Lucas, in recent years, has always been very quick to remind everyone that this is space opera, an homage to 1940's sci-fi serials, fun for kids, etc. That is clearly NOT what Star Wars was before 1983 - at that time, Lucas used elements of 1940's serials and created something more significant. Those movies happened to be fun for kids - these distinctions should be recognized. Star Wars and Empire had outgrown its creator and (most of its) cast. It would have been nearly impossible to meet the standard of excellence of the first two films, and Lucas evidently decided to make it clear that he wasn't trying to do such a thing. The silly moments in Jedi (the burping, Salacious Crumb, Ewok antics a.o.) seem to validate that idea. After all, Jedi without the silliness is simply a substandard Star Wars movie. With the silliness, Lucas may argue that Jedi was what a SW movie was supposed to be all along. The SE-izing of Star Wars seems to validate this idea futher still: Mos Eisley antics, the Rastafarian Alien at the cantina (what a cool hat!), Solo stepping on Jabba's tail (would the real Jabba tolerate that for one second??), Boba Fett's mugging, Greedo missing a blaster shot from point blank range. Star Wars is the poorer for these tiny tweaks and additions.
Does this have anything to do with the topic at hand? Absolutely. Lucas, by meddling with the tone of the entire Star Wars franchise, and the content of the Original Trilogy, is chiefly responsible for the demise of his product, and the much-maligned EU is proof positive of that. Star Wars fandom received a significant boost from new EU - specifically the Thrawn trilogy and Shadows of the Empire. We all recognize that EU often leaves much to be desired, but as Fang Zei pointed out, EU creators did what George Lucas should have done: make the new material fit the old. Don't bastardize what's already been established. The EU of the 1990's wouldn't have had the same legs if the authors had tried to rewrite history.
But because Lucas chose to go down this road, there's no easy way to have a discussion about the material. You have to identify which camp you're in and by the time you've spent energy and time defending your stance, you don't really feel like discussing the content very much. I assume that most posters here at ot.com have more or less the same interpretations I do on what's happening in the films. I'm content to drop in every few days here among the marginalized rather than waste all sorts of time in caps lock screaming at StormTrooper 1776 and Darth Toe Jam. That shit just ain't worth it.
BTW, Zombie, huge props to you for your utter pwnage of the GOUT thread at TF.N - it was awesome seeing you crush those hanging curveballs over the fence day after day. Not that you got through to any of them, but it was enjoyable all the same.