&D and Stranger Things, I actually came across and am currently watching a video from last year that talks all about the Vecna Lives module that the Hellfire Club was playing this season. Up until this video I didn't realize that it was an actual adventure/module, I hjas thought that it was something that Eddie had made up.

 

[Cephus]

I had all of those, plus a few more, when I was a kid, I really wish I still had them if only for the nostalgia value.

I've still got them packed away in a box somewhere. Haven't looked at anything D&D for decades but I know I still have all of my books somewhere.

 

[Psab keel]

It was mentioned specifically by the guard that called Joyce that Hopper has a college fund for 11 and that she was to tap into that for the 40K.

Ah! Thanks for the correction. I clearly missed that.

 

[Inquisitor Peregrinus]

Speaking of D&D and Stranger Things, I actually came across and am currently watching a video from last year that talks all about the Vecna Lives module that the Hellfire Club was playing this season. Up until this video I didn't realize that it was an actual adventure/module, I hjas thought that it was something that Eddie had made up.

Oh, I had the same reaction as the players did when he described the figure who appeared in the rite. I didn't know which module they were playing, but the missing arm and then the missing eye... The Eye of Vecna and The Hand of Vecna are infamous artifacts in D&D -- so much so that they're among those Wizards of the Coast put in their D&D expansion set for Magic.

About the only thing that's missing for me of their D&D experience is none of them made mention of the Monster Manual depicting nymphs and harpies and such with... <_< >_> .........bewbs.

 

[Psab keel]

I like that they didn't try to make Mike or Dustin any different in terms of their geekiness and the dynamic of Lucas trying to make friends in other circles was great character development for him. That kind of thing was part of my experience growing up with friends of mine going off to meet friends with other interests and I think they handled that in a realistic way. That's why I love this show so much. They really set up the characters well and I'm on board for whatever they go through because of that.

 

[Solo4114]

All of the D&D talk sent me digging... still have the books I bought back in the early 80s. Maybe even the late 70s... a little fuzzy on when I started playing.

View attachment 1582404

I remember all the "satanic" hoopla at the time. About as dumb as the same kinds of hysteria about popular music.

Really enjoying Stranger Things this season. Looking foward to the last two episodes, and a little irritated we have to wait.

Those look to be in excellent condition. I may have to upload a "shelfie" of my RPG collection, which is...extensive.

I had all of those, plus a few more, when I was a kid, I really wish I still had them if only for the nostalgia value.
Speaking of D&D and Stranger Things, I actually came across and am currently watching a video from last year that talks all about the Vecna Lives module that the Hellfire Club was playing this season. Up until this video I didn't realize that it was an actual adventure/module, I hjas thought that it was something that Eddie had made up.

They're actually worth a decent bit now, and the prices have gone up. I got rid of my 2nd Edition stuff (but managed to cobble it back together) back in the mid-90s (gave it to my younger cousin). When Stranger Things first came out, I re-bought most of the 1e AD&D stuff, and picked up some other stuff as well (West End Games' Star Wars d6 system, mostly). Since that point, I've been collecting stuff for the last few years. What's interesting is how the prices have gone up especially in the wake of the pandemic. Like, a copy of the original 1e books like those above was going for around...oh, $30-50 or so, depending on condition back in 2015-2016. Then by the pandemic, they went up to more like $45-70. Some go for more than that (rarer copies like Deities & Demigods with the Cthulhu mythos in it). But pretty much all old RPGs went up in price. My only theory is that everyone being stuck at home decided "Well....I need something to do and I have money to spend so....guess I'll get into RPGs."

 

[Sluis Van Shipyards]

I was never into D&D, but I do remember hearing news stories about how it was Satanic and all that BS. I would have been only 8 when this season was set.

 

[Cephus]

I was never into D&D, but I do remember hearing news stories about how it was Satanic and all that BS. I would have been only 8 when this season was set.

Whereas I was in college.

 

[CB2001]

Clownfish posted this video recently in regards to D&D and that it's still slightly getting demonized, but in the different way, in addition to the irony of it. Not sure how you guys feel about Clownfish, but hearing about it is kinda ironic:

 

[Wolfsburg]

I've never been into D&D but I've always adored this show and it's been a great ride so far. Consistently competent and well done, as far as I'm concerned. I've thought for a while that our band of heroes is overdue for someone to die and I'm now feeling like Steve could be on the chopping block. I'm feeling like those demon bat bites could become an issue later.

 

[Mottrex]

I've still got them packed away in a box somewhere. Haven't looked at anything D&D for decades but I know I still have all of my books somewhere.

I only got into it for a brief period of time.. I still have a D&D pack somewhere and a notepad I kept full of D&D we made in one half and Dream recollections in the other..
I got more rapped up in painting the figures but the scale always erk'd me and I was making masks and prosthetics by that stage in my life and pretty much took up my time..


I simply loved Stranger Things and without Spoilers just felt it captured the 80s I know of in celluloid movies..
It's quite different from my 80s but the UK was a different beast in itself.. Quite bleak but youth culture and the music was exploding.
The writing seems to have only gotten better, the young actors are just so perfect in their delivery and the scenes are shot in a very Carpenter, Craven esk way and I love it.
The Synth soundtrack is perfect.. hearing lots of Nightmare on Elm St notes this time round.
Episode lengths are great in the sense they allow each one to breath, a common fault in movies these days is to cram too many actors into a project and give them a line of dialogue... Not here we get plenty but never feeling unwanted.
We gorged St over two nights
on our Projector.

It was like being 18 again and sat in the old ABC cinema

Roll on part 2 in July!!

 

[Mottrex]

Those look to be in excellent condition. I may have to upload a "shelfie" of my RPG collection, which is...extensive.

They're actually worth a decent bit now, and the prices have gone up. I got rid of my 2nd Edition stuff (but managed to cobble it back together) back in the mid-90s (gave it to my younger cousin). When Stranger Things first came out, I re-bought most of the 1e AD&D stuff, and picked up some other stuff as well (West End Games' Star Wars d6 system, mostly). Since that point, I've been collecting stuff for the last few years. What's interesting is how the prices have gone up especially in the wake of the pandemic. Like, a copy of the original 1e books like those above was going for around...oh, $30-50 or so, depending on condition back in 2015-2016. Then by the pandemic, they went up to more like $45-70. Some go for more than that (rarer copies like Deities & Demigods with the Cthulhu mythos in it). But pretty much all old RPGs went up in price. My only theory is that everyone being stuck at home decided "Well....I need something to do and I have money to spend so....guess I'll get into RPGs."

My daughter works in well The Works, in between Uni and said during the Pandemic they couldn't stock RPG and Jigsaws quick enough to meet demand..

 

[Solo4114]

My daughter works in well The Works, in between Uni and said during the Pandemic they couldn't stock RPG and Jigsaws quick enough to meet demand..

Yeah, between folks sitting around bored and enjoying the act of bidding on ebay/collecting, and folks looking for games to play online with their friends, I think it just totally jacked the prices up across the board. It's not just D&D stuff, either. Pretty much all RPG materials, especially old out of print stuff, went up in price. In some cases it went up, like, 100% (e.g., old adventures that went for $10-15 are now $20-30), in others it was less (e.g., books that went for $100 went up to $130-150), but it all went up in price.