I was born in September of 1977, so I kinda missed out on the first run. As I grew up, I was much more into cars and trucks than sci-fi of any sort and it was only around 1986 or so that I saw anything Star Wars-related for the first time. We didn't have cable or a VCR until the early 90's (we were a busy family living way outta town, so it was never a priority), so when I saw it, it would have been either at someone else's house or maybe on TV, I guess. No idea about that anymore. I loved it right away and that basically started my love of sci-fi, which is great! So basically, I became a big fan during the "dark ages."
It may sound funny, but for someone in my position, one of the best places I turned to to see Star Wars-related things was the "Muppet Babies" cartoon. They did a lot of parodies/homages to Star Wars on that show. Not being able to pop in a tape whenever I wanted, it was always fun when they showed clips from the movies and acted out the scenes. At a time when it wasn't commonplace, any reference to the trilogy on TV always put a smile on my face!
Next came Timothy Zahn's books, which slowly started a general revival in interest in the series (I loved the books, even though he used the word "gingerly" too much. Heh!). I read a huge amount of the subsequent novels, too. I then subscribed to the Star Wars Insider and Star Wars Galaxy magazines for around 4 or 5 years (stopped Insider when the OT kinda got pushed to the side and stopped Galaxy when they basically turned it into a collector's guide).
The prequels then hit and my interest dropped dramatically, I admit, even for the OT. "The Phantom Menace" killed my enthusiasm for the new stuff and left a bit of a bad taste in my mouth for anything to do with Star Wars. I entered the theater excited and left confused and underwhelmed. "Attack of the Clones" was better, but still nowhere near the experience the OT gives (saw "Spider-Man" the same night and enjoyed it more). With "Revenge of the Sith," I definitely was expecting much more, and got it to an extent, but I was impressed with the vehicle and character designs more than anything as I watched it, which is kinda sad. I guess the story wasn't surprising enough. All in all, I don't even think the PT deserves to be directly compared to the OT. The feeling is way too different for me.
Now I'm here (lurked for a long time, too) and my interest in the movies - specifically the O-OT - has increased dramatically. Knowing there are fans out there who want to preserve and even improve the classics in certain ways is very reassuring. Thanks to everyone who runs and posts in these forums. You've made me excited about something I love again!
