Don’t miss ’80s nostalgia fest ‘Stranger Things’

Last weekend, my wife and I did something I didn’t expect we’d be able to do again for at least another 17 years.

We binge-watched a TV show.

Granted, the odds were in our favor since our multimedia gorge-fest was on the just- released Netflix sci- fi thriller “Stranger Things,” which has only eight episodes, barely half as many as other in-house Netflix dramas such as “Orange Is the New Black” or “House of Cards.”

Making the time to watch even an episode of a show a night, much less several in a row, has become unprecedented in our house, thanks to our now 1-year- old gatekeeper of a son. If he’s awake, we’re playing with him; if he’s asleep, we’re usually feverishly downing food and then sprinting for bed ourselves to take advantage of the momentary peace and quiet.

But s omething about “Stranger Things” had our collective attention in an inescapable chokehold.

The show focuses on a group of four adolescent boys in suburban Indiana, circa fall of 1983. When the boys make for their respective homes after a late night Dungeons & Dragons session, one of them disappears, and a mysterious girl wearing nothing but a hospital gown and a terrified expression chances upon the remaining three friends. Naturally, there’s a mysterious, top- secret lab nearby that may or may not have been experimenting in some twisted, quasi-paranormal fringe science.

To anyone who remembers the ’80s, espec ia lly as a kid, the show is an absolute smorgasbord Casey Phillips of nostalgic references. It’s “Goonies” meets “E.T.” meets “Poltergeist” meets “Pretty in Pink.” The look and sound are just spoton throughout, from Ford Pintos and Toto’s “Africa” to little touches like the title-scene typeface and the use of insanely dangerously strands of colored Christmas light bulbs.

Best of all, these references aren’t used heavy-handedly. They’re less elbow-bruising nudges than knowing tips of the hat — more “Freaks and Geeks,” less “That ’70s Show.” They set the scene and then get out of the way of the twisty, gripping tale.

In short, go watch “Stranger Things.” If it’s good enough to keep my wife and me from claiming an hour or two of platinum-rare shut-eye, you can rest assured it’s worth your time investment.

And if you’ve still not managed to slake that nostalgia thirst when the credits roll, Revelry Room is hosting cover band Fly By Radio on Friday. They play pretty much everything from the ’50s to the 2010s, so they’ll probably not balk at a request for a little Toto or Phil Collins. The show starts at 9 p.m. Cover is $12.