# Star Wars: Release order or numerical order? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [December 11, 2011, 8:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-wars-release-order-or-numerical-order/605813 "2011-12-11T08:34:25Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 18\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Snarky\_Kong](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a183cd/32.png) [@Snarky\_Kong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snarky_Kong)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2011, 6:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-wars-release-order-or-numerical-order/605813/41 "2011-12-12T18:52:34Z")
> [@NAF1138](#): > > I was strongly in the camp of IV, V, VI the others don’t exist, but after reading the hitflix article GuanoLad linked to I am a believer in the IV, V, I, II, III, VI order. I notice you didn’t say “after watching them in the order suggested in the article…” ---
**Author:** ![NAF1138](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/naf1138/32/3245_2.png) [@NAF1138](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NAF1138)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2011, 7:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-wars-release-order-or-numerical-order/605813/42 "2011-12-12T19:12:58Z")
> [@Snarky\_Kong](#): > > I notice you didn’t say “after watching them in the order suggested in the article…” I have seen them all often enough that it won’t make a difference to me. I like the reasoning presented in the article, specifically how the story unfolds if you don’t know what is coming. It makes sense to me and that’s all I really need. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2011, 8:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-wars-release-order-or-numerical-order/605813/43 "2011-12-12T20:15:00Z")
> [@NAF1138](#): > > Sure thing. Thanks! ---
**Author:** ![CyclopticXander](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/59ef9b/32.png) [@CyclopticXander](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CyclopticXander)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2011, 9:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-wars-release-order-or-numerical-order/605813/44 "2011-12-12T21:48:54Z")
Those McWeeny articles were so good that I think they need to become the new answer to everyone citing those Plinkett reviews as gospel. And hey reading six articles is a whole lot less a time commitment. The internet prequel hate has gotten so out of hand that it is the one opinion everybody is just automatically assumed to have. An astounding amount of energy goes into hating these movies for reasons I suspect may be analyzed by pop culture experts for generations to come. It’s just great to read about people actually enjoying them, makes me almost feel like a kid again. ---
**Author:** ![rocking\_chair](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rocking_chair/32/2918_2.png) [@rocking\_chair](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rocking_chair)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2011, 11:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-wars-release-order-or-numerical-order/605813/45 "2011-12-12T23:48:40Z")
i’ve been a believer in the 4,5,1,2,3,6 order for many years now. ---
**Author:** ![Snarky\_Kong](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a183cd/32.png) [@Snarky\_Kong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snarky_Kong)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2011, 11:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-wars-release-order-or-numerical-order/605813/46 "2011-12-12T23:58:18Z")
> [@CyclopticXander](#): > > Those McWeeny articles were so good that I think they need to become the new answer to everyone citing those Plinkett reviews as gospel. And hey reading six articles is a whole lot less a time commitment. > > The internet prequel hate has gotten so out of hand that it is the one opinion everybody is just automatically assumed to have. An astounding amount of energy goes into hating these movies for reasons I suspect may be analyzed by pop culture experts for generations to come. It’s just great to read about people actually enjoying them, makes me almost feel like a kid again. The articles had one “nuh un, Plinkett’s wrong” line with no explanation, and then a man enjoying the movies vicariously through people with semi-developed brains. I fail to see that as any sort of rebuttal to criticism of the prequels. ---
**Author:** ![Quimby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/22d042/32.png) [@Quimby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quimby)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2011, 1:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-wars-release-order-or-numerical-order/605813/47 "2011-12-13T01:01:24Z")
> [@Snarky\_Kong](#): > > The articles had one “nuh un, Plinkett’s wrong” line with no explanation, and then a man enjoying the movies vicariously through people with semi-developed brains. I fail to see that as any sort of rebuttal to criticism of the prequels. I think his point was to some audiences, those flaws don’t matter. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2011, 1:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-wars-release-order-or-numerical-order/605813/48 "2011-12-13T01:13:12Z")
> [@Quimby](#): > > I think his point was to some audiences, those flaws don’t matter. Yes, I agree. Which doesn’t negate the Plinkett critique at all. ---
**Author:** ![j666](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/9de0a6/32.png) [@j666](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/j666)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2011, 3:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-wars-release-order-or-numerical-order/605813/49 "2011-12-13T03:41:44Z")
> [@CyclopticXander](#): > > Those McWeeny articles were so good that I think they need to become the new answer to everyone citing those Plinkett reviews as gospel. And hey reading six articles is a whole lot less a time commitment. > > The internet prequel hate has gotten so out of hand that it is the one opinion everybody is just automatically assumed to have. An astounding amount of energy goes into hating these movies for reasons I suspect may be analyzed by pop culture experts for generations to come. It’s just great to read about people actually enjoying them, makes me almost feel like a kid again. Oh, for … how long does it take to say, “The acting … was uneven”? ---
**Author:** ![Namkcalb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/c89c15/32.png) [@Namkcalb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Namkcalb)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2011, 4:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-wars-release-order-or-numerical-order/605813/50 "2011-12-13T04:13:45Z")
I,II,III,IV,V,VI The story is about the rise and fall of Anakin Skywalker, and the active rebalancing of the force. Watching the prequals first makes Palp’s temptation of Luke all the more real. ---
**Author:** ![GameHat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/ed655f/32.png) [@GameHat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GameHat)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2011, 4:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-wars-release-order-or-numerical-order/605813/51 "2011-12-13T04:26:34Z")
Order? Psht. Just watch the original movies (4,5,6). Skip 1,2 and 3. Unless you really, really, REALLY love Star Wars, in which case you can watch 1,2 and 3. But even then you should have a leather strap to bite down on, because at least 1 and 2 are just terrible, terrible movies. 3 is at least passable, but it’s not “good”. I’d highly recemmond everyone watch the [RedLetterMedia](http://redlettermedia.com/plinkett/star-wars/) reviews of episode 1, 2 and 3. They’re long, and the guy is intentionally trying to sound like someone with brain damage, but there’s some hilarious and legit film criticism in there. I laughed out loud many times. If you can’t get past the character the reviewer is playing, I’d suggest at least watching the episode 1 review, where the review asks a “random” sampling of people, starting at 6:42: “Describe the following Star Wars character WITHOUT saying what they look like, what kind of costume they wore, or what their profession or role in the movie was. Describe this character to your friends like ain’t never seen Star Wars. The more descriptive they can get, the stronger the character, right?” It’s gloriously funny, but seeing people swinging from gushing over Han Solo to seeing them falling completely silent about Qui-Gon Jinn is wonderful, but also bitingly incisive on why eps 1-3 are so bad. ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2011, 2:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-wars-release-order-or-numerical-order/605813/52 "2011-12-13T14:34:42Z")
> [@Quartz](#): > > IV, V, VI > > The other three do not exist. I’d go one step further: just 4, 5. (Screw pretentious Roman numerals.) Two reasons for saying, “screw you, Jedi”: 1. The whole bloodlines thing. Didn’t we move past an aristocracy of bloodlines by the beginning of the 20th century (and a good deal earlier in the U.S.)? 2. The “Great Man” approach to history, that history is the tale of the rise and fall, the struggles and redemption, of great men, and the lives of the peons mean little if anything. I’m talking about Vader here, of course: he may have destroyed whole planets full of people, but the fact that he eventually comes around to the good is all that matters. Happy ending with warm fuzzies for him, even though he’s been a war criminal on a scale that Hitler, Stalin, and Mao could only dream of. Also, the name of #4 is _Star Wars_, not “A New Hope.” ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2011, 2:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-wars-release-order-or-numerical-order/605813/53 "2011-12-13T14:59:40Z")
> [@RTFirefly](#): > > 1. The whole bloodlines thing. Didn’t we move past an aristocracy of bloodlines by the beginning of the 20th century (and a good deal earlier in the U.S.)? > > 2. The “Great Man” approach to history, that history is the tale of the rise and fall, the struggles and redemption, of great men, and the lives of the peons mean little if anything. This reminds me of an excellent essay I read years ago contrasting the quasi-religious hero-worship instinct of _Star Wars_ with the bureaucratic egalitarianism of _Star Trek_. Ah, [here](http://www.salon.com/1999/06/15/brin_main/) it is, from 1999 in Salon. The author criticizes the Star Wars setting from several angles, including – > [@](#): > > By now it’s grown clear that George Lucas has an agenda, one that he takes very seriously. After four “Star Wars” films, alarm bells should have gone off, even among those who don’t look for morals in movies. When the chief feature distinguishing “good” from “evil” is how pretty the characters are, it’s a clue that maybe the whole saga deserves a second look. > > Just what bill of goods are we being sold, between the frames? > > [ul] > [li]Elites have an inherent right to arbitrary rule; common citizens needn’t be consulted. They may only choose which elite to follow.[/li] > [li]“Good” elites should act on their subjective whims, without evidence, argument or accountability.[/li] > [li]Any amount of sin can be forgiven if you are important enough.[/li] > [li]True leaders are born. It’s genetic. The right to rule is inherited.[/li] > [li]Justified human emotions can turn a good person evil.[/li][/ul] ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2011, 3:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-wars-release-order-or-numerical-order/605813/54 "2011-12-13T15:03:14Z")
As released. I prefer to be disappointed in the order that George Lucas intended. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2011, 3:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-wars-release-order-or-numerical-order/605813/55 "2011-12-13T15:10:37Z")
Here’s my favorite quote from that Salon essay: > [@](#): > > Remember the final scene in “Return of the Jedi,” when Luke gazes into a fire to see Obi-Wan, Yoda and Vader, smiling in the flames? I found myself hoping it was _Jedi Hell_, for the amount of pain those three unleashed on their galaxy, and for all the damned lies they told. But that’s me. I’m a rebel against Homer and Achilles and that whole tradition. At heart, some of you are, too. ---
**Author:** ![TBG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c89c15/32.png) [@TBG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TBG)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2011, 2:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-wars-release-order-or-numerical-order/605813/56 "2011-12-14T02:15:54Z")
> [@RTFirefly](#): > > Also, the name of #4 is _Star Wars_, not “A New Hope.” THIS. TIMES INFINITY. plus one. ---
**Author:** ![Feyrat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/fbc32d/32.png) [@Feyrat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Feyrat)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2011, 3:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-wars-release-order-or-numerical-order/605813/57 "2011-12-14T03:50:22Z")
> [@Quartz](#): > > IV, V, VI > > The other three do not exist. Yeah, I kinda came here to say this. I can’t imagine inflicting the horror of 1-3 on anyone. ---
**Author:** ![Wheelz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wheelz/32/5718_2.png) [@Wheelz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wheelz)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2011, 3:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-wars-release-order-or-numerical-order/605813/58 "2011-12-14T15:37:07Z")
Pointless pop-culture synergy I must share: I just watched a DVR’d episode of _Chuck_ from a few weeks ago that seems appropriate. Morgan has lost much of his memory, and is about to re-watch the beloved \*Star Wars \*movies that he’s forgotten. Casey is still holding a gudge against Morgan for dumping his daughter, so he convinces Morgan that he needs to watch them in numerical order. Later, Morgan comes out of the room with a blank expression and says, “I used to love _that_??” Casey grins and says, “I was just messing with you. Start with 4.” Then as Morgan is walking away, Casey calls out, “Oh, by the way, Darth Vader is Luke’s father!.. I’m still mad at you.” Later, after they’ve made up, Morgan is about to watch the Indiana Jones films and asks, “There’s just these three, right?” After a pause, Casey slaps him on the back and replies, “Yeah. There’s just three.” [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-wars-release-order-or-numerical-order/605813.md?page=2)