We all have that one Star Wars movie that we don’t like more than the others. We all have that one that we just wish either wasn’t made or was made completely different. It doesn’t matter if it introduces us to new characters or not. It was just bad.
Well, you can go to sleep tonight knowing that George Lucas and Lucasfilm also have a Star Wars movie that they clearly wish wasn’t made either. Try as you may, you will not find this movie anywhere on Disney Plus for streaming, or any other service for buying. You may, however, find a bootleg version of it on YouTube. What movie was so bad that George Lucas openly wished he could destroy every copy of it? The 1978 Holiday Special.
George Lucas hates it, although his characters and places were used, and it introduces us to Boba Fett, he had nothing to do with it and it shows. The Holiday Special was a made-for-TV extravaganza put together by people who knew TV, not Star Wars. They understood the phenomena of the 1970’s variety show and that’s what they set out to make. Song and dance numbers, corny jokes that had everyone rolling their eyes and not laughing, and other variety show staples.
In our Interview of Kyle Newman, we talked with him about a documentary entitled “A Disturbance in the Force” which he produces. The documentary details the many issues behind the scenes, the change in directors and scope of the project, and how George Lucas was nowhere to be seen during the process. But it also details the massive pop culture influence this show had. Actors and directors like Seth Green and Kevin Smith talk about how cool it was as a kid to see that on their TV screen. And although it was so very campy, and why they still love it to this day.
But the Holiday Special does have its highlights. Now this doesn’t imply that we think you should go watch it anytime soon. You have to choose that punishment for yourself. But let’s find the silver lining in the hot mess we were given.
The Silver Linings
We get to meet Boba Fett. Without the Holiday Special cartoon in 1978, we may never have met Boba Fett. That animation piece, “The Faithful Wookie”, may not have been played at any other time. And just think of the fallout from missing that animation. There would be no Boba Fett in Star Wars Original Trilogy to require a need for a Jango Fett in the Prequel Trilogy. Without Jango Fett there would be no clones, and there would not be a clone army for the republic. We would have missed out on all that backstory and the stories of the Clone Wars. Sure they could have still happened, but not likely to be Boba or Jango related.
We get to meet Chewacca’s family and have Wookie Life Day. Most of Chewie’s family is awkward and not memorable if we are being honest. The Dad /grandfather of Chewie’s son is most interesting, but I think I will let “A Disturbance in the Force” break it down for you. If for no other reason, this makes the documentary interesting. There’s VR involved ….
But Wookie Life Day, which is a Star Wars Holiday celebrated on November 17th, is the only thing other than Boba Fett to seemingly be accepted into the canon by LucasFilm. Life Day is celebrated in the Disney Parks and has made its way into pop culture references as well.
Are these two things enough to save the Holiday Special? Probably not. It is unlikely that LucasFilm will relent anytime soon and allow that movie to be streamed or bought. There would have to be a large public outcry and possibly even a presale to guarantee a profit from it before Disney would consider selling something else for Star Wars fans to complain about. And if we are being honest, no one hates Star Wars like a Star Wars fan.
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