The Star Wars Holiday Special
| Movie | |||
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| Original title | The Star Wars Holiday Special | ||
| Country of production | United States | ||
| original language | English | ||
| Publishing year | 1978 | ||
| length | 97 minutes | ||
| Rod | |||
| Director | Steve Binder, David Acomba |
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| script |
George Lucas , Pat Proft , Leonard Ripps, Bruce Vilanch , Rod Warren, Mitzie Welch |
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| production | Joe Layton, Jeff Starsh, Ken Welch, Mitzie Welch |
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| music | Ian Fraser | ||
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| chronology | |||
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The Star Wars Holiday Special is a 97 minute long Star Wars television show specially produced for television and aired on Friday, November 17, 1978 on the US television network CBS . With the exception of Alec Guinness and Peter Cushing , all of the main characters in Star Wars from 1977 are represented. George Lucas wrote the script himself, but could not take care of the actual production as he was already busy with The Empire Strikes Back . The film is now part of the uncanonical Legends timeline.
The show achieved high ratings and was watched in around 18 million households, but it was never shown again in the US or anywhere else and is not commercially available. George Lucas was disappointed with the result and found the quality of the television broadcast so terrible that he tried to prevent it from being broadcast or released on video. After more than 40 years, copies of the Star Wars Holiday Special have become a popular collector's item.
action
The "Day of Life" is just around the corner, a holiday for the Wookiees. Chewbacca is on her way home to see his Wookiee family again and spend the holiday with them. The smuggler Han Solo accompanies his co-pilot Chewbacca with his spaceship, the Millennium Falcon . On the way to Chewbacca's home planet Kashyyyk, they are attacked by two star destroyers. Han decides to turn back, but Chewbacca really wants to go to his family and spend the holiday there. After a moment, Han agrees, but they'll be late because the hyperdrive on their spaceship was badly damaged.
Meanwhile, Chewie's family is waiting for Kashyyyk. His loving wife Malla, his son Lumpy and his grouchy father Itchy are very worried and eagerly await Chewie's arrival. Concerned, they turn to Luke and Leia , who cannot give them any clues as to where Chewbacca might be. To distract themselves and to bridge the waiting time, the family watches an entertainment program. Malla then tries to cook while Itchy distracts himself with a fantasy machine.
Meanwhile, Darth Vader's Star Destroyer orbits the planet Tatooine to await Hans and Chewbacca's arrival. Vader has been informed by the Empire that the Millennium Falcon has been sighted near Tatooine. He was looking for Han and Chewbacca anyway, as they are also responsible for the loss of the first Death Star. Vader impatiently imposes a blockade around the planet Kashyyyk and has every single household in the area searched.
Imperial officers and stormtroopers come to Chewie's family and ask them questions about Hans and Chewbacca's whereabouts. After the Imperials take over the Wookiee home, they go to see entertainment programs. Lumpy is secretly watching a Boba Fett cartoon, and the Stormtroopers watch the reality show Life on Tatooine.
In the meantime, Han and Chewbacca have arrived on Kashyyyk. They are quickly discovered by Imperials who can of course be defeated by Han and Chewbacca. Now all the Wookiee families from the neighborhood come together to celebrate the "Day of Life". To their surprise, they also discover Han, Luke, Leia, C-3PO and R2-D2 there . At the end, Leia sings a final song to celebrate the day.
background
Parts of the Holiday Special were filled in with footage that was not used for the first Star Wars film from 1977. The Star Wars Holiday Special first introduced the character of Boba Fett (here as a cartoon character) into the Star Wars universe.
reception
The Star Wars Holiday Special was received almost exclusively negatively by critics and audiences.
At Rotten Tomatoes , the special received an audience rating of 30%, based on over 15,700 reviews. The users of the Internet Movie Database rated the film with an average of 2.1 out of 10 stars from around 12,400 votes. Author David Hofstede named the show in his book What Were They Thinking? ranked number one of the "stupidest moments in television history" and described them as "the worst two hours that were ever seen on television".
For some Star Wars fans who saw the special, the only positive aspect was the eleven-minute Boba Fett cartoon, in which the character was first publicly presented.
literature
- Will Brooker: Using the force: creativity, community, and Star Wars fans. Continuum, 2002, ISBN 0826452876 .
- Quentin Falk, Ben Falk: Television's Strangest Moments: Extraordinary But True Tales from the History of Television. Robson Press, Aug 25, 2005, ISBN 1861058748 .
Web links
- Star Wars Holiday Special in the Internet Movie Database (English)
- Star Wars Holiday Special atRotten Tomatoes(English)
- Information about the Holiday Special
- vanityfair.com, The Han Solo Comedy Hour! Comment by Frank DiGiacomo of December 22, 2008
- Fan page for the Star Wars Holiday Special
- Star Wars Holiday Special in Jedipedia.de
- Star Wars Holiday Special in Jedipedia.net
Individual evidence
- ↑ Frank DiGiacomo: vanityfair.com , The Han Solo Comedy Hour! December 22, 2008, viewed September 29, 2010
- ↑ bbc.co.uk "h2g2" lexicon entry, viewed September 29, 2010
- ^ Television's Strangest Moments: Extraordinary But True Tales from the History of Television. Page 136
- ↑ Joel Keller on tvsquad.com on December 12, 2006, viewed on September 29, 2010
- ^ The Star Wars Holiday Special , rottentomatoes.com, accessed August 21, 2013
- ↑ The Star Wars Holiday Special , imdb.de, accessed on May 5, 2015
- ^ L. Wayne Hicks: When the force was a farce , tvparty.com, accessed March 31, 2012
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