Yeah, Droids is pre-ANH.
I guess with any of these stories you can realize what they were ORIGINALLY INTENDED to be... that is, where they took place in the saga.
The Ewok movies as I understand it, were supposed to be post-ROTJ. Saying that they took place BEFORE ROTJ is just retroactive continuity.
The prequels are set before the OT, so you theoretically could watch them first. The bad continuity aside, though, they are more like "flashbacks" so you could justify watching them after.
Personally I think the viewing experience is worse if you see the PT first (EVEN IF you've seen the OT a million trillion times).
There is definatly a different effect if you watch 1-3 THEN 4-6, than the other way around (the traditional order).
I just don't buy into the whole "you HAVE to see it this way."
Retcons keep changing things, so the order changes (Ewok movies) or things didn't happen (Droids). But who cares about that? As far as Lucas is concerned, the Holiday Special never happened (but still, he's let the EU folks cannibalize parts of it all the same).
The whole controversy over the "order" I think stems mostly from people wanting to be "true to the vision" of Mr. Lucas. The trouble is that "vision" keeps changing. So do we stay true to what Lucas "originally intended" in 1977? 1985? 1994? 2001? 2008? etc.
From what I've seen kids these days DO prefer the prequels, but they grow out of them fast, and if they do give the OT a chance they like it better (or they give up on star wars completely).
What I think most classic fans are talking about is not that "oh those wipper snappers, the fact that they were kids when the prequels came out means they don't know anything but we're infallible" but that you have "only one chance" to see Star Wars for the first time, and to make it special, please watch it the traditional way (production order). After that, do whatever you want. Now of course these "kids who grew up with the prequels" (many of whom don't think Star Wars is that cool anyway, I've found) can't do the whole "Star Wars virgin marathon" thing anyway, and the fact that they'd want to .... blah blah blah
You've heard all this before. ;)
