u/Puzzleheaded-Life462

I just finished reading this book. It’s primarily an excellent examination of how GL depicted Ani’s fall from grace.
In the appendix he discusses the question of viewing order for newbies. He settles on what he calls Combined Order: 4,1,2,3,5,6.
I will admit surprised me at first but as he explains it does the best job of preserving all the dramatic beats of both trilogies.
- it reflects how the movies were conceived: 4 is basically a standalone film, 1-3 were of a piece as are 5-6.
- in episode order, the change from RotS to ANH is too jarring stylistically.
- with this viewing you go into the prequels assuming we’re going to see the story of how Luke’s father was trained by Ben only to be killed by Vader. It’s a shock when you get to RotS and realize Ani is Vader, and that Luke is now going to have to kill his father.
There’s more which I’ll probably discuss on SWMWE.
He includes an interview where GL is intrigued that how you view the SW and Vader is radically altered by the viewing order, calling it interactive cinema.

I’m new to the world of GI fandom. Have there ever been any stories set before they get to the island? Either official or fan fic?
I think it could be a rich vein to explore and hope they address:
—most obviously, why some characters brought so much luggage
—why would the Howells arrange a tour on a piece of junk like the Minnow? Does the fact that they don’t own a boat of their own hint at a darker truth? Who booked it for them? Was lunch included?
—reveal the Professor had a past he was escaping from (eg: he was in charge of the botched “launch/lunch” debacle) which would explain why he never used his skills to help escape (fix the boat, build a raft, make radio transmitter, etc).
—why did the Skipper employ the obviously incompetent Gilligan as his first mate? Why is it “his” island when clearly the Howells ran the show? Gilligan may also have had problems on the mainland, causing him to repeatedly “accidentally” sabotage attempts to get home
—set up more backstories for the various parties that will visit the Island (show dictator seizing power, Hecuba as a NBC page, astronauts getting trained, Globetrotters losing to the etc) Generals, etc
— more firmly establish GI’s place in the Sherwoodverse (eg: explain Thurston worked as a gold miner, Ginger hired Mike Brady to design her house, etc)