This is why you don’t use a cursed Ewok paw to wish to live a thousand years.
People wanted to actually watch the Holiday Special because Boba Fett was in it (source: me, Why else would someone willingly watch a show with Bea Arthur and Harvey Korman doing skits rejected from the Carol Burnett show?)
Of course, he was a let down in it, too!
I did, in fact, send away for, and got, that figure. It was four proofs-of-purchase from Star Wars action figures; the ad ran on the back panels of the action figures (and, given that Kenner was owned by General Mills back then, probably also appeared on the backs of cereal boxes). And, yeah, that figure wasn’t offered in stores until ESB actually hit the theaters, and Kenner released the other new action figures.
This was the offer on the back of an action figure package. Note that it advertised the rocket-firing jetpack, which was replaced before the figure was actually released due to safety issues.
I watched Stars Wars three times during its theatre run. It requires a large screen and sound system for the best impact.
I’ve wondered about the impact of samurai and other martial arts
The force and light sabers seems like samurai influence. Space fighters instead of horses in armor.
George Lucas was clever to take old 1930’s adventure shorts and write a classic film.
I liked the Rogue One movie, but I has to be the most amount money spent to fix a plot hole 
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Nope, that would be Solo “explaining” the “kessel run in 12 parsecs” line.
You are right, I should have added: At the time. Solo was not yet in production
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Mind you, I think Rogue One is like the second best movie in the canon. Solo? Well, I didn’t hate it.
Didn’t they double down on “parsecs” in on of the 7-9 trilogy? Thought I heard it, but was not paying too much attention by that time.
Similarly, “ewok” is never said in ROTJ.
Ewok would have been on the toys. Different era but those Kenner figures were huge back then
I think there was a line when Rey and Finn first met Han. Finn said something like “Weren’t you the guy who made the Kessel Run in 15 parsecs?”, and Han testily corrected him, “It was 12 parsecs!”
Yeah - that was it. I knew there had been an issue over parsec - and vaguely recalled it had been addressed in a later movie. Just thought it odd that they perpetuated it in that movie.
When, since May 1977, I have just assumed Han said that to see if he was dealing with rubes or savvy customers. Obi Wan’s stink eye in return told the tale.
And the reason Lucas had too clarify it is because he’s never taken criticism well. People telling him from day 1 that he can’t tell the difference between a parsec and a pear tree made him go “Oh yeah! Well, I’ll SHOW YOU!”
Ergo Greedo shooting first, and then then shooting simultaneously.
I was about 10 when I first saw that scene. Even then, my younger sister and I clearly understood that Greedo was intending to kill Han no matter what. Even getting some of the owed money, he still was going to kill Han. He said as much. So Han did the only sensible thing.
I also note that Solo has a scene where Han confronts someone and shoots the guy before he can shoot. I think that was someone saying to Lucas, “No, you got it right the first time.”
Except the explanation for the Kessel Run didn’t come from Lucas. It was introduced in an EU novel by A.C. Crispin, and then canonized in film after Disney bought the franchise. Lucas had nothing to do with it.
Did anyone actually criticize the initial version? It was the most baffling change, the original version cemented Han as a badass, a guy you don’t mess with, it even left open the possibility that he would turn on Luke and Obi-Wan down the line, making the “you’re all clear kid” moment even better.
ISTR that the entire reason for the revision was that Lucas (who kept tinkering and tinkering with the Original Trilogy) had decided at some point that Han was a hero, and a good guy, and because of that, he (Lucas) believed that he had made a mistake in having Han shoot first.
But, in the eyes of most fans (including me), Lucas had lost sight of the narrative, in that Han started out as a scoundrel and a mercenary (albeit one with a conscience), and that his journey through the original films was in becoming an actual hero and leader. At the point in time of that scene, we’ve just met Han, and the fact that he shot first was absolutely in line with him being a tough guy, and not necessarily a white-hat hero.
It didn’t help that, not only was that tinkering (making Greedo shoot first) unneeded from a story standpoint, but the way that it was originally executed (in the 1997 Special Editions, IIRC) was really poorly-done and looked entirely fake.
I think, more than anything else, what happened is Lucas went from, “As a kid, this is what I would have liked to see,” in the '70s, to “As a parent, this is what I want my kid to see,” in the '90s. Same thing happened with Spielberg around the same time, when he went back into E.T. and changed all the guns into walkie-talkies.
And in regards to the earlier claim that Lucas “can’t take criticism,” between the Special Edition changes, and the initial reaction to the prequel trilogy, Lucas took a mountain of shit from his fans, and I don’t recall any stories of him crashing out over it. His reaction to the prequel criticism was, “I didn’t make it for you, I made it for the kids,” and history seems to have proved him right on that one - the kids who grew up with the prequel trilogy now love it as adults, just as much as those of us who grew up with the original films love that trilogy.
You said “Trekkers”, not “Trekkies”.
God bless ya. 
It’s a space opera. I’m also a Trekker from the word go. Sure, the original 3 Star Wars films wound me up- they’re hella fun. But taking a few decades to poke holes all over the place??-- to what end? Why not enjoy them and the memories they invoke?
Tons- TONS- of holes to poke in Star Trek TOS. Doesn’t mean I don’t lurve that series.
YMMV.