The decision makers at Netflix and the creative minds behind its biggest show need to look elsewhere for inspiration. Fans can finally experience the very first major spin-off series of the streaming giant's most popular show. All episodes of Stranger Things: Tales from 85 are now streaming (April 23) and promise a brand new exciting adventure featuring our beloved heroes.
However, something's not quite right. According to its synopsis, Tales from 85 returns to Hawkins in the winter of 1985, as snow blankets the town and the horrors of the Upside Down are apparently fading. Different-sounding heroes Eleven, Mike, Will, Dustin, Lucas, and Max have settled back into a normal life of D&D, snowball fights, and quiet days. But beneath the ice, something terrifying has awakened. Could it be from the Upside Down? From the depths of Hawkins Lab? Or from somewhere else entirely? Our heroes must race to solve this mystery and save Hawkins yet again.
First of all, setting a spin-off series, let alone the first attempt at one, between earlier seasons feels like such a strange decision. Not least because, as it has ended up, the entire original cast have been replaced. Fine, having the now-grown-up actors mimicking themselves as children might have sounded odd, but it would still be preferable to what we get instead. Introducing new major characters in a story set between seasons feels odd. And why can the adults not return either? Perhaps that one is a cost cutting exercise. Unfortunately, what it means is we have beloved characters that either sound a bit off or just completely different.
I can get over all that eventually. There are two other bigger issues at play and they are both linked with the setting. One, it's far too easy for dedicated fans like me to spot or even think I've spotted a plot hole. It's immediate with the introduction of brand new characters like Nikki Baxter, Mrs Baxter and Cosmo. Where did they all go for seasons 3, 4 and 5?! That's not to say the series is bad. It's definitely not a disaster. There are still things to enjoy. A mid-season twist ups the stakes towards an action-packed finale. Even though it feels like it's retreading old ground. The emotional beats we do experience feel like lessons already learned in past and future seasons of the main show.
Watch Stranger Things Tales From 85 on Netflix for free. This article contains affiliate links, we will receive a commission on any sales we generate from it. Learn more. From £15. Sky. Get the deal here. Product Description: Sky is giving away a free Netflix subscription with its new Sky Stream TV bundles, including the £15 Essential TV plan. This lets members watch live and on-demand TV content without a satellite dish or aerial and includes hit shows. This includes the brand new Stranger Things spin-off Tales From 85, the new animated series which sees Eleven and the others on a brand new adventure with new foes and allies.
There's Dustin lamenting that they have to go back to their normal lives after their big Upside Down adventure and it's odd when we all know there are three more seasons in store for the group. Let's not even get started on his apparent love interest Rosaria when he should be focused on meeting Suzie in mere months. Thankfully the animation genuinely looks stunning in places and Netflix hasn't just handed it off to the company that has replicated the same art style for at least three of its animated series. But I still immediately rewatched Stranger Things' original season 2 finale to see how it lines up and it's not great. Hopper was told to keep Eleven in hiding for a year, so why is he not bothered she travels to the school every morning while he works all day and night? He's not even investigating the increasing number of missing teens or monster attacks on his community, so what is he doing? Apart from being kept off screen because he obviously isn't being voiced by David Harbour... There's a throwaway line about the kids needing to get a move on before 'anyone notices' what's going on... Really?
The creative minds at Netflix really should have convinced the Duffer brothers and their producing partners to study other spin-offs more. For instance, The Walking Dead. Even if you're a fan of that series but dropped off or didn't follow any of its several spin-offs, there's no denying their success. From Fear The Walking Dead to Dead City and The Ones Who Live, they all have something Tales From 85 does not: a more intriguing premise or setting. The first is a proper prequel set before the outbreak, while the other two concentrate on characters from the main series in brand new locations. Even the Daryl Dixon spin-off drops the titular character in France as we watch to see if he can survive long enough to make it home.
Stranger Things already has a prequel, but the majority of fans will never see it due to location and expensive theatre tickets. We couldn't have a television version of Henry Creel's story? What about other places in the world where gates to the Upside Down have been opened? What happened in Hawkins lab leading up to Eleven's arrival? What about following that group of super powered misfits we met in season 2? They were never mentioned again until Kali was found caged in Hawkins lab for the finale... Article continues below. There is reportedly at least one other live action Stranger Things spin-off in development. Hopefully, they pick a more interesting setting than Tales From 85, where there is no question about what is going to happen.
Stranger Things: Tales from 85 is streaming on Netflix.
