Things You Didn't Know About The Star Wars Holiday Special

It was a day that still lives in infamy for fans, and a day George Lucas wishes everyone would forget. On November 17, 1978, "The Star Wars Holiday Special" aired on CBS at 8 PM. It played for an interminable two hours, and then it was never shown again. But that certainly didn't stop the urban legend of "The Star Wars Holiday Special" from growing as the years wound on.

"The Star Wars Holiday Special" is Lucas' "Plan 9 From Outer Space," an embarrassment he's been hard-pressed to acknowledge. Despite official suppression of the production, bootleg copies have circulated for years, and the internet has made it easier than ever to access. More and more fans have seen it with every passing year, and as a result, there are more questions surrounding the "Holiday Special" than ever. How did this monstrosity come to pass? How much did Lucas play a hand in it at all? And why is this ridiculous TV special still with us after all this time? As it turns out, the answers to those questions are a saga unto themselves. Get into the Life Day spirit as we explore the strange truth of "The Star Wars Holiday Special."

Released on May 25, 1977, "Star Wars" was a surprise smash hit that captured the hearts and imaginations of audiences everywhere. Lucas had always planned a series of films, and "The Empire Strikes Back" went into production in 1979 for a May 21, 1980 release. Considering there would be a gap of several years between films, Lucas was convinced that a TV special could keep fans interested in the franchise until the next movie came along. CBS also told Lucas that a special could help sell more "Star Wars" toys, and even attract new fans to the movie.

In hindsight, it's odd to think that the American public could ever forget about "Star Wars," or that there was anyone on planet Earth who hadn't already seen it. There was rabid anticipation for the toys as well that season, as they were finally hitting the shelves that winter. As Lucas recalled to Empire, "When you are starting out, you try all kinds of things. Fox said, 'We can promote the film by doing the TV special.' So I kind of got talked into doing the Special."

George Lucas is a legendary control freak, and at first, he was onboard to be creatively involved with the "Holiday Special." He came up with the special's initial idea, which was to do a story primarily about the Wookiees. The writing staff included Bruce Vilanch, who went on to write jokes for the Academy Awards, and Pat Proft, a screenwriter who worked on "Police Academy," "The Naked Gun," and a number of other movies.

The story, such as it is, has Chewbacca trying to get home to his family in time to celebrate a Wookiee holiday known as Life Day. Vilanch knew this was going to be a tough job, because he had to write for characters who can't actually speak, and he told Lucas as much. As it turns out, Proft and writer Lenny Ripps wrote for the mime comedy team Shields and Yarnell, so they actually did have some skill in writing for non-verbal characters.

Regardless, Lucas was gone from the team by the time the special started filming in Burbank on a budget of $1 million, and his name isn't mentioned anywhere on the finished project. But he was indeed very much present in the project's early phases.

In the 1970s, the variety show was thriving on network television. Sonny and Cher, Carol Burnett, and Donny and Marie were all big ratings-getters back then. "The Holiday Special" was created in the variety show mold, but in hindsight, this was a big mistake. As "Star Wars" producer Gary Kurtz told Vanity Fair, "We should have realized that there was no way that we could fit the characters into this kind of format." Moreover, by the time the "Holiday Special" rolled around, variety shows were beginning to lose their luster. On every level, choosing this format was a mistake.

But boy howdy, does the "Holiday Special" commit to being a variety show. In addition to appearances from Harvey Korman, Bea Arthur, Diahann Carroll, and Art Carney, the special also features a musical number from Jefferson Starship. As their guitarist Craig Chaquico recalled decades later, "It was such a strange iteration of the original big-screen-movie concept and your regular variety show, Carol Burnett vibe. I was like, tripping on it myself, man."

These days, in the wake of the incredible success of "The Mandalorian," Boba Fett is one of the most popular "Star Wars" characters around. Believe it or not, he made his debut on the "Holiday Special." Boba Fett appears in an animated segment that was created by the Canadian cartoon company Nelvana, who had previously done the children's specials "The Devil and Daniel Mouse" and "A Cosmic Christmas."

The segment was directed by John Celestri, who told StarWars.com that Lucas wanted the segment to look like the work of acclaimed graphic artist Jean Moebius Girard. "So for Boba Fett specifically, we had Moebius' designs along with a black and white home movie of the prototype Boba Fett armor to work from." Just as the writers struggled to create interesting stories for the Wookiees, Celestri had to create a compelling character that has no facial expressions. Thus, his interpretation of Boba Fett is similar to Clint Eastwood in his Western roles. "He had self-confidence and macho poses," Celestri detailed. "Without this influence it would have been too stiff."

The "Holiday Special" has many crazy, weird, and "WTF?"-inducing moments, and one of the most bizarre is Carrie Fisher singing a musical number at the end of the show in honor of Life Day. As Vilanch told Vanity Fair, the "Star Wars" cast was largely reluctant to do the special, Harrison Ford especially so. Yet Fisher was willing to come aboard, as long as she could belt one out. "She was going through her Joni Mitchell period," Vilanch recalled. "She came into the office and played a couple of very lachrymose ballads on a piano. She was singing about heartbreak and all the Joni Mitchell things. She very much wanted to show this side of her talent. And there was general dismay because this was not what we wanted Princess Leia to be doing."

While the Star Wars gang knew they were caught up in something pretty ridiculous in the "Holiday Special," they sucked it up, and director Steve Binder has said they were "a pleasure" to work with. And hey — Carrie Fisher did have pretty good pipes.

Okay, so he didn't seriously strangle him, but Harrison Ford definitely made it clear to Conan that the "Holiday Special" is a sore subject. 

When celebrities go on talk shows, they often have to endure embarrassing clips from old movies and TV shows that are dug up for laughs. When Harrison Ford appeared on Conan O'Brien, Conan mentioned the "Holiday Special," which clearly caught Ford off guard. Once the subject was brought up, Ford grew quiet, and began squirming in his seat. As Conan accurately pointed out, "None of you look happy while you're making this thing." Ford shook his head no when asked if he remembered making the special.

"No memory of it at all," O'Brien said, incredulous. "So it doesn't exist in your [memory]. What if I told you I had a little piece of tape right now ... " Knowing he was going to have to suffer through one of the most embarrassing moments of his career, Ford then grabbed O'Brien, and briefly shook him around before a ridiculous clip from the show rolled for the audience.

After the incredible success of "Star Wars," anything related to the film — toys, posters, merchandise — sold like hotcakes. So a "Star Wars" TV special hot on the heels of the movie should have been a ratings bonanza, right? Well, not only was the "Holiday Special" a total disaster of storytelling, it wasn't a big ratings winner either. Where "Star Wars" dominated the box office charts for most of 1977, the "Holiday Special" didn't even come in at number one in its time slot. It got beat out by "The Love Boat" and "Pearl," a mini-series about the bombing of Pearl Harbor.

"The Star Wars Holiday Special" has never been aired since. But despite its abject failure, bootleg copies have circulated for years on VHS and DVD, and the internet has made it even easier to find. VCRs were expensive back in the day, but the versions that float online were clearly taped off TV, and some versions have all the commercials as well. Thus, the special survived in the shadows of fandom. Recall the hilarious scene in Weird Al's "White and Nerdy" video, where he's slipping money to a shady individual in an alley — but instead of buying drugs, the guy slips him a copy of "The Star Wars Holiday Special" on VHS. It might be awful, but it is the stuff of fan legend.

George Lucas is famous for saying that if he had time, he would gather up every bootleg copy of the "Holiday Special" and smash them with a hammer. But according to Vanity Fair, the special was almost released as a DVD bonus feature in 2007, when the original trilogy was released on DVD. It's not clear why this never went through — perhaps cooler heads and common sense prevailed. But if it ever officially comes out, it's doubtful it would do that much harm to the legacy of "Star Wars." So many "Star Wars" fans have seen it already, for one thing, and remained ardent fans of the series. Moreover, it's a given that some "Star Wars" completists would love to have an official copy no matter what. Why leave their money on the table? There was fan speculation about an official release when Lucasfilm was sold to Disney in 2012, but again, no go.

Sure, the original special is ridiculous, but there are many fans who can still recall seeing it on that fateful night in November 1978. For them, there will always be a place in their heart for it.

Despite the special's infamy, its legacy is not going to fade away any time soon, if ever. Just as the Force will always be with us, so too will the "Holiday Special." Fans have made their peace with it — and surprisingly enough, so has George Lucas. As he told Mental Floss, "I'm sort of amused by it, because it is so bizarre. It's definitely avant-garde television. It's definitely bad enough to be a classic."

For his part, Anthony Daniels, who plays C-3PO, is all for an official release. "Most things are buried six feet under," Daniels told Empire. "'The Holiday Special' is buried 20 miles under. If Lucasfilm had deep-down wit, they would go, 'Okay, here's the Special Edition of the Holiday Special.' Instead of making it a skeleton in the cupboard everyone's ashamed of, why not go, 'Okay, we blew it this time — why don't we see just how badly we blew it?'" Amen to that. Happy Life Day, everyone!

The "Star Wars Holiday Special" isn't something many fans have seen in full due largely to it being suppressed for decades. Still, there are fans who have seen it and have watched it enough to recognize an Easter egg when they see one. For everyone else, the brief scene in the first episode of "Skeleton Crew" would likely go by unnoticed, as it's a pretty deep cut.

After the children return to their homes, Wim (Ravi Cabot-Conyers) goes to Neel's (Robert Timothy Smith) house, where he sees his family gathered around a holo table, watching a program. The hologram is a bit unusual in a "Star Wars" setting, as it's more akin to something you might see at a circus. Performers dance about for a short time before the scene moves on with the rest of the story. Not only is the holo appropriate for "Star Wars," but it's also identical to one that first graced television screens in 1978.

In the "Holiday Special," there's a scene where Chewbacca's son, Lumpy (Patty Maloney), is watching a holo, and it's the same one seen in "Skeleton Crew." The characters and setting in the holo appear to be the same one shown in the special, though it looks as if the scene was either reshot or cleaned up with modern technology, so it's a bit clearer.

The "Star Wars Holiday Special" is by no means a beloved classic, but it does have a place in "Star Wars" history, and some elements from the special have trickled into Disney's canon over the years. Still, George Lucas famously hated the special and once spoke about it at a convention, saying, "If I had the time and a sledgehammer, I would track down every copy of that show and smash it" (via Salon).

If the creator of the franchise isn't on board with keeping at least one copy of the special for posterity, it's clear there aren't a ton of fans. Despite this, one copy found its way into an actor's hands. According to Carrie Fisher, she received a copy of the "Star Wars Holiday Special" from George Lucas, but she didn't like it any better than the director or the fans.

Fisher wanted the copy for something else entirely, which probably won't surprise many people to learn if you know anything about her personality. Fisher would use the "Holiday Special" as a clever means of getting people to leave her house when she was finished dealing with them. Fisher spoke about this clever trick in an interview with The New York Times' "Times Talks," saying she'd put it on at parties, "mainly at the end of the night when I want people to leave" (via IndieWire). It's possible she was just joking, but if we're honest, it sounds like the sort of thing she would do.

When George Lucas was making "Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope," David Prowse — the man in the Darth Vader suit — also spoke all the lines of dialogue. Prowse had a thick Devonshire accent, and Lucas quickly realised it didn't fit with the character he had envisioned. Unbeknownst to Prowse at the time, Lucas made the decision to dub over his dialogue and he hired James Earl Jones as the voice of Vader.

Jones' voice is the one everyone associates with Vader, but the actor was uncredited in the film. The decision to withhold credit was Jones', as he didn't believe his vocal work — which took only around two and a half hours — was enough to justify his name in the credits. Additionally, he withheld his credit in deference to Prowse, whose imposing figure brought Vader to life, and he didn't want to take away from his performance. This remained his practice in "The Empire Strikes Back," but by "Return of the Jedi," his name was right where it was meant to be.

Oddly enough, Jones provided the voice for Vader in the "Star Wars Holiday Special," and this time, he was credited. So, for some unknown reason, Jones either gave the go-ahead to be credited in the "Holiday Special," or someone else made the decision for him. The special opens with the cast as an announcer calls out their names. For Vader, he says, "And James Earl Jones as the voice of Darth Vader."

In the first "Star Wars" film, R2-D2 was played by Kenny Baker, with the 3-foot-8-inch actor cramming himself inside the canister to bring the character to life. This was necessary in 1977, as technology wasn't especially great at making robots look realistic, but Baker didn't return for the special. Instead, when Artoo is introduced in the opening credits announcement, he's credited as "R2-D2 as R2-D2."

Instead of Baker, someone in the prop department managed the task using a remote control. It's clear from watching the "Holiday Special" that there's nobody inside the R2 unit, as his movements are very different from how he functions in the film. Part of the reason Baker wasn't involved and why a remote control was used instead was due to money. The special had a ridiculously low budget — as evidenced by every single frame — so cuts had to be made.

It's unclear why Baker wasn't asked to return or wasn't involved in any way, but he confirmed he played no part in it despite portraying R2-D2 in six of the films. In 2000, Baker spoke with StarWarz, and the topic of the special came up, leading the interviewer to ask if he was involved in it. Baker replied, "No, I wasn't involved with that, but I have seen it and thought it was quite good." It's somewhat shocking to find out that someone involved with the franchise enjoyed the "Star Wars Holiday Special," but he was hardly its only fan.

When Disney purchased the "Star Wars" franchise from George Lucas in 2012, fans had high hopes they'd see an official release of the "Holiday Special." After all, what did Disney have to lose by putting a digital copy on its streaming platform? It could skip all the steps and costs of distribution and simply make the infamous special available for completionist fans and curious onlookers to finally watch it as it was shown in 1978.

Disney followed through, but not in the way fans might have liked. Instead of officially releasing a copy of the "Star Wars Holiday Special," the House of Mouse dropped something entirely new. "The Lego Star Wars Holiday Special" hit the streaming platform in 2020, and despite its name and the allusion to the previous special, they aren't the same thing. That said, they are narratively related to one another via one of the few elements to make it into canon: Life Day.

The "Holiday Special" is centered around the Life Day celebration, and so too is the "Lego Holiday Special." Of course, it's also animated via CGI and features other elements from the franchise, including many from the sequel trilogy. While it's not the "Holiday Special" hardcore fans have warned people about for decades, it's at least somewhat related. It's also well made and considered to be an excellent special, so while you won't find 1978's special on Disney+, you can still dive into a different special that's arguably much better.