By starting with Episode I, you totally miss out on the revelations that made the original trilogy so exciting.  For example:

• Ben can return from the dead
• Yoda the muppet is a Jedi master
• Vader is Luke's father
• Leia is Luke's sister
• What's behind Vader's mask?

All of these facts are revealed in the prequels, and I wouldn't trade the surprise for anything.  The prequels work best at dramatizing how things came to be rather than setting up the story for the "later" episodes of the original trilogy.

It's beyond debate that George Lucas pushed special effects farther faster than anyone in the history of cinema.  While Episode IV: A New Hope was breathtaking for its day, it was only the beginning.  There is a clear and consistent escalation in effects technology that is evident with each subsequent episode, and part of the fun of watching the series was seeing where they could take things next.

By viewing things chronologically, even starting with the "Special Edition" versions of the trilogy, there is a steady increase throughout the saga... with a notable leap forward into fully-realized CG characters when one comes to the prequels.  To start with Episode I means lowering expectations halfway through the series.  While the original trilogy is movie-making at its best, viewers will certainly miss the remarkable panoramas of worlds like Coruscant that are never equaled in the original trilogy (aside from the brief Special Edition inserts tacked onto Return of the Jedi).

The only visual surprise Lucas saved for the original trilogy was smeared starfield of the hyperspace jump (first revealed aboard the Millennium Falcon in A New Hope).  Dramatic as that was, it's very little compared to the modern digital capabilities realized in the prequel trilogy.

As of 6/10/05 the imdb.com scores for the saga were as follows:

Episode 1 = 6.4
Episode 2 = 7.0
Episode 3 = 7.9
Episode 4 = 8.8
Episode 5 = 8.8
Episode 6 = 8.1

When viewed "episodically" starting with The Phantom Menace, the series starts on a very low note.  In fact, it is at its lowest of the series.  One might view this philosophically as humble beginnings, but that doesn't encourage the viewer to move onward.  The series continues to build in overall appeal through The Empire Strikes Back, but concludes with the anti-climactic Return of the Jedi, a movie that is merely a reworking of A New Hope.

On the other hand, if the series is viewed in chronological order of production, the saga starts with a bang.  While it looses some of its appeal over the course of the series, the prequels do get gradually better in quality and ultimately conclude with Revenge of the Sith, that is tremendously satisfying visually and emotionally.

Start in 1977 with A New Hope!  Let your kids enjoy it just like we did.

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