Episode I was the last time I really got into Star Wars big time. The years leading up to 1999 had been great: I bought the "last time" VHS release of the OOT, I went crazy collecting vintage stuff, Kenner released a new line of Star Wars toys and I went crazy for those too. Then the SEs came out, and I happily ate them up, since DVDs were still a niche market and I wasn't worried about not ever getting the OOT again. George Lucas was still a genius.

I enjoyed the hype leading up to Episode I, and I blew several hundred that night the toys came out at midnight. I thought the KFC/Pizza Hut/Taco bell commercials were enjoyable.

I got the soundtrack when it came out. It was great, but the name of one of the tracks gave away Qui Gon's fate. I was really ticked about that, since I'd been trying to avoid spoilers.

I saw the movie 6 times in the theater over the course of several months. I remember on the first viewing (I was 29) I was blown away by the lightsaber battle, and the awesomeness of it was enough to wash away my temporary annoyances with Jar Jar. I remember I specifically went one time to try to catch all the "hidden" stuff, like the George in the arch. Only after repeat viewings did Jar Jar become too much for me to take.

But after that, after all the money spent and the hype, I just felt TIRED and burnt out. Looking back, I guess it was inevitable I'd come down off my high. I soldiered on through the rest of the prequels, but it was never the same. And I was slowly losing faith in George.