Why Does Everyone Hate The Phantom Menace?

Posted by Chris on 08/28/18 at 12:30 PM Category: Special Report

Sad Anakin is right to be sad.

We started our run of Vintage Collection The Phantom Menace reviews on August the 14th. Since then Bantha Skull traffic is down 25%. I'm not making this up. As with most toy based sites, our galleries and reviews are our bread and butter. The VC77 Darth Sidious gallery is our most popular Episode I review, but is only ranks 10th in page views since the 14th. Our Walmart stories are getting triple the click throughs. That Darth Sidious review was a "hot" feature, but only generated a little more traffic than our passive content like the Unproduced Character Guide (M.I.A.F.).

Episode I wrecked the 3D releases, the Vintage Collection and now Bantha Skull. It’s a menace alright. Now this is hardly a scientific study and there are many mitigating factors such as the time of year. It's a popular vacation time in the United States which accounts for over 50% of our traffic. In fact, both of the proprietors of Bantha Skull have taken vacation over this stretch. But there's enough circumstantial data to suggest that The Phantom Menace rates a low Q-Score. Some of the engagement on the reviews has been so low that Disqus asked us if we turned off our targeting computer.

There are probably many factors behind this. Some argue that Episode I has largely become inconsequential to the story of Anakin Skywalker. A new viewer could jump straight to Attack of the Clones and not skip a beat. This may be true as LFL pivoted after the fan backlash to Episode I. I personally like The Phantom Menace worlds better than Attack of the Clones, but enjoy the toys so much better from Episode II. It may be tonal in that the wardrobes from Episode I were more vibrant and Episode II and III returned to the familiar earth tones. This would lead to the "toyetic" argument, one factor that I think haunts the ST's translation to toy sales.

Regardless, next year is the 20th Anniversary of The Phantom Menace. While it needs to be acknowledged in some form, Hasbro should treat the source lightly. It's a toy sales third rail. Sure you can touch it if your buddy dares you, but don't hold your hand there. In fact, Hasbro should keep the TPM celebration entirely in the Sixer realm.