Prompt Cast
The Star Wars Holiday Special of 1978: A Train Wreck in Television History
TLDR The Star Wars Holiday Special of 1978 is infamous for being one of the worst things ever aired on television, featuring musical numbers, guest stars, and a cartoon segment that introduced Boba Fett. Despite its poor reception, it has become a cult classic and can still be found on YouTube for those curious enough to watch.
Timestamped Summary
00:00
The podcast episode is about the Star Wars Holiday Special of 1978, which is considered one of the worst things ever aired on television.
05:37
The Star Wars Holiday Special of 1978 is considered a train wreck and one of the worst things ever aired on television, but luckily it can be found on YouTube and watched for those who are curious.
10:46
The Star Wars Holiday Special of 1978 was a variety show that featured musical numbers and was based on Wookiees, which George Lucas decided to do because he had already established the Wookiee planet of Kizook in a 40-page supplement that didn't make it into the Empire Strikes Back.
15:51
The Star Wars Holiday Special was created during a time when variety shows were dying out and escapist television was becoming popular, and they hired a "dream team" to direct it.
20:29
The main cast of Star Wars had no choice but to be in the Holiday Special, and it's clear that Harrison Ford was unhappy to be there, while Princess Leia appeared to be on drugs, and Mark Hamill refused to do a musical number.
26:44
The Star Wars Holiday Special aired on November 17, 1978 and attracted 13 million viewers, but dropped in ratings after the first hour, making it one of the worst things ever put on television.
31:35
The Star Wars Holiday Special features guest stars like Harvey Corman, who plays multiple roles including a Julia Child-like cook and a bar patron, and B. Arthur, who sings a song as the owner of the cantina.
37:02
In this segment, the human trader arrives and gives Grandpa Itchy a virtual reality hairdryer that plays soft-core porn, followed by a musical number and a hologram performance by Jefferson Starship.
42:39
The cartoon segment of the Star Wars Holiday Special introduces Boba Fett and has a plot that makes sense as a Star Wars thing, with Luke, R2, C3PO, Han, Chewie, and Darth Vader all making appearances.
47:23
The Star Wars Holiday Special of 1978 ends with Princess Leia singing a song about Life Day, which was set loosely to the John Williams Star Wars theme, and despite George Lucas claiming that it didn't have much to do with them and that he doesn't remember what network it was on, it was actually aired on CBS and Lucas even considered releasing it as a bonus on the DVDs of the first three movies.
52:12
The Star Wars Holiday Special of 1978 can be watched in its entirety, although some parts, like the cartoon, were removed due to copyright infringement, and it is considered a fun little stain on the Star Wars franchise that shouldn't be taken too seriously.
Categories:
Society & Culture
