List Of 80s References In 'The Lost Sister' - Stranger Things 2, Episode 7

Eleven leaving her friends and going on a quest which involves some heavy duty training as she moves the truck, a bit like Luke having to raise an X-Wing out of Dagobah's swamp wouldn't you say? This whole episode has more than a touch of Empire Strikes Back about it, the Star Wars sequel from 1980.

The shots following El arriving in the city after being on the coach brings to mind Madison, the mermaid played by Daryl Hannah, as she first explores New York city, wide eyed and full of wonder. Splash was released in 1984, directed by Ron Howard and stars Tom Hanks as a man who falls in love with a fish. Come on, we've all done it. Seriously, a fantastic comedy film with a heart, and a couple of shots of Daryl Hannah's bum if you're into that kind of thing. Okay, enough of that nonsense, back to Stranger Things 2...

A gang of misfits, chased by the police and living in the underbelly of the city? Kali's gang sounds like they'd fit right in with The Warriors, the titular gang from Walter Hill's 1979 action thriller. Despite initial negative reviews, the film has gone on to become a cult success.

Bit tenuous this one but we thought the factory Kali's gang hang out in was a bit of a dead ringer for The Joker's base in the Axis Chemical Works in Tim Burton's Batman film from 1989. The lighting, the smoke, the boiler or whatever the machines are in there.

There's a bit of an X-Men vibe running through this episode. El being mentored in using her powers, how being different shouldn't be as reason for hiding yourself, even mirroring the scene where Xavier could make himself and Magneto invisible to enemy soldiers when operating behind the Iron Curtain as Kali cloaks her gang when the police raid their base.

When El and Kali track down Ray, El ends up using her power by holding out her arm and squeezing whilst Ray struggles for breath. We've seen that trick a few times from a particular Sith Lord.

The TV show Ray is watching when Kali and her crew invade his home. This show ran in the US from 1984-88 and was about a young girl adopted by a grouchy old man, sounding familiar at all? It did appear in the UK, usually at some god-forsaken time in the morning.

One of Kali's gang is called 'Funshine'. This was also the name of one of the original Care Bears, the multi-coloured bear characters. If you haven't heard of these guys then lucky you. Originally launched as a design for greetings cards in 1981, then a range of toys, then cartoon series, then three feature films, then pretty much anything you could stick a picture of a bear on. Impossible to avoid in the first half of the 80s, see also Cabbage Patch Kids.