Well for one thing, it presented a bit darker take on Star Wars. It took place in the Far-Future and it feels like the Far-Future. Of course it has its Prequelisms, but overall the tone of the series was far more reminiscent of the Old EU and OT than the Prequel Trilogy. It wasn't unadulterated to the extreme like Lucas's Prequels and had the "rebel"/mercernary/Han Solo vibe. In fact, it seems kind of close to some of the early drafts for Star Wars that Lucas had drawn up in 1976.

It was a fresh take on a franchise which didn't too heavily contradict the OT and built upon the franchise rather than diminished it. Honestly, I don't see where you would want the Star Wars "saga" to be like 130 years after the Original Film, or even if you would have Star Wars go to that point.