With all the buzz about the new film Star Wars: The Force Awakens, which continues to break box-office records, one is bound to think back to another holiday season affected by the Star Wars franchise. After the successful release of the original Star Wars film in 1977, the following November gave television viewers The Star Wars Holiday Special.
The Special
CBS broadcast the 97-minute television show on Friday, November 17, 1978 at 8:00-10:00 p.m. The Star Wars Holiday Special centered around Chewbacca and his family celebrating Life Day, a holiday that happens to be a lot like Christmas.
The musical-variety show featured many of the characters from Star Wars, even though many of the stars did not really want to be involved in the show. As Harrison Ford explained during a 2011 press tour: “It was in my contract. There was no known way to get out of it.” In the special, the movie stars were helped out by TV stars of the era like Bea Arthur, Diahann Carroll, Art Carney, and Harvey Korman.
The Star Wars Holiday Special included an animated segment that is notable for showing Luke, Han, and Leia having their first encounter with bounty hunter Boba Fett. The bounty hunter, of course, would later appear in The Empire Strikes Back.
Below is the special.
Reception
Fans of the movie had high expectations for anything related to Star Wars. So, they were disappointed with the Star Wars Holiday Special, including its low budget and its motivation to sell toys to kids. The special became pretty much universally reviled by everyone including George Lucas.
Still, through the years, some fans have grown more fond of the show for its kitschy and nostalgic appeal. There is an entire website devoted to the TV show. And Mental Floss recently posted “An Oral History of The Star Wars Holiday Special.”
Below is a 15-minute “best of” compilation from the special.
If you still want more, you may watch the entirety of The Star Wars Holiday Special on YouTube. May the Force be with you through this holiday season.
As the summer movie blockbuster season approaches, it is a good time to look at the trailer for the movie that incorporates the biggest actors and the biggest scenes. The Movie: The Movietrailer debuted on Jimmy Kimmel Live and features stars such as Tom Hanks, Charlize Theron, Martin Scorsese, George Clooney, Gabourey Sidibe (“Once you go black Hitler you never go back Hitler”), Chewbacca, and many more too numerous to mention.
If you want more, there is also The Making of “Movie: The Movie.”
In case you have been too busy this week angrily Tweeting about American Airlines because a flight attendant interrupted a game you were playing on your phone, here are some of the pop culture stories you might have missed this week. FYI, see below for a funny video relating to the American Airlines incident. Three of the big stories that were already covered this week in Chimesfreedom were the passings of actor Harry Morgan, singer Dobie Gray, and blues man Hubert Sumlin, so check out those stories too. But here are some of the lesser known reviews and stories from the fields of movies, music, and popular culture.
—— Movies —–
Filmmakers are clashing with each other over access to West Memphis 3 witnesses.
The Hangover III may be set in Los Angeles and may try a new formula.
Billboard named Adele the top artist of 2011 as she makes history.
—– Television —–
In Wookie news, Chewbacca is going to guest star on Glee.
The Mythbusters guys apologized after they accidentally fired a cannonball into a residential area earlier this week.
“Very funny.” — Tonight Show bandleader Kevin Eubanks on the Roots’ controversial entrance song for Michele Bachmann.
Laugh-In star Alan Sues, who also was in the Twilight Zone Episode “The Masks,” passed away this week.
Was it too soon for Saturday Night Live to spoof the Penn State scandal? Colin Quinn thinks so. In other SNL news, Alec Baldwin appeared on the show last night to apologize about the American Airlines incident to . . . Alec Baldwin, “an American treasure.”
—– Other Pop Culture News —–
Manny Ramirez un-retired from baseball. That’s Manny being . . . Brett.
Jerry Robinson, the comic book artist who created Batmans’s The Joker, passed away yesterday. RIP.
In the way that all sci-fi alien horror movies begin. . . NASA just discovered an earth-like planet. Assuming the aliens do not attack us, we will see you with more pop culture stories soon. . .
