Actually Luke, I agree with you on the pod race. It was just so much dead weight in the middle of the film. It had its moments though. The midiclorean bit was dumb as was the virgin birth idea. He just had to throw that in. It doesn't bother me much, but in hindsight, it was lame. Killing Maul and Qui-gon off was bad as well. Qui-Gon's death could work as a catalyst to mature Obi-Wan, but it would have been cool had Maul lived so a more skilled Obi could have a climatic showdown during the Jedi purge or something. Maybe Qui-Gon's death could have been used as part of the reason Anakin turns somehow. I like how Anakin's emotionally unstable, but Lucas does overplay it a bit. Where's the "good friend" Obi-Wan mentions in IV? All I hear is"He doesn't understand" and, "He's holding me back". Jar Jar doesn't bother me much, outside of the eopie fart joke. placing the Emperor's powers almost solely on his shoulders pretty much solidifies his place in the fans loathing.