# Star Wars: Going to watch the series for the first time. All together or spaced apart? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 29, 2012, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-wars-going-to-watch-the-series-for-the-first-time-all-together-or-spaced-apart/623473 "2012-05-29T19:31:53Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 6
**Author:** ![expectopatronum](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/expectopatronum/32/173_2.png) [@expectopatronum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/expectopatronum)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2012, 2:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-wars-going-to-watch-the-series-for-the-first-time-all-together-or-spaced-apart/623473/101 "2012-06-02T02:03:13Z")
> [@Jragon](#): > > I’d call V better than IV. I really do like IV, but even with the non-special edition, I feel like it can really drag at points. Granted, V has the flaw that it doesn’t really work without VI since it’s pretty obviously a set up, but I personally think V is far superior. exactly what i came in to say. a new hope does drag at times (R2 and C3PO wandering around tatooine comes to mind), but the payoff of the third act is well worth it. empire, though, becomes a much more character driven story and as a result is more engaging. i’ve always found empire to be the best of all 6 films. i’m kind of surprised at the lack of hate for episode 2. i think it’s even worse than 1. ep 1 is not what i would call good, but the final lightsaber battle is great and darth maul is the coolest villain of that particular trilogy. as far as the OP my recommendation is another vote to watch in the original release order- that is to say, 4,5,6,1,2,3. i’ve read up on machete order and it’s an interesting idea but i think it’s ultimately better suited for someone who is already familiar with the series. the plot lines of the prequels can be confusing enough for established fans, and i just can’t see being subjected to a 4.5 hour flashback that barely makes sense and then still coming back to watch jedi. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2012, 2:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-wars-going-to-watch-the-series-for-the-first-time-all-together-or-spaced-apart/623473/102 "2012-06-02T02:49:35Z")
> [@](#): > > i’m kind of surprised at the lack of hate for episode 2. i think it’s even worse than 1. ep 1 is not what i would call good, but the final lightsaber battle is great and darth maul is the coolest villain of that particular trilogy. Who’s Darth Maul? I’m only half-joking, here. Yeah, there’s a guy on screen in makeup who’s labeled “Darth Maul” in the credits, but there really isn’t any character there. He’s an obstacle for the heroes, certainly, but he’s not a villain. And Episode II had its flaws, certainly, but I will say this to its credit: It didn’t have any of the _same_ flaws as Episode I. Lucas apparently did learn from his mistakes, even if he didn’t learn enough. ---
**Author:** ![CyclopticXander](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/59ef9b/32.png) [@CyclopticXander](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CyclopticXander)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2012, 3:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-wars-going-to-watch-the-series-for-the-first-time-all-together-or-spaced-apart/623473/103 "2012-06-02T03:05:30Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > Need it be said…? “Artistic choice” had nothing to do with it. Lucas wanted to make the first movie, but he had enough material for (as I originally heard back in '77) four flicks. To get financing, he had to trim his script to what he thought were the most interesting bits (and what he thought would sell). NO ONE, INCLUDING LUCAS, expected the first movie to be a megahit (JEJ didn’t even want his name put on it, and he was not credited in the film’s original release), and when it came time for sequels, he had to start working backwards, filling in gaps. From that point on, he was basically flying blind (in the original story, Vader WAS NOT Luke’s father, and Luke and Leia WERE NOT brother and sister). Along the way, he made some horrible decisions in plotting his back story; hence, IMHO, the awful quality of the prequels. > > As originally announced (back in the early '80s), there were going to be three sequels to the original trilogy as well, documenting the restoration of the Republic, as seen through the eyes of R2D2 and C3PO. Plans for these seem to have fallen by the wayside (and mercifully so). Oh I realize that most of it was made up on the fly after the first one was such a hit. This doesn’t change the fact though that he could have just kept making sequels in the traditional way. He didn’t have to label the first as episode four, it was and is still pretty unique. ---
**Author:** ![Enlightening\_Meditation](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ecc23a/32.png) [@Enlightening\_Meditation](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enlightening_Meditation)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2012, 3:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-wars-going-to-watch-the-series-for-the-first-time-all-together-or-spaced-apart/623473/104 "2012-06-02T03:37:15Z")
> [@Agent\_Foxtrot](#): > > I’ve seen a couple of suggestions for the order to watch the movies in:[ul] > [li]4, 5, 6 only[/li][li]1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6[/li][li]4, 5, (1), 2, 3, 6[/li][li]4, 5, 6, 1, 2, 3[/li][/ul] > Any others? Should I make a poll? _Star Wars Episode 4_, _Star Wars Episode 5_, at least the first 20 minutes of \*Chasing Amy \*because there’s a funny joke about Darth Vader and the dark side being a metaphor for a racist agenda, _Star Wars Episode 6_, _Spaceballs_ since it’s a great parody of sci-fi films especially _Star Wars_ with a little _Alien_ thrown in. Then watch Episodes 2 and 3 only if you were ecstatic about the original trilogy. People aren’t kidding about Episode 1: it really is an abomination particularly with the constant presence of the annoying Jar Jar character. You may want to watch it (last) just for context to understand why people hate it so much. That’s my advice as a non-Star Wars fan with a luke warm opinion of Episodes 4 and 5 and far lower opinion toward the rest. All are great visual films with varying degrees of super cheesy plots. The _Star Wars_ films are basically children’s science fiction films, Ep 5 is the least childish and Ep 1 is the most childish just ahead of 2 & 3. I’ve seen each Star Wars film only once…all in theaters. That’s enough for me. I prefer to watch _2001: A Space Odyssey_ and crank up some Pink Floyd during the quiet parts. ---
**Author:** ![Quimby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/22d042/32.png) [@Quimby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quimby)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2012, 2:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-wars-going-to-watch-the-series-for-the-first-time-all-together-or-spaced-apart/623473/105 "2012-06-02T14:22:14Z")
Episode III gets lumped into the hate for the other prequels but I think it is easily the third best movie. I enjoyed it a lot. ---
**Author:** ![expectopatronum](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/expectopatronum/32/173_2.png) [@expectopatronum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/expectopatronum)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2012, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-wars-going-to-watch-the-series-for-the-first-time-all-together-or-spaced-apart/623473/106 "2012-06-02T16:20:19Z")
> [@Quimby](#): > > Episode III gets lumped into the hate for the other prequels but I think it is easily the third best movie. I enjoyed it a lot. episode 3 is definitely my favorite of the prequels, and the last 20ish minutes of it almost redeems lucas for the rest of it. i guess i’ll spoiler box it for the OP just in case: the imagery of vader’s helmet locking into place and hearing his first breath, seeing the organas cradling leia on alderaan, ditto for young owen and beru lars with luke on tatooine (and knowing what happens to both families later makes it even more poignant), that last shot of ewan mcgregor where he really channels alec guinness…all great stuff. lucas is crap at writing dialogue so i really love that he wrapped things up with very little of it. ---
**Author:** ![Cumberdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8c91f0/32.png) [@Cumberdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cumberdale)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2012, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-wars-going-to-watch-the-series-for-the-first-time-all-together-or-spaced-apart/623473/107 "2012-06-02T17:41:41Z")
> [@Agent\_Foxtrot](#): > > Very impossible. I would give a pinky finger to un-know two things that were spoiled for me due to pop culture: What “Rosebud” meant, and that Vader is Luke’s father. > > I’ve seen a couple of suggestions for the order to watch the movies in:[ul] > [li]4, 5, 6 only[/li][li]1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6[/li][li]4, 5, (1), 2, 3, 6[/li][li]4, 5, 6, 1, 2, 3[/li][/ul] > Any others? Should I make a poll? I would watch 456123. I do think think theprequels are bad and spoil a lot of what made the originals fun. The only thing that makes those worth watching to me is Rifftrax. ---
**Author:** ![standingwave](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9de0a6/32.png) [@standingwave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/standingwave)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2012, 6:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-wars-going-to-watch-the-series-for-the-first-time-all-together-or-spaced-apart/623473/108 "2012-06-03T06:20:25Z")
> [@Rhaegar](#): > > Dang, if you already know that Anakin becomes Darth Vader, then it probably doesn’t matter what order you watch it in anymore. "No, there is another… spoiler. 😃 If it’s possible to spoil a movie that’s been out for almost thirty years. Leia being Luke’s sister. ---
**Author:** ![Namkcalb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/c89c15/32.png) [@Namkcalb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Namkcalb)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2012, 10:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-wars-going-to-watch-the-series-for-the-first-time-all-together-or-spaced-apart/623473/109 "2012-06-03T10:15:50Z")
> [@expectopatronum](#): > > i’m kind of surprised at the lack of hate for episode 2. i think it’s even worse than 1. ep 1 is not what i would call good, but the final lightsaber battle is great and darth maul is the coolest villain of that particular trilogy. I think Episode II is the worst of the six and the prequels. Some of the dialogue is painfully bad, and they seemed to put a toy/game commercial in the middle. When I watch it, I skip from after Dooku interogates Kenobi, to the emergence of the jedi in the crowd. The plot important parts of the film are. [ul] [li]Padme is almost assassinated.[/li][li]Anakin is assigned to protect her, and they fall in love.[/li][li] Anakin violently avenges his mother, and wants to have the power to prevent this happening again.. [/li][li]The secret army is found.[/li][li]Palp gets support from the senate to step up the war[/li][li]The army is effective.[/li][/ul] Every thing else seems to be added in just because it is cool/sellable. Oh! and they put an American roadside diner in the film for some reason only Lucas knows. ---
**Author:** ![cactus\_waltz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/74df32/32.png) [@cactus\_waltz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cactus_waltz)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2012, 1:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-wars-going-to-watch-the-series-for-the-first-time-all-together-or-spaced-apart/623473/110 "2012-06-03T13:06:45Z")
> [@kunilou](#): > > Okay, here’s an idea. Watch them in reverse order – 6,5,4,3,2,1. > > That way, you can finish every one of them saying “Aha! NOW I get it!”:smack: > > 🙂 The “Memento Order”! The problem with this thread is that it’s very hard to recommend a a order for somebody who hasn’t seen the movies. But to anybody that asks, I would probably just recommend to watch the original trilogy and stay away from the prequels entirely. Episode IV and V has heart, entertainment and iconic pop culture status. Episode VI is less fun but wraps it all up. The prequels are just… Poorer experiences. Ewan McGregor is good, I suppose. ---
**Author:** ![Agent\_Foxtrot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9fc29f/32.png) [@Agent\_Foxtrot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Agent_Foxtrot)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2012, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-wars-going-to-watch-the-series-for-the-first-time-all-together-or-spaced-apart/623473/111 "2012-06-04T15:26:02Z")
Poll posted [here](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=654057). ---
**Author:** ![Irishman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/b487fb/32.png) [@Irishman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Irishman)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2012, 7:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-wars-going-to-watch-the-series-for-the-first-time-all-together-or-spaced-apart/623473/112 "2012-06-05T19:18:39Z")
> [@etv78](#): > > 2)Would TPM still reek of suckitude without JarJar (the most reviled character in the saga, IMPO)? It was somewhat entertaining when it first came out, mostly from the anticipation. I found it entertaining in the theater, but a real mess as part of the saga. Chief other suckatudes besides Jar Jar: 1. Anakin as a little kid. I’m not one to observe that someone’s acting is good or bad apparently, so I don’t hate Jake Lloyd, it just is awkward looking at happy-go-lucky Anakin boy and think “This is Darth Vader”. 1.a. Anakin the little kid as a badass - he’s an awesome pilot (at 9), he flies a space-motorcycle that he maintains himself, and 1.b. he friggin’ built C3PO. HOW FUCKING UNNECESSARY WAS THAT? 1.c. He saves the day. And you thought Wesley Crusher was annoying. 1. Battle droids. Clumsy, flimsy, and overthrown by interrupting the bandwidth. And you thought Stormtroopers were the epitome of lousy shots. 2. A 17 year old Queen, that is elected by the populace. Who is not just a figurehead, but plays a strong central role in the governance of the planet. SERIOUSLY? 3. Traveling through the planet underwater. 4.a. The “bigger fish” escape. And again, and again. Because that never gets old. :rolleyes: 1. Midichlorians. A computer device measuring them to determine who has the most Force. 2. The acting is stiff and stilted. You’ve got Ewan McGregor and Natalie Portman getting described as “wooden”. Even Liam Neeson is only somewhat dynamic. 3. The Gungans, trying to do for TPM what the Ewoks did for Ep VI. There’s probably plenty more, but that’s enough to make the case. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-wars-going-to-watch-the-series-for-the-first-time-all-together-or-spaced-apart/623473.md?page=5)