Here is a ranking of the Star Wars films' relative popularity on Netflix. The list is, from most rented to least:

Revenge of the Sith

A New Hope

Attack of the Clones

The Phantom Menace

The Empire Strikes Back

Return of the Jedi

I suspect the myth that 'once the prequels sunk in it was universally decided that they were rubbish' is just that - a myth.

This list also suggests what I have subjectively experienced: that, regardless of actual quality, the prequels have a higher 'rewatch' value. There's more to see a second or third time, because of the more lavish visual effects and the stories having more POVs.

I think more people just already own the original trilogy.

I think more people just already own the original trilogy.

Which suggests that people turn to Netflix because...they still want to see the prequels.

It also suggests they don't want to spend $30 to own them though, lol.

It also suggests they don't want to spend $30 to own them though, lol.

If it is true, because it is looking like you're making up new facts to make an existing notion immune to falsification. Like how Anthony Watts reacted to the inconvenient data of the 'Berkeley Earth' temperature reconstructions.

If i want to watch a new hope. I can just close my eyes for 30 seconds.

It's all there, ingrained in the psyche. The entire trilogy is on my figurative RAMDISK.

If i want a quick star wars buzz, and want to recap then sure, yeah prequels on netflix.

It makes sense to me.

If i want to watch a new hope. I can just close my eyes for 30 seconds.

It's all there, ingrained in the psyche. The entire trilogy is on my figurative RAMDISK.

If i want a quick star wars buzz, and want to recap then sure, yeah prequels on netflix.

It makes sense to me.

Of course, had the list been topped by the OT, you would not have to invent this. Classy.

It also suggests they don't want to spend $30 to own them though, lol.

If it is true, because it is looking like you're making up new facts to make an existing notion immune to falsification. Like how Anthony Watts reacted to the inconvenient data of the 'Berkeley Earth' temperature reconstructions.

Wait... since when is Star Wars on Netflix?

I've seen the OT about 10-12 times at least. I've seen the PT twice at most. They are not more re-watchable and in fact the more you watch them the worse they get. I can quote the OT almost to a word. All I can quote from the PT is the silly lines "Mesah stepped in goo!" "This is Podracing!"

More rentals does not equal better. More people eat fast food every day, that doesn't make a McDonald's Cheeseburger better than a good steak.

Rotten Tomatoes rankings:

Episode I = 56%

Episode II = 65%

Episode III = 79%

Episode IV = 94%

Episode V = 94%

Episode VI = 80%

(I could pull rankings from a lot of different sources too)

Even at their weakest, the OT is viewed as better movie making. What you call lavish special effects are nothing more than excessive use of green screen. If you watch the making of the PT, there is a **** green screen in nearly every shot. Nothing is practical.

We get it you love the PT. It doesn't mean that the majority of the rest of us do.

If i want to watch a new hope. I can just close my eyes for 30 seconds.

It's all there, ingrained in the psyche. The entire trilogy is on my figurative RAMDISK.

If i want a quick star wars buzz, and want to recap then sure, yeah prequels on netflix.

It makes sense to me.

Of course, had the list been topped by the OT, you would not have to invent this. Classy.

I find the insinuation that I am lying quite insulting.

Are you telling me you can't recall a scene of the OT from memory instantly?

I've watched the OT more times than can be counted before even DVD's were a thing. I don't have time to watch them again as much now.

The fact that rotj is last should be a dead giveaway that you aren't looking at popularity there. NOBODY thinks that.

Or it proves people are getting dumber...

But as it sais on the site:

"We all have our own opinions about which Star Wars movie was the best, but you can't deny the numbers. This obviously isn't a reflection about which film was qualitatively the best, but here are the Star Wars movies ranked by how often they were rented!"

It also suggests they don't want to spend $30 to own them though, lol.

If it is true, because it is looking like you're making up new facts to make an existing notion immune to falsification. Like how Anthony Watts reacted to the inconvenient data of the 'Berkeley Earth' temperature reconstructions.

I think BEST is quite a bit better than Anakin rolling around in grass giggling. And I think even Watts would admit that "rate of physical dvd rental" does not correlate directly with popularity. You have a confounding factor that directly opposes this correlation. Several, in fact.

If the prequels really were widely recognized as being basically high-budget trash, you would reasonably expect the popularity on netflix to reflect this. This is not what we see.

It really is like debating creationists or climate denialists.

"The prequels were not well received."

As a matter of fact, they were. Reviews were as favourable as other SW films and they were box office hits.

"Okay, so they were well received initially, but the success was just in the beginning."

This isn't true either. The prequels were actually "well-loved".

"But a few years after the fact, the audience came to its senses and realized the prequels were really bad."

If this is the case, then I would expect them not to do well on channels like Netflix.

"But that just means that nobody bought the DVDs. So this just confirms that they are unpopular."

At what point should I concede that I am not communicating with rational persons? Where do you draw the line in your debates with pseudoscientists or the likes of Monckton?

If i want to watch a new hope. I can just close my eyes for 30 seconds.

It's all there, ingrained in the psyche. The entire trilogy is on my figurative RAMDISK.

If i want a quick star wars buzz, and want to recap then sure, yeah prequels on netflix.

It makes sense to me.

Of course, had the list been topped by the OT, you would not have to invent this. Classy.

I find the insinuation that I am lying quite insulting.

Are you telling me you can't recall a scene of the OT from memory instantly?

I've watched the OT more times than can be counted before even DVD's were a thing. I don't have time to watch them again as much now.

I am not insinuating that you are lying. Rather, I am claiming, and I want to state this a crystal clear as possible so nobody will think I'm just 'insinuating' the following:

If the list had been topped by the OT, I am convinced you would have seen that as a vindication for your ideas about the prequels. But as it stands, the prequels are generally more popular. However, rather than accepting this as a challenge to what you previously thought was true, you now believe that a fan of the OT doesn't need to watch them as often. In other words, you are turning around what looked like a challenge to your beliefs to a confirmation. This is not lying, but I think it has to do with cognitive dissonance.

I own the prequels and I severely dislike them. Movies in a franchise are NOT like other movies. You can't rate their popularity or even how much people like them in the same way that you can rate other movies.

Just because YOU would expect Netflix to proxy for popularity it doesn't become true.

Star Wars is a phenomenon. I want to see the whole story, start to finish. I want to OWN the whole story, start to finish. I want to look for details I missed. I want to be reminded what Obiwan was like when he was young. I, and millions of others just like me, have spent a lot of time watching them. This does not make 1, 2 and 3 good movies.

For gods sakes, LOOK at the spread of data. Rotj is last. In what universe is that a reasonable proxy for quality?

Hell I even watched all of clone wars more than once. Does that mean I think the sentient frog-commander on the desert planet was big quality entertainment?

Your argument is pretty close to Monckton's and Watts(by allowing it on his website) obsession with CET/Vostok as a way to test claims about global temps.

This influx in rentals may also be attributed to the people who hadn't seen a SW's film in there life, but saw TFA. Now they might go on their Netflix and see that hey, there are six other SW's movies. Lets watch them. Your average person with zero knowledge or even with minor knowledge of the franchise would logically start the movies at Episode I. Which they think is the beginning. Hence why the last episode, VI is the least rented.

I own the prequels and I severely dislike them. Movies in a franchise are NOT like other movies. You can't rate their popularity or even how much people like them in the same way that you can rate other movies.

Just because YOU would expect Netflix to proxy for popularity it doesn't become true.

Star Wars is a phenomenon. I want to see the whole story, start to finish. I want to OWN the whole story, start to finish. I want to look for details I missed. I want to be reminded what Obiwan was like when he was young. I, and millions of others just like me, have spent a lot of time watching them. This does not make 1, 2 and 3 good movies.

For gods sakes, LOOK at the spread of data. Rotj is last. In what universe is that a reasonable proxy for quality?

Nowhere did I call this a proxy for popularity, nor a proxy for quality (where did you get that?). I do think it is a (falsificationist) test, in a Popperian sense.

Look, if I think that Elvis is living next door, I could visit the neighbour's house and see he is not there. This doesn't rule out the possibility that he just went out to get a hamburger, but reasonably we can call that a failed test.

This influx in rentals may also be attributed to the people who hadn't seen a SW's film in there life, but saw TFA. Now they might go on their Netflix and see that hey, there are six other SW's movies. Lets watch them. Your average person with zero knowledge or even with minor knowledge of the franchise would logically start at the movies at Episode I. Which they think is the beginning. Hence why the last episode, VI is the least rented.

If you want a good explanation for the whole list, you probably need to look at each film. However, I suspect that Revenge of the Sith has a strong following, for one - notice how it got the best reviews of all SW films by far when it came out. Its top position is, I think, not a coincidence.

Okay, a high rate of Netflix DVD rental is a poor proxy for "Not rubbish".

If i want to watch a new hope. I can just close my eyes for 30 seconds.

It's all there, ingrained in the psyche. The entire trilogy is on my figurative RAMDISK.

If i want a quick star wars buzz, and want to recap then sure, yeah prequels on netflix.

It makes sense to me.

Of course, had the list been topped by the OT, you would not have to invent this. Classy.

I find the insinuation that I am lying quite insulting.

Are you telling me you can't recall a scene of the OT from memory instantly?

I've watched the OT more times than can be counted before even DVD's were a thing. I don't have time to watch them again as much now.

I am not insinuating that you are lying. Rather, I am claiming, and I want to state this a crystal clear as possible so nobody will think I'm just 'insinuating' the following:

If the list had been topped by the OT, I am convinced you would have seen that as a vindication for your ideas about the prequels. But as it stands, the prequels are generally more popular. However, rather than accepting this as a challenge to what you previously thought was true, you now believe that a fan of the OT doesn't need to watch them as often. In other words, you are turning around what looked like a challenge to your beliefs to a confirmation. This is not lying, but I think it has to do with cognitive dissonance.

Ok. I'm looking at it from a very different way.

Data indicates something that is clearly false. Rather the data itself is accurate, but the conclusions being reached are false.

Why is data showing this?

/debug

Rented vs owned is a likely possibility. Counterpoint, if you can rent on netflix, why get up to change CD? Possible answer: De specialized editions./ pre specialized editions.

Revenge of the Sith first makes sense. It's my favorite and a lot of other people as well. I think it topped a big poll a few years back for favorite star wars film.

While many older fans prefer the OT more, or even the OT only, a lot of casual fans, especially younger fans, like the PT just as much if not more than the OT. I'm sure the clone wars series helped as well.

I have bought the Original Trilogy on Laser Disc, on VHS (twice), on DVD (twice), on Blue-ray (twice). Your assertion is that because I rented Revenge of the Sith once from Netflix, I must like it as much or more than the original trilogy?

Just when I think posters on here can't get more idiotic you post a theory like this...

AND TOTALLY REDEEM YOURSELF!!!!

Data indicates something that is clearly false. Rather the data itself is accurate, but the conclusions being reached are false.

Why is data showing this?

Actually, you haven't specifically pointed out what conclusion is false, but I'll just summarize it and assume that you are referring to this conclusion I draw:

P1 - If the prequels are universally hated, they would not be rented often.

P2 - The prequels are rented often.

C - Therefore, the prequels are not hated.

This deduction is known as modus tollens, and it is valid. Whether it is true hinges on if the premises are true. They may be false, and naturally if you want to attack my conclusion, you go for the premises first. I just think they're entirely reasonable, especially because of the cognitive dissonance involved in this. Before the fact, most prequel haters would have agreed with P1. I think it is disingenuous to disagree now just because you don't like the conclusion.

But it is true that we can always formulate something to save our ideas. Perhaps fewer people rent the OT because they already have the DVDs. Perhaps martians manipulated these results. Perhaps George Lucas rented them all by himself just to make a point. Perhaps we are all just living in the Matrix, and the Architect has made this up just to keep us busy. Maybe all that looks blue is actually grue. There is no end to alternative explanations that fit the data.

I'm not going to let go of P1 just because someone bought the laserdiscs and thinks that calling me idiotic amounts to a good argument.