It's Star Wars Day! · 3:31pm May 4th, 2018
May the Fourth be with you all. 
It's no secret for those that know me, I am a huge Star Wars fan.
The original trilogy, the newer films, hell, I'm a dedicated apologist of the infamous prequel trilogy. I just like Star Wars... there's something about that story of the long-ago galaxy far, far away, with Jedi, Sith, Rebels, Imperials, droids and aliens, that just fundamentally appeals to me. For all of the flaws that may be found in some of the stories, there's a lot of great stuff in Star Wars...
And today I want to share some of my favorite stuff from the Star Wars universe. 
Movies, books, cartoons, games... a little bit of everything.
So, let's begin!
Movies:
- I'm a big fan of the original trilogy, even though I'm not one of those OT purists. They're just good films.
- There are things in the prequel trilogy that I like, too. My personal favorite lightsaber duel - Darth Maul versus Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon - is from the prequel era, and I have a certain fondness for a lot of the characters of that time. And, more than that... I like the concepts of the prequels: I like that Lucas tried to show us the gilded but corrupt Republic, tell stories of a Jedi Order that still upheld order but was complacent to the return of the Sith, and the twist that the Clone Army would become the base for the Stormtroopers of the Empire is a genuinely striking twist in my mind.
- While I'm kind of lukewarm to the newest movies (let's get this out of the way, I do NOT hate them!), there are good things in them. I do love Kylo Ren as a villain; I think he's a fantastically screwed-up bad guy (but people who ship him with Rey should be ashamed of themselves). I also like Finn a lot, and of the returning characters from old, I thought Mark Hamill gave his strongest performance ever as the jaded Luke Skywalker... yes, I think that Luke was the best part of The Last Jedi. (Star Wars fans really need to calm down about that film.)
Books:
- If you've never read the Thrawn Trilogy, I'd strongly recommend that you fix that. These three books by Timothy Zahn are often considered some of the best Star Wars stories ever, and they definitely deserve the praise. Especially for the character of Grand Admiral Thrawn, perhaps one of the most brilliant antagonists in a Star Wars story, ever.
- Another really good trilogy is a set of Han Solo novels penned by Brian Daley. Some of the very first Star Wars novels ever published (1979-80, to be specific) one thing that makes them quite interesting is how little they're bogged down by continuity. There's no Empire or Rebels involved in this story; just stories of Han and Chewie trying to make ends meet and getting caught up in adventures. In that regard, they're quite refreshing. And it also helps that they're just good stories. From Han Solo getting drawn into conflict with the Corporate Sector, to getting revenge on a slaver group, to hunting for ancient treasure, there's plenty of engaging material in these books. Look them up, they're known as The Han Solo Adventures, and are well worth it!
- One of the best novelizations that I've had the pleasure of reading is of Matthew Stover's adaptation of Revenge of the Sith. Often told in present tense and cleverly utilizing second-person perspective in various points, the book provides some fascinating psychological insight into the characters; especially into Anakin Skywalker. Besides this, the novelization also restores cut scenes from the original film and also expands on other material, creating a much more cohesive and in-depth story. Seriously, I can't recommend this book enough. It's a personal favorite of mine!
- Stover has written other books for the Star Wars universe. Two of them I know of are Shatterpoint, and Luke Skywalker and the Shadows of Mindor. And they're both quite excellent. The former is a fantastic look into the character of Samuel L. Jackson's Mace Windu, as he investigates a Jedi gone rogue during the Clone Wars, and the latter is a story of Luke Skywalker tracking down an Imperial warlord known by the name of Lord Shadowspawn. Both books are quite engaging - Shatterpoint is almost like a Star Wars version of Apocalypse Now, while Mindor has one of the most chillingly evil and cunning villains I've ever seen. (Seriously, the mastermind for Shadowspawn makes Palpatine look almost tame 
) Highly recommended reading.
Cartoons:
- There are two Star Wars shows based on the Clone Wars. The former, made by Samurai Jack creator Genndy Tartakovsky, is a particular favorite of mine. (I... haven't yet watched enough of the latter 
) But the first series, made between the release of Attack of the Clones and Revenge of the Sith, is a wonderful exercise in action and adventure programming. And best of all, it's only about two hours long, so you can knock the whole show out in one sitting should you choose. XD (But seriously though, it's an awesome cartoon!)
- While I haven't seen all of the second iteration of the Clone Wars, I am familiar with the sequel to that one: Star Wars Rebels, one of the first new things to come out of Disney's purchase of Lucasfilm. And, it was a pretty good run. Admittedly the first season is really basic, and leans a bit on some guest characters, but Season Two begins with a huge bang and the show improves in leaps and bounds. Season Two's finale is still one of the most electrifying climaxes I've ever witnessed, and Season Three and Four also have plenty of great moments. (Season Three also has former Dr. Who Tom Baker appearing, for those Whovians in the audience. He's a delight in the part, and "The Bendu" rapidly became a personal favorite of mine ) And, while some on the site found contention in the climactic episodes of the series, I thought the show's ending was great, a really fascinating take on the Force and the mysticism of the Star Wars universe. I'd definitely recommend the show, people. It's a bit slow to get started, but once it finds its feet, it really gets going!
Games:
- I'm not much of a PC gamer, so (heresy!) I never got into Knights of the Old Republic or any of the other computer games that some Star Wars fans hold up as the best ever.
- No, I was a console gamer. My first Star Wars games were the LEGO games made by Traveller's Tales, and they were damn good fun. There's a lot of fun to be had in seeing the prequel and original trilogies pantomimed and spoofed by LEGO characters... and sometimes, the lack of dialogue makes some moments even better than the actual movies. XD
- I was also a big fan of the PS2 version of Star Wars: Battlefront. Especially Battlefront II. I used to log a lot of time playing the Mos Eisley level where you could pit heroes versus villains... 
So anyway, that's my own list. Some of my personal favorite Star Wars stuff.
Hope you guys found this kind of interesting, and if you want to share any favorite SW material of yours, y'know, feel free to drop a comment!
Well I had Knights of the Old Republic for the Xbox and it's still one of my favorite Star Wars games. Jedi Academy is another along with battefront 1 and 2.
As for the movies: The originals are always good and I've always liked the prequels despite the hate they seem to get. If not for the Clone Wars I wouldn't have a lot of my favorite characters like Dooku and Cad Bane. Both Clone Wars shows are great in my opinion. The only thing I didn't like was the retcons they did for Ventress and Maul. It seemed to take away from the uniqueness of their characters. Also kind of hated how they made Dooku's character in the show. The films (likely due to Christopher Lee's performance) potrayed him in a more benevolent manor.
As for the new films: They haven't really impressed me. I'm not a fan of them to be honest.
The Tartokovsky show is amazing. I loved Durge's introduction and especially Greivous. I remember after we watched the end of the show and went to the movies for Episode 3. The minute Greivous came on screen coughing, my sister and I were geeking out.
What are your favorite episodes from both shows and which film is your favorite, if you had to pick one? Also, do you think 1313 would have been a great game?
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Heh, nice choices, I have to say!
I do get what you say about some of the stuff with Maul and Ventress. I've never cared much for the Dathomir stuff in Star Wars; the Nightsisters are really vile characters in my opinion. But still, I do love Sam Witwer's performance as Maul in Clone Wars and in Rebels - fantastic acting there
(And yeah, I also agree with you about how the show portrays Dooku. Ah well...)
I understand your point on the new film. Of them, the only one I've fully enjoyed is TFA. Rogue One was a slog and Last Jedi was uneven as hell, but I still liked it better than the movie that cast Forest Whittaker in a role that made him completely unintelligible
My favorite episodes? For Clone Wars (Tartakovsky), I love the Ventress/Anakin duel on Yavin, and also Obi-Wan's motorcycle jousting with Durge. Grievous is awesome in that show, and the Nelvaan spirit-quest with Anakin is also a personal favorite of mine.
Rebels - I love the pilot and finale of Season Two. Season Three has "Old Wounds" as a big-time favorite, because of Maul's final duel... And the entire latter half of Season Four was just incredible.
My favorite film? Hmm.... OT, probably either A New Hope or Return of the Jedi, actually. I don't dislike Empire, but the first film has Peter Cushing and the third film has The Emperor... plus Darth Vader's death makes me misty-eyed. XD
Oh yeah, Star Wars 1313. From what I remember, that would have been a pretty awesome game.
I also would have loved this Darth Maul game they were talking about making at one point too...