Forgotten Friday: The Star Wars Holiday Special
Posted by Rodneyon 19. 11. 2010in News Chat, Reviews
Thanks for checking out our Forgotten Fridays feature. This is a feature to review some older films that maybe you have forgotten about or maybe never got around to seeing that we just want to share. They may not be old, maybe not forgotten, but they are not new. Just fun to share.
Today, we review The Star Wars Holiday Special!
Genre: Torture
Directed by: Steve Binder
Staring: Mark Hamill, Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher, Anthony Daniels, Peter Mayhew, James Earl Jones, Bea Arthur, Art Carney, Diahann Carroll, Harvey Korman, Jefferson Starship
Released: November 17, 1978
THE GENERAL IDEA
The Star Wars Holiday Special is a 1978 American television special set in the Star Wars galaxy. It was the first official Star Wars spin-off. The show was broadcast in its entirety only once, in the United States, on November 17, 1978 on CBS from 8:00 pm to 10:00 pm, Eastern Standard Time (EST).[1] In the storyline that ties the special together, 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 members of the Rebel Alliance on the planet. The special introduces three members of Chewbacca’s family: his father Attichitcuk, his wife Mallatobuck, and his son Lumpawarrump.
THE GOOD
This is actually the first appearance of Boba Fett. That’s all I have.
THE BAD
First off, the complete span of time wasted on the “day in the life of” Chewbacca’s family is done completely without the benefit of dialogue and is completely boring. You actually welcome the interuptions that pass as “plot” of various guest stars, Luke makes a video call and his makeup has him looking like a girl, holodramas, dance scenes, the animated short (in which Boba Fett makes his first appearance) and a psychodellic Jefferson Starship performance.
After all these pointless distractions that prove more embarasing than the boring Wookiee daily grind, the gang is reuinted and takes part in the Life Day ceremony that ends with Carrie Fisher proving she can’t sing.
OVERALL
Lucas all but denies that this ever happened. He will admit Jarjar, but not this. I can honestly tell you it is utterly terrible. But for the same reason that people will watch Troll 2 or The Room, the very experience of watching this is a testament to Star Wars devotion.
I own a bootleg VHS copy of this purely because there is no other way to get your hands on it. I inflict it on as many people as possible, but since my VHS player died, souls have been spared.
Since all of these Forgotten Friday reviews are going to be what I would already give a high rating to, I had a Tv, Rent or Buy scale going on, but it would seem that an overwhelming majority of my picks get a BUY rating.
So with every Forgotten Friday you see from now on, you get to rate your anticipation for yourself!
TV – If you are at least a little curious, catch it if it comes on TV.
Rent – If it is something you have heard of and forgotten, or just remember enjoying this as much as I did once upon a time, go rent it.
Buy – But if you are like me, and you agree with my review you should go buy it. If its featured here, I already have.
I slightly remember this show. But hey…1978 = 7 years old…first thing star wars related before ESB. So it would of been the world to me
LOL…..I was 9 years old when this debuted and I was completely STOKED for it. CBS ran teaser promos for weeks. I rewatched a couple of years ago and was leveled by how rotten it was. It doesn’t even fall into the, “so bad, it’s good” catagory. It reminded me of the “Sid & Marty Kroft Super Power Hour” on Sat mornings..i.e. “Land of the Lost”, “Dr. Shrinker”..etc.
Speaking of “Star Wars” forgotten lore, does anybody remember the Early Bird Action Figure 4 Pack? I distinctly remember receiving this as a birthday gift BEFORE SW Ep:5 premiered. It consisted of a Luke, Leia, Ben, and R2 figure. All my friends say I am hallucinating. Am I crazy? Does anybody remember this?
You remember correctly sir, it was as you described, I got one in the mail as well.
I kinda remember it, I was 7 yrs old and remember a little chewy (or ewok) walking on a patio railing like a trapese or somethin’ (thats the only image I can bring up on my mental hard drive).
But I know it was HUGE back then, that’s why the memory I guess
I remember the animation (Bobba Fett) was the best part and only seeing it once was really frustrating. I wanted to watch that part again and again but alas no VHS or Beta yet to record the show. The rest was forgettable. The wookie kid was annoying, and the special geust stars were also painful or annoying to watch. I think the Muppet Show special with Luke was a lot better than this special (sans animated part).
I got the opportunity to watch this whole thing at a screening in DC in the late 90′s. My brother and I were among the few in the audience that stayed until the end (lots of walk-outs). It is, as Rodney described, completely unwatchable. It’s hard to even appreciate it for the camp value. It’s so bad it’s bad. That said, I’d probably still watch it over one of the prequels (which are so bad they anger me)…
Another great made-for-tv crap fest from the 70′s to check out: KISS MEETS THE PHANTOM OF THE PARK (1978). Fans of the band KISS and bad cinema alike will revel in this cluster f%*# of a film. Make some time for it.
Now wait a minute man……I remember wearing my Ace Freely face paint watchin’ that one bro…….BUT you probally have a point in that it sucked balls! try telling that to a 7 yr old though.
Don’t get me wrong-when I was seven years old I thought it was freakin’ Citizen Kane! You almost may want to avoid seeing it with adult eyes-maintain the magic, man.
the part where the grandpa wookie uses his life day present still gives me nightmares
The Forgotten Friday movie that Lucas wishes would STAY forgotten.
Never saw this, doesn’t look like I missed very much. More of a novelty thing than anything else.
I’m more disturbed by the second show that is featured in that commercial. “Flying High”?! What the heck was THAT?! I’ve never ever heard of that show and it looked like a bad 70s porno. Dialogue seemed to be nothing but bad jokes and people ripping their clothes off like strippers. Anyone have any info?