The Star Wars Holiday Special

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Star Wars Holiday Special
Directed by	Steve Binder David Acomba (uncredited)
Produced by	Joe Layton Jeff Starsh Ken Welch Mitzie Welch
Written by	George Lucas (story) Pat Proft Leonard Ripps Bruce Vilanch Rod Warren Mitzie Welch
Starring	Mark Hamill Harrison Ford Carrie Fisher Anthony Daniels Peter Mayhew
Music by	Ian Fraser (score) Ken Welch (songs) Mitzie Welch (songs) John Williams (themes)
Distributed by	CBS
Release date(s)	November 17, 1978
Running time	97 min.
Language	English
Budget	unknown
IMDb profile

The Star Wars Holiday Special was a two-hour television special (including commercials) set in the Star Wars galaxy. It was broadcast in its entirety in the United States only once on Friday, November 17, 1978 on CBS-TV from 8:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m., Eastern Standard Time (EST). In it, Chewbacca and Han Solo visit Kashyyyk, Chewbacca's home world, to celebrate Life Day. Along the way, they are pursued by agents of the Galactic Empire who are searching for rebels on the planet. The special introduces three members of Chewbacca's family: his father Itchy, his wife Malla, and his son Lumpy.

The main storyline of the film, which is 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 such spacecraft as the famous 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.

The program also features some cameos (although the cameo actors are listed as stars) by other Star Wars characters, including Luke Skywalker, C-3PO, R2-D2, Darth Vader, Han Solo 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 officially introduces the bounty hunter Boba Fett. It was the first film produced of three official Star Wars spin-off films.

George Lucas's involvement in the special's production was limited, and he was unhappy with the results. It has never been reaired or officially released on video, but has been widely bootlegged by fans, many of whom consider it ironically hilarious or kitschy.

[edit] Production

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

In May 1978, the Star Wars phenomenon was at its height. That month, someone at 20th Century Fox 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 many different tie-in requests, most of which they had turned down. However, George Lucas liked the idea, and approved the production with the idea that it would keep Star Wars alive in the minds of the fans and the general public. He sat down with the show's producers and penned a basic story outline for what he wanted to happen in the show.

The pervading theme of the story focuses on Chewbacca returning home to his family for Life Day (Christmas). Lucas supervised the initial draft of the script, attended a few production meetings, and supervised work on the animated segment. However, he had little involvement beyond this due to the demands of producing The Empire Strikes Back.

In later drafts of the script, the show's producers, Ken and Mitzie Welch, intervened and rewrote much of what Lucas had intended. The plot remained, but the content was vastly different. After five drafts and many additions, subtractions, and changes to Lucas's original concept 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. At the time, it was considered one of the most expensive TV endeavors of its kind. Taping began in October and ended sometime in November. David Acomba, the original director hired for the show, was an old roommate of Lucas's from his years at the University of Southern California and knew his film-making style quite well. Acomba only managed to shoot the Cantina sequence of the special before he was fired by the producers due to "creative differences." A new director was hired, Steve Binder, who was apparently much less familiar with Lucas's work, or with Star Wars. Lucas, who had had very little to do with production since his 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 on broadcast TV, however, prior to its debut on November 17. Although ratings were excellent, since the airing many have considered it a general disappointment, and even an insult to the Star Wars saga.

[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 between 30 to 60 copies available on any given day via eBay.

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 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 disappointed with the final product.

At one Australian fan convention he reportedly said "If I had the time and a sledgehammer, I would track down every copy of that show and smash it." In an online chat with fans, he reportedly said: "The holiday special does not represent my vision for Star Wars." In an interview with Maxim magazine in May 2002, Maxim asks the question: Any plans for a Special Edition of the Holiday Special? Lucas responded with "Right. That's one of those things that happened, and I just have to live with it."

Later, in a May 2005 interview with StaticMultimedia.com, Lucas was asked if the film had soured him on working in television: He replied: "The special from 1978 really didn't have much to do with us, you know. I can't remember what network it was on, but it was a thing that they did. We kind of let them do it. It was done by... I can't even remember who the group was, but they were variety TV guys. We let them use the characters and stuff and that probably wasn't the smartest thing to do, but you learn from those experiences. I had a wonderful time on Young Indiana Jones. It was a great series. We did it for four years. I spent those four or five years actually working on it. That's really all I did during those years. It was really a great experience and I love television." [1]

The official Star Wars site states that the holiday special "delivered mixed results," but explains that the highlight of the special was the Boba Fett animated segment. [2] The official site also says, when referring to the fan interest in seeing the Wookiees on screen, "the 1978 Holiday Special didn't cut it." [3] When asked at a fan convention, "So, you don't like it (the holiday special) either?", Lucasfilm head of content and fan relations, Steve Sansweet replied "No. I mean, I like the ten minute introduction of Boba Fett, but that's about it." The official site also refers to the Boba Fett animated segment as "a cult classic." [4]

On February 8, 2006, Harrison Ford made an appearance on Late Night with Conan O'Brien, and during the interview, O'Brien brought up the special, and began asking various questions regarding it, such as inquiring whether he remembered making it. Ford made no response and looked away, to which the audience responded with laughter and applause. O'Brien then asked Ford what he would think if he played a clip of the special on the show, which he promptly did. Following the clip (which featured a scene showing Ford as Han Solo telling Chewbacca and his wife that they are "like family" to him), an obviously distraught Ford only managed to mutter, "Thank you".

[edit] Synopsis

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

On Kashyyyk, Chewie's family — consisting of his loving wife Malla, his mischievous son Lumpy, and his grouchy father Itchy, are anxiously awaiting and preparing for his return. For the most part, the three 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 trash. As Lumpy exits the tree house with the trash, he looks over the outer deck railing of the house into the great depths of the forests of Kashyyyk. He makes the dangerous decision to climb up on the railing and walk along it for a bit.

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

Back inside the tree house, Malla and Itchy are unaware of his actions, but are still worried, as Chewbacca has not arrived yet. Malla takes down a framed picture of Chewbacca and Itchy notices her worries. He reassures her that Chewie is safe, and she replaces the picture. When Lumpy comes back into the house, Itchy reaches into a cabinet and brings out an activity capsule for Lumpy. Malla objects when he shows it to Lumpy, but Itchy convinces her otherwise, and inserts the capsule into a round table-machine, similar to the one seen in the Millennium Falcon in A New Hope. The device projects a 3D-computer generated group of circus performers, who perform many unique acts. At the conclusion of the performance, Lumpy applauds and switches the machine off. Malla now needs for him to help washing the dishes. Though he resists and complains, and even tries to get Itchy to side with him, his tactic fails, as Itchy agrees with Malla, and Lumpy proceeds to wash the dishes.

Malla and Itchy begin to worry again. Malla switches on a viewscreen-computer, and runs a search for any starships in the area, hoping that the Falcon will be found in the scan, but the computer returns the result of "no starships in the area." She is deeply disappointed, and switches off the viewscreen. She opens a hidden communication device from within their cabinets — it is a device that allows them to communicate (via the HoloNet) with Chewbacca and the rebellion. Since this type of device is not allowed by the Empire, they must keep it a secret. Malla contacts Luke Skywalker, who, along with his faithful droid R2-D2, is working on his X-wing starfighter. Luke says he doesn't know what has happened. But knowing Han and Chewie, he suggests that 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.

Next, Malla contacts Saun Dann, a local human trader on the planet. He is dealing with a customer when she contacts him, and Malla is able to view the proceedings. An Imperial navy trooper is looking around Dann's shop, but is disinterested in any of Dann's suggestions. While the guard is still looking at things, Dann notices Malla on the viewscreen, and lets her know through a carefully-worded message that Han and Chewie are on their way, and should be arriving soon. However, he doesn't know of their current whereabouts. After shutting off the viewscreen, he suggests an item to the trooper that finally interests him — a multi-functional groomer. The trooper takes the item but gives Saun Dann nothing in return. This seems okay with Saun Dann, as he considers it a gift to the officer.

Darth Vader's star destroyer is orbiting Tatooine. Vader has been alerted to the escape of the Falcon from the grasp of the Empire. He was not ready to let them escape for the second time, as he has been on the search for the rebels who had destroyed the Death Star not long ago, and was obsessed with locating the ones responsible. Chief Bast, one of the few who had escaped the destruction of the first Death Star, informs Vader that a blockade has been set up around Kashyyyk, and a search started on the planet. Vader is pleased, and instructs him to continue the search, if it takes searching every household in the system.

Back on Kashyyyk, Malla is preparing Bantha Rump for the night's feast for her family. She does so with the help of Chef Gormaanda, a robot chef she watches on the kitchen viewscreen. A manwoman with four arms, this cook is shown to enjoy her cooking very much. When she gets out of control, and speeds up with her four arms, Malla can't keep up. She switches the viewscreen off and resorts to cooking the Bantha Rump herself.

Back on the Falcon, Chewie and Han have just come out of hyperspace not far from Kashyyyk. Unaware of the blockade, they are surprised by four TIE fighters blocking their way. Han takes out a few using remote controls from the cockpit, then climbs into the gun turret to fire manually while Chewbacca takes the main ship controls. On Kashyyyk, Itchy is resting in his chair while Malla is walking around when an Imperial officer announces on the viewscreen that a blockade has been set up around the planet, and the Empire has declared martial law. Immediately after the announcement, they get a knock at the door. Frightened, Itchy goes to open it and to their relief, it is Saun Dann at the door, and not the Empire. He brings them all Life Day gifts; a music box for Malla, a box with an unknown present in it for Lumpy, and a memory chip for Itchy. Saun Dann inserts the chip into Itchy's virtual-reality chair, and a projection of a human female appears, whom Itchy seems to have an interest in. Itchy excitedly watches her perform a song, while making suggestive comments and body language.

Leia and C-3PO at the rebel base.

Following this "experience" of Itchy's, Malla contacts Princess Leia via viewscreen to alert them of Han and Chewie's tardiness. Leia and C-3PO are at a Rebel base, hard at work on something. Leia can offer no help, but does ask if Malla is alone, and is relieved that Saun Dann is there to protect everyone. With little help from Leia, Malla switches off the communication device. Saunn Dann then smells Wookiee-ookiees cooking, and he and Malla go to get some. Back on the Falcon, Han and Chewie are approaching Kashyyyk. They are glad to finally almost be there. Han notices the increased Imperial presence, so they decide to land on a safe section of the north side of the planet. However, this is far from the Wookiee household and will be a long walk. Chewbacca protests, but they finally decide to land the ship. As they enter the atmosphere, Lumpy hears the roaring of the ship. Everyone in the wookiee house gets excited, and all run to the door. Believing Han and Chewie might be at it, Malla opens the door, and is surprised to discover two stormtroopers with their blaster pistols trained on her, with two Imperial officers behind them.

Imperial officers questioning Chewie's family.

Malla roars in horror, but the Imperials force their way in anyway. The head officer checks the house for residents and 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. To try to distract the attention of the Imperials, Saun Dann suggests that he and Malla prepare some food for everyone in the kitchen. While they are doing this, Dann turns on Malla's music box for one of the officers, who seems to interested more in the music than his duties. The rock band Jefferson Starship appears on the box, and sings the song "Light the Sky on Fire" while Imperials continue to search 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 sees he cannot help further and leaves. The head officer tells Malla to keep Lumpy busy while they search his room, so Lumpy sits down to watch a cartoon on a viewscreen of one of his father's many adventures.

Chewbacca and Han Solo.

The cartoon deals with Luke, Han, and Leia's first encounter with Boba Fett. During a search for a talisman, the Millennium Falcon crashes on a water planet known as Panna. Luke and the gang go after them, dispatching from a 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 a mysterious sleeping virus caused by the talisman. Luke immediately contracts the virus as well. Fett and Chewie go into Panna City to get the cure for the condition. Once they get into the Imperial-occupied city, Fett instructs Chewie to stay behind while he gets the cure. Once away from Chewie, Fett contacts Darth Vader and informs 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, as he tried and failed to do previously. At this point, Lumpy shouts out in horror at the events in the cartoon, alerting the main Imperial officer. He comes over to see what is wrong, but Lumpy acts like it was nothing, and hides the fact that he is watching the cartoon. 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. After evading the Imperials, Fett and Chewie return to the Falcon with the cure. After they recover, everyone learns of Fett's true allegiances. Fett ignites his jet pack and blasts away, promising that he will meet them all again. Everyone then blasts away from the planet, and back to the rebel base on board the Falcon. Lumpy shuts off the monitor and applauds it.

The Imperials have trashed everything in Lumpy's room. One even rips off the head of his stuffed bantha. After they move to another part of the house, Lumpy surveys the damage and is very saddened over what they have done to his treasured toy. He lays it on his bed, and after a moment of sadness, creates a plan for revenge using the gadget Saun Dann gave him earlier for his Life Day present. 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. A humanoid described as an "Amorphian being from the planet Morphia" appears on the video, explaining all of the technical details of assembly. The problem with Amorphians, however, is that their body functions frequently temporarily stop working, and this Amorphian does just that throughout the video, at one point shutting down almost completely and falling in the floor. Lumpy shuts off the video with happiness, knowing how to properly put together the device.

Chewbacca's son, Lumpy.

While the Imperials are still searching downstairs, the living room viewscreen activates, advertising a video that is "required viewing by all Imperial personnel." All the Imperials in the house turn their immediate attention to the viewscreen, now showing a reality-TV type program entitled Life on Tatooine. On screen, people are seen walking the streets of Mos Eisley, then the focus shifts to inside a cantina, where 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-type named Krelman walks in, apparently very interested and attracted in her. While they discuss matters, an Imperial guard comes onscreen announcing that Tatooine is now being put under curfew by the Empire, due to "subversive forces." Everyone must return to their homes immediately. Ackmena is deeply shocked, but asks her customers to please leave the cantina, due to the strict orders of the Empire. When the patrons all refuse to leave, she suggests one more round of drinks for everyone, on her own tab. She then proceeds to usher them out via singing and dancing. Everyone eventually leaves, albeit with opposition. Ackmena then continues her personal discussion with Krelman as the program ends.

After the video finishes, Lumpy's plan goes into effect. The Imperials get a repeated call to "return to base." They leave, but the head officer instructs one of the stormtroopers to stay behind. After the other Imperials leave, the stormtrooper still hears the repeating signal. He immediately sees that something is wrong because there are no more radios around. He determines that the sound is coming from upstairs, where he finds Lumpy speaking into the box he had constructed earlier. His voice is being translated and amplified to be more human and deeper. The stormtrooper walks into the room and grabs the box, startling Lumpy. The trooper throws the box to the ground, shattering it. Lumpy is frightened, runs down the stairs and out onto the deck, followed closely by the stormtrooper.

Han confronts the stormtrooper

As they both run onto the deck, they discover Han and Chewbacca walking up to the door. Chewie growls, and Han prepares for battle. Chewie runs around the stormtrooper to protect Lumpy as the trooper points his gun at both of them. Han backs against the wall, sneaks up behind the stormtrooper and hits him. As the two square off to fight like Inspector Clouseau and Cato in A Shot in the Dark, Han suddenly trips the stormtrooper, making him break the railing and fall off of the deck to his death in the deep forests below. Relieved, Han picks up Lumpy and hands him to his father.

As all three go inside, they find Malla and Itchy are waiting. Han tells them he has taken care of the threat, and everyone is glad to be safe and back together finally. Chewie 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 wishing everyone a happy Life Day. After he leaves, another knock at the door announces the return of Saun Dann, arriving with bags in his hands. Suddenly, the Imperial officer appears on the viewscreen, giving a general alert for a missing stormtrooper. When he gives the exact identification number, everyone in the house knows this is the one Han tripped off of the deck and killed. Realizing the trouble they could be in, Saun Dann quickly claims that although the trooper stayed behind after his squad had left, the trooper stole a lot of food from the house and left without a trace. The excuse works, and the officer says he will send out a search party to find the missing trooper. Everyone is relieved as the viewscreen deactivates. Saun Dann wishes the entire family a happy Life Day as he leaves. The family prepares to go the festival at the Tree of Life, gathering crystals together and joining them above their heads.

Wookiees celebrating Life Day at the Tree of Life.

Magically, along with many other Wookiees, the family is next seen in space, travelling toward a bright star. They walk into it, arriving at the great Tree of Life, where many Wookiees dressed in red robes are gathered. As Chewbacca takes the stage, C-3PO and R2-D2 suddenly appear, along with Luke, Leia, and finally Han. He had had a surprise for everyone, as he brought the whole gang back for the celebration. Everyone is glad to be together. Leia gives a short speech on the meaning of Life Day and sings a song in celebration. At the conclusion of the ceremony, Chewbacca remembers the adventures he had in A New Hope, such as his first meeting with Luke and Leia, their escape from 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 began to file out of the ceremony as his memories end.

That night, the Wookiee family: Chewbacca, Mallatobuck, Lumpawarrump, and Attichitcuk all sit at the family table, feasting to celebrate the day and being back together again.

[edit] Cast

[edit] Segments

The Star Wars Holiday Special is important for being the first film-length Star Wars story after the original theatrical film, and for showing an expanded look at parts of that universe. The main focus of the holiday special is the Blockade of Kashyyyk. But for the most part, the plot serves as little more than a means to string together a series of musical numbers, celebrity cameos, and other variety-show acts. These include songs and comedy routines by such '70s talents as Jefferson Starship, Diahann Carroll, Art Carney, Harvey Korman, and Bea Arthur. Easily the most notable segment is an animated cartoon featuring the pre-Empire Strikes Back debut of Boba Fett.

[edit] Music

The special features four songs. The first, "This Minute Now," sung by Diahann Carroll, is best remembered for the bizarre monologue which precedes it in which Carroll — who is supposed to be an image created by a virtual-reality machine — tells Chewbacca's father, Itchy, that she is his "fantasy" and suggestively invites him to "experience" her. The second musical number is the song "Light the Sky on Fire", performed by Jefferson Starship, which is presented as a 3-D music video watched by one of the Imperial guards; during production the song was given the working title "Cigar-Shaped Object (Vanished Without A Trace)". Later, Bea Arthur, who plays a bartender in the Mos Eisley cantina, sings "Good Night, But Not Goodbye" to the same set of aliens that were seen in the Cantina in A New Hope, including, as the back-up musicians, the Cantina's resident group, Figrin D'an and the Modal Nodes. [5] Finally, at the end of the special, Carrie Fisher sings (somewhat off key) a song in celebration of Life Day to the tune of the Star Wars main title.

[edit] Comedy

Harvey Korman provides comedy in three of the special's skits, including the Cantina skit with Bea Arthur. He also performs two solo routines: one as Chef Gormanda, four-armed parody of Julia Child, whose four arms allow her to work much faster than Malla can keep up with, and one as a malfunctioning Amorphian android in an instruction video watched by Lumpy. Art Carney has a more integral role in the story, playing a trader named Saun Dann on Kashyyyk who is a member of the Rebellion and helps Chewie's family. His segments are also largely played for laughs.

[edit] The cartoon

The high point of the special is generally considered to be the animated segment produced by Nelvana known as "The Faithful Wookie". While the artistic style takes great liberties — R2-D2's body is rubbery and Han's face nearly unrecognizable — the animation is above average for television animation of the period and the music and sound effects are straight out of the film. With all the main stars from the film voicing their characters, the cartoon sounds like a Star Wars film even if it looks a little odd at times. Not only does the cartoon introduce Boba Fett, but his jet pack and rope gun as well, which are not used again in the movies until Return of the Jedi four and a half years later.

[edit] Other bits

The Holiday Special also includes a circus-style acrobatics routine that includes uneven bars and juggling. All the acts were loosely linked together with material which involves the Wookiees' preparation for Life Day, Han and Chewie's attempt to evade the Imperials and make it to Chewie's family, and the Imperial garrison's search for rebels.

[edit] Versions and availability today

The original TV Guide description of the special.

The Star Wars Holiday Special was mostly forgotten after its only airing in 1978, until sometime in the early-to-mid-1990s when individuals came forward with original VHS recordings of the TV airing. Some of them began to copy the show and sell it illegally as a bootleg video at conventions and on Ebay.

It soon became a cult classic and a legend among Star Wars fans. File-sharing technologies have made the special more widely available to fans curious to see for themselves. Online video sites such as YouTube have also been known to host clips of the special. To this day, though, the special has still not been made officially available.

Some facts about copies of the Holiday Special:

• The original print rests in the Lucasfilm archives. Animation-cel merchandise sold in the mid-1990s came 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. In 2004, the official Star Wars site confirmed that documentary filmmaker Kevin Burns was allowed access to the original print for use in his Empire of Dreams documentary. However, the segment using footage from the holiday special was ultimately left out of the final cut of Empire of Dreams. This cut footage from the documentary has yet to be officially released.
• Some who watched the program's single airing recorded it to videotape (either on Betamax or VHS). These have since been duplicated and reduplicated so that most copies of the special available today (and since 1978) are based on second to sixth generation VHS dubs. Some of these fan-made copies include the original commercials that aired during the show, while others have had these edited out. Fans have since transferred these recordings to DVD.
• 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.
• Individual clips from the special are available for download on some websites. 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).

[edit] Lucasfilm/media uses and statements

• In 2002, StarWars.com released the documentary "Bucket Head" as part of their Attack of the Clones web documentaries. It explained the origins of the Fett family and the fascination with Boba Fett. The first video appearing in the documentary was scenes from the Boba Fett animated segment from the special. Jeremy Bulloch, the actor who originally played Boba Fett in the Star Wars films, notes that the Holiday Special was where Boba Fett made his first appearance. This documentary was released on the 2002 DVD set of Attack of the Clones.
• One of the recent 2005 additions to the paid membership section of Starwars.com was the video clip "Animation Sizzle", which was shown at Comic-Con International 2005 in San Diego. The clip is a run-down of all the Star Wars animation projects over the years, and naturally it starts out with a segment from the 1978 animated Boba Fett cartoon used in the Holiday Special. This and the "Bucket Head" documentary are some of the few occasions when a part of the Holiday Special has been shown officially.
• A 2005 issue of the official Star Wars magazine, Star Wars: Insider discusses the holiday special as one of the five strangest moments in the Star Wars expanded universe.
• Lucasfilm has hired well-known Star Wars author Timothy Zahn to write Allegiance, a new book which will serve as a prequel to the animated segment of The Star Wars Holiday Special. The book has been set for a release in early 2007. This announcement has led Holiday Special enthusiasts to believe that this same year could be a likely release period for the special, due to several factors. 2007 will be the year of the 30th anniversary of Star Wars, when Lucasfilm is likely to do many celebratory events and releases. Star Wars prequel producer Rick McCallum has stated that he and Lucasfilm would like to see all of the obscure productions of Star Wars, including all of the making-of specials, released after the completion of the prequels. There is no more likely date for this than 2007.
• TV Guide and TV Land ranked The Star Wars Holiday Special at number 59 on their top 100 Unexpected Television Moments. The five part special aired December 5-9, 2005.
• SciFi.com calls the special "silly." [6]

[edit] Deleted scenes

• There is a deleted scene available for viewing to the special. Although many scenes can be considered deleted between the five drafts of the script, this one is one of the few that was actually filmed. The scene is from a small unused portion of the cartoon, originally part of the special as an in-cartoon commercial.
• Another confirmed deleted scene took place immediately following the Imperial invasion of the Wookiee home. An Imperial stormtrooper stops at the table to sample one of Malla's wookiee-ookiees.

[edit] Related media tie-ins

• In 1979, one year after the special's broadcast, Lucasfilm published Star Wars: The Wookiee Storybook, a children's storybook which reunited characters from the special.
• In 1980, Lucasfilm released a similarly-themed Christmas album, Christmas in the Stars: Star Wars Christmas Album.
• Prior to the special's airing, the Kenner toy company considered creating a toy line based on the special. While the project was cancelled due to the unpopularity of the special, several prototype versions of the figures are known to have been created. Those depict the Chewbacca family and seem to be simply modifications of Kenner's officially released Chewbacca figure.
• A press kit was released prior to the special to promote its airing.
• Jefferson Starship proclaimed on their single "Light The Sky On Fire" (included as a separate disc with the album Jefferson Starship Gold) that it was "as seen and heard on the CBS Star Wars Holiday Special." It was released before the show aired.
• The Star Wars based MMORPG, Star Wars Galaxies, has several items and in-game storylines relating loosely to Wookiee Life Day.

[edit] Role in greater Star Wars continuity

[edit] Canonicity of the special

See also: Star Wars continuity and canonicity

The Star Wars Holiday Special is technically in the Star Wars canon, which means that the events depicted are part of the greater continuity that includes the other films, novels, comic books, video games, etc. Generally, it falls in the C-Canon in the overall Star Wars continuity.

According to Leland Chee, the keeper of The Holocron, an internal Star Wars continuity database at Lucasfilm (which contains at least 28 individual entries relating to elements of the holiday special), most elements from the holiday special are definitely considered canon. However, there are specific rules as to what is what. First off, any element from the holiday special that is referenced in another work is considered C-Canon (such as Life Day, Chewbacca's family, etc.). Any element from the holiday special that is not referenced in other works is considered S-Canon, which means that it is canon, and that it "happened," but its canonicity is not set in stone. The only element from the holiday special where the canonicity is disputed is its claim that Chief Bast survived the destruction of the first Death Star from A New Hope. Although the holiday special never specifically mentions that the person conversing with Darth Vader is Bast, it is generally implied that it was Bast.

[edit] Later appearances

Since The Star Wars Holiday Special was broadcast, it has received an extreme amount of criticism and enmity by both fans and official sources. Despite the relative unpopularity of the elements of the special, those at Lucasfilm responsible for licensing have kept the special in continuity, due to their canon policies. In many cases, they have expanded on elements from the special in several different media, including novels, comic books, video games, children's books, and even in a Star Wars-themed cookbook.

Several of the characters in The Star Wars Holiday Special appear in other Star Wars works. Chewbacca's family are featured in various stories, including:

• "The Kashyyyk Depths" (1979) was a newspaper comic strip by Russ Manning which featured another venture by Han, Luke, Leia, and Chewie to Kashyyyk for Life Day. It was reprinted in a collective book entitled Classic Star Wars #4: The Early Adventures.
• The Wookiee Storybook (1979) features Chewbacca's family in a situation very similar of that to the holiday special. Except in the book, Lumpy, wishing to be brave like his father, goes to the lower levels of Kashyyyk to get a type of fruit in preparation for the return of Chewbacca for Life Day. Trouble arisies when Lumpy doesn't return, and Chewbacca must rescue his son.
• "Wookiee World" (1985) was issue #91 of the Marvel comics Star Wars run. It featured Chewie's family in another adventure on Kashyyyk.
• Tyrant's Test (1996) was the third and final book of Michael P. Kube-McDowell's "Black Fleet Crisis" trilogy. It featured Lumpy and his rites of passage into Lumpawaroo.
• Rebel Dawn (1997) was the third book in A.C. Crispin's Han Solo trilogy. It dealt with Solo's younger years, and his early relation with Chewbacca and his family. Malla and Chewie's marriage is shown in the third book.
• The Star Wars Cookbook: Wookiee Cookiees and Other Galactic Recipes (1998) gives an official recipe for "Wookiee cookiees," a different name for "Wookiee-ookiees" from the special.
• Agents of Chaos I: Hero's Trial (2000) was a novel in The New Jedi Order series, in which Malla and Itchy make appearances.
• Chewbacca (2000) was a four-issue comic book series by Darko Mecan, which featured Itchy and Malla recalling stories of Chewbacca's history.
• Star Wars: Galactic Battlegrounds (2001) was a LucasArts game which explored the past of Chewbacca's father, Itchy. As seen in the game, Itchy was a great warrior in his younger days, who fought many battles.
• The Unifying Force (2003) was the final book of the New Jedi Order series. It features Chewbacca's son Lumpy, along with Lowbacca, who hold a pivotal role of taking up Chewbacca's life debt to Han.
• Star Wars: Galaxies (2003) was a popular MMORPG game that allowed the player to visit and explore Kashyyyk. While there, the player can explore the customs of Life Day, as there are several wookiees dressed in red robes, as in the special. Lumpy's stuffed bantha from the special can also be seen in the game. The official site for Star Wars: Galaxies even has a webpage dedicated to explaing these features in the game, and the customs of Life Day here.
• A Forest Apart (2003) was an e-book by Troy Denning, also released in print as a supplement to his book Tatooine Ghost. A Forest Apart focuses on the exploits of Lumpy, after Malla allows him to go to Coruscant with Chewbacca.
• Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith (2005) was a film which, in addition to introducing Kashyyyk to the big screen, involved Itchy. According to the Revenge of the Sith Incredible Cross-sections by Dr. Curtis Saxton, and according to the film's visual dictionary, Itchy was involved in the Battle of Kashyyyk as a gunner aboard an Oevvaor jet catamaran in the defense of Kachirho during the Battle of Kashyyyk. It is unknown at this point whether he actually can be physically seen in the film, but several jet catamarans are shown. The cross-sections book also references the use of a Wookie mind evaporator for training which was introduced in the Star Wars Holiday Special.
• Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith Incredible Cross-sections - The Definitive Guide to Spaceships and Vehicles (2005) (see above)
• Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith-Visual Dictionary (2005) (see above)
• Star Wars: Complete Locations (2005) Mentions that while Luke, Obi-Wan, and the droids are in the cantina in A New Hope, Ackmena is in a nearby room negotiating for a raise in her pay.

Chef Gormaanda later was featured in an issue of Lucasfilm's HoloNet News. She explained a new recipe, and it was explained that she had won a cooking award. The issue was HoloNet News Volume 531 #50 13:4:4, under "Life" section.

Chief Bast went on to appear in the Star Wars Customizable Card Game, in which Bast's early life was briefly elaborated on. His card hints that he escaped and survived the destruction of the first Death Star, as seen in the holiday special. The card can be viewed here.

Boba Fett returns in The Empire Strikes Back, Return of the Jedi, and in many Expanded Universe books, comics, and video games (not to mention numerous official and unofficial fan-made films).

The Wookiee planet of Kashyyyk is featured in various novels, comic books, and video games, including Revenge of the Sith, the cartoon micro-series known as Star Wars: Clone Wars, and video games such as Star Wars: Battlefront, Star Wars: Republic Commando, Star Wars: The Clone Wars, and Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic. An entire city from the planet was even elaborated on in Timothy Zahn's popular 1991 novel Heir to the Empire, which was the first in his Thrawn trilogy.

[edit] Sequels

Rumors of a follow-up special called A Very Star Wars Christmas have spread in recent years, but were debunked as an April Fool's prank by stomptokyo.com. The special's plot was said to follow along these lines: after the Rebellion forces abandoned Hoth during the Imperial invasion, some rebels were left behind. The story follows two such soldiers, Coren and Vila. Forced to survive on the barren surface of Hoth, they have learned to live with the Wampas, who are not so much evil as misunderstood. Vila is particularly fond of one young Wampa whom she has dubbed "Christmas" after her favorite holiday. When Darth Tyranus comes to Hoth in search for the young Wampa, trouble begins, as Tyranus and the Rebels go on a chase leading them all the way to Coruscant and back to Hoth, where the Rebels attempt an escape. For the record, fans will note that part of this is impossible: Tyranus, AKA Count Dooku was killed by Anakin Skywalker in Revenge of the Sith, which takes place before the rebellion even existed.

Although the holiday special has no direct sequels, technically, Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back is its sequel.

[edit] Pop culture references

• The Star Wars Holiday Special was spoofed in the 1988 movie, Scrooged.[7]
• "Fighting the frizzies" - Among the more widely circulating recordings of TSWHS is one made of the broadcast on WCBS-TV (channel 2) in New York City. At several commercial breaks in the show, a "teaser" for the station's 11 p.m. newscast is aired in which news anchor Rolland Smith simply says "Fighting the frizzies, at 11." (Other circulating versions of TSWHS were originally taped from other CBS affiliates, including WMAR-TV in Baltimore, and lack the frizzies reference, and still others have had all the commercials edited out.)
  • On the South Park episode "Mr. Hankey's Christmas Classics," during every commercial break, an announcer dressed-up to look like Rolland Smith announces "fighting the frizzies at 11." It quickly became a catch phrase among both Star Wars and South Park fans. More information about this clip can be found at this site. History has not recorded what the "frizzies" were, though most likely the news story referred to hair care.
• South Park similarly spoofed the same bootlegged edition again in the episode entitled "Freak Strike" wherein the freak union puts out a commercial promoting the use of real freaks in talkshows. This commercial is almost identical to one shown during the special by the International Ladies Garment Workers Union, complete with song.
• Also relating to South Park, in the DVD episode commentaries, creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone have made several references to the special themselves.
• "Weird Al" Yankovic's music video for his song "White & Nerdy" (parody of "Ridin'" by Chamillionaire) features Al (dressed like a nerd) paying for and receiving a paper bag from a "gangsta", which gives the viewer a perspective that he is buying drugs. Al opens the paper bag to reveal a bootleg videotape of "The Star Wars Holiday Special".
• Dr. Orpheus makes reference to the Wookies' Life Day in The Venture Bros. holiday special.

[edit] Trivia

• A prototype for Chewbacca's father Attichitcuk (Itchy) first appeared in an early form as Chewbacca's father "Auzituck" as far back as the May 1973 Rough Draft of Star Wars. In scene 135 in the Wookee (sic) camp on Yavin (Yavin being an early version of Kashyyyk), it says "Chewbacca enters the largest of the lodges. He is greeted by his father, AUZITUCK, Chief of the KAAPAUKU tribe; an old and feeble Wookee dressed in royal skins and headdress."
• When asked about his involvement with the special, Mark Hamill has reported that the producers asked him to sing a song for one scene. He refused.
• Carrie Fisher has made claims that she never remembers working in any Star Wars-themed holiday special. This possibly backs up the commonly believed rumor that she was on drugs through the filming of the special. In the special she visibly trips over a piece of scenery, and her eyes are unusually dilated, considering she is front of stage lighting.
• Lucas' original screenplay for Star Wars spelled the wookiee planet's name as "Kazhyyyk." The holiday special refers to it as "Kazook," and many other Expanded Universe novels and games refer to it as "Kashyyyk." Kashyyyk has become the G-Canon name of the planet now, as Lucas used that spelling when the planet made its theatrical debut in Revenge of the Sith.
• Footage featuring Leslie Schofield (Chief Bast) in the holiday special was actually from an unused scene from the original Star Wars film. In A New Hope, Bast was stationed on the Death Star. Since the Holiday Special happens not long after the end of A New Hope, and features Bast serving under Vader, further official sources (including Decipher) state that Bast left the Death Star before its destruction, to avoid contradictions between A New Hope and the holiday special.
• The opening announcer who introduces the cast specifies "James Earl Jones as the voice of Darth Vader," but does not mention David Prowse, the actor who was under the suit. Ironically, in the first two Star Wars theatrical films (including The Empire Strikes Back, which was filmed after the Holiday Special), Prowse was credited as Vader, but Jones specifically requested not to be credited. Prowse's omission is perhaps a product of the fact that no original footage of Vader appears in the special, and Vader's only appearance is a scene stolen from the film (the aforementioned Bast scene), with completely different dialogue over-dubbed.
• Stan Winston, a special effects master known for his work on The Terminator (1984) and its sequels, created the wookiee costumes for the holiday special. He even briefly mentions his work on it, in the Fangoria Blood Drive Volume I DVD. He explains that the holiday special was one of the first projects he worked on.
• Originally a very minor detail, the Wookiee food of "Wookiee-ookiees" became a cult symbol in the Star Wars fan universe, spawning plays on its name such as wookiee-cookies (a Star Wars-themed dessert, and also the name of the browser cookie set by the official StarWars.com website) and the term Wookiee-Hooky (the act of skipping school to see a Star Wars film, particularly if it has just been released).
• Rated number 3 in 'The Five Goofiest Moments Of The Star Wars Mythos', in the UKs Star Wars Magazine #62.

[edit] 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 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. (A so-called "Platinum Edition" DVD mentioned in a review by Lawrence Person on Locus Online [8] is an April Fools Hoax.) Amazon.com has placed an entry for the Holiday Special on its site [9], leading to rumors 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.

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 Star Wars Holiday Special, and it's just something that he doesn't like...

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] References

• The Star Wars Holiday Special, original CBS airing, November 17, 1978. Steve Binder, George Lucas.
• Ultra Filmfax #69-70 - Oct. 1998/Jan. 1999 (USA) "The Star Wars Holiday Special," by Ross Plesset (Presents black and white photos and very detailed article on the SWHS, with interviews.)
• Hofstede, David. (2004) Were They Thinking?: The 100 Dumbest Events In Television History. ISBN 0-8230-8441-8
• Complete cast and crew listing at the IMDb
• The Star Wars Encyclopedia by Stephen J. Sansweet, ISBN 0-345-40227-8 Del Rey; first edition (June 30, 1998)
• Empire of Dreams, 2004.
• Movie references for Star Wars Holiday Special

[edit] External links

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to:

The Star Wars Holiday Special

• The Star Wars Holiday Special at the Internet Movie Database
• Star Wars Holiday Special comprehensive fansite
• Star Wars Holiday Special review with animated screenshots
• Bad Movies.org Review