Well said. I liked the designs in Episode One myself as well.

Another thing that I always try to explain is that in all honesty I think it's the closest George ever got to what he wanted in the first place. It is really episodic, just like a movie serial. If you're a believer in the saga of Anakin Skywalker (I'm not), you really could skip this movie without any repercussions - like how you could probably walk into the Batman & Robin serials without having seen the preceding Batman one.

Another thing about it is that I always felt like it never tried to be anything more than a kids' movie. I found, despite more "serious" scenes like in the jedi temple, a rather consistent tone - more than I can say for the following two. There's an innocence I feel in it that I don't in any of the others... but that might be nostalgia goggles talking. If anyone thinks they can better explain my points give it a shot.