In a New York Times piece piece giving various sci-fi writers a forum to trash the Star Wars series, Henry Fountain writes, “As if hyperdrive rendered historical continuity irrelevant, the first Star Wars film was actually Episode IV, and the last is Episode III. In the eyes of nonfans, of course, it doesn’t really matter where one lands in the saga. After the second film (The Empire Strikes Back) the whole thing went downhill.” Well, yes …but Empire was the pinnacle of the series in the eyes of true fans…meaning those who got off the boat 22 years ago with the arrival of Return of the Jedi.
