1. Midi-chlorians - Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace
It took a while for me to work out which aspect of the notoriously disappointing
Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace had the most damning effect. The obvious choice, of course, would have been Jar-Jar, but I don't think - as bad as his inclusion was - he was solely responsible for the movie's Godawfulness. Then I pondered whether or not Jake Lloyd's ill-judged casting as young Anakin Skywalker had proved itself to be the most franchise-destroying factor in the movie. But then I remembered the Midi-chlorians, and I knew exactly what to write about. There's no better way to alienate an established fanbase than to give them information that they never wanted in the first place, a point I previously outlined in
The Matrix entry regarding the introduction of Zion: if people are genuinely happy to go along with something you've written without demanding more explanation, then count yourself lucky that you've managed to build a world that people believe in. I mean,
Star Wars isn't
Lost - there were things that we were just happy to accept, given that these are fantasy movies, not hard science-fiction. There are far too many points in
The Phantom Menance where George Lucas seems to forget that concept, and the introduction of Midi-chlorians is about the worst example of this. To attempt to explain an idea as iconic as "The Force" with a drab scientific description and references to a person's blood count influencing their abilities... well, it's just about the dumbest and most unnecessary convoluted thing in the entire saga. Worst of all, the idea itself adds nothing to the established concept of the Force, except to render it
less mysterious.
Like this list? Which franchises have we missed? Let us know in the comments section below.