Episode 29 - Reflecting on The Phantom Menace

Me And My Padawan

Recorded on Saturday and Sunday, February 23 and 24, 2019

Seeing as its been 20 years since the Phantom Menace was finally unleashed upon the world, and it's a scant 11 months until Episode IX brings the Skywalker Saga to a close, the MMP crew decided now would be the perfect time to begin our saga re-watch. In this episode, we of course touch on the latest Celebration announcements, and then launch into a discussion of all things The Phantom Menace, from the hype leading up to its release, to the reactions of a first-time viewer, to trivial matters that become more obvious and hard to ignore after 20+ viewings, to the box-office and personal legacy of the movie.

NOTE TO THOSE LISTENING WITH THEIR YOUNGLINGS - In discussing the legacy of the movie, we do get into how the negative reaction of some corners of fandom affected the lives of Jake Lloyd and Ahmed Best. We do touch on the fact that Best revealed last year how he actually contemplated suicide during some of the darkest days of those unwarranted attacks. I cut that part from the main part of the show, but felt that the conversation should still be included in the episode, and so I attached it to the END of the episode, following our closing song. If you feel that this is not a subject that your younglings are ready to discuss, then you should stop the episode after we say our usual good-byes.

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- Angelic Empyress

- Bart Smets

EPISODE OUTLINE

- More guests and a panel have been announced for Star Wars Celebration in Chicago! We run down the list and continue to fret over our plans for the weekend.

- Ryan wishes that the phrase "building anticipation" entered his mind in lieu of the word "hype" as he shares with Braden some of the lead-up to The Phantom Menace.

- Since both Ryan and Braden have the disadvantage of having seen the movie multiple times, Dillon is recruited for a segment about first reactions to the movie.

- Ryan and Braden recap the general story beats, and discuss some of the crazier things that they've noticed upon their many repeat viewings, such as sitting holograms and mean Jedi.

- The box-office legacy of The Phantom Menace is disscussed, as is the effect that vitriolic fans can have on performers. Jake Lloyd (Anakin) and Ahmed Best (Jar Jar) bore the brunt of these reactions, and we discuss how it affected them then, and continues to affect them to this day.

UPCOMING EPISODES

Week of 03/11 - The Attack of The Clones

Week of 03/25 - TBD

DISCLAIMER

As if you couldn't tell, we are not endorsed or affiliated with Disney, LucasFilm, Lego, Marvel, DC, Dr Who, Nintendo, or any other franchise or corporation that we may have discussed in this episode. Someday, maybe. That's the dream! All sound effects used in this episode are the exclusive property of their respective copyright holders.