Well i grew up on cartoons like Masters of the Universe, and others like Flash Gordon, also D&D so i was heavily into anything sword and sorcery. Or Adventure like, i also loved Transformers. But when i saw Jedi in 1985 i was hooked. I did like star wars as i had seen it, but hated empire found it slow and boring even though i can appreciate it now it was less swashbuckling than a new hope or Return of the Jedi.
Never been to a movie on the big screen since Jedi that sucked me totally into its made up word as if i lived in it and was the hero.
The only similar experience i have had as an adult is with the Lord of the Rings trilogy but of course that is not the same as a wide eyed kid being literally spellbound by the magic of cinema.
My interest waned and i grew up. I only had my interest rekindled in middle school in 8th grade with Zahn's Heir to the Empire. That and the Dark Horse comics in the 90's along with the various console video games and computer games made me dream of a sequel trilogy, and i was not against seeing the adventures of Anakin And OBI either in the clone wars. Before the dark times before the special editions and prequels.
I had the pan and scan last time tapes in 1995. Only as an adult did i track down the letterboxed version which is the only version i will watch that is now on non anamorphic DVD from 2006 aka as GOUT. I hate the blu ray or 2004 cuts they are not the films that made me such a fan, they are awful and full of crap cgi.
I recently re-read the Zahn Trilogy and they are the only EU books that are good books but also star wars not bad tie in fiction. They also able to continue the magic of the oot and its feel. All the other books just don't hold up, IMHO. Mara Jade feels like a character that could have come from an expanded future beyond Jedi accept this excellent character is something Lucas did not create. Lucas would have Luke with no strong female character to play off of. He would have had luke a prequel-esque jedi monk free from attachment and any female companionship.