When it aired on CBS all the way back on November 17, 1978, The Star Wars Holiday Special was immediately seen as a blight on what was a then very young and very promising franchise. And, really, it’s a shock this monstrosity, which aired that one and only time, didn’t kill the whole thing. Yet it does hold a certain level of importance, and we’ll get to most of those factors in a bit. It introduced a few things to the IP that have remained and, of course, it was in and of itself the very first Star Wars spin-off film.
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What makes it all so terrible? Why does it feature some of the most hilarious costumes in Star Wars‘ history? To the former question, let’s dive in. To the latter, it’s because The Star Wars Holiday Special most certainly did not have a large price tag to work with.
What Is The Star Wars Holiday Special About?
First off, George Lucas had very little to do with The Star Wars Holiday Special. However, the core of its Wookiee-focused plot did come from him. But when the Holiday Special started to become a thing, he was busy at the time and the characters were essentially licensed out to CBS, so they could do with them what they would.
But Lucas insisted that the Wookiees would be the special’s main focus. Thusly, it follows Chewbacca and Han Solo as they head to the former’s home, Kashyyyk, for an event called Life Day. They’re pursued by a pair of Star Destroyers, making it difficult to get to Chewie’s family, who are notoriously pretty far from being among the best Star Wars creatures.
Speaking of Chewie’s family, we cut between the events on the Millennium Falcon and Kashyyyk. Those family members would be his father Itchy, his wife Malla, and his son…Lumpy. Itchy’s bad enough, but Lumpy had to have been enough for people to turn off their TVs.
Stormtroopers arrive at the Wookiee family’s home searching for Chewie, so Malla and a friendly local trader named Saun Dann distract them with dinner and a show (specifically, a video of Jefferson Starship performing). The crafty Lumpy then creates a translation device that makes the Imperial troops think they’re being ordered back to base by their commanding officer.
However, one stormtrooper sees through Lumpy’s plot and chases him around only to bump into Han and Chewie, who have finally arrived. Han tricks him into falling over a railing (as opposed to shooting him, which begs the question of whether that would have been taboo on network television, at least in a family friendly project).
The special closes with the Life Day celebration, and it’s here that we finally see Leia (there’s a brief scene with Luke and R2-D2 earlier on). Leia gives a speech about hope and peace and begins to sing. Chewie then reminisces about the events of Star Wars: A New Hope and the audience gets to watch some clips from that movie to have it confirmed for them that it’s 1,000 times better than the special they’ve just sat through (if they made it all the way through).
It’s Not Entirely Without Merit
The aforementioned Kashyyyk and Life Day have been incorporated in other entries in the Star Wars canon post-Holiday Special. Life Day received a shout out in The Mandalorian‘s first episode and Kashyyyk was, of course, in Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith. Furthermore, a little hologram circus toy Lumpy plays with at one point was later seen in the first episode of Star Wars: Skeleton Crew.
But the best part of the special (widely regarded as the one good part, really) occurs when the stormtroopers have arrived at the house. They tell Malla to keep little Lumpy occupied while they search his room for Chewbacca, so she proceeds to put on a cartoon for him. It is in this carton, “The Faithful Wookiee,” that we meet Boba Fett, the coolest Star Wars bounty hunter of them all, for the first time. Bear in mind he was added to a single scene in Star Wars: A New Hope well after The Star Wars Holiday Special aired.
So, is The Star Wars Holiday Special required viewing, even for the die-hard fans? No, it’s not even recommended viewing. However, “The Faithful Wookiee” is, and it’s the one part of the special on Disney+ (titled Star Wars Vintage: Story of the Faithful Wookiee).
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Image courtesy of Focus Features.
