George Lucas’ “Star Wars” saga is the most dominant pop culture franchise of the past half century. The western space has permeated virtually every medium, from film and video games to slippers and theme parks. But one piece of “Star Wars” memorabilia is notoriously missing from the canon: the terribly appalling and time-honored “Star Wars Holiday Special”.
To commemorate what filmmaker George Lucas set out to erase, Stacker did the difficult and sometimes obnoxious job of compiling a brief history of the still-campy 1978 TV variety show. The plot of the special centers around Chewbacca’s family, awaiting his return to the planet Kashyyyk. While the family waits and the Empire hunts down the rebels, viewers get a glimpse into Wookiee family life. The (perhaps unintentional) highlight of the whole fiasco is the short cartoon halfway through the special when the world is first introduced to Boba Fett.
After the mind-blowing and instantaneous success of “Star Wars: A New Hope”, Lucas’ attention and time was elsewhere, especially on the work for “The Empire Strikes Back”. As he looked the other way, the production of the TV special rolled out sideways, parading two directors while Bea Arthur sang in a cantina, Jefferson Starship performed a pretty good song about UFOs. , and Carrie Fisher, Harrison Ford and Mark Hamill have appeared. for regrettable cameos. The star’s power was strong – Harvey Korman stars in three roles, including one as the Julia Child-inspired alien leader prepping “Bantha Surprise” with her myriad of arms – but even that wasn’t enough to save what would have had to be for all intents and purposes. a slam dunk.
The show, which is not available to stream and cannot be found on professionally sanctioned DVDs or VHSs (although you will have no trouble finding pirated versions online and in DVD form in their entirety), has served as the end of many jokes in the nearly 45 years since its release. Namely, Carrie Fisher said claiming that she had organized special parties to entice her guests to leave at the end of the night. Lucas attempted (and failed) to completely destroy all hard evidence of the special’s existence.
Read on to find out everything you could want to know about the “Star Wars Vacation Special”.