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my take:
I think the actors of the OT, perhaps being a function also of the late 70's zeitgeist, pulled off the cheesiness of Star Wars in a way that you really got into it. A more subtle humor throughout (i.e. no Jar Jar hijinks). And while Mark Hamill was a tool, characters like Han Solo, Chewie, Lando, and Leia identified with us in the way good storytelling always does. The PT characters/actors seemed so distant and serious - we could never really identify with them - and humor was reserved for droids who pee oil and silly accents rivaling Monty Python.
Ewan and Liam were in a league of their own. And perhaps Frank Oz and Samuel to a degree. And the fellow who played Palpatine had a few moments. But did you ever take a liking to Hayden or Natalie Portman? Really? All they did was whine and deliver these concrete-encased lines. The Jango Fett guy? Boo. Or any of the ancilliary characters like Organa? And that annoying little bastard who played Annakin in TPM?
And quoteability? There are only two lines in the PT which I can remember at any given time. 1) "I was wondering...what ARE mitichlorians?" and Darth Vader's frankensteinian "Noooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!!!!!!!" vs. "And I thought they smelled bad...on the OUTSIDE!" or "She's the fastest hunk of junk in the galaxy." or "Would it help if I got out and pushed?" or "Luke, I am your father." or "scruffy looking nerfherder!" or even "yo to! yo to! (because he's holding a thermal detenator!)."
Anyhow.
