Whilst I more or less agree with a number of your points, I must point out a few things. Star Wars is essentially a children's movie. When I watched EP1 and Jar Jar did something that made me and the other die-hard adults cringe, most of the kids laughed... I would love to slowly lower JJB into a vat of acid headfirst after i've tortured him/it with a pair of pliars and some of my poetry, but when you see kids with JJB lunch boxes, ultimately you realize where GL is aiming his target audiance with things in the film. The EU books. Personally I cringe whenever I lay eyes upon them these days, so in my personal opinion they are a poor source of quotation... Zahn wrote a pretty mean read concerning Thrawn, but things slid pretty much into the realm of the Jar Jar after then... Ultimatly, upon reflection the prequals haven't been so bad imo, from what i've seen of EP3 it looks dark enough to send a shiver down the backs of small children...which is good!! Oh...hello btw dude!