We grew up with the original Star Wars trilogy, a world so wonderfully drawn and fascinatingly coloured that it left us desperate for more. And then George Lucas decided to give us what we wanted, and we hated it.
But the fact that the prequels were so crushingly disappointing actually isn't the worst thing about them. Their greatest crime is that they actively changed and degraded some of the best things about the original films.
We've picked out the prequel screw-ups that would have made us love the originals less if we hadn't written these later films off as non-canon, and therefore utterly ignorable.
Midi-chlorians
Let's start with the midi-chlorians, because of all of the ludicrous nonsense that good ol' George included in the prequels, the idea that the Force is actually generated by inter-connected microscopic creatures bemused fans most of all.
Given that we were perfectly okay with Obi-Wan Kenobi's mystical explanation of the Force in the original Star Wars, it's hard to understand why Lucas needed to add any more to the fiction. And when what he added essentially turned Jedis into yoga fanatics with parasites, we really wish he hadn't bothered.
Jedis being *that* powerful
In the original trilogy, Han Solo has clearly never encountered any Jedis – something that becomes pretty unlikely given that in the prequels they're essentially super-powered heroes responsible for peace, with a huge presence on the capital Coruscant, and the ability to single-handedly destroy whole armies. Add to that the fact that Han's best friend fought alongside them, and we're not at all sure that Lucas thought this through.
The Jedis of the sequels were far more likely to have flown under the radar. Darth Vader was powerful and had a super-cool weapon, and Obi Wan had a few neat tricks – but neither of them gave any real indication of being the supermen of the prequels.
Lucas has said that the old knights of the originals were not Jedis in their pomp, being either old (like Kenobi) or mainly robot (like Vader). But given that Count Dooku was old and General Grievous was mainly robot, it's hard to credit. And that means that the previously cool duel between Obi Wan and Vader on the Death Star becomes a bit embarrassing.
Yoda using a lightsaber
There was a part of us that thrilled at seeing Yoda with a lightsaber – but a far bigger part that recoiled at the master of peace resorting to a weapon and whirling like a dervish.
That we met Yoda as a decrepit, small, seemingly feeble creature who could lift a spaceship out of a marsh with his mind made him immediately awesome. That he would need a lightsaber at all in the prequels robs him of some of that dignity.
Boba Fett's backstory
Boba Fett is one of the most badass villains ever to cameo in a movie world. The bounty hunter's fleeting appearance was pivotal to the story, and alluded to an amazingly wide universe of incredible characters. He was the flip-side of Han Solo and he stole our hearts, even though he didn't appear to have one of his own.
And then we had to go and get his backstory as the clone of a man who was cloned to form the clones that were the first stormtroopers and WTH George?!
R2 D2 can fly, is clearly being a dick
Another character that gets filtered through a whole new light is deserved fan favourite R2-D2. C-3PO at least gets the pass of having had his memories wiped, but R2-D2's actions suggest he does know exactly what's going on AND THEN CHOOSES NOT TO TELL ANYONE.
Does he help the Rebels with his in-depth knowledge of his former master's flying? No. Does he tell Luke that Vader is his father? No.
