Category: Musings

Netflix series hit Stranger Things is getting its fifth and final season later this year and my feelings on the matter are… meh.

I’ve never watched the series. I know some details, I’ve seen some clips, but never actually sat down to watch the show even during those periods when I had an active Netflix subscription. Whether it was its much simpler early seasons or the more fantastic later ones, it was a show that simply didn’t appeal to me in any way, shape, or form. As such, I never really followed the show. It’s just something that people reference every so often. And so when I hear that Stranger Things is coming to an end, my only reaction is “Is that thing still on?”

Here’s the thing about Stranger Things; yeah, it’s part of a genre of sci-fi horror that doesn’t necessarily appeal to me personally and that’s not a knock on it. It takes quite a bit for something to appeal to me personally enough to sit down and consume it unless it’s a legacy property (and even that’s a tall order), but it’s also a thing set during a time that I grew up in. It has references to things – movies, games, books, whatever – that I will recognize and will go “Why am I watching this thing referencing other things I could be watching right now?”

Anyway, hopefully the fans who stuck with the show will get a final chapter worthy of their fandom and the show’s run… or maybe they’ll make another spin-0ff or something to keep the gravy train going and then I can go “Is THAT thing still on?”

Either way, I’ll be watching actual 80s stuff from the 80s… on media from the 9os and 2000s… oh wait.

I almost regret missing the date because it passed during my trouble recovery and mental anguish, but 2025 marks ten years since late night legend David Letterman aired his final Late Show, bringing a historic career spanning three decades plus to a close.

I missed out on the early Late Night stuff and first watching Letterman about a couple years into his CBS run, though thanks to the wonders of Youtube clips both official and not, I’ve been able to catch up on some of this stuff. But for the longest time, I had always considered myself a Letterman guy. Besides the fact that we both share the same first name, the guy had a brand of humor and gruff personality that appealed to me. He would react to these sorts of ridiculous things in a way that had him question his life choices. Even when he had toned down his rougher patches, he still had an edge to him that hit that nice balance. Leno had jokes and a chin. Conan had zaniness. Dave had a sardonic wit.

Most of all, there was a gravity to Dave in that his words had some weight and meaning to them. Someone who had an air of ambivalence and outright disdain for his surroundings, often reacting in a sarcastic manner, would eventually being the longest tenured performer of his field. His desire to entertain for the masses rather than play cheerleader to whatever political affiliations he had meant that when he talked about serious issues, you were more inclined to take him seriously… before he eventually dropped a wry comment or observation that brought the whole house down.

Just as there will never be another Johnny Carson, there will never be another David Letterman… though you can probably have a bunch of Jay Lenos, Jimmy Fallons, Jimmy Kimmels, Lonnie Donegans, Craig Killborns, Seth Meyers. Those guys are practically interchangeable.

Dave is not.

I miss Dave.

Later.