I was nine when this was broadcast. I was a huge Star Wars fan, along with many of my friends, and we were all so excited for the special. Back then video recorders were super expensive and nobody we knew had one - so this was an event for us. After it was over I had no idea what the hell I had just watched. Thankfully Star Wars was still playing at the dollar theater in town so the next day my buddies (who all had a similar reaction) and I watched Star Wars again (for like the 30th time) in attempt to forget this mess.
Oh man, I went to the Boulevard theater in Edina MN and for a 14 mile bicycle ride each way, I must have gone 30 times. It was a great summer. Yup, totally nerded out on the first Star Wars film.
Ah, I was nine too and remember watching this and both being excited, yet perplexed by it. I was able to purchase a bootleg copy some years ago for my DVD collection and rewatched it for nostalgic sake. I'm a huge Star Wars buff, but always wonder about some of the choices that were made after the original (and best) was put out for consuption. As alwys, it's fun to learn new behind the scenes info for my ever growing knowlege of the Star Wars universe.
Variety shows were still a thing in the 70s so it makes sense they went down this road. And thank goodness the VCRs were becoming a thing and that some very brave souls captured this for the rest of us to experience.
I was 11 years old, when I saw advertising for Star Wars, and rushed out to see it as soon as it came out. I loved Star Wars and went to see it several times. I had a big plush of Chewbacca sitting on my dresser, I had necklaces of Darth Vader, C3PO, & R2D2, and was totally in love with Luke Skywalker/Mark Hamill. So, I was excited to watch the holiday special, when I first heard about it. I remember it being broadcast on my mom's birthday. And, as much as I loved Star Wars, I also remember cringing through the whole thing. Even at that age, I just couldn't believe how bad it was.
Until Disney SW force awakens now holiday special Princes Lia singing and Han solo hoping to arrive in time Awesome 👍. Force awakens kill Han solo crap on the fans and next movies kill of lia and Luke. SW Holiday special looking better now and more entertaining.
I was 12 when Star Wars came out and I saw the movie, never have seen the Holiday Special but after the first 2 sequel movies (I wouldn't go see the third one, walking out of the theater after seeing the second one I said to myself "If this is they way they're going to do things then this is where I get off the Star Wars train) the Holiday Special isn't looking so bad.
I was 10 when Star Wars came out.I collected all the action figures ,bubble gum cards ,toys but the Christmas special I found to be a real piece of shit.
Count me in with the "it's so bad I love it" crowd. It was part of my childhood. I saw the original Star Wars in the theater and read the opening scroll to my brother who couldn't read yet. I used to go to sleep listening to the Star Wars radio edition. I had the original Star Wars poster and collected the cheap Star Wars toys from the kids meals in fast food restaurants. When I heard about the Star Wars Christmas Special I was elated and I watched it. Compared the typical Saturday morning fare of shows like Sigmon and the Sea Monsters, H.R. Puffnstuff, The Bugaloos, and The New Zoo Revue, it wasn't that bad. It certainly wasn't what we saw on the big screen, but we rolled with it. We were little kids and didn't know it could be better. After seeing The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi, we looked back and wondered about that weird Christmas Special. Being able to see the bootleg thing is like being a kid again. It's like knowing that your favorite box office hit has a closet full of stupid aliens they don't want you to see only makes it better.
I was 7 in 77 and saw star wars in theater but I never saw this until about two months ago. I have to say the nostalgia made it well worth watching, quality aside. The added features of corman and arthur didn't bother me cuz they were tv mainstays of the era with the carol burnett show and maude which my mother watched religiously so I'm familiar with them. I had to edit in an honorable mention for mintys rocking recorder part.
I saw this when it originally aired. I was four years old at the time. Over the years I started thinking I had just imagined it, though i don’t think I could have been clever enough to come up with the ideas for Chewbacca’s family and all. Then when I was about eight and living outside of Washington DC, we were at the Air & Space Center and in the gift shop they had a book called, “Chewbacca’s Family!” So I KNEW it was real but still had no idea what it was from. It was about twelve years later with the advent of AOL that I finally rediscovered the Holiday Special.
I remember insisting the family watch this. I was horrified and on top of that was for some reason embarrassed, possibly because my parents were howling with laughter. I remember suffering silently, thinking 'Please get better, please get better.' And my dad insisted on taking the piss and calling me Lumpy for a week. Looking back, a solid move on his part 🤣
Those of us who were young back then actually enjoyed it. It was no less entertaining than Saturday morning cartoons and such. And it was Star Wars. Anything and everything Star Wars, you couldn’t get enough.
Good call. I was 5 at the time. I kept on telling people about this but people were denying that it existed. That's a lot for the emotional damage people.....oh wait!
I agree. Every kid at my school absolutely loved it! I think it's just a modern-day thing to falsely say that you hated it as a kid, and I don't believe anyone who says they did. :P
I was a child when this aired and because I loved, “Star Wars”, I also enjoyed watching The Holiday Special. It was really cheesy, but so were all of the holiday special-type programming in that era. For me, it was a welcome change from the usual Charlie Brown Xmas, Rudolf the Red-Nosed Reindeer, etc. Watching it as an adult is a different experience, of course. Nice choice of subject matter, Minty! 😊👍🏼
That’s a good point. This should be seen in context of other TV holiday specials of the era rather than comparing it to any Star Wars films. It was silly but fun and remember enjoying it.
I was also a child when this aired, and like you said there are several things that have to be kept in mind: Variety shows were the big thing at the time - Donnie and Marie, the Carol Burnett Show, etc. Speaking of Carol Burnett - Harvey Korman and Bea Arthur were familiar faces to young me because of those variety shows, so it didn't seem odd to someone that was about 7 at the time. Of course, I was mostly watching for the Boba Fett introduction!!
I started going to comic conventions in the early 90s. Around that time many of the vendors had bootleg tapes. I bought 3 VHS tapes of Star Wars stuff. A collection of all the Kenner action figure TV commercials, The Star Wars Lost Audition Tapes, and The Holiday Special. My nerd friends and I watched all these religiously. I now have the Holiday Special on DVD and I watch it every year around Thanksgiving.
As a kid who were the primary targets of the film at the time I just though of the show as if it were the land of the lost and such. The smiles of the main characters made you feel warm inside. Stupid scenes were common on all tv shows back then so the show wasnt too out of the ordinary for the period.
Bootleg copies existed LONG before the internet and available from bootleggers at comicbook conventions. One tidbit I thought you'd have mentioned is that most copies contain television commercials from the broadcast and serve as a time capsule of vintage 1978 advertising and progamming.
HA! I basically just posted the same thing about those commercials being a time capsule of 1978 America. Yes, the version with the commercials is DEFINITELY the way to go, if you want to subject yourself to this special... the commercials are worth the watch, alone, if you ask me. :-)
RIP dearest Carrie. I think every man with red blood in his veins fell madly and hopelessly in love with that gorgeous lady when she first appeared with that 'earphone' hair style, a beautiful white gown and a blaster in her hand in the opening scenes of 'New Hope'. She was 'our princess' and will forever remain in our memories. And when she appeared as the general, considerably aged, in 'Force Awakens', there was still the beauty there. I couldn't help but weep when I heard she had passed. Again, RIP Carrie. We will always love you.
The holiday special was broadcasted in Australia. I was really young when I saw it. And by about the mid 80's onwards I remember telling people that I remember a star wars movie about the wookies home planet. As that was all I could remember, no one believed me. When I saw the holiday special mentioned somewhere on the net many years later, I knew it had to be it.
My friend has a VHS copy of this show recorded directly off of local TV. We watch it on New Years. The best part is that it includes all of the commercials from 1978 -- way funnier than the SW Special itself.
For years I had thought that this was something I had made up in my head as I was 5 years at the time. However once I went back to watch it as an adult it All returned like a feverish recurring nightmare .the main thing I remember is my dad, who I wouldn't describe as prudish, saying " should we be letting him watch this?" In reference to the VR scene with Dihann Carroll.
At 12:08 you can see where Carrie fisher is looking at its not at the camera, it is straight at Harrison Ford. They did bang and she really did like him. That's why he played such a good scoundrel, he really is one in real life.
I was 10 when I saw this on TV and yes loved it because it was star wars. I can understand today why people say bad things about it but I still watch it every Xmas eve . It brings a happy smile to me still. Thanks Minty
As a kid, seeing Chewbacca's Father Itchy watching an intergalactic snuff film featuring Diahann Carroll is still traumatizing and gives me nightmares to this day.
I bought this tape at a Sci-Fi convention in 1998. Bea Arthur, Jefferson Starship, & the Boba Fett cartoon were my favorite. The whole thing was cheesy fun.
Despite being the perfect age for the Original Trilogy, I never saw the _Star Wars Holiday Special._ Nevertheless, I’ve come to enjoy every review I’ve seen on UA-cam! And thanks to those reviews, I grew to love Bea Arthur’s segment- as I already adored her in Golden Girls- and wholeheartedly agree with those who’ve said she’s literally the best part of this ridiculous fever dream!
@@Lesley_RedRhody Me to, I was 12 when Star Wars came out and I saw it in the theater but I've never seen the holiday special, although after the sequels I'm thinking it might not look so bad now.
I think if Lucas had agreed to subtitles for the Wookie scenes here, people would probably have asked why Chewie isn't subtitled in the following movies too (Empire and Return).
This was burned into my childhood memory as something that I thought I had imagined! That was mostly due to the fact that we had moved outside of city limits at the time and cable television was not available yet. Our antenna only worked well with NBC, ok with ABC but CBS was just snow 🥺 We watched a fuzzy, terrible version of this so missed most of the variety show part. We could barely make out the wookie part. I loved the wookie family story (I was six) what I could make out of it. I guess adults didn’t like it but this seemed to be intended for children. My cousin let me know that I hadn’t imagined it and I really appreciate that you made this! Thank you!
I was less than 1 year old when this aired. I only found out about it around 1995 in an issue of Sci-Fi Universe magazine, which included a still shot from the scene with Leia & Threepio, along with a still from the animated segment in the article about it. It was finally in 1999 that I managed to get a bootleg VHS copy of it on eBay. And I have watched it EVERY year during the week of Thanksgiving ever since👍😉
I was nine, and watched the broadcast. Actually, my older brother helped me to audio-tape the Special. A basic cassette, on a battery-powered recorder, microphone pointed at tv. It had all the commercials, and all the Wookie dialogue. I didn’t listen to it often. I did send away for the Boba Fett figure. I found in a record store a few years later, a 45 single of the Jefferson Starship tune, with notice written on sleeve where it was featured. Still have that; protective 45 sleeve. In 1999, I found in another record store, a vhs bootleg of the Special. I bought, for a few dollars. It’s was like 3rd generation down recorded, jumpy and stretched, then good visual. It had all the commercials. I watched, and it was nostalgic. Yet, I drank whiskey during the view -which made it a lot more fun. I had friends over to view, with encouraged drinking, we had fun. A few youths at my church, fans during the Prequel Films, had not heard or seen of the Special. I loaned the bootleg vhs. I suggested to their parents watching with these teen fans, that they at least enjoy beer or wine with it, to ease their viewing. I told the teens that this is considered “not good” yet if they want to be fans of SW’ it is a right of passage. They asked me to restore 1.5 hours of their sanity, the next week at church. Can’t do that!
In the day of only 3 major broadcast channels on tv, to think a SW special could be on free tv was unbelievable. In spite of the freaky-weird parts, there were some parts with the actual heroes of STAR WARS that made up for it! After watching, all I could remember was Luke, Han & Leia. It was cool. I was 10. *and hoped they would scratch the Wookie family from all future endeavors. Lol
The appearance of Boba Fett hinged on legendary. It was the best part of this crazy, mixed up story. The animation was ground breaking for the time. Like suddenly seeing cgi in a pinball machine. The only reason this one continued to survive 2 minutes. 😝
I was 5 when the special came out. Always remembered the animated part. This wasn’t a great part of Star Wars history but a lot of us growing at that time still remember bits and pieces of it. I saw it in UA-cam not too long ago and really have no idea how we were able to watch it completely
I was genuinely surprised and happy to see this one come up! As happy as I was when I sat down to watch this when it aired? ehhhh, I can't really say given the amount of time. Thankfully, Minty made a very fun and entertaining video that beat the original experience, heh! I remember liking parts of it. Yes, mostly the bits that are commonly put into that category like the animation, but I actually did like Carrie's singing too.
As someone who watched the original November 17th, 1978 airing of the show, and, in 2023, still distinctly remembers that Friday night as if it were yesterday, let me compliment you in the highest for this loving tribute to one of the most exciting nights of my childhood.
I too watched it in TV and remember the Boba Fett part most clearly among the other parts. Also, those circuit panels Chewie's kid played with, well, those were the training panels I worked on during my Junior High Work Ed classes.
Something else that probably falls under the “What were they thinking?” category was the Star Wars ballet they did in 1987 for the grand opening of Star Tours at Disneyland
@@darrenmarsh8830 Cool, I know they were released in the cinema in some countries :) Honestly I'm not sure about the Netherlands - we may only have had them as VHS rentals at first. Edit: Apparently we had a Dutch dubbed version in the cinema. Very happy to have missed out on that.
That old gray Grandpa Wookie's head and facial design, had to be the original mold-design they used in Alien Resurrection (1997), for Ripley's baby-alien offspring at the end that got sucked through the bullet-hole.
@@arcturionblade1077 That squeaky-squeeling sound from Ripley's Alien-Baby had a Weirdness-Level: Infinity+1. I'm just glad they evened it out, when it ran over to that scientist with the quickness and bit his head. That scene looked just like 20yrs ago, when my 18month old son spotted my wife's decorative bowl of those grape-sized bath oil capsules and bit one til it busted in his mouth. 🤣 I laughed so hard cause he was screamin' from the bath-oil's lovely flavor and my wife havin' him in a half chicken-wing hold, under the kitchen faucet tryin' to wash his mouth out.🤣
This holiday special was made into a stage musical in December 2018 in Redwood City California. And of course, it was all satire and very funny. I was there only because my girlfriend at the time worked with an actor from the musical at Starbucks. I am so glad I went because it was really fun at its worst. The age group was from young to senior.
IMO, The main reason this has become accepted by the fandom, is becuase Lucas tried to banish it to the shadow realm. If he had just let it alone, maybe it would have fallen into complete obscurity, but once its this 'banned media' people have to see it to see why, and it gets passed around and shared with others. Its like Leia said in ANH "The more you try to control them, the more the slip through your fingers"
I recorded the Holiday Special on audio tape, so I could listen to it and re-imagine the whole show all over again. I was 8 years old; Star Wars was my EVERYTHING!!!!
Born in 1972, and I absolutely enjoy watching this every holiday season. I picked up my first copy of it on VHS at the 1997 San Diego Comic Con. I have since picked up a copy on DVD. Thanks for making a great video about it!
GAAAAAHHH!!! My eyes! My beautiful grey eyes, the colour of the sea after a storm . . . ! Seriously, though, great video, as always. And that picture of the bounty hunters singing -- priceless! Never seen that before. Thank you!
I was little when this came out and I may be alone in this but I loved it! Sure it was weird anything they gave me Han, chewy, Luke, Leia and the droids made me happy.
Minty, you make all this worthwhile. Thank you for the many years and hours upon HOURS of hard work you've put forth into these projects. Your name is synonymous with this brand and you will live on long after you are gone as will so many others involved in these films, and for that I am truly grateful. While the rest of us have only experienced what it was like to have watched these movies and witnessed the many thrilling added accolades behind the scenes, you have been there to help bring it all together for those of us fortunate enough to tune in to your broadcasts to experience what YOU wanted to convey. We, your fans, truly thank you. Your work will NEVER go unnoticed nor will it ever go unrecognized. Thank you for all you've done, from your early work to your latest pieces. You are now and will forever be a true treasure in the course of this saga. Fans of these films owe you a debt of gratitude, which I formally convey here and now. Thank you for all your hard work from the bottom of my heart 😊
Boba Fett was actually introduced as the 21st and final figure on the original “Star Wars” Kenner cardback earlier in 1978 than the SW Special. The Boba Fett footage in Docking Bay 94 that showed up in the Special Edition of A New Hope was a late cut from the original release.
This was broadcast TWICE in Australia, if memory serves me correctly it was on channel 10,mid afternoon. I remember turning on the TV and it was already on... I also remember thinking "what the hell is this?" The cartoon was pretty good though. Just a note: The Ewok Adventure and Caravan Of Courage were shown at the cinemas in Australia, then they went to the video stores before being shown on tv.
I'm an enormous Star Wars fan and had never heard of this until my brother brought it up to me a couple years back. I don't know how I missed this as a youth. Probably because my Mom didn't let me watch much TV. Anyway, once I heard of it, I tracked it down. My brother warned me, "once you watch it, you can't un watch it". It's pretty awful and hard to get through at times. That said, I kinda love it. I love how it's referenced in Mando!! And it did introduce us to Boba Fett!!! Thanks for reviewing it, Minty!!
Bonus fact: this movie is not copyrighted so if you wanna do a full commentary with your friends making fun of it, you can do that and upload it in its entirety! Except for the Boba cartoon, Disney really loves that and has it on their streaming service so you can't use it even though they don't care about the rest of the film, which is just hilarious.
It reaches "so bad it's good" status. It's one of the movies that's in our rotation every xmas, usually accompanied by copious quantities of alcohol and other legal mind-altering chemicals.
This coming out right at the tail-end of the Disco-Era really didn't help it out very much either - but I also have to agree with several previous posted comments that as bad as it was, it was still better than anything put out by Disney.
There was also a Star Wars holiday music album, which I originally had on cassette until it was played to death, and then eventually managed to get on CD decades later. The songs were so bad they were hilarious, and I still have them all memorized word for word. The songs were mainly performed by Anthony Daniels as C3PO and included such titles as "What Can You Get a Wookie For Christmas?", "Bells, Bells, Bells (The Thing They Do is Ring)", and "The Odds Against Christmas Being Christmas." The main gist of the album was apparently C3PO and R2D2 were working with other droids at a toy factory and C3PO explains what Christmas is to R2D2 and then eventually Santa Claus' son shows up and sings a really drawn-out and boring song about the meaning of Christmas. I still quote from this album every year around the holidays.
I found that record for $1 at goodwill, it's quite a gem, Minty used the artwork from the album which was done by original Star Wars concept artist Ralph McQuarrie. It's "Christmas in the Stars" which was produced by Meco Monardo who did all the popular star wars disco albums like "Star Wars & other Galactic Funk". This was the first recording of a young choir member John who was the cousin of co-producer Tony Bongiovi. We all now know him by his stage name: Jon Bon Jovi! :)
@@jenntheiceraptoress2306 I heard it mentioned on a couple of podcasts about rare recordings, Bizzare Records with Tony Thaxton was a good one. I'd link it but links are considered spam these days, pretty easy to search for on google podcasts, etc.
I vaguely remember watching this on T.V. and my grandparents being all upset about it. I can understand why now but I wasn't even five yet. The two things I remember about it were the wookies talking back and forth and the Boba Fett animation. On another note, have any of you Star Wars geeks played the board game Outer Rim? If you ever wanted to be a space smuggler, bounty hunter, or some other scoundrel, this is the tabletop game for you!
You have to remember at this point in the '70s, everybody was really high on cocaine. In the words of somebody I heard say one time, cocaine is a hell of a drug.
I was in college at the time of The Holiday Special broadcast, and was a Star Wars fan, but I had never heard of it until 2010 when I heard it discussed on a radio program. I watched it for the first time on UA-cam. I'm glad I did not see it before Empire was released or I may have been so disappointed I may have ignored the sequel.
Totally correct 👍 in fact burn her movie's with her along with them. Long live the SW holiday special in fact watched SW holiday special several times over Kathleen 💩 movies once was enough. Didn't even get them on physical digital copies.
I was ten when this was aired and was a huge fan of Star Wars. We were all excited to see it. I don't have much memory of it except that my little brother cried when the Stormtrooper ripped of the head of Itchy's Bantha. For the longest time I thought I had dreamed it because nobody ever recognized it when I mentioned it. I finally tracked it down and got a bootleg VHS and was stunned how awful it was. Now I have a DVD of it and watch it every year in November and have grown to appreciate it for what it is.
Yes. This is terrible, but I watched it on TV when I was five years old and loved it! I don't remember and of the variety show acts but I remember Luke and Leia and Han and Darth Vader and Stormtroopers on TV in my living room! And I loved it.
When I first watched this people were calling me crazy for 43 years that it existed. Sorry Harrison. I have come to respect this despite of visual eroticism and written by 4 writers.
Honestly, I can't say I hate this despite the cheese factor, but I watch a lot of 60s and 70s variety shows in general, so this actually looks good compared to some of them (*cough*Donny and Marie*cough*). It's on the same level as Paul Lynde's Halloween Special I think.
I read somewhere that the set was built with 4 walls, assuming they'd shoot it with a small, single film camera and so the actors rehearsed on set for a long time before the TV production people came in and told them they'd be using three huge studio video cameras. So they literally had to cut one of the walls and most of the ceiling off in order to accomodate cameras, cable bundles, and sound boom operators. Those shots in the long wookies-at-home 'performance art' piece at the beginning are awkward because they had zoom in from across the room as the cameras too big to get 'inside the structure' any further. Great stuff as always!
I was another one of the kids that watched this when it premiered on TV. I don't remember being that enthused about it other than the animated short with Boba Fett, and some of the scenes with the original cast. This is actually the first time I have seen many of these scenes again since then. What a disaster; no wonder George Lucas flipped out and wanted to erase it from history. This is a solid example of why George Lucas wanted to maintain total creative control of his creation...he would just make some of his own mistakes later. I can see why people would want to track this down because you just have to see it to believe it, but watching some of those scenes from an adult perspective - the Holiday Special was plain awful.
Wanting to know about the 'legend' of the Holiday Special is like wanting to know about the legend of The Candyman and successfully conjuring him. You regret it almost instantly.
I was actually watching this, this past Christmas and mind you, this was my first time watching this at the age of 44 and I couldn’t even stomach the first 10-20 mins of this booollshyt!😤
Oh my God if Robin Williams was in this, it would literally be the highlight of the entire thing lol it would be remembered as that weird Star Wars holiday special that had Robin Williams in it
No Mark Hamill was not in GotG. But I think he would be more willing than Ford. Also Mark Hamill is a great voice actor (the Joker), so maybe the cameo could be vocal?
No Mark Hamill was not in GotG. But I think he would be more willing than Ford. Also Mark Hamill is a great voice actor (the Joker), so maybe the cameo could be vocal?
You're a legend, mate. Keep it up, Minty. You're the man 🤘🏻❤️ OMG! That ending theme redone as a goofy flute version absolutely KILLS me!! 😆🤣🤣❤️ Well done mate! 👍🏻
About the 'Ewoks' movies: Lucas originally wanted the moon of Endor to be a Wookie planet, but it would've cost too much, so smaller furry creatures were created and named Ewoks. Which was probably also part of the reason we got Ewoks movies instead of Wookie movies.
At 10:23, all that makeup made Mark Hamill look more like gymnast Cathy Rigby! But then, Cathy played Peter Pan for many years because she looked so boyish.
I was nine when this was broadcast. I was a huge Star Wars fan, along with many of my friends, and we were all so excited for the special. Back then video recorders were super expensive and nobody we knew had one - so this was an event for us. After it was over I had no idea what the hell I had just watched. Thankfully Star Wars was still playing at the dollar theater in town so the next day my buddies (who all had a similar reaction) and I watched Star Wars again (for like the 30th time) in attempt to forget this mess.
Until Disney SW force awakens
I was the same age.
Yep... I still remember the disappointment.
Oh man, I went to the Boulevard theater in Edina MN and for a 14 mile bicycle ride each way, I must have gone 30 times. It was a great summer. Yup, totally nerded out on the first Star Wars film.
Ah, I was nine too and remember watching this and both being excited, yet perplexed by it. I was able to purchase a bootleg copy some years ago for my DVD collection and rewatched it for nostalgic sake. I'm a huge Star Wars buff, but always wonder about some of the choices that were made after the original (and best) was put out for consuption. As alwys, it's fun to learn new behind the scenes info for my ever growing knowlege of the Star Wars universe.
For more than a decade now, my family watches this each December. It’s a great way to ring in Christmas.
How in the world can you sit through that?
@@toddgaak422 because it gives us a laugh
@toddgaak422 do a shot every time a Wookie grunts 😂 it's awesome
That's some serious self abuse
@@67psychout 😂
Minty doing a "10 Things" video about the Star Wars Holiday Special is a great early Life Day present.
*agreed*
@@scottmantooth8785 did you win?
@@BelleGoddess81 *i woke up this morning and i'm above ground...i'd say that's a positive start to any day*
@@scottmantooth8785 I'm sure it is but I'll just answer my question for you, you didn't win lol
@@BelleGoddess81 *that would be telling wouldn't it?*
Variety shows were still a thing in the 70s so it makes sense they went down this road. And thank goodness the VCRs were becoming a thing and that some very brave souls captured this for the rest of us to experience.
It also exists to help separate the fans from the Kathleen Kennedy cultists.
The world will never be the same without Carrie Fisher ❤️
Indeed, indeed, RIP dearest Carrie.
Leia is seen as a badass, but the truth is this.... Leia was not even half the badass Carrie was in real life
@@kennyboggs3676That really doesn't sound very funny. To each their own, I guess.
Good body, face mid at best.
@CordeliaWagner1999 ...said the person with a fake profile pic.
I was 11 years old, when I saw advertising for Star Wars, and rushed out to see it as soon as it came out. I loved Star Wars and went to see it several times. I had a big plush of Chewbacca sitting on my dresser, I had necklaces of Darth Vader, C3PO, & R2D2, and was totally in love with Luke Skywalker/Mark Hamill. So, I was excited to watch the holiday special, when I first heard about it. I remember it being broadcast on my mom's birthday. And, as much as I loved Star Wars, I also remember cringing through the whole thing. Even at that age, I just couldn't believe how bad it was.
Until Disney SW force awakens now holiday special Princes Lia singing and Han solo hoping to arrive in time Awesome 👍. Force awakens kill Han solo crap on the fans and next movies kill of lia and Luke. SW Holiday special looking better now and more entertaining.
I was 12 when Star Wars came out and I saw the movie, never have seen the Holiday Special but after the first 2 sequel movies (I wouldn't go see the third one, walking out of the theater after seeing the second one I said to myself "If this is they way they're going to do things then this is where I get off the Star Wars train) the Holiday Special isn't looking so bad.
@@dukecraig2402 cool the rifftrax version was hilarious saw it on another bootlegged website in 2007📼
I was 10 when Star Wars came out.I collected all the action figures ,bubble gum cards ,toys but the Christmas special I found to be a real piece of shit.
Count me in with the "it's so bad I love it" crowd. It was part of my childhood. I saw the original Star Wars in the theater and read the opening scroll to my brother who couldn't read yet. I used to go to sleep listening to the Star Wars radio edition. I had the original Star Wars poster and collected the cheap Star Wars toys from the kids meals in fast food restaurants. When I heard about the Star Wars Christmas Special I was elated and I watched it. Compared the typical Saturday morning fare of shows like Sigmon and the Sea Monsters, H.R. Puffnstuff, The Bugaloos, and The New Zoo Revue, it wasn't that bad. It certainly wasn't what we saw on the big screen, but we rolled with it. We were little kids and didn't know it could be better. After seeing The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi, we looked back and wondered about that weird Christmas Special. Being able to see the bootleg thing is like being a kid again. It's like knowing that your favorite box office hit has a closet full of stupid aliens they don't want you to see only makes it better.
I was 7 in 77 and saw star wars in theater but I never saw this until about two months ago. I have to say the nostalgia made it well worth watching, quality aside. The added features of corman and arthur didn't bother me cuz they were tv mainstays of the era with the carol burnett show and maude which my mother watched religiously so I'm familiar with them. I had to edit in an honorable mention for mintys rocking recorder part.
I turned 8 in May that summer. Welcome to 52!
So #11 - Never heard of it
I saw this when it originally aired. I was four years old at the time. Over the years I started thinking I had just imagined it, though i don’t think I could have been clever enough to come up with the ideas for Chewbacca’s family and all. Then when I was about eight and living outside of Washington DC, we were at the Air & Space Center and in the gift shop they had a book called, “Chewbacca’s Family!” So I KNEW it was real but still had no idea what it was from. It was about twelve years later with the advent of AOL that I finally rediscovered the Holiday Special.
AOL? OMG!
That would be some turkey fugue fever dream.
I remembered the Boba Fett animated part. That's worth viewing. The rest is eye torture 👀.
This is why I love UA-cam. It's an infinite time capsule made up of infinite memories.
AOL used to have you pay per hour to go online. Weird, huh? You had to find AOL Disks to get more online time.
I remember insisting the family watch this. I was horrified and on top of that was for some reason embarrassed, possibly because my parents were howling with laughter. I remember suffering silently, thinking 'Please get better, please get better.' And my dad insisted on taking the piss and calling me Lumpy for a week. Looking back, a solid move on his part 🤣
This made me laugh more than I probably should have.
Great story 😂😂😂😂 I'm in tears
Man, I love your Dad 😂
Same experience here. Well said.
Your dad's awesome.
Those of us who were young back then actually enjoyed it. It was no less entertaining than Saturday morning cartoons and such. And it was Star Wars. Anything and everything Star Wars, you couldn’t get enough.
It's official, you had no taste!
Good call. I was 5 at the time. I kept on telling people about this but people were denying that it existed. That's a lot for the emotional damage people.....oh wait!
Right on 👍
@@scottdoesntmatter4409 I suppose.
I agree. Every kid at my school absolutely loved it! I think it's just a modern-day thing to falsely say that you hated it as a kid, and I don't believe anyone who says they did. :P
I was super young when I saw this broadcast.
For decades I thought I dreamt the whole thing…and did not know why I had a ‘crush’ on Diane Carrol!
I was a child when this aired and because I loved, “Star Wars”, I also enjoyed watching The Holiday Special. It was really cheesy, but so were all of the holiday special-type programming in that era. For me, it was a welcome change from the usual Charlie Brown Xmas, Rudolf the Red-Nosed Reindeer, etc.
Watching it as an adult is a different experience, of course. Nice choice of subject matter, Minty! 😊👍🏼
That’s a good point. This should be seen in context of other TV holiday specials of the era rather than comparing it to any Star Wars films. It was silly but fun and remember enjoying it.
I was also a child when this aired, and like you said there are several things that have to be kept in mind:
Variety shows were the big thing at the time - Donnie and Marie, the Carol Burnett Show, etc.
Speaking of Carol Burnett - Harvey Korman and Bea Arthur were familiar faces to young me because of those variety shows, so it didn't seem odd to someone that was about 7 at the time.
Of course, I was mostly watching for the Boba Fett introduction!!
I started going to comic conventions in the early 90s. Around that time many of the vendors had bootleg tapes. I bought 3 VHS tapes of Star Wars stuff. A collection of all the Kenner action figure TV commercials, The Star Wars Lost Audition Tapes, and The Holiday Special. My nerd friends and I watched all these religiously. I now have the Holiday Special on DVD and I watch it every year around Thanksgiving.
As a kid who were the primary targets of the film at the time I just though of the show as if it were the land of the lost and such. The smiles of the main characters made you feel warm inside. Stupid scenes were common on all tv shows back then so the show wasnt too out of the ordinary for the period.
Bootleg copies existed LONG before the internet and available from bootleggers at comicbook conventions. One tidbit I thought you'd have mentioned is that most copies contain television commercials from the broadcast and serve as a time capsule of vintage 1978 advertising and progamming.
HA! I basically just posted the same thing about those commercials being a time capsule of 1978 America. Yes, the version with the commercials is DEFINITELY the way to go, if you want to subject yourself to this special... the commercials are worth the watch, alone, if you ask me. :-)
Dianne Carol was so Stunning! 😍🥰
RIP dearest Carrie. I think every man with red blood in his veins fell madly and hopelessly in love with that gorgeous lady when she first appeared with that 'earphone' hair style, a beautiful white gown and a blaster in her hand in the opening scenes of 'New Hope'. She was 'our princess' and will forever remain in our memories. And when she appeared as the general, considerably aged, in 'Force Awakens', there was still the beauty there. I couldn't help but weep when I heard she had passed. Again, RIP Carrie. We will always love you.
Beautiful tribute ❤🙏...
I was crushing on her before that , when she was in the film Shampoo .
The holiday special was broadcasted in Australia. I was really young when I saw it. And by about the mid 80's onwards I remember telling people that I remember a star wars movie about the wookies home planet. As that was all I could remember, no one believed me. When I saw the holiday special mentioned somewhere on the net many years later, I knew it had to be it.
My friend has a VHS copy of this show recorded directly off of local TV. We watch it on New Years. The best part is that it includes all of the commercials from 1978 -- way funnier than the SW Special itself.
I too was bewildered by this. The Sith were behind this.
For years I had thought that this was something I had made up in my head as I was 5 years at the time. However once I went back to watch it as an adult it All returned like a feverish recurring nightmare .the main thing I remember is my dad, who I wouldn't describe as prudish, saying " should we be letting him watch this?" In reference to the VR scene with Dihann Carroll.
At 12:08 you can see where Carrie fisher is looking at its not at the camera, it is straight at Harrison Ford. They did bang and she really did like him. That's why he played such a good scoundrel, he really is one in real life.
I was 10 when I saw this on TV and yes loved it because it was star wars. I can understand today why people say bad things about it but I still watch it every Xmas eve . It brings a happy smile to me still. Thanks Minty
Brilliant definitely best Christmas TV.
As a kid, seeing Chewbacca's Father Itchy watching an intergalactic snuff film featuring Diahann Carroll is still traumatizing and gives me nightmares to this day.
You obviously don’t know what a snuff film is…
Stick that onto vr 🥵
Good God! There’s a snuff film in this? Who’s the victim?
Soft porn, not snuff!
That Part, Well She Sings Like A God
I bought this tape at a Sci-Fi convention in 1998. Bea Arthur, Jefferson Starship, & the Boba Fett cartoon were my favorite. The whole thing was cheesy fun.
Sure is 🕺🥳
And then there's Maud.
The music video, I think, is legitimately awesome 👍🏻
Despite being the perfect age for the Original Trilogy, I never saw the _Star Wars Holiday Special._ Nevertheless, I’ve come to enjoy every review I’ve seen on UA-cam!
And thanks to those reviews, I grew to love Bea Arthur’s segment- as I already adored her in Golden Girls- and wholeheartedly agree with those who’ve said she’s literally the best part of this ridiculous fever dream!
@@Lesley_RedRhody
Me to, I was 12 when Star Wars came out and I saw it in the theater but I've never seen the holiday special, although after the sequels I'm thinking it might not look so bad now.
The Bea Arthur segment is an absolute gem.
I agree. It was about the only part other than the Boba Fett cartoon I was ever willing to re-watch.
I think if Lucas had agreed to subtitles for the Wookie scenes here, people would probably have asked why Chewie isn't subtitled in the following movies too (Empire and Return).
You mean you don't understand what he is saying?
@@b00ts4ndc4ts incorrect
This was burned into my childhood memory as something that I thought I had imagined! That was mostly due to the fact that we had moved outside of city limits at the time and cable television was not available yet. Our antenna only worked well with NBC, ok with ABC but CBS was just snow 🥺 We watched a fuzzy, terrible version of this so missed most of the variety show part. We could barely make out the wookie part. I loved the wookie family story (I was six) what I could make out of it. I guess adults didn’t like it but this seemed to be intended for children. My cousin let me know that I hadn’t imagined it and I really appreciate that you made this! Thank you!
You can't really HATE the Star Wars Holiday Special. You just have to enjoy it the correct and proper way.
With hallucinogens.
With some disco playing and beautiful women dancing in short tight skirts and see through blouses. God I miss the 70s
I watched this live in 1978. I loved it. Okay, I was four years old. All I cared about it was that it was more Stat Wars.
I was less than 1 year old when this aired. I only found out about it around 1995 in an issue of Sci-Fi Universe magazine, which included a still shot from the scene with Leia & Threepio, along with a still from the animated segment in the article about it. It was finally in 1999 that I managed to get a bootleg VHS copy of it on eBay. And I have watched it EVERY year during the week of Thanksgiving ever since👍😉
You are a sucker for punishment, that is for sure!!!!!
I was nine, and watched the broadcast. Actually, my older brother helped me to audio-tape the Special. A basic cassette, on a battery-powered recorder, microphone pointed at tv. It had all the commercials, and all the Wookie dialogue. I didn’t listen to it often.
I did send away for the Boba Fett figure.
I found in a record store a few years later, a 45 single of the Jefferson Starship tune, with notice written on sleeve where it was featured. Still have that; protective 45 sleeve.
In 1999, I found in another record store, a vhs bootleg of the Special. I bought, for a few dollars.
It’s was like 3rd generation down recorded, jumpy and stretched, then good visual. It had all the commercials. I watched, and it was nostalgic. Yet, I drank whiskey during the view -which made it a lot more fun. I had friends over to view, with encouraged drinking, we had fun.
A few youths at my church, fans during the Prequel Films, had not heard or seen of the Special. I loaned the bootleg vhs. I suggested to their parents watching with these teen fans, that they at least enjoy beer or wine with it, to ease their viewing. I told the teens that this is considered “not good” yet if they want to be fans of SW’ it is a right of passage. They asked me to restore 1.5 hours of their sanity, the next week at church. Can’t do that!
I was still a kid when this was on, but we were in such a frenzy for Star Wars that even though it was cheesy, we still loved it.
My dad made me "Turn that science fiction crap". Ironic how right he actually was.
In the day of only 3 major broadcast channels on tv, to think a SW special could be on free tv was unbelievable. In spite of the freaky-weird parts, there were some parts with the actual heroes of STAR WARS that made up for it! After watching, all I could remember was Luke, Han & Leia. It was cool. I was 10. *and hoped they would scratch the Wookie family from all future endeavors. Lol
Famous last words, " what could go wrong?".. right up there with, " Nothing can stop us now." 😮
I've got a bad feeling about this!
The appearance of Boba Fett hinged on legendary. It was the best part of this crazy, mixed up story. The animation was ground breaking for the time. Like suddenly seeing cgi in a pinball machine. The only reason this one continued to survive 2 minutes. 😝
First appearance of him in the canon
I was 5 when the special came out. Always remembered the animated part. This wasn’t a great part of Star Wars history but a lot of us growing at that time still remember bits and pieces of it. I saw it in UA-cam not too long ago and really have no idea how we were able to watch it completely
I was genuinely surprised and happy to see this one come up! As happy as I was when I sat down to watch this when it aired? ehhhh, I can't really say given the amount of time. Thankfully, Minty made a very fun and entertaining video that beat the original experience, heh! I remember liking parts of it. Yes, mostly the bits that are commonly put into that category like the animation, but I actually did like Carrie's singing too.
As someone who watched the original November 17th, 1978 airing of the show, and, in 2023, still distinctly remembers that Friday night as if it were yesterday, let me compliment you in the highest for this loving tribute to one of the most exciting nights of my childhood.
I too watched it in TV and remember the Boba Fett part most clearly among the other parts. Also, those circuit panels Chewie's kid played with, well, those were the training panels I worked on during my Junior High Work Ed classes.
Something else that probably falls under the “What were they thinking?” category was the Star Wars ballet they did in 1987 for the grand opening of Star Tours at Disneyland
Dear Minty, please cover the Ewok television movies as well :) As always, thank you for your great content!
That would be awesome
These were on at the cinema in Australia.
@@darrenmarsh8830 Cool, I know they were released in the cinema in some countries :) Honestly I'm not sure about the Netherlands - we may only have had them as VHS rentals at first.
Edit: Apparently we had a Dutch dubbed version in the cinema. Very happy to have missed out on that.
@@hiltwo oh I agree, I cannot stand dubbed movies, give me subtitles if it's a language that I cannot understand.
@@darrenmarsh8830 Same!
I just watched the whole thing today in one sitting. I will never call eating an habanero pepper painful again.
That old gray Grandpa Wookie's head and facial design, had to be the original mold-design they used in Alien Resurrection (1997), for Ripley's baby-alien offspring at the end that got sucked through the bullet-hole.
Bruh. Can't unsee that now.
Spoiler alert! Lol
@@arcturionblade1077 That squeaky-squeeling sound from Ripley's Alien-Baby had a Weirdness-Level: Infinity+1.
I'm just glad they evened it out, when it ran over to that scientist with the quickness and bit his head. That scene looked just like 20yrs ago, when my 18month old son spotted my wife's decorative bowl of those grape-sized bath oil capsules and bit one til it busted in his mouth. 🤣
I laughed so hard cause he was screamin' from the bath-oil's lovely flavor and my wife havin' him in a half chicken-wing hold, under the kitchen faucet tryin' to wash his mouth out.🤣
This holiday special was made into a stage musical in December 2018 in Redwood City California. And of course, it was all satire and very funny. I was there only because my girlfriend at the time worked with an actor from the musical at Starbucks. I am so glad I went because it was really fun at its worst. The age group was from young to senior.
I love your channel. My favorite parts of these videos are knowing who could have played parts in the movie from who actually got the parts.
1:56, The way Minty said "Stir Whip, Stir Whip, Whip-Whip Stir" still gets a laugh outta me
IMO, The main reason this has become accepted by the fandom, is becuase Lucas tried to banish it to the shadow realm. If he had just let it alone, maybe it would have fallen into complete obscurity, but once its this 'banned media' people have to see it to see why, and it gets passed around and shared with others. Its like Leia said in ANH "The more you try to control them, the more the slip through your fingers"
True, the Ewok Adventures is forgotten as no real stink made.
I recorded the Holiday Special on audio tape, so I could listen to it and re-imagine the whole show all over again. I was 8 years old; Star Wars was my EVERYTHING!!!!
Born in 1972, and I absolutely enjoy watching this every holiday season. I picked up my first copy of it on VHS at the 1997 San Diego Comic Con. I have since picked up a copy on DVD. Thanks for making a great video about it!
LOL! You are truly a sick individual. But I mean that in the nicest way. LMAO!
You enjoyed it?? WTF IS WRONG WITH YOU????
There has never been an official release. Those were bootlegs of files you can find for free on the Internet.
Also born in 72... and I stayed far FAR away from it....this is the most of this Special I have ever seen of it... ever. Over the hill we are.
Nice one 👍 cannot beat genuine entertainment 👍🥳🕺
GAAAAAHHH!!! My eyes! My beautiful grey eyes, the colour of the sea after a storm . . . !
Seriously, though, great video, as always. And that picture of the bounty hunters singing -- priceless! Never seen that before. Thank you!
I was little when this came out and I may be alone in this but I loved it! Sure it was weird anything they gave me Han, chewy, Luke, Leia and the droids made me happy.
Minty, you make all this worthwhile. Thank you for the many years and hours upon HOURS of hard work you've put forth into these projects. Your name is synonymous with this brand and you will live on long after you are gone as will so many others involved in these films, and for that I am truly grateful. While the rest of us have only experienced what it was like to have watched these movies and witnessed the many thrilling added accolades behind the scenes, you have been there to help bring it all together for those of us fortunate enough to tune in to your broadcasts to experience what YOU wanted to convey. We, your fans, truly thank you. Your work will NEVER go unnoticed nor will it ever go unrecognized. Thank you for all you've done, from your early work to your latest pieces. You are now and will forever be a true treasure in the course of this saga. Fans of these films owe you a debt of gratitude, which I formally convey here and now. Thank you for all your hard work from the bottom of my heart 😊
Boba Fett was actually introduced as the 21st and final figure on the original “Star Wars” Kenner cardback earlier in 1978 than the SW Special. The Boba Fett footage in Docking Bay 94 that showed up in the Special Edition of A New Hope was a late cut from the original release.
The original network broadcast *with* commercials is interesting to watch as the commercials are wonderful little time capsules of that era.
I can't wait for Disney+ to give CGI Bea Arthur her own Star Wars show!
I hope they make it super dark and gritty like Andor.
Me neither 👍
This was broadcast TWICE in Australia, if memory serves me correctly it was on channel 10,mid afternoon.
I remember turning on the TV and it was already on...
I also remember thinking "what the hell is this?"
The cartoon was pretty good though.
Just a note: The Ewok Adventure and Caravan Of Courage were shown at the cinemas in Australia, then they went to the video stores before being shown on tv.
Wait, Chewbacca has a wife and son and instead of living with them spends all his time with some smuggler on the other side of the Galaxy..? 😂
Lol when did he have time to make a kid lol
If you saw the holiday special, you’d spend just as much time away from that family as Chewie does too 🤣
I'm almost 50 Years old & never heard of this program until today. Thanks for the update Minty.
RIP Carrie, Bea, Art, and Harvey! 🙏
I'm an enormous Star Wars fan and had never heard of this until my brother brought it up to me a couple years back. I don't know how I missed this as a youth. Probably because my Mom didn't let me watch much TV. Anyway, once I heard of it, I tracked it down. My brother warned me, "once you watch it, you can't un watch it". It's pretty awful and hard to get through at times. That said, I kinda love it. I love how it's referenced in Mando!! And it did introduce us to Boba Fett!!! Thanks for reviewing it, Minty!!
Bonus fact: this movie is not copyrighted so if you wanna do a full commentary with your friends making fun of it, you can do that and upload it in its entirety! Except for the Boba cartoon, Disney really loves that and has it on their streaming service so you can't use it even though they don't care about the rest of the film, which is just hilarious.
It reaches "so bad it's good" status. It's one of the movies that's in our rotation every xmas, usually accompanied by copious quantities of alcohol and other legal mind-altering chemicals.
Heckling not only tolerated, it's encouraged. ;)
10 things you didn't know is an understatement for me because I never even knew this existed 😳
What was it like to not know this existed? Was the world a better place?
You were fortunate. I was 22 and tuned in just to see the cartoon featuring Boba Fett.
I gave up on it before it got that far.
This coming out right at the tail-end of the Disco-Era really didn't help it out very much either - but I also have to agree with several previous posted comments that as bad as it was, it was still better than anything put out by Disney.
There was also a Star Wars holiday music album, which I originally had on cassette until it was played to death, and then eventually managed to get on CD decades later. The songs were so bad they were hilarious, and I still have them all memorized word for word. The songs were mainly performed by Anthony Daniels as C3PO and included such titles as "What Can You Get a Wookie For Christmas?", "Bells, Bells, Bells (The Thing They Do is Ring)", and "The Odds Against Christmas Being Christmas." The main gist of the album was apparently C3PO and R2D2 were working with other droids at a toy factory and C3PO explains what Christmas is to R2D2 and then eventually Santa Claus' son shows up and sings a really drawn-out and boring song about the meaning of Christmas. I still quote from this album every year around the holidays.
I found that record for $1 at goodwill, it's quite a gem, Minty used the artwork from the album which was done by original Star Wars concept artist Ralph McQuarrie. It's "Christmas in the Stars" which was produced by Meco Monardo who did all the popular star wars disco albums like "Star Wars & other Galactic Funk". This was the first recording of a young choir member John who was the cousin of co-producer Tony Bongiovi. We all now know him by his stage name: Jon Bon Jovi! :)
@@philsowers Bon Jovi, really! I knew everything else you mentioned, but I didn't know that! Thank you for that nifty information!
@@jenntheiceraptoress2306 I heard it mentioned on a couple of podcasts about rare recordings, Bizzare Records with Tony Thaxton was a good one. I'd link it but links are considered spam these days, pretty easy to search for on google podcasts, etc.
I vaguely remember watching this on T.V. and my grandparents being all upset about it. I can understand why now but I wasn't even five yet. The two things I remember about it were the wookies talking back and forth and the Boba Fett animation.
On another note, have any of you Star Wars geeks played the board game Outer Rim? If you ever wanted to be a space smuggler, bounty hunter, or some other scoundrel, this is the tabletop game for you!
Thanks for even seeing SWHS as something positive!! Minty you are awesome!!! 0
even though is bad, this is still "light years" better than the "newer" shows 😄
without the special, we wouldn't have the amazing mythos of the Mandelorians. Including Boba Fett. :)
I have to admit that I have a love for it and all of its cheesiness. I watch it during the holidays each year.
You have to remember at this point in the '70s, everybody was really high on cocaine. In the words of somebody I heard say one time, cocaine is a hell of a drug.
No. Not everyone was high on cocaine. And that’s an overplayed bit from Dave Chappelle.
Those were the days 🥳🕺🤯
@@mildred714 I'm beg to differ
I saw this as a kid when it aired. Waited SOOOO long for more Star Wars. At least we got the Boba Fett cartoon in it!
Also, I strongly recommend watching the Rifftrax version of this, it really helps
I was in college at the time of The Holiday Special broadcast, and was a Star Wars fan, but I had never heard of it until 2010 when I heard it discussed on a radio program. I watched it for the first time on UA-cam. I'm glad I did not see it before Empire was released or I may have been so disappointed I may have ignored the sequel.
Happy Life Day! And yet this is STILL BETTER than anything Kathleen Kennedy has produced so far...
LMAO!!!! Good one! And the Mike drops!
Totally correct 👍 in fact burn her movie's with her along with them. Long live the SW holiday special in fact watched SW holiday special several times over Kathleen 💩 movies once was enough. Didn't even get them on physical digital copies.
I was ten when this was aired and was a huge fan of Star Wars. We were all excited to see it. I don't have much memory of it except that my little brother cried when the Stormtrooper ripped of the head of Itchy's Bantha. For the longest time I thought I had dreamed it because nobody ever recognized it when I mentioned it. I finally tracked it down and got a bootleg VHS and was stunned how awful it was. Now I have a DVD of it and watch it every year in November and have grown to appreciate it for what it is.
Yes. This is terrible, but I watched it on TV when I was five years old and loved it! I don't remember and of the variety show acts but I remember Luke and Leia and Han and Darth Vader and Stormtroopers on TV in my living room! And I loved it.
When I first watched this people were calling me crazy for 43 years that it existed. Sorry Harrison. I have come to respect this despite of visual eroticism and written by 4 writers.
Honestly, I can't say I hate this despite the cheese factor, but I watch a lot of 60s and 70s variety shows in general, so this actually looks good compared to some of them (*cough*Donny and Marie*cough*). It's on the same level as Paul Lynde's Halloween Special I think.
Totally agree with you there 👍
The SW Holiday Special made the Disney SW sequels looked legendary.
I read somewhere that the set was built with 4 walls, assuming they'd shoot it with a small, single film camera and so the actors rehearsed on set for a long time before the TV production people came in and told them they'd be using three huge studio video cameras. So they literally had to cut one of the walls and most of the ceiling off in order to accomodate cameras, cable bundles, and sound boom operators. Those shots in the long wookies-at-home 'performance art' piece at the beginning are awkward because they had zoom in from across the room as the cameras too big to get 'inside the structure' any further. Great stuff as always!
Oh, they were awkward for entirely other reasons. Interesting if true though.
I was 5 yrs old when this came out. I will never forget seeing it when it aired. I LOVED it. I still do. :)
I was another one of the kids that watched this when it premiered on TV. I don't remember being that enthused about it other than the animated short with Boba Fett, and some of the scenes with the original cast. This is actually the first time I have seen many of these scenes again since then. What a disaster; no wonder George Lucas flipped out and wanted to erase it from history. This is a solid example of why George Lucas wanted to maintain total creative control of his creation...he would just make some of his own mistakes later. I can see why people would want to track this down because you just have to see it to believe it, but watching some of those scenes from an adult perspective - the Holiday Special was plain awful.
Wanting to know about the 'legend' of the Holiday Special is like wanting to know about the legend of The Candyman and successfully conjuring him. You regret it almost instantly.
I think the Holiday Special looks pretty groovy. I like the part where they all do a line a coke and get down on the dance floor at Studio 54. 🕺💃
This was a bit cheesey but it beats what they call holiday specials today.
I was actually watching this, this past Christmas and mind you, this was my first time watching this at the age of 44 and I couldn’t even stomach the first 10-20 mins of this booollshyt!😤
Better than Disney Star Wars
Oh my God if Robin Williams was in this, it would literally be the highlight of the entire thing lol it would be remembered as that weird Star Wars holiday special that had Robin Williams in it
God could you imagine both Carrie and Robin coked out of their tits and going on a rampage??
Supposedly Guardians of the Galaxy are doing a parody of this. Would be great if there was a Mark Hamil cameo.
Why would he be in it? Was he in the guardians of the galaxy?
No Mark Hamill was not in GotG. But I think he would be more willing than Ford. Also Mark Hamill is a great voice actor (the Joker), so maybe the cameo could be vocal?
No Mark Hamill was not in GotG. But I think he would be more willing than Ford. Also Mark Hamill is a great voice actor (the Joker), so maybe the cameo could be vocal?
You're a legend, mate. Keep it up, Minty. You're the man 🤘🏻❤️
OMG! That ending theme redone as a goofy flute version absolutely KILLS me!! 😆🤣🤣❤️ Well done mate! 👍🏻
Carrie Fisher : "I play the Holiday Special at parties when I want my guests to leave". That is hilariously devious.
11:25 Darth Vader in that sidecar 🤣
"Stir - whip, stir - whip... whip, whip, stir - waaaahh!" 🤣
😂🤣😂🤣 love it!! xx
11. Star Wars Holiday Special is way more enjoyable than The Acolyte.
About the 'Ewoks' movies: Lucas originally wanted the moon of Endor to be a Wookie planet, but it would've cost too much, so smaller furry creatures were created and named Ewoks. Which was probably also part of the reason we got Ewoks movies instead of Wookie movies.
At 10:23, all that makeup made Mark Hamill look more like gymnast Cathy Rigby! But then, Cathy played Peter Pan for many years because she looked so boyish.