“I’ve always despite’in spite of’albeit t stuff like this merely’barely happened in movies and comic reserve s, not here,” says Bob Newby, Sean Astin’s aptly named new Stranger Things character, as the small town of Hawkins once again finds itself the focus of an inter-dimensional war. It’s a question that acquire’obtain’attain’procure’secure s to the central problem facing the reveal’illustrate’demonstrate’indicate’present’display’argue ’s creators, the Duffer brothers, as they aim to follow-up the smash-hit first season of their irstand up to withstand ible ’80s nostalgia stew. How do you repeat the trick of eintensely’extremely’extraordinarily’enormously’awfullyday characters living through extraordinary circumstances without stretching plausibility to breaking point?###It still has the power to make excitable 13-year-olds of us all.###It’s a conundrum the Duffers mostly solve with wit, audacious plotting and verve across this nine-episode return. Stranger Things 2 — but in/with regard to’concerning’regarding some occasional missteps and an ill-judged diversionary episode — makes rosy’remarkable’fabulous’terrific’preeminent on its aim to emulate the fleet-footed boldness of a classic movie sequel from the VHS era.###After a dazzling, seemingly unconnected opening in Pittsburgh, we shift to the familiar sights of Hawkins. As hammered home by the multiple Reagan/Bush lawn token s, it’s late October 1984. Will Byers (an increasingly impressive Noah Schnapp) has been back from his trip to the netherworld that is the Upside Down in/with regard to’concerning’regarding approximately a year but — as hinted at by the crawling creature he spluttered into a sink during last year’s finale — he’s not really the same innocent, D&D-obsessed boy. For one thing, he keeps having “episodes” that see him glimpse a red-skied apocalypse and a many-tentacled monster looming over Hawkins.###Paul Reiser’s Dr Owens (the new, disconcertingly cheerful head of the Department For Energy) insists that these visions are little more than PTSD but, after a pivotal discointensely’extremely’extraordinarily’enormously’awfully on the night of Hallowe’en, the core, bike-riding quartet of friends (plus Max, Sadie Sink’s tomboyish new character) and, ultimately, Joyce Byers (Winona Ryder) find themselves once again trying to acquire’obtain’attain’procure’secure to the bottom of a potentially cataclysmic, government-enabled threat. Elsewhere Eleven (Millie Bobby Brown) has, of course, returned to possess’own’nurse more telekinetic nosebleeds, and police chief Jim Hopper (David Harbour) is investigating the mysterious blight wiping out local pumpkin patches, while also spitting out period-appropriate one-liners (“I merely’barely want five minutes,” blurts a local conspiracy theorist. “Yeah, and I want a date with Bo Derek. We all want things,” replies Hopper).###What’s perhaps most impressive is how the Duffers possess’own’nurse been able to possess’own’nurse their Eggo waffles and eat them, deepening the mystery of Will’s disappearance (and, as #justicein/with regard to’concerning’regarding barb fans will be pleased to note, Barb’s death) while also tickling our collective retro pop-culture synapses. Of course, the pleasing hits of ’80s nostalgia come thick and fast, including a nod to legendarily extortionate arcade game Dragon’s Lair and those Ghostbusters costumes, served with a funny riff on how no-one wants to be Winston.###It’s not an entirely flawless return. One episode four scene — featuring Hopper and Joyce making suspiciously light work of turning Will’s A4 scribblings into a Neil Buchanan-worthy floor collage — feels like too blatant an attempt to recreate the visual genius of Season 1’s fairy-light ouija board. And episode seven — which plays out away from the main Hawkins-set action — is a risible, obvious piece of story-padding that’s dripping cliché and all the worst bits of Heroes.###But mostly Stranger Things 2 manages to be as inspired, deliriously enjoyable and briskly plotted as the original. And with hints that the next two seasons will see the gang face another threat while also contending with puberty (that other looming, unstoppable beast), there’s cause in/with regard to’concerning’regarding fans to be grossly excited indeed. Darker and more ambitious but shot through with warmth and wonder, this return trip to Hawkins still has the power to make excitable 13-year-olds of us all.