The much-reviled Star Wars Holiday Special tried to capitalize on the success of the original film but its genre-mixing approach failed to win over many fans.
What Is It?
This comedy/variety holiday special takes place on the Wookie planet of Kashyyyk and focuses on Chewbacca’s family consisting of his wife Malla, his son Lumpy, and his father Itchy. Han and Chewie are trying to make it to Kashyyyk for “Life Day” (apparently the Wookie equivalent of Christmas), but run into trouble while trying to avoid Imperial patrols. Meanwhile, Chewie’s family keeps themselves busy while waiting for the arrival of the travelers.
Aired: CBS, November 17, 1978
Cast: Mark Hamill, Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher, Anthony Daniels, Peter Mayhew, James Earl Jones
Crew: George Lucas (Executive Producer/Writer), Pat Proft (Writer), Steve Binder (Director)
Legacy:
This attempt to capitalize on the success of the first Star Wars film did not prove very popular nor has it developed much of a cult following, but it has attracted plenty of notoriety over the years.
A Closer Look:
When Star Wars hit the theaters in 1977, it changed the game for sci fi and created an immediate demand for more from the franchise. A sequel was in the works, but would not arrive until 1980 so CBS executives tried to bring Star Wars-mania to television by approaching George Lucas with the idea for a holiday special. Lucas had previously considered sequels to the original movie and one of those would focus on the Wookies. So he consented to the special, but insisted on the Wookie-centric premise. CBS agreed and decided to give it a variety show spin since that genre was at the peak of its popularity on television at that time.
This resulted in extended scenes showing Chewie’s family yowling and growling with no subtitles, interspersed with appearances from the main cast of the movie along with musical numbers from the likes of Jefferson Starship and Diahann Carroll as well as comedy routines from Harvey Korman, Beatrice Arthur, and more (the variety segments were usually presented as entertainment pieces the Wookie’s were watching). It even had Carrie Fisher as Princess Leia singing a song to close out the special. This probably all sounded like a good idea in the network boardroom to a bunch of execs trying to cash in on one of the biggest films at that time. But the final product, it’s fair to say . . . failed to measure up. Star Wars did not mix well with the variety format (something any reasonable person would tell you), and the holiday special was quickly branded a disaster.
The special does not even count in the so-bad-it-is-good category and was never rerun and also never received a home video release. In fact, George Lucas commented that if he could locate all the masters and recorded tapes of the show, he would personally smash them. But it did include the well-done animated short that introduced Boba Fett (more on that below), and that is definitely worth seeking out (the Jefferson Starship song wasn’t bad either). And the special could still provide entertaining viewing with a group of friends at a holiday party if enough alcoholic beverages are involved (a snarky Rifftrax voice-over could add to the fun as well).
One Redeeming Factor
The holiday special did have one highlight and that was the animated segment which introduced the Boba Fett character. This had the original actors voicing their parts and gave us a glimpse of the bounty hunter character who would show up in The Empire Strikes Back. It was written by George Lucas and animated by Nelvana Ltd. which would go on to produce the Droids and Ewoks shows in the ’80s. Lucas requested that the segment be animated in the style of the artist Moebius, and perhaps this could have led to an ongoing animated series if it had not been buried in the reviled holiday special. You can watch it on YouTube (see above) and it is also available for streaming on Disney+.
Should It Be Rebooted?
Absolutely! The Disney+ streaming service should start doing a yearly Star Wars holiday special similar to what Doctor Who does! Think of all the secondary and tertiary characters that they could work into a cheesy mess of fun each year. The Guardians of the Galaxy holiday special worked out pretty good, so maybe Disney+ could venture back to the Star Wars galaxy for more holiday fun.
Interesting Facts:
Despite the fact that the Holiday Special is almost universally derided, it is still considered canon for the franchise. Taking place between the events of Star Wars and Empire Strikes Back, it introduced Chewie’s family and Boba Fett, and Life Day has been referenced in other works in the franchise including The Mandalorian.
There were even prototype toys made of Chewie’s family by Kenner, likely anticipating that the special would prove a hit and have a regular holiday run. But that did not happen and the figures were never released.
Where Can You Watch It?
As mentioned above, the special has never received a home video release. There are bootleg copies out there and a fairly decent recording is available on YouTube at this link. Plus, the animated segment is available on Dinsey+.
