In many ways, the early days of 1999 were almost nirvanic bliss for Star Wars fans. Episode I was being released so very soon and Star Wars would take its' rightful place on top of the all time box office. The Jedi were soon going to retake the silver screen and Star Wars would once again reign supreme, but something unexpected happened. Episode I turned out different from what many people imagined, and some were quite upset about it. In grand Comic Book Guy fashion, the geeks took to the web and immediately began decrying what George Lucas had done to their beloved Star Wars. Some even felt like George was destroying their childhood.

I would have to say the the #1 object of the contempt of many was one Jar Jar Binks. He was unlike anything we had ever seen in Star Wars and he infuriated many, both fans and non-fans. My brother, generally a hater of Star Wars, insisted that he would never again watch any Star Wars again solely because of Jar Jar. Said vow lasted until such time as he got married and his wife wanted to see Episode II. Guess who he called?

But I digress. Soon we heard stories from the media about how Jar Jar was universally hated. Anti Jar Jar sites sprung up all over the internet. And yet, quietly, something else was happening. In the midst of all the internet furor over one Jar Jar Binks, Lucasfilm itself was indeed inundated with letters about Jar Jar. Only these letters were very different. They were from parents writing to tell Lucasfilm how much their children loved Jar Jar.

As for me, I didn't really care one way or another. While not a fan per se of Jar Jar, I didn't loathe him. As time went on, I began to find all the Jar Jar hatred more funny than anything else and began to silently root for Jar Jar's continued existence in Star Wars, if only because I knew it would cause outrage in the minds of some. And then one day, Jar Jar Binks helped me get a date. Yes, that's right. Jar Jar helped me get a date.

In December 2000, I was at the local Toys R Us when I came across something unique. It was the classic Dancing Jar Jar toy, and it was on clearance for all of $5. I had to get it. My roommate, also a huge Star Wars geek, and I rather enjoyed the sheer silliness of Dancing Jar Jar. Fast forward now to April 2002. With Episode II now weeks away, I was in full Star Wars geek mode, to the point where Dancing Jar Jar had a place of honor on top of the TV in the living room. And then, just two weeks before Episode II was released, Dancing Jar Jar wound up helping me get a date.

As I was reading a Star Wars book (what else) in the living room, my roommate's sister and her roommate came over. The sister's roommate got very excited to see Dancing Jar Jar since she thought he was cute and funny. And a couple days later, as I was deciding who to take to see Episode II on opening night, she came instantly to mind. And what's more, she decided that dressing in costume would be lots of fun, so I went in my Jedi robes and she went as Queen Amidala. You should have seen our reactions when Yoda busted out his lightsaber. She even had to put her hand over my mouth to keep me relatively quiet.

A few weeks later we even took her cousins to see Episode II. And that is where I saw the appeal of Jar Jar. These two little kids were so excited when Jar Jar showed up on screen. They loved him and his crazy antics. They even wished he had been in the movie more. And now we come to the Clone Wars. Since Lucas has often said that the movies are designed for 10 year olds, The Clone Wars cartoon series has now featured two episodes featuring Jar Jar as a main character. In a way, the Gungan is getting his revenge. And of course, some way, some how, Jar manages to do something right in every episode. I guess the poor Gungan needs redemption after inadvertently giving Palpatine emergency powers.

In watching the episodes, it's clear that Jar Jar manages to somehow not screw everything up, in spite of his clumsiness, or Jar Jarness. Even in The Phantom Menace, it was Jar Jar who ended up helping to save Naboo through getting to know Amidlala. Is Jar Jar just lucky? I would say yes, but then I think of Obi-Wan's famous statement. "In my experience there's no such thing as luck." How then do we reconcile no such thing as luck with Jar Jar's always managing to help out even in his clumsiness.

In the end, the greatest poll question ever here on Star Wars.com summed it up so well.

Given Obi-Wan's statement about luck, how do you explain Jar Jar?

1. Jar Jar is the greatest Force user ever.

2. Obi-Wan's relying on that certain point of view thing again.

The more and more I see of Jar Jar in the Star Wars saga, the more I'm not sure. And that's a scary thought. Maybe Jar Jar was the Chosen One. Now that's a thought that should really rile people up, right up there with my pre-Episode II completely fabricated rumor about Jar Jar's true identity. But that's best left for another blog. . .