Puggo - Jar Jar's Yoda said:

The whole saga would have been better, because the universe wouldn't have ended up so small and the storylines wouldn't be so constricted.

I disagree with this too. And I will use the same arguments that I used on Anchorhead (previous to his becoming a moderator) when he brings up this point.

Luke and Vader were always related. Whether he is the man that was his father's friend and then betrayed and murdered his father or he actually IS his father, they are still closely related.

The Leia->sister thing, where there was no previous close relationship, is what started to make people think it was a soap opera.

It's like Lando. It's not a coincidence that Lando was Han's friend and the previous owner of the Falcon. Han goes to see Lando BECAUSE of that connection. Yoda and Chewie being homeboys, however... is a different problem.