Star Wars nerds rejoice! It has been thirty three years since the release of Episode VI, Return of the Jedi, and the long awaited sequel is finally here. The Force Awakens, arrived in movie theaters just in time for Winter Break for RV students. Box office records show that The Force Awakens, grossed a record breaking $250M opening weekend.

Star Wars is a series that does not have average fans, you were either counting down the days, minutes to opening day or you were confused about what all the fuss was about.  For me, I fall into the latter camp–I was unfamiliar with the series, much to my parents dismay–yes, they are of the Star Wars generation.  So, what’s a girl gotta do to prepare herself for the most anticipated movie of the year?

One of the most common problems when running a Star Wars marathon is deciding what order to watch the series in, do you watch the series in the order it was released: Episodes IV, V, VI, then, I, II, III? Or watch the story “in order”: Episodes I, II, III, IV, V, VI? Well the best answer is neither! The best way to watch the series is Episodes IV, V, II, III, VI; also known as “The Machete Order.”

Software blogger, Rod Hilton, created this order so that non-fans can catch up on what’s important for The Force Awakens.  Hilton believes that Episode I is not the finest Star Wars episode and is not essential to the overall understanding of the series, however, if you have the time and are super into it by all means watch it.

Hilton blogs, “The Star Wars watching experience gets to start with the film that does the best job of establishing the Star Wars universe, Episode IV, and it ends with the most satisfying ending, Episode VI.” There is still hope for the uninitiated potential fan.

What makes this series so incredibly popular for new and old fans continuing its box office breaking run? Ralston Valley student, Trevor Dine, Junior and ardent Star Wars fan, sheds some light on why he appreciates it so much–with his Lightsaber in hand.

“It’s cool to see the older movies as well as the newer ones and I feel like the newer ones really appeal to our generation because it has a lot more action and the older ones are more story based and dramatic.”

One of the many things that makes Star Wars fantastic is the variety of characters both human and not so human.

“R2-D2 is one of my favorite characters, even though he doesn’t have any lines he still plays an important role in the entire story. Other than that Anakin Skywalker’s story is pretty great. His transformation into Darth Vader was definitely one of the more dramatic points in the series.”

With such a wide range of fans what is it that draws people old and young into this epic series?

“Lightsabers are pretty cool and I’m pretty sure that makes the series appealing. It’s nice to hear a story about this fantasy world where people can fight with laser swords and shoot laser guns at each other in the galaxy.”

Upon watching the “Machete Order” I now have a better understanding of the many Star Wars references from my favorite movies and I admit that the series has brought out the inner nerd in me that I never thought existed until now–BB-8 is my new bae. The Nerd Force has awakened–can’t wait for Rogue One, releasing December 16th, 2016.