Tim Engstrom, Pothole Prairie

There is a lot more to “Star Wars” than six movies. Anything “Star Wars” related that is outside of the six movies is termed the Expanded Universe.

In the EU, my son and I like to watch the show “Star Wars: The Clone Wars” on Cartoon Network. It’s on Friday nights, and if we miss it, the starwars.com website will have it. Forrest and I huddle in a chair and watch it on a laptop computer.

Right now, we are in the summer doldrums, lacking any shows to watch, but I’ve been online reading Expanded Universe material, which is great for connecting all the dots. Season 3 debuts Sept. 17. I know I am not alone in this galaxy when I say this: No, I am your father.

Actually, I meant to say: Many of you fathers also watch “Star Wars” movies and shows with your sons. I know you love it.

By the way, I am not into “Harry Potter.” I’d like to see Harry Potter take on a Jedi Knight. I’d take Mace Windu over any of the wizards at Hogwarts.

The Clone Wars was a large, galactic-size conflict. The Galactic Republic fought separatists called the Confederacy of Independent Systems. The Jedi served with the Republic, and they employed the use of clones. The separatists built many droids. So you end up with Jedi, Sith, clones, droids, bounty hunters and the wide array of odd species found in the “Star Wars” universe. Both sides vied to bring worlds into their side, but there was the larger fight going on with the good and dark sides of the Force.

“The Clones Wars,” the TV show, tells how this major conflict played out. It takes place between the second and third movies — that is to say, between “Episode II: Attack of the Clones” and “Episode III: Revenge of the Sith.” Recall, “Attack of the Clones” was the start of the war. When movie-goers sat down to watch, “Revenge of the Sith” the war has been happening for several years. Three years, to be exact.

The No. 1 place I can read up on my “Star Wars” history is called the Wookiepedia.

Here, you can learn things that happened before, in between and after the six movies. Much of the Expanded Universe has been created in books, comic books, graphic novels and video games.

For instance, after the Battle of Endor — you know, when Darth Vader killed Emperor Palpatine by throwing him down the shaft at the new Death Star in “The Return of the Jedi” — the Rebel Alliance establishes the New Republic. However, the Galactic Empire continues to exist, though much weaker. And though other emperors lead the Empire, Palpatine returns a couple of times in clone bodies. It isn’t until seven years later that the Empire and Palpatine’s life force are brought to an end. However, remnants of the Empire fight on. It isn’t until 15 years after the Battle of Endor that the Galactic Civil War ends. The Galactic Empire is gone for good.

Did you know there are 19 years between the end of “Episode III: The Revenge of the Sith” and “Episode IV: A New Hope”? For you who don’t know, “A New Hope” is the initial “Star Wars” movie from 1977. I was 6 when it came out. I saw it in the beautiful Capri Theater in Lake City, Iowa, with my babysitter’s father and daughter. It’s one of those events everyone remembers. Where were you?

So what happened in those 19 years? A lot of people spend a lot of time hiding from the wrath of Emperor Palpatine and Darth Vader. This is how the Rebel Alliance was born two years before we begin the 1977 film:

Darth Vader sends a secret apprentice named Galen Marek — nicknamed Starkiller — to eradicate the last of the Jedi and other enemies of the Empire. Marek, the son of a Jedi, finds them; however, he convinces the enemies to fight against the Emperor. They create a treaty to fight the Empire. But Vader was using Marek to round up the enemies in one place. Vader and Emperor Palpatine arrive with Imperial forces, and Marek sacrifices himself to save the new allies.

Starkiller’s story, which I simplified, is told in the two “The Force Unleashed” video games.

OK, you might be wondering where this Emperor Palpatine guy came from? You probably already know he is also Darth Sidious. He followed what Sith call the Rule of Two, one master and one apprentice at a time.

Palpatine was a senator from Naboo. Little is known about his early life, and some speculate Palpatine is an identity Sidious created so he could enter politics. He claims the Naboo capital of Theed as his home city.

He was trained in the dark side of the Force by Darth Plagueis. Little is known about how he trained Darth Sidious. It was Plagueis who first learned that death-cheating trick that the Emperor uses many years later. However, Sidious kills him before he can implement it. Or did he?

It should be noted that Sidious was also killed by his apprentice, Darth Vader. That’s typically how Sith die — unless they know how to cheat death.

May the Force be with you and your Jedi offspring.

Tribune Managing Editor Tim Engstrom is a geek when it comes to “Star Wars.”