It doesn't really matter where their source material is from, it is what they have done with it that counts. The Duffers are geniuses.
Have a look at this: https://youtu.be/7N1rirHF6qk

Anything you like will be a rip off. Just needs to be done well.

You consider this "quality"? ??

who cares it was a quality money spent series, i wished to se the next instalment, i am hoping it would be in line of the the THING or PET CEMETERY but quality production like this one, there are thousands of 80s movies deserves to be made in to series for more character development and depth in to mystery/story and this is the production to do it. i doubt if you can find 10 movies in last year with original script so stop complaining support quality productions there are not many this day in age.

An amalgamation of different sources of inspiration certainly. But every work of fiction that's created is in some way inspired by what went before, so it's possible to argue that nothing completely new or original can be created.I'm not sure I believe that,but I think I enjoy this show precisely because of what it does. I like how those different aspects,that may in many cases be rip-offs are put together into something terrifying and emotionally charged. The storyline is good, the acting is thoroughly convincing,and I'm completely invested in what happens to the main characters.
You may call it derivative all you want,but the craftsmanship behind it, and the way everything comes together is pure genius in my opinion.
My favorite show of 2016, by far.
Maybe poker's just not your game Ike. I know, let's have a spelling contest.
(Tombstone)

The improbable reactions by characters bother me. When Hopper pulls out the body's stuffing he doesn't tell anyone else, to have a witness, he just bolts. And the body goes from morgue to coffin next day, without mom (nor police) demanding an autopsy before burial?
So, when mystery agents bust into your house demanding you "trust me, and tell me where your kids are"sure, come on in and take as much stuff as you like!
After the floaty tank (set up right out in the open) they find out about the fort well of course the adults should go there, and leave the kids behind at the school.
And when wearing a "hazmat" suit, you might as well take an automatic weapon too.

I agree but I did like it. There were several things I kept saying like, "Whybwould she crawl through?" "Why would Hopper touch the gross breathing wall?" "Why wouldn't someone bring a camera or a recorder?"

LOL say that to Shakespeare.

I avoid this show for this very reason. In fact, this is an epidemic in many shows, movies as of late. Let's just ripoff ideas from classic films and call it "cool",we are so cleverrr! I find it irritating, unoriginal, tacky and lame. I agree , be original! Something that is sorely lacking today.

The homages were intentional. I feel like the fact that there were so similar to other movies and shows made it that much creepier.. Like you knew you'd seen it before and it gave a weird deja vu vibe.

I agree. Speaking of homages/rip-offs the theme song is a blatant rip-off of Cliff Martinez's 'Wanna Fight' track from the Only God Forgives soundtrack.

this began to be more like a patchwork of scenes from movies that many of us liked
That was intentional.
"Need" is just a fiction. As is "should", "must", "value" and "importance".

they paid very close attention to detail in this one and the directors of modern day movies and television shows would learn a great deal from these guys.

Damn. Tell us how you really feel.

To be fair, having an extra 6 hours to do it helps flesh out pretty much anything. What I found great was how they didnt over do it at all. They kept things interesting and it never got "old" feeling. Even if it feels like you have seen it, it still was engaging. And still is, after a half dozen views, maybe mre.

Fair criticisms, but if you like John Carpenter, The Clash, HP Lovecraft, and early 80s Spielberg then this show is a wet dream of great influences. What's novel is that Stranger Things managed to work with these obvious influences and create something engaging and of high quality. They've shown the vastly inferior JJ Abrams how to do this right, and, in my opinion, their characters of suburbia are much less contrived and more realistic than what the ever cloying Spielberg belched out in ET, Close Encounters, Poltergeist, etc.

Nothing is original. This series is just aware of it more.

Home Alone? I guess you are not in to 80's horrorThe traps idea, obviously taken from movies like
Nightmare on Elm street, Predator.

I agree, and I struggled to see why so many people I know recommended it so highly. I meanL it was good; the acting was good, it was enjoyable. But it was the complete opposite of "groundbreaking", every other scene felt like an homage or rip-off of something or other. Even "Home Alone" came up with the traps they set for the creature
I thought it got a bit tiresome, but some good scenes and some good acting saved it.
Although I'd watch a second series, I'm hardly on the edge of my seat.

No it doesn't

I agree. They were hoping that either he would convince himself he was just a drunk or at least others would ignore his story because of it.

Also after Hopper is caught in the facility they just take him home!?! Albeit they bug his house, surely they wouldn't risk him leaving with the knowledge of what he saw?
In a few days' time this little hick town has seen one missing child, two if they already know about Barb, a suicide, and probably one or two of those six locals who ended up disappearing in the woods. And they can't be sure who else Hopper may have shared the information with that led him to break into their lab. They also
know
the creature's death toll is only going to go up every day it isn't successfully killed or contained. A large cluster of mysterious deaths that includes the Chief of Police would draw outside attention and outside investigators to their quiet little town.
I think they may have been hoping the booze and drugs on the table might convince Hopper he imagined the whole thing. Not all that likely, but worth a try. Right? Letting him go and keeping him under surveillance might reveal what turned him on to Hawkins Lab. And given his talent for detective work, maybe they were hoping he'd find their lost little girl for them. Assassination is a precision tool, a scalpel rather than a baseball bat. You take out one or two people to keep things from getting out of hand. Once you're past that stage, and your target list is multiplying rapidly, you have to switch tactics. There are other approaches to making things happen your way.

Most ridiculous thing ever. He either dies or gets his memory completely wiped

Dude, I'm not saying they need to explain everything, but you need to recognize at least my main point: a lot of character's actions don't make sense and are usually forced for the plot's convenience.