Easterhay said:
We would always wonder, though, what happened before episode four.
It was far more interesting when I was wondering.
One great example, is in the scene in SW(ANH) in the Death Star when Tarkin enters the room, and is asked how the locals will "keep control without the bureaucracy". It's an ingenious line, because immediately we see how the empire is using red tape as a weapon, and we imagine these complex layers of tedious steps a well-intentioned person would have to go through to make any change. By contrast, in the PT, instead of triggering our imaginations, we are actually made to sit and watch that bureaucracy in all its tedious detail.
Similarly, I was much more intrigued with my mental image of Yoda as Jedi master, before GL went and showed me Yoda being plugged into a light socket. He just doesn't know when to quit anymore.