The Unusual. Stranger Things.

Sorry.

Now, unless you've been living under a rock (which, given the cost of housing, some of you may well be—a decent rock would probably count as a fixer-upper these days) you've no doubt noticed that in recent years popular media—film, TV, music, what have you—has developed something of an affinity for all things 80s.

Well, maybe not all things. We're not going to see a reboot of The Cosby Show anytime soon. And I don't think shoulder pads have yet put in a reappearance, although I have to admit my awareness of the fashion world is such that it's entirely possible they have and I missed it.

At any rate, the 80s are in. Which, speaking as someone who was actually alive at the time, is a good thing. Dubious hairstyles and internet-less status notwithstanding, the 80s had many things going for them. Witness INXS, Back to the Future and Blackadder, for starters. Who can blame idea-bereft modern media moguls for wanting to mine this all too abundant resource?

Which brings us to Stranger Things, Netflix's retro sci-fi/horror series, which—with its Dungeons & Dragons, Winona Ryders, Ghostbusters references and synth-heavy score—is of course set right smack in the very beating heart of the 1980s. And in particular it brings us to one of its key characters, Steve Harrington, AKA Dad Steve.

And even more particularly, it brings us to his hair, which is our do-of-the-day. Our mullet-du-jour, if you like. In an 80s setting curiously bereft of one of the decade's defining stylistic cues, Steve's mullet stands out like a beacon, signalling to all and sundry that, um...well, in season one it basically signals that he's a douche. For the very valid reason that he is.

The mullet was good for this. It wasn't good for a lot, but for casting doubt on the moral worth (or otherwise) of 80s teen scuzzbags, it could be remarkably effective. Take Hardy from Some Kind of Wonderful or David from The Lost Boys. Take them, please. And if you haven't seen those movies, go and watch them, right now. I can wait.

Now, douche-baggery notwithstanding, Steve's mullet is a curious case. Because, you see, it's a self-aware mullet. No, not a sentient mullet, thank goodness. Pay attention, people. It's a self-aware mullet. Self-aware in that it's a mullet for the sake of being a mullet. It was grown, styled, sprayed, etc for the sole purpose of representing mullet-kind. It stands for something. It's kind of an ambassador mullet, if you will, representing its time and place in history. I mean, Steve even tells us which kind of hairspray to use.

You've got to respect that. So, even if it wasn't for **spoiler warning** Steve and his mullet's redemptive arc across the later seasons, they'd be looking at a solid score on the Mullet-O-Meter™. Chuck in the baseball bat with nails in it and the fact this is a (kind of) 21st century mullet, and I'm gonna give 'em an 8.