Chapter One: The Vanishing of Will Byers
- Episode aired Jul 15, 2016
- TV-14
- 47m
IMDb RATING
8.5/10
27K
YOUR RATING
American scientists, working without oversight in an obscure laboratory in a backwater town, have managed to bring about the total destruction of mankind.American scientists, working without oversight in an obscure laboratory in a backwater town, have managed to bring about the total destruction of mankind.American scientists, working without oversight in an obscure laboratory in a backwater town, have managed to bring about the total destruction of mankind.
Ross Partridge
- Lonnie Byers
- (voice)
John Reynolds
- Officer Callahan
- (as John Paul Reynolds)
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaAlong with the Mirkwood reference to Lord of the Rings/the Hobbit, there is a second reference to the J.R.R. Tolkien novels. When Joyce (Winona Ryder) has a flashback to talking to Will (Noah Schnapp) in his Castle Byers hideout, she has to give him the password first. The password is Radagast, the name of one of the Wizards from Tolkien's novels.
- GoofsThe flag seen on numerous flag poles underneath the US flag is the 2003 Georgia state flag. In 1983, the Georgia state flag still contained the Confederate battle flag.
- Quotes
Jim Hopper: Joyce, this is Hawkins, okay? You wanna know the worst thing that's ever happened here in the four years I've been working here? Do you wanna know the worst thing? It was when an owl attacked Eleanor Gillespie's head because it thought that her hair was a nest.
- ConnectionsFeatured in The 69th Primetime Emmy Awards (2017)
Featured review
An intriguing and solid start to the show
My older sister saw the show during the summer of 2016 and she convinced me to watch it because it reminds me of the classic 80s movies and TV shows that I watched when I was growing up. So, I checked it out and to my surprise, it turned out to be very intriguing. I'll review the episodes of the first season starting with Chapter One: The Vanishing of Will Byers.
The episode takes place in Indiana in the year 1983 where four kids named Mike, Dustin, Lucas, and Will are playing Dungeons and Dragons. Later, after they finished the game, Will encounters a creature that escaped from the U.S. Department of Energy and after running towards his home, he mysteriously vanishes. The next day, as the adults of Indiana try to find him, a young girl in a hospital gown steals food from a local diner and Benny, the owner of the diner, finds out that her name is Eleven. Suddenly, a bunch of armed men find her before she quickly escapes. Later, while Will's mother Joyce Byers hears his voice on a phone call, Mike Dustin and Lucas try to find Will only to find Eleven.
This pilot episode to the show is with no doubt a intriguing and solid start. Not only is the writing strong, but the characters are well introduced. Will Byers and his friendship with Mike, Dustin, and Lucas is very unique it reminds me of The Goonies, a movie that also has a strong friendship between Mike, Mouth, Chunk and Data. Needless to say, that's a great way to pay homage to the 1980s media. Also, the opening and closing sequences are really great from the disappearance of Will Byers to the his friends' encounter with Eleven with competent directing and beautiful atmosphere. The music score represents the 1980s synthesizers it respects the year and decade the episode takes place and compliments it really well.
The acting is also great. The adult actors David Harbour and Winona Ryder (who starred as Lydia Deetz in Beetlejuice (1988)) did respectable jobs as Chief Hopper and Joyce Byers, the young adult actors Charlie Heaton, Natalia Dyer and Joe Keery also did respectable jobs as Steve Harrington, the bully, Nancy Wheeler, the older sister of Mike, and Jonathan Byers, the older bother of Will, and the kid actors who played Will, Mike, Dustin and Lucas, including Finn Wolfhard, Gaten Matarazzo, Caleb Mclaughlin, and Noah Schnapp filled their respective roles perfectly as did Millie Bobby Brown as Eleven (El), a mysterious young girl with telekinetic powers.
Overall, Chapter One: The Vanishing of Will Byers is not only a solid start to the show, but a great reminder of presenting a story that takes place in the 1980s with horror and science fiction which is blended seamlessly well. It leaves you wanting more and there are a lot of other things to come in the first season. This deserves a thumbs up from me. :)
The episode takes place in Indiana in the year 1983 where four kids named Mike, Dustin, Lucas, and Will are playing Dungeons and Dragons. Later, after they finished the game, Will encounters a creature that escaped from the U.S. Department of Energy and after running towards his home, he mysteriously vanishes. The next day, as the adults of Indiana try to find him, a young girl in a hospital gown steals food from a local diner and Benny, the owner of the diner, finds out that her name is Eleven. Suddenly, a bunch of armed men find her before she quickly escapes. Later, while Will's mother Joyce Byers hears his voice on a phone call, Mike Dustin and Lucas try to find Will only to find Eleven.
This pilot episode to the show is with no doubt a intriguing and solid start. Not only is the writing strong, but the characters are well introduced. Will Byers and his friendship with Mike, Dustin, and Lucas is very unique it reminds me of The Goonies, a movie that also has a strong friendship between Mike, Mouth, Chunk and Data. Needless to say, that's a great way to pay homage to the 1980s media. Also, the opening and closing sequences are really great from the disappearance of Will Byers to the his friends' encounter with Eleven with competent directing and beautiful atmosphere. The music score represents the 1980s synthesizers it respects the year and decade the episode takes place and compliments it really well.
The acting is also great. The adult actors David Harbour and Winona Ryder (who starred as Lydia Deetz in Beetlejuice (1988)) did respectable jobs as Chief Hopper and Joyce Byers, the young adult actors Charlie Heaton, Natalia Dyer and Joe Keery also did respectable jobs as Steve Harrington, the bully, Nancy Wheeler, the older sister of Mike, and Jonathan Byers, the older bother of Will, and the kid actors who played Will, Mike, Dustin and Lucas, including Finn Wolfhard, Gaten Matarazzo, Caleb Mclaughlin, and Noah Schnapp filled their respective roles perfectly as did Millie Bobby Brown as Eleven (El), a mysterious young girl with telekinetic powers.
Overall, Chapter One: The Vanishing of Will Byers is not only a solid start to the show, but a great reminder of presenting a story that takes place in the 1980s with horror and science fiction which is blended seamlessly well. It leaves you wanting more and there are a lot of other things to come in the first season. This deserves a thumbs up from me. :)
helpful•330
- gavin-thelordofthefu-48-460297
- Feb 25, 2018
Details
- Runtime47 minutes
- Color
- Sound mix
Contribute to this page
Suggest an edit or add missing content
Top Gap
What is the French language plot outline for Chapter One: The Vanishing of Will Byers (2016)?
Answer