Funny you should say that, I usually view the first three as a block too!
When I first started to watch the show (well after it had begun to air...) I was having a hard time getting over the fact that the first episodes are like carbon copies of the UK original, which I already was in love with. The first moment that really said to me "This is something new. Now we're taking OUR story and we're going to RUN with it!" was the Let's hear it for the boy scene. That is - to me - the first real sign of a separation between the two. In the original Nathan (Justin) leaves Babylon with Donna (Daph), talking about how Stuart (Brian) probably got the two guys home with him... As we all know - this is not what happens in the US version... Thank The Goddess!! *lol*
Usually when I start a re-viewing of the show, those three episodes sort of fills the void in my heart pretty well for a while and I usually take a break before continuing. Maybe it's like you said - they sort of play like a movie. A beginning, middle and end - a bit sad for Ted though...
If it where a movie, no editing of Ted's fate would be needed in my book. We would have love, birth and death - all the good stuff for a movie!