The countdown has officially begun for the highly anticipated final season of Netflix's global phenomenon, Stranger Things. Season five will premiere in three distinct parts, marking the epic conclusion to a decade-long story that has captivated audiences worldwide.
In an exciting departure from their usual release schedule, Netflix will debut each part at midnight GMT on 27 November, Boxing Day, and New Year's Day for UK viewers. The streaming giant has already stoked fan excitement by releasing the first five minutes of the season opener.
The Real Government Experiments That Inspired Hawkins Lab
While Stranger Things remains a work of science fiction created by The Duffer Brothers, the show draws heavily from disturbing real-world events. The sinister Hawkins Laboratory, where Eleven and other subjects underwent experimentation, finds its roots in actual Cold War-era government programmes.
MK-Ultra, a once-secret CIA operation, involved funding numerous institutions across the United States to conduct mind control experiments. These tests aimed to develop psychological weapons against the USSR during the height of the Cold War.
Many documents were destroyed, but surviving records reveal that researchers frequently administered LSD and other substances to unsuspecting subjects to make them more susceptible to suggestion and mental manipulation. The programme even involved spiking drinks without consent and observing reactions through covert surveillance.
Where Reality and Fiction Diverge
The MK-Ultra experiments depicted in Stranger Things closely mirror historical reality in several chilling aspects. Both the show and actual history feature sensory deprivation tanks being used to enhance mental abilities, just as Eleven and her mother Terry Ives utilised them.
In the series, Dr Martin Brenner administers LSD to a pregnant Terry Ives, contributing to her daughter Eleven developing telekinetic powers. While the real MK-Ultra programme did involve testing on pregnant women in some cases, the development of supernatural abilities remains firmly in the realm of fiction.
The real MK-Ultra was ultimately exposed as pseudoscience, despite violating the Nuremberg Code - ethical principles established after Nazi war crimes to prevent inhumane human experimentation. Congressional hearings eventually exposed the programme, ensuring such projects could never happen again.
Other Real-World Inspirations Behind the Fiction
Stranger Things incorporates other elements from history beyond the MK-Ultra programme. The menacing Hawkins Laboratory takes inspiration from Camp Hero, a real location in Montauk, New York, as revealed by actor Gaten Matarazzo in 2017.
Character inspiration also comes from true stories. Eddie Munson, the beloved Hellfire Club leader introduced in season four, finds his roots in the real-life case of the West Memphis Three. Netflix's Geeked account confirmed the character was loosely modelled on Damien Echols, one of the teenagers wrongfully convicted of murder during the Satanic Panic of the Eighties and Nineties.
Even Jim Hopper's discussion of Agent Orange during his Vietnam War service reflects actual historical events. The United States military's use of this defoliant during Operation Ranch Hand caused devastating environmental damage and severe health consequences for both veterans and Vietnamese civilians.
As fans prepare to say farewell to Hawkins, Indiana, the final season promises to deliver an explosive conclusion while maintaining the show's unique blend of Eighties nostalgia and unsettling real-world inspiration that has made truth sometimes stranger than fiction.
