That’s actually one of the scenes where I thought I heard it. Nice to know somebody is actually reading what I post!

That’s a good observation. I suppose the colorful visuals are like Back To The Future And the even more kid-like elements are more The Explorers than Stand By Me, both those two films from ‘85.

But to me that comes off as even more gimmicky. The tone of the series and story is adjusted to accommodate pop culture references and nostalgia nods instead of vice versus. It’s feeling more like the Goldbergs now.

I can understand characters making pop culture references. Although that wasn’t really common in films until Tarantino, in real life people do use them. But actually playing Material Girl when Eleven and Max go shopping is s little too on the nose. And I remember the Ghostbusters references and although I’m a fan I thought it was s little too much.,At the time I was questioning whether a kid like Will, who had gone through a terrifying supernatural experience, would still be a fan of stuff like that. It also takes me out the story when you have a fictional supernatural show set in the 80s and simultaneously they’re explicitly referencing a fictional supernatural movie from the 80s.

Then you have even more blatant product placement that the show creators actively sought out, which again, takes me out the story. The Coke can in S1 was pretty noticeable considering the dire scene it was in, but 3 seasons later the brand is pretty annoying.

So many cereals I remember as a kid.

Just finished late last night so was tired and not really thinking well, but yeah has to be.

All that being said, I really enjoyed this season a lot. I don’t get all the product placement complaints. I think it would be even more distracting if everything was just generic made up shit.
Season 2 felt like they watched Aliens over and over. This one felt like they watched

I love this show. Minus that 008/011 episode in season two, every episode is good/great.

It was hard to avoid Pepsi or Coke back then, so it would be unrealistic if you didn't see either brand at some point. However, it's just as unrealistic that you see "Coke" everywhere but not Pepsi or any other non-Coca-Cola branded soft drink in the world of Stranger Things. Even when Eleven and Max play spin the bottle they have to make sure the "Coke" logo is visible.
The below scene was great from S1 but wow, that product placement is blatant (spoilered for size):



What bothers me about the "inspiration" for the last two seasons is that the material they're drawing from is much better. If you're going to borrow from something, do it in a way that improves upon it.
The Giger-designed xenomorphs were far more visually interesting and intimidating than the "demodogs" in S2. If anything, I'd rather have watched The Thing and Invasion of the Body Snatchers over this.

its one of Netflixes biggest shows and has massive merchandising deals. It’s not ending anytime soon (and if it does, I expect spinoffs or whatever)

Well it’s all things ABC/ESPN/DISNEY/PIXAR/MARVEL/STAR WARS, and some more. Not everyone will ditch Netflix for Disney +, but they will put a dent in its subscriptions.

I really enjoyed the hell out of Season 3. Still a lot of fun.