Honoring the upcoming release of the Star Wars Trilogy totally unaltered, StarWars.com has been releasing special articles on all the exact differences between the original films and the new. You've no doubt noticed these on the main page, but here they are.

I think these are great, and I've really enjoyed looking at all the particular differences. And it's made me think of something interesting.

When these new (er.. old?) DVD's come out, all the real fundamentalist fanboys will rejoice because they're about to experience exactly what they originally did that made them love Star Wars, and they'll relive all their happy childhood memories and be happy forever.

Yeah, right.

What these features have made me realize is that as groundbreaking as the special effects of Star Wars were in 1977, the originals are simply unremarkable today. They're good, but in terms of graphics, A New Hope is simply unimpressive by today's standards. Take a moment to compare and contrast the Battle of Yavin, Endor even, to the Battle of Coruscant.

When people eagerly watch the original originals, they'll see the sloppyness of the original graphics. I'm not saying ILM was lazy, but the features do show the flaws of the original effects.

People will see that the original films were imperfect. George Lucas updated them, to keep them good. Not that many people, and practically no fans will argue that the OT doesn't hold up, but I'd argue that it wouldn't have held up so well if were not for George Lucas' relentless remastering.

The content changes are really what rile up fans, but Lucas is a storyteller. He has a story he wants to tell, and all he ever did was make the movie tell the story he always wanted. That however, is a bigger discussion for a different time.

It is my prediction that the re-release of the Original OT will really be a wake up call to a lot of originalist fans. It will become clear that the films were NOT perfect just the way they were in theaters. Maybe then people will be less likely to accuse George Lucas of brutally murdering their childhood, because they'll realize that nothing is the same as the first time, and everything always seems like it was better in the good ol' days.

People don't like the changes, but when they see what the movies have become after what they were, maybe some people will realize that the Special editions just may have saved Star Wars from obscurity.

Would Star Wars be what it remains to be today, if it were not for the continual changes and upgrades? Would Star Wars still be a big a draw were it not for George Lucas' additions?

If only by the controversy, Lucas' changes and additions have ensured the continued prosperit of the franchise, and I think that the people who are most upset by the changes and prequels will realize just what might have happened to Star Wars if George Lucas had let the sleeping dog lie.