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  1. In Memory of LAJ_FETT: Please share your remembrances and condolences HERE

ST Recommended Viewing before TFA

Discussion in 'Sequel Trilogy' started by hartman89, Jan 4, 2015.

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  1. hartman89

    hartman89 Jedi Knight star 3

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    Dec 29, 2014
    I am a huge Star Wars fan and always will be. I have thoroughly enjoyed every experience I have had viewing each movie in theaters and at home. However, I am not sure if it is because of the unfortunate time in which I was born or whether it was the external factors that caused me to be very saga-centric in my SW fandom but I have been very lazy if not uninterested in the cartoons, books, and other material. I, myself not even knowing what is considered canon or well recieved by the SW fan masses would like to know a few things if people would be willing to help and give their input. I feel reinvigorated in my love of SW now that I have been able to see them all again with my two young sons and have a whole new appreciation of the whole "sins of the father(or sometimes father figure or mentor) being visited upon the son). With this new interest and unexpected time I now have I would like to know what non-saga material most of all visual material, such as tv shows and mini-series would most fans recommend I delve in to and wether or not they are canon. P.S. I suppose it is worth noting I have been watching Rebels when I have seen it on but not every episode and not in order. Not yet anyways, as I plan on doing so very soon.
     
  2. Darth PJ

    Darth PJ Force Ghost star 6

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    Jul 31, 2013
    I'd watch series 4 and 5 of The Clone Wars plus the Lost Missions, Rebels and the Ewoks movies...
     
  3. TheAvengerButton

    TheAvengerButton Jedi Grand Master star 4

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    Aug 11, 2011
    I would watch the entire Clone Wars series. The first half is fun, but the second he of the show pays off everything the first half sets up.
     
  4. Saga_Symphony

    Saga_Symphony Force Ghost star 4

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    Oct 30, 2010
    Definitely the Clone Wars micro-series.
     
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  5. hartman89

    hartman89 Jedi Knight star 3

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    Dec 29, 2014
    Sorry if this is a dumb question but is that canon as pertaining to the movies?
     
  6. B99

    B99 Force Ghost star 6

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    Nov 10, 2014
    Clone Wars is canon, If that's what your asking. :p
     
  7. hartman89

    hartman89 Jedi Knight star 3

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    Dec 29, 2014
    Yes it was thanks. Is there a particular order in which I should watch these? Also if you could plug me in chronologically where these fit in in case I decide to lock out the outside world and watch all the movies, series, and tv shows over a weekend.
     
  8. TheAvengerButton

    TheAvengerButton Jedi Grand Master star 4

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    Aug 11, 2011
    http://www.starwars.com/news/star-wars-the-clone-wars-chronological-episodeorder

    Here is the Clone Wars episode Chronological order, since the early part of the series was made out of order. The Clone Wars takes place in between Attack of the Clones and Revenge of the Sith, Episodes II and III respectively. It provides a lot of great context to the already existing films and in my opinion is essential when watching the Saga.
     
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  9. Gen Rendar

    Gen Rendar Jedi Knight star 1

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    Sep 7, 2014
    If you are a fan of the universe and want to watch the essentials, the movies are really all you need to watch, and even for the new movies, the Original Trilogy is all you are probably going to be expected to have seen my Disney. But if you are looking for an "official" starwars watch order, here is what I would recommend, leading up to the new movie:

    1. Episode I: The Phantom Menace
    2. Episode II: Attack of the Clones
    3. Starwars: The Clone Wars - (I would watch them in chronological order. It can be a pain switching disk, but it works so much better this way: http://www.starwars.com/news/star-wars-the-clone-wars-chronological-episodeorder )
    4. Episode III: Revenge of the Sith
    5. Episode IV: A New Hope
    6. Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back
    7. Episode VI: Return of the Jedi
    That's really all you need to consider as far as the cannon is concerned. You could skip The Clone Wars, but it is pretty good and adds a lot of insight into things the films might leave out.

    There is also another Clone Wars series called Star Wars: Clone Wars, which people refer to as a Microseries, which you could watch if you wanted. I don't really consider it canon at this point, but nothing in it conflicts with anything else shown. If you watch the Microseries, watch Chapters 1-21 after Episode II, then watch Starwars: The Clone Wars(The second animated series), then watch chapters 22-25, which lead right into Episode III.

    The only other thing I would add, is that if you are feeling like doing a little extra work, you could look into some of the fan restorations for the Original Trilogy. I would not recommend any fan edits for this particular watch, unless you are familiar with the changes made. However, I will say that if you can find it, Star Wars: Revisited by ‘Adywan‘ does a pretty good job updating a lot of little aspects of the film to help bridge it closer to the prequels in terms of effects.

    You could also watch what is released of Rebels so far, before starting Episode IV: A New Hope. Should be fun to go through them all with your kids. You guys have fun :)
     
  10. Rookhelm

    Rookhelm Jedi Master star 4

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    Sep 22, 2014
    The Clone Wars and Rebels are the only TV things that are canon

    As far as books go, only A New Dawn and Tarkin are out right now (novels). Comics maybe, but I couldn't really tell you about those.
     
  11. Krueger

    Krueger Chosen One star 5

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    Aug 9, 2004
    The 2D Clone Wars series is not canon. Only the newer 3D one.
     
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  12. Gen Rendar

    Gen Rendar Jedi Knight star 1

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    Sep 7, 2014
    I believe the only comic that is cannon as of now is Darth Maul: Son of Dathomir, but it doesn't really conclude much beyond what is in The Clone Wars. There is also the new comics being published by Marvel which come out this month and are centered around the Original Trilogy. I doubt they will have a big impact on what happens in Episode VII, but you never know.
     
  13. Saga_Symphony

    Saga_Symphony Force Ghost star 4

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    Oct 30, 2010
    I don't see the point of writing off the micro-series as non-canon, but whatever, Disney/ Lucasfilm..

    I don't think any of the shows are really "necessary", but if you want to watch some Clone Wars, go with the micro-series. For a start at least. It's a good example of quality over quantity, IMO.
     
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  14. Cartoon Boba

    Cartoon Boba Jedi Knight star 2

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    Nov 30, 2014
    Don't worry if something is canon or not, after all, Star Wars is complicated. Some of the best stuff that isn't 'canon' perhaps should be and vice versa (I'm not saying what is or isn't better but I am saying that this is theoretically true). All fiction is fiction, especially what has actually seen official publication. Having said that, I'd say go with the early 'EU' that was written between the first movie and Return of the Jedi (Marvel comics, graphic novel collections of newspaper strips, the novel Splinter of the Mind's Eye and the Han Solo books).
     
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  15. Darth-Seldon

    Darth-Seldon Jedi Grand Master star 6

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    May 17, 2003
    Super 8, Mission Impossible III, Star Trek, Star Trek Into Darkness, some of Lost, etc.
     
  16. hartman89

    hartman89 Jedi Knight star 3

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    Dec 29, 2014
    Thanks I appreciate all the info. A lot of my friends who THINK they have a better appreciation of SW have also mentioned SotME so I am fairly interested in checking that out. The only literary work I've read was on an iPAD about Darth Plagueis. As much as I enjoyed it, I'd rather not even bring up all my questions about it, since it apparently is something that gets people quite worked up.
     
  17. Pliolite

    Pliolite Jedi Master star 3

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    May 3, 2014

    :D What I find is JJ strikes gold for around 20 minutes of each of his movies, then what's left is just okay... That applies to Super 8 and Into Darkness in particular, I guess.

    We can hope that he finds that level and runs with it for TFA. I don't want 30 minutes of being bored, or hating the ending.
     
  18. JBFett007

    JBFett007 Jedi Padawan star 1

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    Nov 23, 2014
    Necessary viewing? The movies are the only thing necessary.

    Edit: As some of the others are saying, avoid the big Clone Wars CGI cartoon, and just watch the original 2D micro series. You can find it on Youtube easy enough, and it's been compiled by a few people into one big 2 hr collection. :) Also some things that aren't exactly "canon" but can still fit in at this time are all of Dark Horses Prequel era and Old Republic era stuff, and KOTOR. The Thrawn Trilogy could still be considered canon if you take out all the references to Leia's twin pregnancy, and just replace those with mention of one child.
     
  19. hartman89

    hartman89 Jedi Knight star 3

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    Dec 29, 2014
    I guess I didn't mean a literal interpretation of necessary but rather what other material do serious fans feel is essential to maximize their SW experience.
     
  20. Pliolite

    Pliolite Jedi Master star 3

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    May 3, 2014

    I don't get why anyone would want to avoid it. Parts of it are a heck of a lot more entertaining than some of the movies! Rebels also! :)
     
  21. JBFett007

    JBFett007 Jedi Padawan star 1

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    Nov 23, 2014
    Ah. Well as I said most people treat the Thrawn Trilogy as holy scripture, some even holding it to a higher standard than any of the Saga, so that's the best place to start. I mentioned in my edit of my above post a few of Dark Horse comics run. I'd recommend trying to find The Tales of the Jedi, and all their Clone Wars era stuff, and Dark Times. You can find all of these in several omnibus on Amazon. Look for Tales of the Jedi vol 1-2, The Clone Wars vol 1-3, and Dark Times vol 1-2. As for animation, I again recommenced the original Gendy Tartovsky micro-series which aired on Cartoon Network back in 03-04. You can find it easy enough by looking for "The Clone Wars HD" on Youtube. It's a fun little 2 hr jaunt. Finally for video games Knights of the Old Republic is pretty much universally acclaimed even outside the Star Wars community as one of the best RPGs ever, so pick that up. It serves as a semi-sequel to Dark Horse's TOTJ, but it isn't really needed to read those. They get referenced from time to time as a nice nod.
     
  22. Force Smuggler

    Force Smuggler Force Ghost star 7

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    Sep 2, 2012
    There probably will be a prequel book or comic coming out in the months leading up to December that might help.
     
  23. JBFett007

    JBFett007 Jedi Padawan star 1

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    Nov 23, 2014
    I'm sorry, but I just have never been able to get into it. Collectively I've watched till about half way through season 4, and I never could shake the dirty feeling. I feel like my childhood was crapped on every few episodes. I know that sounds dramatic with the "childhood ruined" cliche, but I hail from that great time when the EU was really blowing up circa 99-07 and it just makes me want to punch the production crew in the face with how much they bastardize characters that I had absolutely loved when they were first introduced. I mean the way they handled Grievous and Asajj... [face_sick]

    Edit: Also the Bane trilogy is decent listening. It doesn't read very well, but there is a very high quality audiobook for it. It also still fits neatly within canon.
     
  24. Pasjo_Kynrid

    Pasjo_Kynrid Jedi Master star 2

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    Jan 21, 2004
    Couldn't this just be part of the marathon thread?
     
  25. Max@TSWP

    Max@TSWP Jedi Grand Master star 4

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    Nov 21, 2014
    I was in the same boat a couple of months back. TFA woke something inside me to want to jump in the Star Wars Universe like no other. I was a major fan of the films and only read the Phantom Menace novel outside of the movies. But in the last two or so months I have read the Plaquies novel, watched the entire Clone Wars series, scoured forums and websites like this one and pretty much all the others. Listened to unbelievable, incomprehensible, inhuman amounts of hours of Star Wars Podcasts (Now This Is Podcasting! being my all time favorite. Randy, Jason, Sal and JohnaMarie just have really great chemistry) and just now finishing up Star Wars history and video game cut scenes on a bunch of YouTube videos.

    I never read the comic books, novels or cosplayed up and went to conventions but I have always loved the movies. They brought about some really fond memories when I was a kid back in second grade circa 1982 sleeping over at my cousins, watching Empire for the first time and playing with their Star Wars toys (damn spoiled children had all of them). Now I have two kids of my own 2 year old girl and a 10 month old son, I look forward to creating those great memories with them. So I too have been gorging myself on everything Star Wars. Sites like this one do a damn fine job at taking Star Wars rookies like us and getting us caught up quick on knowledge that many of you took decades to digest. I for one am very thankful.

    Definitely watch the Clone Wars series and check out the Now This Is Podcasting! podcasts from MakingStarWars.Net.

    Heck, in just the last episode Sal gave me three new super weapon ideas on how to take over the universe.

    #UsingSunCrusherForPostiveReenforcement
     
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