Random Comment

Star Wars is the best of the six. It made it all possible.

How was this not already true of a purportedly faith-based (or -friendly, or whatever) studio?

There are ... fewer lights.

Rude. But there's more there, and elsewhere, than that (though nobody said "fully formed").

Dense?

Funnily enough, I've had folks tell me I couldn't possibly have known about the multiple trilogies idea in the early 80's, even though I clearly remember regaling my Mom's friends with that info back then.

At any rate, it's certainly fair to argue that many were surprised by the Episode # add, as the 1980 Time article linked in this thread also indicates. I know my father and I certainly were.

I would just suggest that the info existing vs. being widely known are different things, especially in that transitory media landscape. I wasn't arguing that the info didn't exist, but I would argue as to how widely known it was, especially in that 70s transitory media landscape.

I don't know if I still have any individual figures ... but I do still have Biotron.

Never forget the day we lost the moon.

Not sure about "always" ... I don't think we did know when we first saw the "Episode V" added ... but by the time Jedi came out the larger "three trilogies" structure was definitely commonly known.

If you read the original Star Wars novelization, it's pretty clear he did some of that backstory in mind ...

With the events introducing Machine Man and leaving him in the Marvel universe proper, IIRC?

And also after learning that Trek 2 was planned to be called "The Vengeance of Khan" ...

TOS. But TNG is amazing, not counting the films. TOS and TNG, Star Wars and Empire, Alien and Aliens - it's the first one that does the world and character work that allows the followup to be what it is.

Some of those were unfortunately bendy ...

Somehow it's more troubling that Star Trek IV is 40 years old this year than it is that Star Trek is 60 ...

So if Star Trek V had been more successful, would Star Trek VI still have been the final for TOS? Released in 1991, they still could have squeezed in one more before TNG took over ...

A little funny business going on there with the costume from "The Cloud Minders" ...