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my biggest dissapointment with the phantom menace was that it didnt open up with c3po and r2d2. they opened up ANH, gradually introduced us to the main characters and provided a continuity to the original trilogy. they were the comic relief. we shouldnt have been introduced to c3po and r2d2 the way we were. anakin creating c3po was absolutely rediculous. TPM should have opened with c3po and r2d2 together, perhaps on the trade federation ship. in a way, as insignifigant as they are to the main plot of the movies, they held the series together. they were the most brilliant idea george had in the original series and he didnt take advantage of them for the new movies.

disagree. I think it was a great way to introduce them, and we got to see their first meeting and all.

I kind of like the opening of TPM, a spaceship like all Sw movies have opened

They didn't had a big role but they will...
everything starts small and gets bigger and bigger

To be honest, it would have been impossible for the two droids to play the same role as they did in the original films in TPM. The whole prequel trilogy- or at least TPM- was not an event that could be observed in the same way nor does the narrative structure suit the sort of continuity the droids could provide.

I think the opening was fine just the way it was. All of the Star Wars movies have started with a ship going somewhere on the screen.

Ep. I: The Republic Cruiser flies towards Naboo and lands in a Trade Federation Battle ship.
Ep. II: The Royal Senator's Starship flies towards Coruscant, only to be blown up by Zam Wessel, a bounty hunter and assasin.
Ep. IV: The Rebel Blockade Runner is running from the Star Destroyer Devastor.
Ep. V: The Star Destroyer is releasing Probe Droids onto the planet of Hoth.
Ep. VI: Wow. This one starts with the dynamic duo walking towards Jabba's Palace. Party bigsef2.

Here's a backview of the Royal Senator's Starship. Looks almost exactly like the Royal Starship from Ep. I, but has engines and wings like the N-1 Bomber from Star Wars: Battle for Naboo on N64 and PC.

Well, literally speaking VI starts with a Star Destroyer arriving at the Death Star...

all the original star wars movies started off with something the EMPIRE was doing. this set the stage for what the rebels were doing. in TPM there was no Empire, so Lucas opened up with the current governments ship, ok. as to the droids not being able to introduce the main characters as in the previous movies, because of the narrative structure not allowing it....thats my whole point. the narrative structure of TPM sucks. GL is trying to do way too much. In my opinion, he should have started the movie with anakin in his late teens, where Episode II starts.

This strays from what I started this thread about, but i just got through watching the 'original trilogy' again and i reallized that TPM has no side plot. the previous movies all had side plots having little to do with the theme of the movies. and thats half of what made those movies so great. where is a character comparable to han solo or chewie in TPM?

Oops! I haven't seen ROTJ for a while (after seeing it 6 times in a row at the beginning of 2001). I forgot about the sequence with Moff Jerjerrod and Darth Vader. Sorry Ushgarak!

What do ya' think about the Royal Senator's Starship from the opening Ep. II sequence?

I completely agree that C3PO and R2 should have been in TPM a lot more. I don't think they should have started out the movie, but Lucas should have known to put something in the entire movie.

Instead, the movie throws in little remeinders (the Jawas, the Sandpeople) making you remember that it's Star Wars.

I don't know if we really needed to see 3PO in TPM..

Sure we did