A long time ago…

In my recent Internet wanderings, I have noticed a few articles pointing out that this summer is the 10th anniversary of The Phantom Menace being released. Just now, I stumbled across an article on Popcorn Monster by Dan Geer, listing his Top 10 Memories of Anticipating The Phantom Menace. Go check it out — I'll wait.

While I absolutely love the memories I have of waiting for the release of new Star Wars movies, particularly Revenge of the Sith and The Empire Strikes Back, I don't think anything can possibly match the buildup and excitement I felt at the prospect of seeing Phantom the first time. Think of it — the first new Star Wars movie in nearly two decades! Many people, me included, had given up on the idea of another movie. Then, one day, the announcement came, and the waiting began.

The hype around the new film was everywhere — you couldn't get away from it if you wanted to, which I definitely did not. In many ways, the anticipation leading up to the movie was more enjoyable than the film itself. I don't mean to detract from the film: unlike a lot of people, I love Phantom, warts and all. It has some great characters, despite the fact that George keeps them on a leash through most of the film. Qui Gon is one of the best Jedi knights I've ever seen, and who doesn't love seeing Obi-Wan as a student instead of a teacher? Plus, it has two undeniably great Star Wars action sequences: the pod race, and one of the best lightsaber duels ever put to film. What's not to like?

But what I remember most of that long-ago summer is not seeing the film, but the build-up surrounding it. To that end, then, I have decided to post my own list of favorite memories, both before and after the release of Phantom, in no particular order.

• The games — During the long wait for Phantom to be released on VHS tape, one of the best ways to feed your Star Wars addition if you had a PC was with several Phantom titles that were released immediately after the film. Without question, my favorite was Star Wars Racer, otherwise known as "podracer." It did a fabulous job of putting you into the cockpit of each of the podracers shown in the film, plus a few new ones. Set at locations across the universe, the courses gave entertaining glimpses into their respective worlds, and it was often fun to play just to look at the scenery of the course you were running. I miss it to this day. Another staple was the Insider's Guide to The Phantom Menace. In the days before the Internet (and believe me, this was), resources like The Official Site were limited in the content they could deliver over dialup lines. The guide gave us enough SW content to keep busy for hours, including a host of database-style entries about the film and enough Quicktime clips of the film to hold us until the movie came out on video. All of this for only $25 — worth every penny in my book.
• The trailers — One of my favorite memories is waiting anxiously in front of my VCR, hand poised on the "record + play" buttons, for the end of the TV show Entertainment Tonight, and its promised debut of the trailer for the new Star Wars film. From the first moment that the Gungan Army came out of the mist to the backdrop of "Obi-Wan's theme," I was hooked. An even fonder memory is dubbing a copy onto a spare tape, labeling it "Watch Me," and putting it in the hands of my father moments before he left for the Virginia home of my nephews. They had renewed my own interest in the Saga years before; this was my chance to repay them in kind. The only thing that would have made it better was if I had been able to sneak myself to Virginia in the bargain so I could watch it with them. Later, I spent nearly five hours downloading a copy over my dialup line, then watched it over and over again who knows how many times. I could write a whole post on how much mileage I got out this trailer: My excitement at hearing the voice of Ewan McGregor's Obi-Wan for the first time; the way I enjoyed seeing the moment Anakin and Obi-Wan met; hearing Yoda's voice again. I still get excited about the film when I watch the trailer to this day.
• The magazines — A matter of hours after my daughter had been born in 1997, I was in line at Wal Mart. After the birth, I had gone home to nap and get roses for my two girls, and was getting some last minute sundries before rejoining my newly-minted family. And there, in the "impulse buy" rack, was an Entertainment Weekly dated with my daughter's birthday, adorned with Ewan McGregor's face, and labeled "Inside the new Star Wars." Naturally, I snatched it up on site, and I was able to read it at my leisure during the next two days at the hospital. I have always gotten a kick out of the fact that God gave me a new daughter and the knowledge of a new Star Wars trilogy on the same day. I still have the magazine hidden away in a closet with some other SW memorabilia, where it remains a priceless relic. Near it is an "Official Guide" to the film, which I bought in Virginia after seeing the film. What makes that special is that I wore the cover off of a similar "official guide" that I bought for the original Star Wars back in the day. In retrospect, I didn't get nearly as much out of the newer version, and it was quickly tucked away in a safe place. But it still gave me a nice sense of continuity with the original film.
• The toys — Star Wars toys were everywhere, and I couldn't go into a Wal Mart before the release of the film without getting massive spoilers. I literally would avert my eyes anytime I saw a display, and consequently, nearly walked into more than a few people in the weeks leading up to the film. It got so bad that I would go to the toy aisle and just stand there, not looking at anything, but wanting to be next to the wall of action figures because it brought me that much closer to the film. One of my favorite memories after seeing the film was getting to go into a Wal Mart in Warrenton, VA, and finally just being able to look at what had been released. Unfortunately, I was too vapor-locked at my new freedom to actually buy anything, but I was able to make up for that later in spades.
• The camaraderie — To no one's surprise but mine, I determined to make the trip to Virginia to see the film for the first time with my fellow Jedi — who at that time were simply my fellow fans, the foundation of our own Jedi order still being some days away. I have seldom been more excited than when I made my way up the Shenandoah mountains at 5:45 a.m. that day in May, 1999. My wife and daughter were asleep, the Empire soundtrack was on the tape player, and I was beside myself with the knowledge that the next day, I would finally be seeing a new Star Wars film. To my surprise and great delight, my nephews and I subsequently made an impromptu decision to see the film that very afternoon. The cashier at the theater took one look at the four of us, bedecked in brand new Star Wars t-shirts (a gift from my sister), and said "Let me guess — you guys are here for The Mummy, right?" Once the film started, I remember my nephew, the Veiltender, watching me as my eyebrows raised at the first mention of "my young padawan" — the first time I'd ever heard that new tidbit about the Jedi. The film unrolled slowly, a contrast to the urgency and excitement I'd felt before. As the credits began rolling, they asked me what I'd thought of it. "I didn't want it to end," I said. Ten years later, I still don't.