Originally posted by: Jumpman

I mean, if you strip away everything in Episode I, it's really about Palpatine's machinations to get to the highest office in the Republic.

If you strip away everything in Episode I, there's nothing left. You're selectively stripping away parts that don't support your thesis without explaining why those parts are without value.

IMHO, Episode I did nothing that couldn't have been accomplished in Episode II. Introduce the main characters? AotC did that pretty well, and a rewrite would make it perfect. Establish Palpatine as a powerful but unassuming political operator? Check. Introduce the Sith and their ancient grudge? Check. Set up the Clone Wars? Check. The whole PT feels like backstory to the OT, but TPM is backstory to backstory.

Ca. 1976, George Lucas showed his notebook of ideas for The Star Wars to Gary Kurtz, and Kurtz told him to pick the most interesting "episode" out of the narrative instead of telling the story from the beginning. He needed another Gary Kurtz to help him pick which parts of his PT notes to commit to film/video.