Starting the Saga Over

Every year at least once, I pop in the original Star Wars trilogy dvd's. I know people moan and complain that the DVD's aren't the "original" original trilogy, Greedo still shoots first and Mos Eisley is still filled with long legged creatures and droids slapping other droids to the ground but that's not the point, I still enjoy the original trilogy even with the additions, although I would like to one day a proper transfer of the unaltered original three. Maybe blu ray can solve that problem for me.

I pop the dvd's in because in all honesty they never get old to me. The characters are likable and identifiable and the story is simple yet engaging and entertaining. Han Solo represents the cool guy we all want to be. Luke represents the individual in us yearning to break out and explore our world and make our own destiny. Star Wars is the hero's journey told and retold since the dawn of time so it's a story that everyone is familiar with. That's what makes Star Wars so likable and the characters, planets, and stories immortal.

My youngest brother had never seen the original trilogy. Sure he's familiar with Darth Vader. He's heard the "I am your father" line dozens of time, knows who Chewbacca is and recognizes some of the other minor characters, but he has never seen the original trilogy nor has he seen the complete prequel trilogy. He's seen some minor clips from them but beyond that my brother became a fan of Star Wars through the Clone Wars animated series.

My brother loves the Clone Wars. He loves the duo of Anakin Skywalker and Asoka Tanno. He loves how the clones are actual individual soldiers with personality rather than the blaster fodder they were in Episode 2 and 3. He has experienced Star Wars in an entirely different way than I did and I'm not sure how I felt about that. Sure, the Clone Wars isn't a bad series, but there were so many rich stories and characters integral to the saga he wasn't even aware of. I had to change that.

Combined with the recent 30th anniversary of The Empire Strikes Back and my urge to watch the original trilogy again, I decided to do something I haven't done in four years, marathon the saga. Start from Phantom Menace and end at Return of the Jedi. I told him my idea and he reluctantly agreed, he didn't seem too thrilled. I told him he'd have a blast.

We pop in Episode I and I sit back and watch as his eyes slowly open wide to things he's never seen in the cartoon. After the movies was over he couldn't stop talking about how cool the ships were, how he couldn't wait to see how Obi Wan and Anakin became closer friends and partners, and how the clones became to be.

I was pleased. If he was this excited for the opening chapter I couldn't imagine how his mind will be blown when he watches Anakin become Darth Vader, Obi Wan become an old hermit, and Anakin's son Luke enters the scene for the first time. I literally cannot wait to see his reaction.

My brother is experiencing the saga in a way I never did and never could. From the beginning, able to watch the characters grow from their beginning to the climatic ending.

For once I envy him. He's in for one crazy ride.