The Star Wars Holiday Special

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The Star Wars Holiday Special
Director(s)	David Acomba (uncredited) Steve Binder George Lucas (stock footage)
Producer(s)	Joe Layton Jeff Starsh Ken Welch Mitzie Welch
Writer(s)	George Lucas (story)[1] Pat Proft (screenplay) Leonard Ripps (screenplay) Bruce Vilanch (screenplay) Rod Warren (screenplay) Mitzie Welch (screenplay)
Starring	Mark Hamill Harrison Ford Carrie Fisher Anthony Daniels Peter Mayhew
Distributor	CBS
Released	November 17, 1978
Runtime	97 min.
Budget	$1,000,000+ ?
Timeline	0 ABY
Era	Rebellion era
Preceded by	Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope
Followed by	Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back

[Source]

The Star Wars Holiday Special was a two-hour television special (including commercials) set in the Star Wars galaxy. It was broadcast on Friday, November 17, 1978 on CBS-TV from 8:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m., Eastern Standard Time (EST), but was so poorly received that it has never been re-aired. The main storyline of the film (set in 0 ABY) transpires on the Wookiee home planet of Kashyyyk. During the course of the film, scenes also take place in outer space and in spacecraft such as the Millennium Falcon and an Imperial Star Destroyer. The variety-show segments and cartoon introduce a few other locales, such as a cantina on the desert planet of Tatooine and a water planet known as Panna. Chewbacca and Han Solo visit Kashyyyk, Chewbacca's home world, to celebrate the Wookiee holiday Life Day. Along the way, they are pursued by agents of the Galactic Empire who are searching the planet for Rebel agents. The special introduces three members of Chewbacca's family: his father, Itchy, his wife, Malla, and his son Lumpy. The program also features cameos (although the cameo actors are listed as stars) by other Star Wars characters, including Luke Skywalker, C-3PO, R2-D2, Darth Vader, and Princess Leia (who sings the film's "theme song", set to the music of John Williams's Star Wars theme, near the end). The program is probably best known for an animated cartoon produced by Toronto-based Nelvana that introduces, for the first official time in the Star Wars universe, the bounty hunter Boba Fett. Though the program received excellent ratings for its one-time airing, Star Wars creator George Lucas's involvement in the special's production was limited, and he was unhappy with the results. He reportedly removed his story credit from the special, despite creating the original story material for it. It has never been re-aired or officially released on video, but has been widely bootlegged by fans, many of whom consider it ironically hilarious or kitschy. Despite disagreements over its quality, this film is considered the first canonical sequel to A New Hope. It was the first film produced, in a total of three Star Wars spin-off films.

The Holiday Special is important for being the first film-length Star Wars story to appear following the release of Episode IV, as well as for showing an expanded look at parts of that universe. The main focus of the film, which is intended to tie together the stories of A New Hope and The Empire Strikes Back, is the Blockade of Kashyyyk. For the most part, though, the plot serves as little more than a means to string together a series of musical numbers, celebrity cameo appearances, and other variety-show acts, including songs and comedy routines by such 1970s celebrities as Jefferson Starship, Diahann Carroll, Art Carney, Harvey Korman, and Beatrice Arthur.

[edit] Synopsis

Han and Chewbacca in the Millennium Falcon, on the run from the Empire

It is Life Day. Chewbacca, accompanied by his friend, Han Solo, is on his way home to see his family and to celebrate the holiday. Not long after departing Tatooine, the pair find themselves being chased by two Star Destroyers, which Han collectively refers to as an "Imperial garbage scow". After a short argument as to whether they should abort the mission, the decision is made to move forward. Han pulls back the hyperspace controls, and as the stars streak before the Falcon, Han and Chewbacca escape the grasp of the Empire, once again.

A long time ago
in a galaxy far,
far away…

On Kashyyyk, Chewbacca's family are anxiously awaiting and preparing for his return. The three, for the most part, are going about their everyday lives. Itchy is carving an X-wing toy for Lumpy, Malla is working in the kitchen, and Lumpy is playing with an already-complete X-wing toy that his grandfather had already apparently made for him. On the family table, Malla has prepared a bowl of Wookiee-ookiees. Lumpy attempts to sneak one before dinner, but Malla catches him and asks him to take out the day's garbage. Upon arriving at the outer rail of the house, on the outside deck, he looks down into the great depths of the forests of Kashyyyk. After setting down the garbage, he decides to take the dangerous move of climbing up on the railing, and walking along it for a bit; Malla and Itchy are unaware.

Back inside the tree house, Malla and Itchy are worried, as Chewbacca has not arrived yet. Itchy takes down a framed picture of Chewbacca and Malla notices his worries. She reassures him that Chewbacca is safe, and he then returns the picture. Lumpy comes back into the house. Malla and Itchy are ignorant to what has just done outside.

[edit] Acrobatics segment

Itchy reaches into a cabinet and gets down some sort of activity capsule. He shows it to Lumpy. Malla, however, sees this, and objects. Itchy convinces her otherwise, and inserts the capsule into a round table-machine, similar to the Dejarik one seen on board the Millennium Falcon in A New Hope. After switching on the device, Itchy urges Lumpy to sit down. Lumpy does, and begins to view a 3D-computer generated group of circus performers, who perform many unique acts. At the conclusion of the performance, Lumpy applauds the acts, and switches the machine off. Malla now needs him to help wash the dishes. He resists and complains, and even tries to get Itchy to side with him. Itchy is not as sympathetic this time, however. He agrees with Malla, and Lumpy proceeds to wash the dishes.

[edit] Luke and R2-D2

Luke and R2-D2 working on Luke's X-wing

Malla and Itchy begin to worry again. Malla switches on a viewscreen-computer, and runs a search for any starships in the area. She is hoping the Falcon will be found in the scan. However, the computer returns the result of "no starships in the area." She is deeply disappointed, and switches off the viewscreen. They then contact Luke Skywalker (apparently via the HoloNet), who, along with his faithful droid, R2-D2, is working on his X-wing starfighter. Malla opens a hidden communication device from within a cabinet. This device allows them to communicate with Chewbacca and the Rebellion; however, it is not allowed by the empire, so they must keep it a secret. That is why it is hidden. Luke does not know what has happened and suggests that, knowing Han and Chewbacca, they probably stopped off somewhere, and would arrive soon. Luke begins to have a few problems of his own when the part he is working on begins to emit a large amount of steam. Seeing that he is busy, Malla shuts off the communication viewscreen, still with no luck in finding the whereabouts of Han and Chewbacca.

[edit] Saun Dann segment

Saun Dann in his shop

Next, Malla contacts Saun Dann, a local human trader on the planet. Saun Dann, a middle-aged, gray haired man, is in the middle of a deal when Malla contacts him, so he must deal with it first. The shop of Saun Dann's appears in a style similar to the living quarters on Tatooine. As he is doing the deal, Malla views everything going on. An Imperial guard has let himself into Saun Dann's shop to look around. Saun Dann suggests a few items, for which the guard expresses no interest. In the middle of the deal, when the guard is still looking at things, Saun Dann initiates conversation with Malla, after he notices her on the viewscreen. He lets her know through a carefully-worded message that Han and Chewbacca are on their way, and should be arriving soon. He does not, however, know of their current whereabouts. After shutting off the viewscreen, he suggests an item to the guard that interests him. Saun Dann shows him a groomer that is multi-functional. The guard takes the item, giving Saun Dann nothing in return. Saun Dann has no choice but to let him take it, and he sarcastically says that he considers it a gift.

Darth Vader and an unknown Chief, discussing the blockade of Kashyyyk

Orbiting Tatooine is Darth Vader's Star Destroyer. Vader has been alerted to the escape of the Falcon from the grasp of the Empire. He was not ready to let them escape a second time. Vader had been on the search for the rebels who had destroyed the first Death Star in A New Hope, not long ago, and was obsessed with locating the ones responsible. The Empire wanted the rebels gone in general. On the Star Destroyer, Chief Bast, one of the few to escape the destruction of the first Death Star, informs Vader that a blockade has been set up around Kashyyyk, and a search had been started on the planet. Vader is pleased, and informs him to continue the search, even if it takes searching every household in the system.

[edit] Bantha Rump segment

Malla watching the viewscreen while cooking

Back on Kashyyyk, Malla is preparing part of the dinner for the night's feast for her family. She is preparing Bantha rump, with the help of Chef Gormaanda, a four-armed alien, which Malla watches on the kitchen HoloNet viewscreen. This cook, a female with four arms, is shown to enjoy her cooking very much. When she gets out of control, speeding up with her four arms, Malla can't keep up, and switches the viewscreen off. She resorts to cooking the Bantha Rump herself.

On the Falcon, Chewbacca and Han had just come out of hyperspace not far from Kashyyyk, which was their destination. Unaware of the blockade, they find quite a surprise, four TIE fighters, blocking their way. After taking out a few using remote controls from the cockpit, Han resorts to going down into the quad cannons to use them manually; Chewbacca takes the main controls.

[edit] "This Minute Now" segment

Mermeia

Meanwhile, on Kashyyyk, Itchy is resting in his chair, while Malla is walking around. Suddenly, an Imperial officer announces on the viewscreen that a blockade has been set up around the planet, and that the Empire has declared martial law. Immediately after the announcement, they get a knock at the door. Frightened, Itchy goes to open it. To their relief, rather than the empire at the door, it is Saun Dann, the trader with which Malla had conversed with earlier. He brings them all Life Day gifts. To Malla, he gives a music box. To Lumpy, he hands a box, with an unknown present in it. And, finally, after Malla and Lumpy had went to enjoy their presents, he gives Itchy his present. To Itchy, he gives a memory chip, which he inserts into Itchy's virtual-reality chair. It is Mermeia, apparently a humanoid female, whom Itchy seems to have an interest in. Itchy excitedly watches her perform a song, while making suggestive comments and body language.

[edit] Leia and C-3PO

Leia and C-3PO at the Rebel base

Following this "experience" of Itchy's, the focus shifts to the Rebel base, where Princess Leia and C-3PO are hard at work on something. Malla contacts them via viewscreen to alert them of the lateness of Han and Chewbacca. Like before with the others, she can offer no help. However, she does ask if Malla is alone, and she is relieved that someone is there to protect everyone, Saun Dann. With little help from Leia, Malla switches off the communication device. Saun Dann then smells Wookiee-ookiees baking, and he and Malla go to get some.

Han and Chewbacca approaching Kashyyyk in the Falcon

Back on the Falcon, Han and Chewbacca are approaching Kashyyyk. They are glad to finally almost be there. Han notices the abundance of Imperials in the area, so they decide to land on a safe section of the planet, on the north side. However, this is far the Wookiee household, and will be a long walk. After a protest from Chewbacca, they finally decide to land the ship. As they enter the atmosphere of Kashyyyk, Lumpy hears the roaring of the ship. Everyone in the Wookiee house gets excited, and all run to the door. They believe Han and Chewbacca might be at it. But they are in for quite the surprise. As Malla opens the door, two stormtroopers hold their blaster pistols at her, with two Imperial officers of different ranks behind them.

[edit] "Light the Sky on Fire" segment

Imperial officers questioning Chewbacca's family

Malla roars in horror, but the Imperials force their way in anyway. The head officer checks the house for the residents. He finds that the male Wookiee, Chewbacca, is missing. He orders a search. The officers rudely look through the house, nearly discovering the hidden communication device in the house, which would have spelled certain doom for the family and exposed them as allies with the Rebellion. To try to distract the attention of the Empire, Saun Dann suggests for he and Malla to prepare some food for everyone in the kitchen. While they are doing this, Saun Dann turns on Malla's music box for one of the officers, who seems to be more interested in the music than his duties.

The holographic band performing for one of the Imperial officers

A rock band comes on the box, and sings a song called Light the Sky on Fire. While all of this is going on, the Imperial officers are searching the house. When the video finishes, the head officer orders the search to continue, and for the officer who viewed the music band to get back to work. Saun Dann leaves, as he sees he cannot help further. The head officer tells Malla to keep Lumpy busy while they search, so Lumpy sits down to watch a cartoon on a viewscreen of one of his father's many adventures. The Imperials begin to search Lumpy's room.

[edit] Cartoon segment

Boba Fett on Panna

The cartoon dealt with Luke, Han, and Leia's first encounter with Boba Fett. During a search for talisman, the Millennium Falcon crashes on a water planet, known as Panna. Luke and the gang go after them, when they dispatch from the rebel base in a Y-Wing. Upon landing, they run into Fett, who wants to help them. They all board the Falcon, where Han has been infected by some mysterious sleeping virus caused by the talisman. Upon entering, Luke immediately contracts the virus as well. Boba and Chewbacca go into Panna City to get the cure for Han's condition. Once they get into the city, which is occupied by Imperials, Boba instructs Chewbacca to stay behind while he gets the cure. Once away from Chewbacca, Boba contacts Darth Vader to inform him of the situation. He reveals that he and Vader are in a plan to reveal the location of the Rebels so that Vader can stop them, like he tried and failed to in A New Hope. At this point in the cartoon, Lumpy shouts out in horror at the events in the cartoon. It alerts the main Imperial officer. He comes over to see what is wrong, but Lumpy acts like it was nothing, and he hides the cartoon, presumably as it shows members of the Rebel Alliance and one of their missions.. He then resumes the cartoon. Back on the Falcon, as C-3PO is caring for Han and Luke, he and R2-D2 intercept the message between Vader and Fett on their viewscreen. After evading the Imperials, Boba and Chewbacca return to the Falcon with the cure. After giving it to them, and they recover, everyone learns of Boba's true allegiances. Boba ignites his jet pack, and blasts away, promising that he will meet them all again. Everyone leaves the planet, going back to the rebel base on board the Falcon. Lumpy shuts off the monitor and applauds it.

[edit] Amorphian Being segment

The Amorphian Being Lumpy watches on his instructional video

Up in Lumpy's room, the Imperials have trashed everything. One even rips the head off his stuffed ransacked bantha. Lumpy comes up there after they have gone to another part of the house. He is very saddened over what they have done to his treasured toy. He lays it down on his bed in a moment of sadness. But then he creates a plan for revenge. He remembers the gadget Saun Dann gave him earlier for his Life Day present. Though Wookiees are known to be naturally good with technology, Lumpy puts in the instruction video to completely teach him how to put together the device. His plan is apparently to create a communication device that will fool the Imperials into returning to their base by emulating the voice of one of their superiors in the empire. The instruction video comes on. A humanoid described as an "Amorphian Being from the planet Amorphia" comes on the video. He explains to Lumpy all of the technical details of assembly. The problem with Amorphians, however, is that their body functions frequently temporarily stop working. Throughout the program, this Amorphian does just that. After instructing Lumpy of the basics, the Amorphian shuts down almost completely and falls in the floor. Lumpy shuts off the video with happiness, knowing how to properly put together the device.

[edit] Tatooine Cantina segment

Ackmena in her cantina

Downstairs of the tree house, while the Imperials are still searching, a video comes on the living room viewscreen, which is advertised as "required viewing by all Imperial personnel." So, all the Imperials in the house turn their immediate attention to the viewscreen. The program appears to be a reality-TV type program entitled "Life on Tatooine." After the announcer goes off, people are seen walking the streets of Mos Eisley on the viewscreen, then the focus shifts to inside a Cantina. In the cantina, a band is playing, creatures are talking, and things are going pretty well. The bartender, Ackmena, is in the process of serving drinks, when a humanoid walks in named Krelman, who seems very interested and attracted to her. They are in the process of discussion, when an Imperial guard comes on a viewscreen announcing that now Tatooine is being put under a curfew by the Empire. His reason is "due to subversive forces." This will force everyone to return to theirs homes immediately. Ackmena is deeply shocked, and asks her customers to please leave the Cantina, due to the strict orders of the Empire. When they all refuse to leave, she suggests one more round of drinks for everyone, and puts everyone's bill on her own tab. She then proceeds to usher them out via singing and dancing. Everyone eventually leaves, albeit with opposition. Ackmena then continues a personal discussion with Krelman. The video then goes off.

The remaining stormtrooper approaches Lumpy's room

Immediately after the video finishes, Lumpy's plan goes into effect. The Imperials get a call on their radios to "return to base." This message continues repeatedly. They decide to leave, but the head officer instructs one of the stormtroopers to stay behind. After the other Imperials leave, the stormtrooper still hears the radio call to "return to base." He immediately sees that something is wrong because there are no more radios around. He listens in, and determines that the sound is actually coming from the upstairs, which is where Lumpy's room is. He runs upstairs to find Lumpy speaking into a box, the one which he had constructed earlier. His voice was being translated and amplified to be more Human and deeper. The stormtrooper walks into the room. This startles Lumpy, who immediately jumps up. The stormtrooper grabs the box, and thrusts it quickly and hard towards the ground, shattering it. Lumpy is frightened. He runs down the stairs, out onto the deck, followed closely by the stormtrooper.

Han confronts the stormtrooper

At exactly the same time both Lumpy and the stormtrooper arrive out onto the deck, Han and Chewbacca are walking up to the door. Chewbacca growls, and Han prepares for battle. Chewbacca runs around the stormtrooper, to protect Lumpy. The stormtrooper points his gun at both of them. Secretly, Han is backing against the wall, ready to attack. The stormtrooper does not see him, and Han sneaks up and hits him. The two get ready to fight, then Han suddenly trips the stormtrooper, and makes him fall off the deck, breaking the railing, to his death in the deep forests below. Relieved, Han picks up Lumpy and hands him to his father.

[edit] The celebration

Han is greeted by Chewbacca's family

They all go inside, where Malla and Itchy are waiting. Han lets them know he has taken care of the threat. Everyone is glad to be safe and back together at last. Chewbacca and Han hug everyone, and it is clear that there is a feeling of love and family among everyone present. They want Han to stay, but he says he has to get back to the Falcon before someone finds it where he has hidden it. After bidding everyone a heartfelt goodbye, he leaves and wishes everyone a happy Life Day. After he leaves, they hear yet another knock at the door. It is Saun Dann, apparently on his way to a delivery, with bags in his hands. He sets them down. Suddenly, the Imperial officer on the viewscreen appears. He gives a general alert asking if anyone in the area has seen a missing stormtrooper. When he gives the exact identification number, everyone in the house knows this is the one Han recently tripped off the deck and killed. Realizing the trouble they could get in, Saun Dann quickly thinks of a lie that will work on the officer. He claims the stormtrooper was left by the others, and after they had left, had stolen a lot of food from his house and left without a trace. The excuse works; the officer has no suspicions. He says he will send out a search party to find the missing trooper. He goes off the viewscreen, and everyone is relieved. Before he goes, Saun Dann wishes the entire family a happy Life Day, just as Han did. After he leaves, the family prepares to go the festival at the Tree of Life. They gather their crystals together and join them above their heads.

Wookiees celebrating Life Day at the Tree of Life

Magically, the entire family, along with many other Wookiees, are next seen in space, traveling toward a bright star of some type. They are walking into it. By doing this, they apparently arrive at the great Tree of Life, where many Wookiees dressed in red robes are gathered. Chewbacca takes the stage. Suddenly, C-3PO and R2-D2 appear. Then Luke, Leia, and finally, Han. Han has a surprise for everyone; he has brought the whole gang back for the celebration. Everyone was glad to be together.

The Wookiee family sitting at the table for the night's feast

To begin, Leia gives a short speech on the meaning of Life Day and they all sing a song in celebration. At the conclusion of the ceremony, Chewbacca remembers the group's adventures from A New Hope, such as when he first met Luke and Leia, when they all escaped the Death Star, playing dejarik with R2-D2, and the award ceremony, after he and Han had helped Luke destroy the Death Star. The Wookiees begin to file out of the ceremony as his memories cease.

That night, the Wookiee family, Chewbacca, Mallatobuck, Lumpawarrump, and Attichitcuk sit at the family table. It was a great feast to celebrate the day, and everyone is glad to be back together again.

[edit] Memorable quotes

[edit] Credits

[edit] Cast

[edit] Crew

A producer stands on the set of the Wookiee home

Director(s)

• David Acomba (uncredited)
• Steve Binder
• George Lucas (stock footage)

Writer(s)

• George Lucas (story)
• Pat Proft (screenplay)
• Leonard Ripps (screenplay)
• Bruce Vilanch (screenplay)
• Rod Warren (screenplay)
• Mitzie Welch (screenplay)

Produced by:

• Monroe E. Carol .... associate producer
• Dwight Hemion .... executive producer
• Joe Layton .... producer
• Rita Scott .... associate producer
• Gary Smith .... executive producer
• Jeff Starsh .... producer
• Ken Welch .... producer
• Mitzie Welch .... producer

Original Music by:

• Ian Fraser

Cinematography by:

• John B. Field

Film Editing by:

• Jerry Bixman
• Vince Humphrey

Art Direction by:

• Brian Bartholomew

Set Decoration by:

• Garrett Lewis

Costume Design by:

• Bob Mackie

Makeup Department:

• Keith Crary .... makeup artist
• Verne Langdon .... makeup artist
• Michael Lorenz .... makeup artist
• Jim Nielsen .... makeup artist
• Evelyn Trimmer .... hair stylist

Art Department:

• C.B. Chisam .... props
• Ralph McQuarrie .... illustrator
• Leslie Parsons .... assistant art director

Sound Department:

• Ed Greene .... sound

Visual Effects by:

• Jenn de Joux .... video animation
• Elizabeth Savel .... video animation
• Tom Tcimpidis .... ultimatte operator

Camera and Electrical Department:

• Peter Lomprakis .... key grip
• Howard Smith .... gaffer

Animation Department:

• Ken Stephenson .... animation director (uncredited)

Costume and Wardrobe Department:

• Ellis Burman Jr. .... costumes: "Wookie family"
• Thomas R. Burman .... costumes: "Wookie family"
• Stuart Freeborn .... costume: "Chewbacca"
• Robert Turturice .... assistant costume designer
• Stan Winston .... costumes: "Wookie family"

Transportation Department:

• Frank Khoury .... transportation coordinator

Other crew:

• Rick Baker .... cantina masks
• Peter Barth .... stage manager
• Ray Brannigan .... supervisor
• Craig Chaquico .... composer: song "Cigar-Shaped Object"
• Mike Erwin .... stage manager
• Stuart Freeborn .... cantina masks
• Miki Herman .... consultant: "Star Wars"
• Charlie Phillips .... assistant choreographer
• David Winters .... choreographer

[edit] Appearances

[edit] Individuals

[edit] Creatures

[edit] Droid models

[edit] Events

[edit] Locations

[edit] Organizations and titles

[edit] Sentient species

[edit] Vehicles and vessels

[edit] Weapons and technology

[edit] Miscellanea

[edit] Behind the scenes

[edit] Production

Harrison Ford and Peter Mayhew in the cockpit of the Millennium Falcon, as the producers stand by

In May 1978, the Star Wars phenomenon was at its height. That month, someone at the 20th Century Fox studios suggested to Lucasfilm that they allow the creation of a Star Wars-themed Holiday Special. At the time, according to a Star Wars license manager, Lucasfilm had been receiving requests of these types for many different tie-in type ideas, most of which they had turned down. However, George Lucas liked the idea, and green-lighted the production with the idea that it would keep Star Wars alive in the minds of the fans and the general public. So, he sat down with the show's producers and penned a basic story outline of what he wanted to happen in the show.

The story was basically to focus on Chewbacca returning home to his family for Life Day. That it did. Lucas supervised the initial draft of the script. He also attended a few production meetings and supervised work on the animated segment. He had little involvement with it due to his concentration on producing The Empire Strikes Back. This didn't help the Holiday Special.

In later drafts of the Holiday Special's script, the show's producers, Ken and Mitzie Welch intervened, and rewrote much of what Lucas had intended the script to be. The story remained, but the content was vastly different than what Lucas explained. After five drafts of the script, and many additions, subtractions, and changes to Lucas's original vision for the film, the script was completed sometime in October of 1978.

A Gary Smith-Dwight Hemion Production in association with 20th Century Fox Television, The Star Wars Holiday Special was produced with a budget of a little over a million dollars. Taping began in October, and ended sometime in November. The original director hired for the show, David Acomba, was an old roommate of Lucas's from his years at USC and knew his film-making style quite well. Acomba had only managed to shoot the entire Cantina sequence of the Holiday Special before he was fired by the producers, due to "creative differences." A new director was hired, Steve Binder, who was much less familiar with Lucas's work, or Star Wars apparently. The film was shot over the course of an entire month. Lucas, who had had very little to do with production since the initial plot outline, was given a private screening of the completed film before it aired.

According to reports, he was disgusted with what the producers had done to his story, and greatly disliked the special. Rumor has it that he had signed an agreement for it to air at least once, and after seeing it, decided that it would never again be shown on any network after its first airing. The show was greatly hyped, however, on broadcast TV, prior to its debut. It made its debut on November 17 to allegedly excellent ratings, due to the hype. On that night, and since the airing, many have considered it a general disappointment, and even an insult to the Star Wars saga.

[edit] Release

Promotion:
Prior to its airing, CBS aired a commercial advertising both the special and the television show Flying High.^[3][4]

Airing dates and locations:
The special reportedly aired in:

• Canada in 1978 on November 17, 1978 (the same day of the US airing, most likely on the CTV Television Network, since a black and white still from the show has that network's logo on it). CED later showed clips from the special in 2004.^[5][6]
• United Kingdom in 1978 on BBC One
• Mexico in December 1978 on Televisa XHGC Channel 5
• Argentina around Christmas 1978
• France (dubbed in French, under the name "Au Temps de la Guerre des Etoiles" which means "In the Time of Star Wars")
• New Zealand sometime in 1979
• Belgium in 1979 and/or 1980 (in English, with Dutch subtitles); the French dubbed version was aired in the French-speaking part of the country
• Australia in 1980 or 1981 (possibly also in 1982 or 1983 on the WIN Network), and again in 1983 & 1984 on Channel Ten Victoria (reportedly). It was reportedly broadcast once again in the late 1990s as part of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation's youth series, Recovery.
• Malaysia in late January/early February 1981 or 1982 (in English, with no subtitles)
• Norway as Stjernekrigens helligdags-spesial (meaning the same as the English title).
• Sweden (Sweden's public television) on May 31, 1979 on SVT TV 2 in English, under the name "Stjärnornas Krig Och Fred" (Star Wars and Peace), with Swedish subtitles.
• The special was reportedly screened at the Library of Congress in the 1990s.
• Unofficially, the special was screened at a private Canadian theater, around the holiday season, several years in a row, from 2001-2004. The theater owners charged a small amount of money to view the special.
• Unofficially, the special has been screened privately in many homes through bootleg or original recordings.
• Unofficially, the special has been screened at the Star Wars 10th anniversary festival in Berlin, Germany at Sputnik Theatre (May 1987). In the early 1990's the special was shown to TV cable station SAT 1 to get a possible broadcast along with the trilogy.

It most assuredly aired in other countries too (It is unknown exactly what or how many countries the special aired in, this list was compiled from reports by people from those countries who saw it when it aired). Screen captures from the various known versions of it that have survived from 1978 VHS tapes can be found here.

Title:

The opening logo for The Star Wars Holiday Special

There has been some dispute since the airing of the special, what the correct name of it was. The correct title is “The Star Wars Holiday Special”, though it is often mislabeled “The Star Wars Christmas Special.” Even Star Wars creator, George Lucas, once called it that. It has also been called “A Very Wookiee Christmas” and “A Wookiee Holiday.”

In France, the official title was "Au Temps de la Guerre des Etoiles" which means "In the Time of Star Wars".

In Sweden, the official title was "Stjärnornas Krig Och Fred" which literally means "The Stars' War and Peace".

In Norway, the official title was "Stjernekrigens helligdags-spesial" which means the same as the English title.

Commercials:
The products advertised during commercial breaks on The Star Wars Holiday Special include (in order of appearance, on the Baltimore broadcast):

• General Motors
• Trailtracker (from Kenner)
• CBS Sunday Night programming (60 Minutes, All In The Family, Alice, Lucy Comes To Nashville, Dallas)
• Comtrex (from Bristol-Myers)
• International Ladies Garment Workers Union (ILGWU)
• Bell Systems
• CBS Saturday Night Movies (The Bible)
• Reggie candy bar
• Local programming (Dolly)
• General Motors
• Pillsbury Plus baking mix
• Hungry Jack biscuits
• CBS News report
• Contac
• CBS Monday programming (Bobby Vinton's Rock 'N Rollers)
• The Wild Geese in theaters
• Gladding Chevrolet (a local dealer)
• The Consumer Information Catalog
• Local programming (Hot City)
• Tobor (from Kenner)
• Revlon Cream-On Blush
• Whirlpool
• Anacin
• Woolite
• Sheer Indulgence pantyhose
• McDonald's Egg McMuffin
• Next on CBS (Flying High)
• Ford-Mercury-Lincoln dealers
• The Wiz in theaters
• Local news teaser
• FTD Wishing Well Bouquet
• Fruit Of The Loom
• Bell Systems
• No Nonsense pantyhose
• Twice As Fresh bathroom cleaner
• The Star Wars Collection (from Kenner)
• Colony cabernet sauvignon
• Wonder Woman and The Incredible Hulk returning to regular airtimes on select CBS stations

Versions and availability today:

The original TV Guide magazine ad for the special

The Star Wars Holiday Special was lost to the world and mostly forgotten after its only airing in 1978. There was very little evidence of its existence until sometime in the early-to-mid-1990s when individuals came forward, who had in their possession original VHS recordings of the TV airing. Some of them began to copy the show and sell it illegally as a bootleg VHS or DVD at conventions.

It soon became a cult classic and a legend among Star Wars fans despite (or perhaps because of) its criticisms. File sharing technologies have made the special more widely available to curious fans to see for themselves. To this day, though, the Special has still not been made officially available.

Most viewers (including Lucas himself) revile The Star Wars Holiday Special for its meager plot and low production values, but some enjoy it for its wackiness and novelty, and many Star Wars fans have a copy in their collection. Some fans hope for an official release, if only as a comedic novelty.

Some facts about copies of the Holiday Special:

• The original print likely rests in the Lucasfilm archives. Animation-cel merchandise sold in the mid-1990s mentions no source, but probably comes from the special's animated Boba Fett segment. Segments of the cartoon appear in the 2002 Attack of the Clones web documentary "Bucket Head." Boba Fett actor Jeremy Bulloch introduces the segment as coming from the Holiday Special.
• The copies that were distributed in 1978 to CBS and its major broadcasting stations are most likely also in the Lucasfilm Archives with the original print.
• Some who watched the program's single airing recorded it to videotape. These have since been duplicated and reduplicated so that most copies of the special available today (and since 1978) are second to sixth generation on DVD and VHS. Some of these fan-made copies include the original commercials that aired during the show, while others have had these edited out.
• In 2001 or 2002, an anonymous video professional digitally remastered a second-generation recording of the original special with Dolby Digital technology. Though this "remastered" version does exist, the term "digitally remastered" is often times just used as a slogan to sell illegal copies on eBay and at conventions.
• There is an isolated version of the Boba Fett cartoon that contains a few extra seconds of material that was either edited or not included in the Holiday Special.
• At some locations on the internet, individual clips from the special are available for download. In other places, such as many BitTorrent or file sharing sites, the entire special is available for download, in varying quality.
• The special has yet to be officially released on DVD, despite recent rumors of a possible release (see DVD release section below).

DVD release:
The Star Wars Holiday Special has yet to be given an official DVD release by Lucasfilm Ltd. If there are any plans to officially release the Star Wars Holiday Special on DVD, those plans have never been stated by Lucasfilm and there has never been any announcement suggesting such a release either on Lucasfilm's site, or the starwars.com site. However, an eventual release is expected by many fans. (A so-called "Platinum Edition" DVD mentioned in a review by Lawrence Person on Locus Online was an April Fool's Day Hoax.^[7]). In 2005, Amazon.com has placed an entry for the Holiday Special on its site.^[8]. This lead to rumors in summer 2005 that a DVD was to come out soon, but in fact that is something the company does for nearly all movies and television shows that have not yet been released on DVD, to find popular titles and measure the interest of the public. Target.com has also posted a page on their site, with the same information about the show.

The only official comment made on the possibility of a DVD release was by Lucasfilm head of fan relations Steve Sansweet. When asked by the IESB if George Lucas has the intention to ever release the holiday special, he replied:

"No. It's a very simple answer. George hates the uh, Star Wars, uh, Holiday Special, and um, it's, it's, just something that he doesn't like..."^[9]

VIP Paul Ens has voiced his support for the release of the complete special on DVD,^[10] and VIP Pete Vilmur has publicly stated his support for the inclusion of the animated segment from the special on some future DVD.^[11] On September 21, 2004, Star Wars DVD producer Van Ling held a Q&A session with the Washington Post, in which he was asked about the possibility of a DVD release of the special. He replied "I seriously doubt it, given that it has never even been shown again after its initial broadcast, let alone released on home video... but as I always say, never say never."^[12]

A number of unofficial fan releases designed to be burned to DVD-R discs have been created in place of an official release and are distributed online. They vary in quality and contents, with the one of the better-known versions distributed under the moniker "The Angrysun Edition", supposedly having been transferred from an actual video tape sent in 1978 for broadcast to a TV station.

[edit] Reception

For the most part, The Star Wars Holiday Special has received a large amount of criticism, both from Star Wars fans and the general public. David Hofstede, author of What Were They Thinking?: The 100 Dumbest Events In Television History, ranked the holiday special at number one, calling it "the worst two hours of television ever." Shepard Smith, a news anchor for the Fox News Channel, referred to it as a "'70s train wreck, combining the worst of Star Wars with the utter worst of variety television." Actor Phillip Bloch explained on a TV Land special entitled "The 100 Most Unexpected TV moments," that the special "just wasn't working. It was just so surreal." On the same program, Ralph Garman, a voice actor for the show Family Guy, explained that "The Star Wars Holiday Special is one of the most infamous television programs in history. And it's so bad that it actually comes around to good again." Most critics have expressed similar views of the special. Generally, it has never been well-received by fans, who often see it as silly, with some even viewing it as an insult to the Star Wars series.

Among some fans, however, it has reached a cult status. Some enjoy the special for its (unintended) campiness or as an artifact of '70s pop culture, or hold certain feelings of nostalgia for the special's original airing. It has become one of the most widely bootlegged programs in history, averaging around 30-60 copies available on any given day on eBay.^[source?]

The only aspect of the special which has been generally well-received is the animated segment which introduces the bounty hunter Boba Fett, who would later become a popular character when he appeared in the Star Wars theatrical films.

George Lucas himself, who wrote the basic story for the special but otherwise had very little to do with it, has rarely commented on or even acknowledged its existence except to friends and co-workers. Generally, however, he holds a very low opinion of it. For instance, Tom Burman, one of the costume designers for the holiday special, has said that Lucas once told him that he was very disappointe