Like I imagine most SW fans were, I was totally jazzed after I downloaded and watched the trailer for TPM. Without knowing the storyline (I'd only find out about spoilers on the net around the time of AOTC), I was captivated by the visuals: a shiny ship in the desert; Obi-Wan meeting his eventual killer, Anakin; some mysterious red-faced guy with a DOUBLE lightsaber; a plethora of strange-looking aliens... my imagination was racing.
Overall, I expected the PT to fit seemlessly with the OT in terms of tone, special effects, cheesy-yet-authentically-delivered dialogue, strong relationships between the main characters, the overall visual look (i.e., a used universe look), and lots of cowboyish blaster fights like in the OT (with, of course, more lightsaber fighting as there were Jedi still around).
I was expecting the Jedi to be represented on screen as secretive, monk-like figures whom the rest of the galaxy feared, and who lived a simple, boudhist-like existence, with little use or need of technology.
I thought we'd see more primitive versions of some of the technology we'd seen in the OT (e.g., the precursor to the X-wing and Tie Fighter, older-looking droids... or even some of the beat-up droids from the OT looking new).
I expected the story to focus heavily on Anakin and Obi-Wan's relationship, with their friendship being established by the end of the first film or the beginning of the second.
I thought we'd see ALL Jedi disappear and turn into force ghosts when they died (in keeping with what seemed to be the case in the OT).
I thought we'd see the Clone Wars in full swing and ongoing throughout the PT , with a focus on specific battles in the different films (like the Galactic Civil War was ongoing in the OT, with a focus on the Battle of Yavin, Hoth, and Endor).
I thought we'd see Vader emerge by the end of Ep II, with Ep III focussing on him actually hunting down the Jedi (i.e., across the galaxy) as Obi-Wan mentioned in ANH.
I thought/hoped we'd see Leia and Luke being born, and I expected Leia alone would go off to live with her mom at the end of Ep III (hence why she remembers her a little while Luke doesn't).
I thought we'd see a more solemn, quiet, and sad Padme... someone who had been resigned for some time to the fact that she was losing her husband... the kind of woman who'd fit Leia's description of a woman who was "kind, but sad."
I thought we'd see a whole bunch of weathered-looking ships and major space battles.
I thought the planets we'd see would be like those in the OT: isolated, sparsely inhabited, and full of dangerous creatures.
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Looking back, I guess the PT delivered on some of these things, but overall the very FEEL of the films was different from the OT. I admire the overall story arc that's carried over all six films (i.e., the fall and ressurrection of the Republic; the fall and redemption of Anakin; the mirroring of themes and characters between the PT and OT), and despite some of my gripes with it ROTS was an excellent tragedy. However, in the end they are two very different trilogies, and I must say that were it not for the OT, I doubt the PT would stand on its own merits.
The PT simply lacks the same... I wouldn't say "serious".... maybe "mature".... tone as the OT. As a kid, I remember my father being able to watch and enjoy the OT alongside me; it truly was a multi-generational epic. The PT, however, is scattered; we have TPM which is targeting a 10-year old audience, while ROTS is aimed very much at adults. Part of what made me love SW as a kid was the idea that I was watching grown ups do grown up things, dealing with grown up problems with serious consequences. I can't help but feel the PT lacks that quality; it doesn't feel like we're watching adults interact in realistic ways. Rather, it feels like watching adults as they might act on a children's TV show, and by doing that the films lose a lot of credibility.