| It would seem that 1978 was a black-hole for Christmas specials. A few days ago I posted about the awful A Sesame Street Christmas Special, which was shown on CBS in 1978. Today I present you the now infamous TV movie the Star Wars Holiday Special from that very same year also on CBS. Though not strictly a "Christmas" special, as it was shown once and only once on the 17th of November 1978, it is part of the holiday season, and generally associated with Christmas. George Lucas famously said that of the special, "If I had the time and a sledgehammer, I would track down every copy of that show and smash it." Luckily he didn't, and a dodgy VHS copy of it has been doing the rounds on the Internet for years. For those who have suffered through it, it's a bizarre affair, notable for introducing Boba Fett to the Star Wars universe in an animation sequence. But most well known for introducing Chewbacca's family, and especially his pervy dad Itchy. Who gets off on watching an innuendo filled segment featuring Diahann Carroll. |
The plot for what it's worth is that on Chewbacca's planet of Kashyyyk, his family are waiting for him to celebrate Life Day (The Wookie equivalent to Christmas). Han and Chewie, race through the galaxy to get there chased by the Empire. The Imperial forces come to the Wookie family house looking for them, which is when we go to the animation sequence, featuring an odd story-line about a talisman. Essentially while they search the house, both they and we are distracted by a series of weird cut segments, so Lumpy (Chewie's son) can build a device to fool the stormtroopers into leaving. Eventually Han and Chewie turn-up, the remaining stormtroopers are dispatched, so then eveyone can get on with celebrating Life Day.
| That's it in a nut-shell, for this painfully kitsch piece of comedy nonsense. There is no wonder Lucas hates it so much. But none-the-less it did survive and has become an irreverent piece of the Star Wars canon. And to be fair it's better than those terrible made-for-TV Ewok movies that came out in the 80s. The Star Wars Holiday Special is a must watch for all die-hard Star Wars fans. Well "must watch" at least once, then put it to bed and try to forget you ever saw it. | |
