‘Tis the season for watching your favorite childhood Christmas specials for the hundredth time, but here’s one you likely (luckily?) missed: the Star Wars Holiday Special.
I first saw the 1978 variety show a few years ago at a Christmas party in Manhattan. It aired only once in the U.S. (supposedly George Lucas tried his best to bury it), but had achieved camp-classic cachet among hipster geeks who trafficked in VHS bootlegs back before anyone could Google up this two-hour s&%t-show and send it to their Christmas card list with a click.
I’d heard how bad it was, but nothing could prepare me for the slow-motion spaceship wreck I was about to see. Surprisingly, most of the cast from the first Star Wars signed on; only a pained-looking Harrison Ford seems to realize what a turd this is. The simple plot — the Rebels elude "Imperial entanglements" as they race to Chewbacca’s home planet of Kashyyyk to celebrate the Wookie holiday Life Day — leaves plenty of time for "celebrity" cameos: Bea Arthur as a sassy cantina matron; musical guest Jefferson Starship (get it?); a high-larious bit in which Harvey Korman (in alien drag) hosts a cooking show (bantha stew! silly!); and Diahann Carroll performing one half of what’s best described as an intergalactic, holographic phone-bone. (True Star Wars nerds will note that the special also features the official debut of future fan favorite Boba Fett.)
If you’re too busy spreading comfort and joy to watch the entire show, check out the segment embedded below, in which a clearly possibly stoned Carrie Fisher, in all her lipglossed glory as Princess Leia, warbles a song honoring Life Day. (A little pitchy, Princess.) Watch (or at least jump) all the way to the end to see a blissed-out Fisher goofing on Peter Mayhew’s wookie suit.
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I watched it when it was on tv when I was four years old and had such fond memories of it. I bought a copy on ebay a few years ago and realized how terrible it actually was. Still, I’m thankful there was no Jar Jar.
Look up on You Tube and Rifftrax (the former MST3K guys who do audio commentaries on recent movies to download) did thier own wild Riff on.
Hands down the WORST thing having to do with Star Wars ever. Lucas himself has gone on record saying he’d love to track down and destroy every copy. In fact, remember Lucas cameoing on that “Robot Chicken” Star Wars ep, in therapy and saying the reason he did the prequals all himself was “I let someone else take control for the Holiday Special, look what happened!”
If your going to watch parts of it, its always good to watch edited parts of it together on youtube. Its so bad its good etc. Watching the special in its entirety will inspire a new kind of pain that you could have never imagined existed. There is a section where Bea Arthur (or whatever) is singing in the Cantina Bar. It should be used instead of waterboarding to elicit confessions from terrosists.
Harrison Ford on Conan denying that he knew it existed is hilarious.
This is the clip of Conan asking Harrison Ford about it:
http://video.aol.com/video-detail/conan-oand39brien-asks-harrison-ford-about-star-wars-holiday-special/3045783082
Where’s the clip with Bobba Fett? Yeah Carrie does look like she smoked ’shroom before she arrived on set.
I was eight years old when I saw this turd. I was so caught up in everything Star Wars, I counted down for weeks to see this special. I think even at eight years old, I knew it was bad. Lucas can’t just blame others for this thing; his writing has never been all that great either.
Omg, they must be joking, right? I just couldn’t laugh harder, amazing hahahah
Unlike many of you, I watched this “thing” shortly after its release and in SPANISH TRANSLATION. It was equally revolting in Spanish. I wonder if this is an official part of Star Wars canon.
-TDJ
well the prequels weren’t quite this horrifically horrendous, they were still bad.
This “Special” makes the prequel episodes look like true works of art.
Almost make you wish the Death Star had fired before Luke did.
Never heard of it before – which I am now thankful for!
It’s “wookiee,” people, “wookiee.” And yet you can spell “Kashyyyk” correctly?
I feel a disturbance in the force. Oh wait, that’s just my pants.
I was so excited about this when I was a kid. I barely remember it. Then I found it online somewhere’s about 5 years ago … wow. Appalling. Absolutely appalling.
Where was Carrie Fisher goofing on Peter Mayhew’s wookie suit? You morons?
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