If you’re like me, then you have an odd habit of thinking that the 2000’s were last decade and completely miss out the 2010’s. With my logic, it feels as if the 90’s were only a short time ago, and with The Phantom Menace turning a quarter-of-a-century old this May, my thoughts at the start of 2024 have turned to the 90’s and what a great time it was to be a Star Wars fan.
This article will take a slightly different perspective than some others. There are plenty of pieces out there that list all the wonderful projects that we were treated to, but here we’re going to examine what life was like for a Star Wars fan from the point of view of someone who Star Wars was designed for – a kid.
The 90’s arrived after a dark time for the saga. There hadn’t been a theatrical film since 1983 and the Droids and Ewoks cartoon shows had long-since disappeared. Star Wars it seemed was no more, but then, in 1991, came Heir to the Empire, a novel that proved there was a hunger for new stories and that the passion of fans had never really died down.
However, I have no recollection of this as I was born 18th May 1991. (I was due on the 19th which would have made mine a real Star Wars birthday but I was eager to get out into the world after my Mum had a Saturday night curry.)
We then skip a few years and my first and most pivotal Star Wars memory. I have to make a confession; I’ve always considered myself to be the luckiest of Star Wars fans. I had the best of all worlds, you see, as I wasn’t born into a Star Wars drought. Quite the contrary. George Lucas was gearing up to send us back to the galaxy far, far away in a massive way and I was the prime age to experience all of this.
I’ve often wondered if I have some sort of photographic memory as I can recall things in real clarity but the more I’ve thought about this, the more I think it’s the power of Star Wars that gives us such rich and visceral memories. It was nearly New Year’s Eve of 1995, my folks and I went to visit some family. My cousin, a teenager at the time, had grown out of some of the films he had. He gave me three VHS tapes. Star Wars, The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi. They didn’t mean much to me but I said thank you and off we went. I have a memory of being in the car and looking at the tapes and being excited by the images I saw. That Saturday afternoon, I put one in. I had no clue and so I started with Empire, then Jedi and finally Star Wars.
World changed. Life changed. It was beautiful.
I was obsessed (nothing has changed there) and anything I could find to be a lightsaber was used. We went through so many lamps and bulbs that I think I still owe my parents a small fortune. I played the films endlessly and drew pictures of R2-D2, Luke Skywalker and Darth Vader. I would then play the film and I would play the parts of the characters and act it all out. Mum tried to set me up on playdates but I wasn’t interested. It was all about Star Wars. I had my imagination, and didn’t need anything else.
Then comes the next crystal-clear memory. A weekend away with my parents and Nan and Grandad. We were in Woolworths, and my Nan said I was allowed to choose one toy. I remember this; I saw a section of toys with Star Wars all over it. My eyes darted everywhere. I didn’t know it at the time but this was The Power of the Force 2 collection from Hasbro/Kenner. There were toys everywhere. I didn’t care about the now infamous sculpts of the 3.75 figures, all I knew was that the films I had become obsessed with could now be in my hands. I picked my toy. A 12-inch Han Solo. I remember my Mum telling my Nan not to get it me. “It’s a phase.” Oh, how wrong was she. This figure was the first in what is now 28 years of collecting anything and everything to do with Star Wars.
Birthdays and Christmas mornings were consumed with Star Wars toys. It’s all I played. Then in 1997, a very strange day. Mum had to work and so Dad told me were off to the cinema. “What are we going to see?” I asked. “Star Wars,” he replied. “Huh?” was all I said.
It was the Special Editions of course. Now, I had no concept of tweaks or what a ‘Special Edition’ even was, but I do remember the cinema being a-buzz and can remember being in the cinema to see each of the films. My parents clearly got it. (side note – one of their first dates was to see Jedi in 1983 and my Mum moaning that her soon-to-be-boyfriend was taking her to see a ‘kid’s film’ but, like everyone else, she loved it and is partially obsessed with Ewoks – our dog was named Wicket).
It can’t be understated how amazing this time was, much like the original era from 77-83. Star Wars was everywhere. There were arcade games, magazines in shops and sweets had my favourite characters on them. It was utter bliss. Every part of me that wanted to be addicted to Star Wars could have it fulfilled.
More birthdays came and more Star Wars themed parties. I would take myself out onto the street with my Luke lightsaber and swing it around like a mad-man. When it broke I cried like a child who had lost its mother, and unable to repair it, my Dad took me to the local toy shop to get a replacement. That night, I slept with it in my bed. Trips in the car were filled with looking at Star Wars books and comics, and though we didn’t have much when I was a child, all I needed was to know Star Wars was there. Luke Skywalker was there for me.
Release Trailer | Star Wars: The Phantom Menace
The months danced as they tend to do and in 1999, on 19th May, I was to turn 8 years old. But something a tad more important was happening around the world. 19th May saw the arrival of Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace. Well, in North America at least. Here’s a fun fact if ever you’re on a quiz show – Episode I wasn’t released in the UK until 16th July 1999. Absolutely unthinkable now but yes, that’s how it used to happen with worldwide staggered releases.
Now, during this time, more than years previously, Star Wars was EVERYWHERE, and I mean EVERYWHERE. I saw images of new characters and the TV played trailers all the time. Everyone was excited and kids at school who had never mentioned Star Wars to me were suddenly all into it.
Then came the day. Here’s what I remember. My folks took me to an afternoon showing and I was hyper. We got there early to secure the best seats in the middle and I remember running around as if I’d consumed all the sugar in the West Midlands. Then, someone came out of the screen to use the toilet and as the double-doors opened, I saw my first glimpse of the film. A yellow ship flying through space and a big battle. The doors closed. I’d clearly witnessed the N1 Starfighter and a quick shot of the Battle of Naboo. I jumped up and down. And jumped. And jumped. And then jumped some more.
Then the film, and here’s the most important thing to remember – I was 8. I was THE perfect age. Darth Maul terrified me. Jar Jar made me laugh out loud with his goofy antics and now I wanted to be Obi-Wan Kenobi and Qui-Gon Jinn. Any of the criticisms surrounding the film went over my head as I loved every second of it and the Christmas of 1999 should really have been called The Phantom Menace-toy-day.
As we left the cinema and I did my best impression of being in a Podracer, I remember asking a question. “The film said number 1. Is there a number 2?”
“Yes, kiddo,” was the reply. “There are going to be two more films.”
I think the back of my head blew off.
To be continued…
Join me in May for a very special series celebrating a quarter of a century of this seminal movie.
- Author: Terry Brooks.
- Publisher: Ballantine Books
- Pages: 330
- Publication Date: 2000
- Edition: 1st Paperback Edition/1st Printing.
