美国国家公共电台 NPR In Season Two, 'Stranger Things' Offers More Scares And The Same Quirky Quartet Of Nerds

 

KELLY MCEVERS, HOST:

Fans of the Netflix TV show "Stranger Things" have waited more than a year for new episodes. The series was one of summer 2016's surprise hits. NPR TV critic Eric Deggans says the show's second season which debuts¹ today sneaks² up on viewers just like the last time.

ERIC DEGGANS, BYLINE³: You'd think after defeating a vicious monster from an alternate dimension called the Upside Down, the middle school kids at the heart of Netflix's "Stranger Things" would be feeling pretty good. But as the second season opens, it's October 1984, about a year since the events of the first season. And the quirky quartet of nerds from fictional⁴ Hawkins, Ind., can't agree on anything, not even which Ghostbuster they're dressed as for Halloween.

Lucas, the group's only black kid, says he's dressed as Bill Murray's character, Peter Venkman. But Mike says Lucas should be Ernie Hudson's character, Winston.

(SOUNDBITE OF TV SHOW, "STRANGER THINGS")

FINN WOLFHARD: (As Mike) What's wrong with Winston?

CALEB MCLAUGHLIN: (As Lucas) What's wrong with Winston? He joined the team super late. He's not funny. And he's not even a scientist.

WOLFHARD: (As Mike) Yeah, but he's so cool.

MCLAUGHLIN: (As Lucas) If he's cool, then you be Winston.

WOLFHARD: (As Mike) I can't.

MCLAUGHLIN: (As Lucas) Why not?

WOLFHARD: (As Mike) Because...

MCLAUGHLIN: (As Lucas) Because you're not black?

WOLFHARD: (As Mike) I didn't say that.

MCLAUGHLIN: (As Lucas) You thought it.

DEGGANS: It's that kind of period-specific bickering⁵ that makes "Stranger Things" so much fun. Part sci-fi horror show and part coming-of-age story, it whips together a blend of '80s-style teen drama, Steven Spielberg's Americana and John Carpenter-influenced horror.

Last season, the boys teamed with a girl who had telekinetic powers named Eleven. She was raised in a facility called the Hawkins National Laboratory. She also helped rescue one of the boys, doe-eyed Will Byers, who'd been kidnapped by a monster from the Upside Down. As the new season begins, there's a problem. Will has begun having visions of a new monster from the Upside Down taking over our reality. And these visions can strike anytime, even when he's at an arcade⁶ with his buddies⁷.

(SOUNDBITE OF TV SHOW, "STRANGER THINGS")

NOAH SCHNAPP: (As Will) Hey, hey, guys, do you see the...

DEGGANS: Will's mother, Joyce, played by Winona Ryder with a little less hysteria than last season, takes her son to the laboratory. New people are running the place now, including a charming Dr. Owens played by Paul Reiser. Dr. Owens has his own theory about Will's visions.

(SOUNDBITE OF TV SHOW, "STRANGER THINGS")

PAUL REISER: (As Dr. Owens) It's called the anniversary effect. The anniversary of an event brings back traumatic memories, sort of opens up the neurological floodgates, so to speak.

WINONA RYDER: (As Joyce) Well, what do we do when that happens?

REISER: (As Dr. Owens) Well, from what we know about post-traumatic stress, just treat him normally.

RYDER: (As Joyce) What you're saying is it's going to get worse and worse, and we're just supposed to pretend like it's not happening.

REISER: (As Dr. Owens) It sounds counterintuitive. I know. But I assure you that is really the best thing you can do for him.

DEGGANS: Anybody who's seen a horror movie knows how this is going to play out. I just loved how Dr. Owens seemed like a subtle homage⁸ to one of Reiser's early movie roles as a charismatic corporate⁹ weasel in the 1986 movie "Aliens." The show's second season starts slowly. Fans eager to jump back into the action won't really see things pick up until the fifth episode. But when it picks up, it becomes seriously entertaining.

We will learn Eleven's origin story. We will see a new threat from the Upside Down. And we will meet new characters, including "Lord Of The Rings" costar Sean Astin as Joyce's goofy new beau, RadioShack clerk Bob. As Will gets worse, Bob makes the kind of suggestion that every audience member's probably also thinking. Why not just leave Hawkins?

(SOUNDBITE OF TV SHOW, "STRANGER THINGS")

SEAN ASTIN: (As Bob) My parents are selling their house in Maine. There's a RadioShack nearby. I'm sure they'd take me on.

RYDER: (As Joyce) It's hard to explain. It's - this is not a normal family.

DEGGANS: Which is why I love "Stranger Things" so much. Even when it's scaring us and jolting¹⁰ us, it stops to take a poke¹¹ at its own absurdity¹². I'm Eric Deggans.

(SOUNDBITE OF KYLE DIXON AND MICHAEL STEIN'S "WALKING THROUGH THE UPSIDE DOWN")

1 debuts   

演员首次演出( debut的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• He never really debuts the idea of taking money from his parents any longer. 他从此就再也没有认真起过向父母要钱的念头。
• This young soprano debuts next month at the metropolitan opera. 这位年轻的女高音歌唱家下个月将在纽约大都会歌剧院举行首演。

2 sneaks   

abbr.sneakers (tennis shoes) 胶底运动鞋（网球鞋）v.潜行( sneak的第三人称单数 )；偷偷溜走；（儿童向成人）打小报告；告状

参考例句：

• Typhoid fever sneaks in when sanitation fails. 环境卫生搞不好，伤寒就会乘虚而入。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Honest boys scorn sneaks and liars. 诚实的人看不起狡诈和撒谎的人。 来自辞典例句

3 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

4 fictional   

adj.小说的，虚构的

参考例句：

• The names of the shops are entirely fictional.那些商店的名字完全是虚构的。
• The two authors represent the opposite poles of fictional genius.这两位作者代表了天才小说家两个极端。

5 bickering   

v.争吵( bicker的现在分词 )；口角；（水等）作潺潺声；闪烁

参考例句：

• The children are always bickering about something or other. 孩子们有事没事总是在争吵。
• The two children were always bickering with each other over small matters. 这两个孩子总是为些小事斗嘴。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

6 arcade   

n.拱廊；(一侧或两侧有商店的)通道

参考例句：

• At this time of the morning,the arcade was almost empty.在早晨的这个时候，拱廊街上几乎空无一人。
• In our shopping arcade,you can find different kinds of souvenir.在我们的拱廊市场，你可以发现许多的纪念品。

7 buddies   

n.密友( buddy的名词复数 )；同伴；弟兄；（用于称呼男子，常带怒气）家伙v.（如密友、战友、伙伴、弟兄般）交往( buddy的第三人称单数 )；做朋友；亲近（…）；伴护艾滋病人

参考例句：

• We became great buddies. 我们成了非常好的朋友。 来自辞典例句
• The two of them have become great buddies. 他们俩成了要好的朋友。 来自辞典例句

8 homage   

n.尊敬，敬意，崇敬

参考例句：

• We pay homage to the genius of Shakespeare.我们对莎士比亚的天才表示敬仰。
• The soldiers swore to pay their homage to the Queen.士兵们宣誓效忠于女王陛下。

9 corporate   

adj.共同的，全体的；公司的，企业的

参考例句：

• This is our corporate responsibility.这是我们共同的责任。
• His corporate's life will be as short as a rabbit's tail.他的公司的寿命是兔子尾巴长不了。

10 jolting   

adj.令人震惊的

参考例句：

• 'she should be all right from the plane's jolting by now. “飞机震荡应该过了。
• This is perhaps the most jolting comment of all. 这恐怕是最令人震惊的评论。

11 poke   

n.刺，戳，袋；vt.拨开，刺，戳；vi.戳，刺，捅，搜索，伸出，行动散慢

参考例句：

• We never thought she would poke her nose into this.想不到她会插上一手。
• Don't poke fun at me.别拿我凑趣儿。

12 absurdity   

n.荒谬，愚蠢；谬论

参考例句：

• The proposal borders upon the absurdity.这提议近乎荒谬。
• The absurdity of the situation made everyone laugh.情况的荒谬可笑使每个人都笑了。