New York Times: "In the opening sequence of the new Star Wars movie, 'Episode III: Revenge of the Sith,' two Jedi knights fight their way through an enemy starship to rescue a hostage. Ever since I saw the movie, I have been annoying friends with a trivia question: 'Who is the enemy? What organization owns this vessel?' We ought to know. In 1977, we all knew who owned the Death Star (the Empire) and who owned the Millennium Falcon (Han Solo). But when I ask my question about the new film, everyone reacts in the same way: with a sudden intake of breath and a sideways dart of the eyes, followed by lengthy cogitation. Some confess that they have no idea. Others think out loud for a while, developing and rejecting various theories. Only a few have come up with the right answer. "

Here's the thing. Ep I should not exist. The prime plot points (the conspiracy has existed for a long time, Palpatine replaces Valorum as Chancellor, & a boy who is a Midichlorian magnet is discovered in the boonies) could be accomplished in 15 minutes at the beginning of episode II. With a quick "10 years later" subtitle, Ep II could then in fact be Ep I, (perhaps without the whole "elephant surfing on planet lurve" scenes), & then there could be a whole war movie in between II & III that gets us to where we need to be whether or not we have cartoon network.... Then this thing would make sense.

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