The U.S. Department of Energy has come to its own defense following a new Netflix series “Stranger Things” that portrays department scientists as evil.
In a press release Friday on the agency’s official website, Energy Department spokesman Paul Lester debunked the myths presented in “Stranger Things,” a sci-fi horror series by the Duffer brothers starring Winona Ryder in 1980s Indiana.
“[W]hile I really enjoyed ’Stranger Things’ as a mashup of Goonies and X-Files with some amazing 80s music mixed in, the show’s portrayal of the Energy Department was a little less than accurate,” Mr. Lester wrote.
His first issue was that the Hawkins National Laboratory in the fictional television show didn’t actually exist. He also complained that the show inaccurately had department scientists exploring parallel universes, which isn’t possible.
“While the Energy Department doesn’t chart parallel universes, it does help power the exploration of new worlds. We’re talking outer space, not the bizarro cosmos in ’Stranger Things,’” Mr. Lester wrote.
And contrary to the show, the Energy Department doesn’t “mess with monsters,” Mr. Lester clarified.
“[B]ut the Energy Department is in the business of detecting invisible dangers,” he wrote. “Energy Department scientists throughout the country create new technologies that help prevent terrorists from getting their hands on nuclear materials.”
Mr. Lester concluded by saying real-life National Laboratory scientists “are among the brightest people in the world, working hard to solve the nation’s toughest energy problems. And not all of them are men!”
• Jessica Chasmar can be reached at jchasmar@washingtontimes.com.
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