# Is there a TV special worse than "The Star Wars Holiday Special?" Apparently, yes. **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 18, 2008, 7:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-tv-special-worse-than-the-star-wars-holiday-special-apparently-yes/441749 "2008-03-18T07:07:17Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 4\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![mobo85](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b19c9b/32.png) [@mobo85](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mobo85)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2008, 7:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-tv-special-worse-than-the-star-wars-holiday-special-apparently-yes/441749/1 "2008-03-18T07:07:17Z")
Ah, St. Patrick’s Day, the time of year when thoughts turn to Santa Claus, the birth of Our Lord, and old TV specials. (Okay, maybe not, but this is too good to hold onto until December.) All of the classics- Charlie Brown, Rudolph, Frosty- have had their tales told. But more people love to comment on the bad ones, such as that famous train wreck, _The Star Wars Holiday Special_. But did you know that there was another all-star celebrity Christmas musicfest featuring famous copyrighted characters that only aired once on CBS in 1978 and was never seen again? It’s true, and for some reason, it’s never been given the “respect” _The Star Wars Holiday Special_ has. What is it, you ask? Why, it’s [A Special Sesame Street Christmas!](http://muppet.wikia.com/wiki/A_Special_Sesame_Street_Christmas) Bob Banner, the producer of _Candid Camera_, _Solid Gold_, _Star Search_, and _It’s Showtime at the Apollo_, somehow convinced the Children’s Television Workshop to allow him to use their iconic characters for a song-filled Christmas television special, apparently not realizing that CTW was planning to air one of their own, _Christmas Eve on Sesame Street_, the same month. Most of the budget apparently went into hiring celebrities and licensing copyrighted songs, since the cast features only five regular _Sesame_ cast members- four humans and Muppeteer Carroll Spinney. The [description](http://www.toughpigs.com/journalbluexmas.htm) of this special defies description, as it’s just your basic _Christmas Carol_ ripoff, complete with all the classic stuff Dickens put in, including: -Oscar the Grouch’s most devious prank ever- if by “devious,” you mean “completely stupid”- giving people lemonade and telling them it’s hot cocoa -Anne Murray handing Oscar a magic eggnog container which allows him to see into the past -Oscar playing an exploding guitar -Henry Fonda complaining about putting together a Christmas toy and not doing much of anything else -Imogene Coca with a bunch of clocks on her, claiming she is invisible -Ethel Merman telling Imogene Coca that she “looks like an idiot” (can’t argue with that logic) -Michael Jackson walking into the frame and not doing much else -Oscar falling in love with a crippled cat named Tiny Tim, who he pretends can talk Somehow, this thing got nominated for an Emmy award…and lost to the other _Sesame Street_ Christmas special. And yes, this being the Internet age and all, some intrepid soul put the thing [up on YouTube](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aCjCBc0G9AM). I don’t know who I feel more embarrased for- the celebrities or Oscar. ---
**Author:** ![Manduck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/manduck/32/256_2.png) [@Manduck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Manduck)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2008, 9:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-tv-special-worse-than-the-star-wars-holiday-special-apparently-yes/441749/2 "2008-03-18T09:23:28Z")
Started watching, but PLAY SP PLAY HI-FI SP PLAY SP PLAY HI-FI SP PLAY SP PLAY HI-FI SP PLAY SP PLAY HI-FI SP There’s something wrong with that guy’s VCR. ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2008, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-tv-special-worse-than-the-star-wars-holiday-special-apparently-yes/441749/3 "2008-03-18T16:23:54Z")
Here I was sure you were going to name that Rob Lowe made-for-TV movie version of the wretched country song “Christmas Shoes.” MUCH worse than the Muppets and the Ewoks put together. ---
**Author:** ![Ranchoth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ranchoth/32/1066_2.png) [@Ranchoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ranchoth)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2008, 9:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-tv-special-worse-than-the-star-wars-holiday-special-apparently-yes/441749/4 "2008-03-18T21:23:09Z")
[QUOTE=mobo85] Ah, St. Patrick’s Day, the time of year when thoughts turn to Santa Claus, the birth of Our Lord, and old TV specials. (Okay, maybe not, but this is too good to hold onto until December.) [/QUOTE] What, you never heard of [_The Leprechauns’ Christmas Gold_](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H1CBLXpTNno)?