George Lucas owns me. Not only did I pay to see "Meet Joe Black" three years ago to see a sneak preview of Trailer A for Episode I, but now I paid money to sit in a theater full of small children (*shudder*) to see a mini-trailer for Episode II. Ah, the things we do for love and Star Wars...

This mini-trailer, dubbed "Breathing" by some, includes neither music nor dialogue. The only sound is that of Vader's breathing apparatus, giving us a foreshadowing of things to come. While the scenes flash past so quickly it's hard to process what's going on, there are a few that stand out (in no particular order):

• Obi-Wan hanging from an unseen object, floating through Coruscant's night sky.
• Anakin and Obi-Wan with lightsabers activated, walking down a corridor.
• Obi-Wan manacled at the wrists and ankles by a blue chain of energy.
• Anakin and Padmé embracing on Tatooine.
• A really good shot of Yoda, more lifelike now than ever before.
• A young boy, in what appears to be a classroom, in front of a computer terminal.
• Anakin and Padmé kissing.
• Watto looking much older, and with a funny little conical hat.
• A group of troops boarding a ship. This beats the battle droid deployment in Episode I by a mile.

And before it hardly began, it was over. I must have been the only Star Wars fan at that showing, seems that no one else threw up their arms and said, "YES!" As mini-trailers go, this was a good one. The atmosphere was quite dark, everything was either indoors or at night. The only daylight seen were the two shots of Tatooine. This bodes well for me; I'm hoping Episode II is darker in tone.

I believe this is the first time there's ever been a trailer for a trailer, but it set out what it was meant to accomplish. Think of it as the itty-bitty pink spoon at Baskin-Robbins. You get a tiny taste of a scrumptious new ice cream flavor (mini-trailer). It's good enough for you to order a scoop (Trailer A, which will be with the Harry Potter film). Next thing you know, you're getting the double-scoop (Trailer B, due in March). Before you know it, you're getting the ice cream cake (Episode II in May 2002).

If you don't get the chance to see the mini-trailer in theaters, which is exclusively with Monsters, Inc., it is now available for download on the official Star Wars website.

(Jody Reeves's favorite flavor of ice cream is Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough. She hopes that by first seeing a Pixar film, and then the Harry Potter movie, she will get over her fear of small children.)