In the most recent edition of Bantha Tracks Online, readers voted on their Top Ten Favorite Lightsaber moments of the Star Wars saga. http://www.starwars.com/hyperspace/member/banthaonline/f20060124/indexp4.html

No surprise, the winning moment is the "Battle of the Heroes" - Obi-Wan vs. Anakin at the climax of Revenge of the Sith.

No surprise #2. The next favorite lightsaber scene is the "Duel of the Fates" - Darth Maul vs. Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan in The Phantom Menace.

#3? Yoda opens a can of Jedi whup**s on Dooku in Attack of the Clones.

And on through the top ten. Most of them I would have guessed, but many readers voted on some lightsaber scenes I found surprising. However, when I thought about them I could totally see why.

Not only the favorite lightsaber scene, but the most meaningful moment for many in the entire saga is when Luke Skywalker ignites his father's lightsaber for the first time. I give the Bantha Tracks readers credit for their thoughtfulness. I was thinking Jedi-Kick-Butt-Slash-and-Conquer kinds of scenes, but how can one argue that this scene in Obi-Wan's hermitage on Tatooine has impact? Especially after watching a heartbroken Obi-Wan pick up that lightsaber on Mustafar, leaving Anakin for dead.

Here's a great quote on a totally unexpected scene:
"I thought quite a bit about this question and as weird as it sounds, I am going to have to go with the sequence at the start of The Phantom Menace when we first see Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon use their lightsabers. True, they are only fighting droids. There is no dramatic duel, no flashy moves, or heart-wrenching confrontation. It's routine, which I think is why it is so captivating. This is the first time we really see who the Jedi were, what they were capable of, and what the universe had lost." -- Chris Cassidy

"...what the universe had lost." It's true. At the start of Episode IV we've got Obi-Wan out in the dunes and Yoda in the swamp. The light of the Jedi had gone out of the universe, as old Ben said.

And then, of course, there's Han opening the tauntaun with Luke's lightsaber on Hoth. Don't know...just can't beat Han holding a lightsaber, even if he's not a Jedi.