A Passion Project of Mine

Hello my friends, and welcome back to my blog. 

Now as anyone who has followed my podcast will no doubt be aware, I am not just a geek, but I am especially a geek who is interested in lore. Part of that also means that I am very interested in timelines and watch/read orders, and finding the best way to experience properties, especially with the goals of introducing people to them. 

Now of course for most things the best way to watch something is in the release order. For example the Marvel Cinematic Universe has generally had every released entry coming after all of the previous ones, although even there are a few exceptions. So in that case perhaps the best way to watch something is in Chronological order? Following the in-universe timeline? This also has it's own issues. For example Star Trek: Discovery's first two seasons and Strange New Worlds are set only a few years before the Original Series of Star Trek, yet it could be very bizarre for a first time viewer to go through these slick new shows and then follow that with a quite camp pulp adventure serial that doesn't always hold itself to the same standard - with treatment of women in some TOS episodes especially being terrible, even in the pilot The Cage which has to predate the new shows. So as you can see even that has it's problems. And this isn't just for film and television franchises either. For example what comics in the DC universe are best to read for backstory on an upcoming event, or what is the best order to read all of the X-Men titles, or when do Spider-Man's Avengers appearances line up with his solo stories? 

Another problem too, especially when introducing someone to a property you enjoy, can sometimes be the large body of work they may need to catch up on, sometimes of varying quality. To use my previous examples again there are 4 seasons of the Next Generation before Deep Space Nine starts, and some of them are essential to understand what is happening, but not all of them, meaning you can skip them. Or how the Infinity Saga contains a lot of great films, but some not so great, and not all of them contribute to the story of the Infinity Stones and Thanos that culminates in Endgame, and so you may wish to sit your partner or friend down with only ten of the best films rather than 23 films ranging from ok to great. 

I think this was perhaps best exemplified with the introduction of the Machete Order for the Star Wars Saga several years ago. At the time the Star Wars films released so far existed in two trilogies, with the films chronologically later having been released earlier, and vice versa. One of those six films, Episode 1: The Phantom Menace, was also widely considered by many fans to be a bit of a slog, not quite in line with the highs of the rest of the series, as well as largely inconsequential to the larger meta story. As a result the Machete Order was proposed by Rob Hilton on his website in 2011. His suggestion was to watch Episode 4: A New Hope, Episode 5: The Empire Strikes Back, then watch Episode 2: Attack of the Clones and Episode 3: Revenge of the Sith as a large flashback, with Episode 6: Return of the Jedi as the conclusion.

This order, it was argued, would provide the most satisfying experience to first time viewers of the Saga. Firstly your introduction is Episodes 4 and 5, widely considered the best two films in the franchise. Empire Strikes Back contains the reveal of Darth Vader being Luke's father, creating a twist before showing Anakin's fall in Episodes 2 and 3. Additionally Revenge of the Sith then becomes the film to reveal that Leia is Luke's twin sister, and also Anakin's child, a relevation that is then explored as part of the final film. This preserves the two twists as intended to shock the prospective new viewer, and sets up Luke and Anakin's storylines as mirrors of each other, to pay off both in Return of the Jedi, something that enhances the final confrontations in that film. Episode 1 is largely skipped over as unnecessary, with the argument that almost all characters or plots from it are introduced better elsewhere. 

Now I like the Machete Order. No in fact I love it. I think Episode 1 has a few more merits than the author does, but I still think it's the best way to enjoy the original films, and had the franchise not been subsequently expanded by Disney it probably would have remained as such. As it stands I think the best version may be incorporating elements from the Prequel Trilogy as flashbacks throughout the Original Trilogy, with scenes from Rogue One, the Kenobi series, and deleted scenes from Episode 3 especially to add to the full story of what we are seeing, but accomplishing this would require much more editing skills than I am currently capable of. 

And so, returning to the question of what is the best way to experience a franchise, especially for a new viewer? This is something I have given a lot of thought, and I like following efforts of people who assemble timeline lists so that I can work these things out for myself. As a result I have several watch orders I have written, mostly chronological ones, to introduce my two partners Tallulah and Zulu to my favourite franchises, or simply so that for my own sake I can order what is happening and when. However now that I have this blog these are something I want to share, and update as necessary to go alongside my podcast. 

More than that though I want to come at them with the approach of what is the best way for a new viewer to experience these. What episodes are essential for ongoing plot threads or character developments? What episodes make the best introductions to a franchise? Which episodes should be avoided altogether for whatever reason? 

So yes this is something I am going to be doing very soon. In fact I already promised one on a recent podcast episode, and so that will likely be the first one I tackle here. So look forward to that in the next few days, and let me know what watch or read orders you may be interested in in the future.

In the meantime I'll sign off for now. Look after yourselves everyone. I know I myself am struggling a lot with my mental health and I will tell you as I am trying to tell myself - it is okay to rest and it is okay to seek help. 

I love you all. Until next time.