← Back to episodes
Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace poster
Letterboxd →TMDB →
MOVIE

Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace (1999)

Directed by George Lucas•2h 16m•Published May 2, 2023•Episode length 3h 59m
Episode 172 - Star Wars: The Phantom Menace
AdventureActionScience Fiction

Top cast

scroll →
Liam Neeson
Liam Neeson
Qui-Gon Jinn
Ewan McGregor
Ewan McGregor
Obi-Wan Kenobi
Natalie Portman
Natalie Portman
Padmé Amidala
Jake Lloyd
Jake Lloyd
Anakin Skywalker
Ian McDiarmid
Ian McDiarmid
Senator Palpatine
Pernilla August
Pernilla August
Shmi Skywalker
Oliver Ford Davies
Oliver Ford Davies
Governor Sio Bibble
Hugh Quarshie
Hugh Quarshie
Captain Panaka
Ahmed Best
Ahmed Best
Jar Jar Binks
Anthony Daniels
Anthony Daniels
C-3PO (voice)

Director

TMDB profile →
George Lucas
George Lucas
Director
LISTEN

Play the episode

Overview

Anakin Skywalker, a young slave strong with the Force, is discovered on Tatooine. Meanwhile, the evil Sith have returned, enacting their plot for revenge against the Jedi.

Show notes

jump ↓

Now this is pod racing! Join your favourite TransAtlantic podcasting crew: Ian, Liam, Megan and Ethan (Georgia's off ordering a clone army for next year's entry) as we're heading to Naboo, Tattooine, and Coruscant all in search of freedom from oppressive tax legislation in George Lucas' return to the Space Opera genre,…

Read full show notes

Now this is pod racing! Join your favourite TransAtlantic podcasting crew: Ian, Liam, Megan and Ethan (Georgia's off ordering a clone army for next year's entry) as we're heading to Naboo, Tattooine, and Coruscant all in search of freedom from oppressive tax legislation in George Lucas' return to the Space Opera genre, Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace. It might be his Episode I but it's our Episode 172 as we discuss:

  • Whether Ethan constructs his personality to be contrary to the popular view for kicks
  • We discuss our own Star Wars fandoms
  • Ian asks if this is the first example of overhype causing fan backlash 
  • Some peeps go to bat for Jake Lloyd's performance in this film
  • We talk about what appears to be some lazy stereotyping
  • Why do they spend so long on Tattooine?
  • Ethan shares some news about Star Wars: Celebration as well as some audio footage
  • We share some good news the pod got this week
  • Ian argues that there's actually 2 pretty good twists in this film
  • We ask what is the viewing experience like if you viewed the franchise linearly (1-9) rather than chronologically (4-6 then 1-3, then 7-9)
  • You're not going to believe this but Meg wants to jump ahead again
  • We debut "Storytime with Megs"
  • Whether or not Star Wars: Episode 1 - The Phantom Menace is the Best Film Ever

Become a Patron of this podcast and support the BFE at https://www.patreon.com/BFE

We are extremely thankful to our following Patrons for their most generous support:

  • Rev Bruce
  • Juleen from It Goes Down In The PM
  • Lina Oberholzer
  • Ensign Ian Davies
  • Chris Pedersen 
  • Katie McRae
  • Duane Smith (Duane Smith!)
  • Randal Silva
  • The Yeetmeister
  • Nate The Great
  • Cheezy (with a fish on a bike)
  • Andy Dickson
  • Holly Callen
  • Richard
  • Ryan Kuketz
  • Chris Dykstra

Buy some BFE merch at https://my-store-b4e4d4.creator-spring.com/

Massive thanks to Lex Van Den Berghe for the use of 'Mistake' by Luckydog.  Catch more from Lex's new band, The Maids of Honor at https://soundcloud.com/themaidsofhonor

Also massive thanks to Moonlight Social for our age game theme song.  You can catch more from them at https://www.moonlightsocialmusic.com/

Timestamps for this episode:

  • 0:00 - Opening Banter
    6:00 - Reflections & Corrections
    8:45 - Shoutouts
    18:30 - Can We Talk About This for 2 Minutes? (Star Wars Celebration & The Tonight Show)
    35:00 - Deep Dive
    3:05:30 - Endgame