Anyone got a reference for this stuff? I've been watching some of the movies and cartoons with my son. He loves Star Wars now, and, beyond knowing Luke is the son of Darth Vader, I'm lost. I've seen the movies a long time ago, but where I get lost is why are all the soldiers in the Clone Wars cartoon dressed like storm troopers? How did we get from a Repulic to the Empire? Where did all the Jedi go? For that matter, where did all the Sith go? From what I gather, they were the jedi that fell to the dark side. The only ones in the original movies were the Emporer and Vader. What is the un-dark side called? In any case, I think my son liking stuff so old that I was too young to get into it is really funny.
Wookiepedia is a star wars wiki that should answer all of your reference needs. Short answers to some of the above (spoilers) The clones are the precursor to storm troopers. The Emperor takes over turning the republic into an empire. The Emperor orders the Jedi killed as part of his coup. The un-dark side is never really named, but is usually known as the light side.
Sorry, I don't got a reference. I just have a good memory and have seen all of the movies a number of times. They played on cable for free. Plus I think I saw the first movie (now numbered as episode 4) about a dozen times in theaters when it first came out. I was about 25 and, oddly enough, it was a great date movie. There are always only two sith at any one time: a master and an apprentice. Unspoken, but implied is that, if the apprentice survives long enough and becomes powerful enough, he kills the master. Then he becomes the master and draws in an apprentice. If an apprentice doesn't become powerful enough, the master kills him and finds another. This tends to explain why there are only two sith at any one time. Star Wars episodes 1-3 document the fall of the republic and the rise of the empire through the machinations of the Sith master, Darth Sidius, who wore the public persona of Senator Palpatine. As part of that orchestrated fall, the Jedi were killed. (See Episode 3) The undark side is merely called "the force", the energy field created by all living things. See episode 4.
Way too much there to even sum up, but I'll try. The clone troopers were commissioned by Darth Tyranus/Count Dooku, under orders from Darth Sidious/Palpatine to serve as the Grand Army of The Republic. This action was widely accepted by the populace due to rising tensions from the Separatist Movement, also orchestrated by Palpatine. The entire objective of the Clone Wars was to spread the Jedi thin across the galaxy, and surround them with the clone troopers. Once Order 66 was given, the clones would turn on the Jedi in their midst and kill them. Since the clones were just following orders, the Jedi would not perceive any malice or ill intent through the Force. The Clone Wars were, start to finish, intended to be nothing more than the perfect Jedi trap. Most of the Jedi that survived were subsequently hunted down in The Great Jedi Purge. As to why the clones wear armor resembling that of storm troopers, this can be seen as Lucas drawing parallels to his original trilogy. This happens frequently throughout the prequil trilogy, such as Darth Maul's fighter superficially resembling a TIE fighter. Darth Bane was responsible for creating the Rule of Two (i.e. - one master, one apprentice.) Prior to this, there were many Sith of varying factions throughout the millennia. The faction at the the time of Bane's rise to power was known as the Brotherhood of the Sith. Ultimately, Bane became disillusioned with the power-mongering and infighting within the Brotherhood, and almost single-handedly brought about its' downfall. Henceforth, Bane decided that there would be only two Sith at any given time, "One to embody power, and the other to crave it." Apprentices generally killed their masters when they had learned all they could from them. This continued for thousands of years, with each generation of Sith building upon the groundwork that ultimately culminated in Episode 3, with the (almost,) complete destruction of the Jedi, the fall of the Republic, and the rise of the Empire. The "un-dark" side of the Force has frequently been refered to as the Light Side in Expanded Universe writings. Whew. That was fun. . .
To muddy the waters further, there are other force wielders besides Jedi and Sith. In season 3 of the Clone Wars you get to see the Nightsisters of Dathomir and three beings identified only as the Father, the Son and the Daughter. As the series progresses the clone armor starts to look even more like stormtrooper armor. Good series. Frank
