# Star War's Holiday Special **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [September 24, 2003, 4:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-wars-holiday-special/203483 "2003-09-24T04:52:55Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Nately\_s\_Whore](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/3ec8ea/32.png) [@Nately\_s\_Whore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nately_s_Whore)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2003, 4:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-wars-holiday-special/203483/1 "2003-09-24T04:52:55Z")
Has anyone seen this? It is pure genius, complete with Jefferson Starship and a coked out Carrie Fisher. And the trippy LSD Bobba Fett cartoon is like icing on the cake. ---
**Author:** ![Tuckerfan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eada6e/32.png) [@Tuckerfan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tuckerfan)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2003, 5:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-wars-holiday-special/203483/2 "2003-09-24T05:01:36Z")
Heh, I saw the thing when it originally _aired_. I really think that it’s a shame that Lucas won’t release it on video tape. Maybe folks would feel better about his latest movies if he did. ---
**Author:** ![raizok](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/4491bb/32.png) [@raizok](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/raizok)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2003, 5:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-wars-holiday-special/203483/3 "2003-09-24T05:10:27Z")
Heh I downloaded it and stopped watching about a half hour in, man thats some pretty bad stuff. ---
**Author:** ![Nately\_s\_Whore](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/3ec8ea/32.png) [@Nately\_s\_Whore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nately_s_Whore)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2003, 5:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-wars-holiday-special/203483/4 "2003-09-24T05:27:47Z")
Yeah Tuckerfan, I actually heard that Lucas tried to buy back all the various copies. ---
**Author:** ![ResIpsaLoquitor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b3f665/32.png) [@ResIpsaLoquitor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ResIpsaLoquitor)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2003, 5:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-wars-holiday-special/203483/5 "2003-09-24T05:28:56Z")
PUT IT BACK! PUT IT BACK!!! I mean, for pity’s sake, the first half hour is spoken ENTIRELY in WOOKIE. And let’s not forget those sexy 70’s icons…Art Carney and Bea Arthur. And Chewie’s father watching a VR porno! Personally, I’m still waiting for Hasbro to release a “Drag Queen Luke” figure from that debacle. ---
**Author:** ![raizok](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/4491bb/32.png) [@raizok](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/raizok)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2003, 5:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-wars-holiday-special/203483/6 "2003-09-24T05:46:49Z")
Chewie’s dad watching porn? Good god _heads to Kazaalite_ So what does Carrie Fisher do exactly? Is she really coked up in this? ---
**Author:** ![Second\_Star\_to\_the\_Right](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3bc359/32.png) [@Second\_Star\_to\_the\_Right](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Second_Star_to_the_Right)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2003, 5:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-wars-holiday-special/203483/7 "2003-09-24T05:53:04Z")
Run away. Run far away. As \*\* Res \*\* stated, the first 30 minutes are spoken in Wookiee. No subtitles. Actors in Wookiee suits grunting to one another. Chewie’s father getting visibly aroused by the previously mentioned virtual reality porn. Singing Bea Arthur. Random shots from the first SW movie spliced in to represent space travel. Carrie Fisher, higher than a friggin’ kite, singing about Life Day(…) during the end sequence. Mark Hamill wearing so much makeup that he seriously looks female. ‘Bad’ doesn’t even begin to describe it. It makes the prequels seem genius by comparison. ---
**Author:** ![ResIpsaLoquitor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b3f665/32.png) [@ResIpsaLoquitor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ResIpsaLoquitor)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2003, 6:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-wars-holiday-special/203483/8 "2003-09-24T06:07:53Z")
> [@](#): > > Mark Hamill wearing so much makeup that he seriously looks female. I’ll be fair: Hamill had just been in a nasty auto accident and had severe scarring. The only way they could get him on the show was to give his face the Tammy Faye treatment. Historically, this accounts for why Luke’s face is shaped noticeably different between Episodes IV and V. ---
**Author:** ![Murcielago](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/da6949/32.png) [@Murcielago](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Murcielago)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2003, 6:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-wars-holiday-special/203483/9 "2003-09-24T06:51:10Z")
I had the same experience as **raizok** , downloaded it out of curiosity and quickly began scanning to get through it. Not amusingly bad, just so relentlessly boring and pointless that you can’t believe professional people were involved. If you scroll to the bottom of [this page](http://www.stomptokyo.com/movies/star-wars-holiday-special.html) you can see some screen captures in the image gallery. ---
**Author:** ![Murcielago](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/da6949/32.png) [@Murcielago](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Murcielago)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2003, 7:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-wars-holiday-special/203483/10 "2003-09-24T07:08:33Z")
Forgot to mention – if you check the “Those Responsible” section in the link above, you will see Bruce Vilanch listed among the writers. ---
**Author:** ![Nately\_s\_Whore](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/3ec8ea/32.png) [@Nately\_s\_Whore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nately_s_Whore)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2003, 7:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-wars-holiday-special/203483/11 "2003-09-24T07:11:47Z")
Well I recall seeing Fisher in some interview where she recounts her “troubled” times, and I do believe she said that she was high during the filming of the Holiday Special. ---
**Author:** ![Mehitabel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/8797f3/32.png) [@Mehitabel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mehitabel)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2003, 11:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-wars-holiday-special/203483/12 "2003-09-24T11:10:15Z")
I remember this when it first aired, too. I was about 13 and I knew it was wrong, wrong, wrong. Still remember Bea Arthur’s singing–she’s not a bad Broadway character singer but she was hopeless. And the Wookiees with the fondue sticks and the lights! ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d26b3c/32.png) [@Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Blue_Sky)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2003, 11:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-wars-holiday-special/203483/13 "2003-09-24T11:20:29Z")
Only 30 minutes? Ya bunch of wimps! 😃 It took me a week, but I finally watched the whole thing. This is the perfect tape to put on when you party guests refuse to leave. I’m getting ready to transfer my copy to DVD. ---
**Author:** ![Fern\_Forest](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/71c47a/32.png) [@Fern\_Forest](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fern_Forest)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2003, 11:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-wars-holiday-special/203483/14 "2003-09-24T11:28:01Z")
I can forgive almost everything in that … thing except the names Itchy and Lumpy. What the hell were they thinking. How could anyone have ever at any time thought that those were a good idea? I mean really! ---
**Author:** ![Baggins111](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/9fc29f/32.png) [@Baggins111](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baggins111)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2003, 12:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-wars-holiday-special/203483/15 "2003-09-24T12:42:51Z")
I can barely remember the horror that it was. I was seven. But even at seven I can remember knowing it was bad. I must have blocked most of it out. I actually think I was over at a friend’s house for a sleep over… Is there any way I can get a copy of this? I must put it next to my Glen or Glenda DVD. I also remember that Hamill was in a bad wreck and had to have plastic surgery. IIRC, that is why they added the ice wampa \ scene at the beginning of ESB - to explain why he looked different. Boba Fett carried a 1920’s style “death ray?” ---
**Author:** ![Zap\_Rowsdower](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/3da27b/32.png) [@Zap\_Rowsdower](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zap_Rowsdower)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2003, 12:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-wars-holiday-special/203483/16 "2003-09-24T12:58:50Z")
I own a copy of it (vhs) but hopefully can copy it on DVD sometime. It is now a holiday tradition for me, along with Santa Conquers the Martians and Santa Clause (MST3k versions). So far I haven’t found anyone to join me for this mini holiday fest that last more than 30 minutes. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2003, 1:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-wars-holiday-special/203483/17 "2003-09-24T13:56:37Z")
It was eye-meltingly horrific, but somehow it managed to cement Boba Fett, an otherwise forgettable tertiary character, in the hearts of fanboys. ---
**Author:** ![Kizarvexius](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/da6949/32.png) [@Kizarvexius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kizarvexius)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2003, 3:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-wars-holiday-special/203483/18 "2003-09-24T15:09:34Z")
I was in first grade when SW came out, and living on an Army base in Germany. What I find interesting is that the merchandise found its way into the PXs long before the movie was even shown out there. I had Star Wars posters, toys and books (I still have the sheets and pillowcases. Hello, E-Bay!), but had never seen the movie – and neither had anyone else I knew. So when the Christmas Special came on TV (on AFRTS, the only English languge channel), it was the first time that I or any of my friends had actually SEEN anything more than still photos. We all thought it was the coolest thing. I’ve never seen it since, but I still remember bits and snippets even though it’s been 25 years. Given the opportunity to watch it again, I probably wouldn’t. I’ve had enough childhood illusions shattered. As it was, I didn’t see Star Wars until my family came back to the States in 79. And we saw it in a drive in. I’ll never forget that. ---
**Author:** ![Knowed\_Out](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/knowed_out/32/7380_2.png) [@Knowed\_Out](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Knowed_Out)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2003, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-wars-holiday-special/203483/19 "2003-09-24T16:40:04Z")
A friend of mine bought this tape on EBay and had a viewing party. Picture this: the producers of all the glitz and tackiness of 70’s variety shows, complete with glittery curtains, teams up with the puppets of Sid & Marty Kroft, grabs some discarded SW movie props out of the movie lot dumpster, sign up perrenial variety show guests like Art Carney and Harvey Korman, and sucks 2 hours out of your life. I’m not going to bother putting a spoiler box around the rest of my post, as this show is already as spoiled as spoiled can get! We tried really hard to MST3K it, but it was so horribly DULL there was nothing interesting about it to lampoon. We found ourselves fast fowarding it a lot. Harvey Korman has several parts, including that of a 8-armed Julia Childe-type that Chewbacca’s mom watches on TV. He conducts his viewing audience in a little song to the recipe he’s cooking and _Chewie’s mom is dancing to it!_ It’s just horrible, oh man does it suck. There’s a part near the end where Chewie and Han get in a fight with a storm trooper (a really badly choreographed fight at that) and it ends when the storm trooper knocks over the railing and falls to his death from the mile high tree house. This is the same railing that keeps 800-lb Wookies from falling over. After Chewie’s family gets together, Han looks at them lovingly and says “You know, I feel like I’m part of the family.” I bet Harrison Ford lost his lunch every time he had to deliver that line. Trust me, stay away from this one. ---
**Author:** ![tramp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/4491bb/32.png) [@tramp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tramp)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2003, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-wars-holiday-special/203483/20 "2003-09-24T16:59:24Z")
I have this one. The commercials are the best part, I can’t believe anyone bought anything in the 70’s because the commercials are that bad. If you don’t get a copy with commercials, be prepared for DEEP HURTING. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-wars-holiday-special/203483.md?page=2)