darth_ender said:
Qui-Gon is probably my favorite PT character! I think Neeson is a great actor, and I like that Qui-Gon is noble and good, yet often does things that are considered less than perfect: he lies, cheats, steals (in the book, though never explicitly on film--didn't you ever wonder where he got that power source for Anakin's pod?), resists the council's ruling and encourages Obi-wan to do the same, manipulates, belittles, attempts to use the Force to make a purchase using unacceptable to the seller, and imposes his will on those whom he protects. Yet he remains a good guy, and really most of his actions were noble and saved or bettered lives. I think he was completely unnecessary, and if they were to use him, why not make better use of him instead of killing him, but I think he is actually a very interesting character
This. Seriously, this. It really shouldn't have to be up to the extended universe/deleted scenes (Qui-Gon stealing) to make a character awesome, but believe me when I say as a kid reading the Jedi Apprentice books sold me on Qui-Gon. He's a flawed, highly opinionated character that believes in action at any cost, which is probably why he wasn't on the council. To be honest I would have liked to see Obi-Wan's training under Qui-Gon as a TV series, much of it directly lifted from said books, but I'm sure that's not happening. I think he's actually the only PT-exclusive Jedi that I found compelling. Then again, I didn't watch Clone Wars so I might be missing out.
edit: for that matter, it really fleshes out Obi-Wan too. Despite their target audience, I'd still recommend the series. Easy reads for anyone over ten, perhaps earlier, but compelling stories that still suck me in if I choose to revisit them. And they're not shoddily written, either.