Imaginary Worlds - In Defense of The Star Wars Holiday Special

Episode Date: December 25, 2019

As far as Star Wars fans are concerned, there is no greater hive of scum and villainy than the 1978 made-for-TV Star Wars Holiday Special. The musical variety program, which centered on Chewbacca’s family, is considered a hokey, misguided embarrassment. But entertainment writer Bonnie Burton and comedian Alex Schmidt think there’s something to love about The Holiday Special -- and it may be in canon after all. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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You're listening to Imaginary Worlds, a show about how we create them and why we suspend our disbelief. I'm Eric Molenski. And today's episode will be full of spoilers for the Star Wars holiday special, assuming that the show actually had a plot that you wouldn't want spoiled. It was the fall of 1978, a long time ago in a galaxy that feels far, far away. Disney did not own Star Wars. There were not multiple trilogies. There was a movie called Star Wars. There was also a Star Wars novel, some comics, and a disco remix that you could buy on vinyl or 8-track. I was in first grade, already a Star Wars

fanatic. I had lost count of how many times I had seen the movie in theaters, which was the only place you could see it. Bonnie Burton is an entertainment journalist who writes for CNET and other sites. As a Star Wars fan, she was in the same place as me back then. I mean, everyone at that time was just dying for any more Star Wars. Like, we were kids starving for more Star Wars. Like, we would watch anything that had Star Wars in it. Like, if the Star Wars character showed up on the Muppet Show, or the Osmond Show, or the Richard Pryor Show, which

the Richard Pryor Show was not for kids, or if SNL did a Star Wars anything, you know, we would beg our parents to let us stay up late to just watch that one sequence. Ah, Star Wars. Nothing but Star Wars. Give me the Star Wars, don't let them end. We were starving for Star Wars and then the holiday special got announced in TV Guide and everybody's like, oh my God, because it's like the real actors are supposed to be in it. God, because it's like the real actors are supposed to be in it.

The Star Wars Holiday Special aired on Friday, November 17th on the CBS network, the week before Thanksgiving of 1978. Starring Mark Hamill as Luke Skywalker. Harrison Ford as Han Solo. Carrie Fisher as Princess Leia. You think it's going to be the continuation of the movie. I mean, it seemed to be at first. When the show began, there was Han Solo, Chewbacca, in the Millennium Falcon.

In new footage, filmed for network television. It was like a dream come true. That's it, I'm turning back. I know your family's waiting. I know it's an important day. The premise is that Chewbacca wants to go home for Life Day, which is kind of like a pagan version of Christmas. And he's bringing Han Solo with him, but they're on the run from

the Empire. But Han and Chewbacca are barely in the show after the opening. Most of the special revolves around Chewbacca's family. They live on a giant tree house in what seems to be a forest planet, and they're waiting for Chewbacca to come home. And that's the whole show. Chewbacca's family is literally killing time for two hours until he gets there. Chewbacca's wife, Mala, and yeah, apparently he has a wife, tries to kill time by watching a cooking show, which features a robot version of Juliet Childs, who's played by Harvey Korman. Hello.

Today we are going to be preparing a very succulent dish called Bantha Surprise. It's only a very hearty, nourishing dish. I mean, there's so many different opportunities for quality pee breaks during the Star Wars holiday special where you can go pee and get a snack and come back and that cooking video with Gormanda is still going. You haven't missed anything.

That cooking video is literally just a very long Carol Burnett sketch. Like, it's just very, very long. All the segments are very, very long. Che the segments are very, very long. Chewbacca's son, whose name is Lumpy, watches a technical manual on how to put together a computer. And the demonstrator in the video is also Harvey Korman. Now, this is the first thing you'll need.

Please be careful not to hurt yourself on the sharp edges. And just in case you're starting to lose your suspension of disbelief, it will be shattered when Lumpy decides to watch a music video of Jefferson Starship, a band in the real world. You're unidentified if you want to. Meanwhile, Chewbacca's father, whose name is Itchy, kills time by putting his head into a virtual reality cone and watching what could be described as PG-rated erotica

featuring a very sparkly Diane Carroll. I am in your mind as you create me. Diane Carroll. I remember as a kid being very confused by this section. But now I find it weirdly riveting. We don't know much about Chewbacca's father, but I'm imagining maybe he's a widow. Maybe he's lonely. And here he is finding a few moments of pleasure in this wookie version of an Oculus Rift. I don't need to ask how you find me. You see, I am your fantasy.

I am your experience. I am so experience me. The family does tear themselves away from home entertainment devices to check in with Luke, Leia, C-3PO, and R2-D2 through the Star Wars equivalent of making Skype calls. But much more screen time is given to new characters. Art Carney plays a local repair shop owner who comes over with gifts. I brought you something special, short stuff. You want it? You got it. Happy Life Day. And we cut away to Bea Arthur, who apparently runs the cantina on Tatooine.

She even sings and dances with the creatures. Just one more round, friend. Then a homeward bound, friend. Don't forget me in your dreams. Who knew the Cantina song had lyrics? Just one more song, friend, and then so long, friend. There is some drama. Stormtroopers show up to search the house,

although the family calms their anxieties by watching more videos. Finally, Chewbacca and Han Solo show up in person and save the day. Is there any more inside? No, there's not. That's okay. Everything's okay now. Here's your daddy. But believe it or not, that's when things get weirder. The Wookiees put on ceremonial robes,

they hold these glowing orbs, and walk single file into outer space where they seem to enter some kind of interdimensional void or cave to meet up with Wookiees from across the planet to celebrate Life Day. Happy Life Day, everyone. Somehow the cast from the movies is there too, and Princess Leia sings about the meaning of Life Day to the tune of the Star Wars theme.

A day that takes us through the darkness A day that leads us into life A day that makes us... Now, if you are still watching by 10 o'clock on November 17th of 1978, if you haven't already given up and flipped channels

to watch The Love Boat or Fantasy Island, you might be wondering, how did this go so wrong? Now, from what I've read, CBS pitched the idea of a holiday special to George Lucas, and he approved because he thought this could be a way to explore Chewbacca's planet, which is something that had fascinated him. And in their defense, the writers probably thought they were doing the best they could, given Lucas's direction.

In fact, it was the only input he gave that the show had to revolve around Chewbacca's family speaking the Wookiee language with no subtitles. And the cast from the movies had only agreed to cameos. So the writers filled out the rest with what they knew, the musical variety show. You could not turn on a television in prime time in the 1970s without seeing a variety show with skits and musical numbers. It could be Sonny and Cher, Donny and Marie Osmond, Carol Burnett, The Muppets, just to name a few. As a kid, Bonnie Burton used to love those shows. So when the holiday special came out and did pretty much the same thing, except it had a

storyline, but there was a couple of musical things. There was comedy, there was drama. You know, it wasn't a typical variety show kind of thing, but it was that pattern that kids were familiar with at that time. So if you saw it during the 70s, it was like, oh yeah, this is like variety show stuff. You see it now and you're like, what the hell is this? George Lucas hated the holiday special. And for years, you couldn't see it anywhere unless you bought a VHS copy at a Star Wars convention. Although now it's on YouTube.

Alex Schmidt is a writer and comedian who's fascinated by the holiday special. And he says, you know, people often excuse the show by saying, well, it was of its time. But he thinks that's the show's biggest problem. Like it's shag carpeting everywhere. You know what I mean? Like not just the people. It's aag carpeting everywhere. You know what I mean? Like, not just the people. It's a really dated environment. And Star Wars isn't supposed to be of its time.

It was always designed to be timeless. The music is classical music that feels timeless instead of 70s synth that would have fit the time. And all the elements are trying to be very Joseph Campbell hero and very, very operatic. So I think they just don't bother to do comedy most of the time because comedy, as we see from this special, ages really fast. So it's something they don't choose to do, but they totally could do. And if they tried it for a second time, I think it would maybe work.

That's right. He does not think that combining musical comedy with Star Wars is a bad idea. In fact, that was kind of his favorite thing about the holiday special. And they went out and got what was then a murderer's row of TV comedy entertainers. They got almost all of the entire Star Wars cast and they spent what was a lot of money by TV standards on it. They got like relatively huge people to come and jump into this really weird universe. Bonnie also thinks the Star Wars holiday special is misunderstood and underappreciated. But that opinion used to be a problem for her at work, because for 10 years, she worked at Lucasfilm doing fan outreach. I'm not going to lie. I was shocked when people

would come up to me, especially when I started at Lucasfilm, they'd come up to me and go, yeah, we don't really talk about the holiday special here because it's kind of considered, not contraband, but it's like one of those black spots on Star Wars history. I'm like, what are you talking about? It's awesome. Even when I, when I started working at Lucasfilm, I had an annual screening of the holiday special. It was like a secret screening I would have for, I would like get one of the conference rooms and play it and say, anyone who's never seen it, who wants to see it, I'm playing it today. I was trying real hard to get people to come to my way of thinking that never happened.

Now, it is conventional wisdom among Star Wars fans that the show was a disaster. It's only worth watching it to laugh at it. So when I came across an article that Bonnie had written for CNET in defense of the holiday special, I was intrigued. Alex also tried to highlight the show's positive qualities in a video that he did for the comedy website Cracked. And they both think that the holiday special was important because it was the first attempt at world building in live action. I mean, this was the first time that we had seen more of the Star Wars universe beyond the original film that kids like me had watched over and over again. Now we're very used to getting to have a lot of a universe. Like as soon as you watch a thing you like, you can go read the wiki about more details

of the characters. You can go look at fan art. You can go dial up old movies or TV shows or other things of it, if that exists. And so this was the second ever time they were able to concretely provide stuff from this universe to anyone who didn't have access to George Lucas's desk, who couldn't go through his drawers. And that's amazing. who couldn't go through his drawers. And that's amazing.

And they got Ralph McQuarrie, who did the concept art throughout the Star Wars trilogy, to design the exterior of Chewbacca's house. And seeing a cool tree house where Chewbacca's family lived, that was awesome. Because that's awesome. When you see that house for the first time from Ralph McQuarrie's art, and then you see it in a live

action situation. That was really cool. I think we learned a lot as fans from that show. And it's amazing how much time is given to the Wookiee language with no subtitles. The show is a culturally immersive experience, not just for us, but for the other characters. This holiday is yours, but we all share with you the hope that this day brings us closer to freedom and to harmony and to peace. No matter how different we appear, we're all the same in our struggle

against the powers of evil and darkness. I hope that this day will always be a day of joy in which we can reconfirm our dedication and our courage and more than anything else, our love for one another. This is the promise of the tree of life. And Life Day is the first example of a religious tradition in the Star Wars universe. I mean, it is a holiday with specific rituals, objects, and clothes, which is very different from the Force. Because it's also a world where canonically the force is real. Like you see evidence and proof of it often, all the time.

And so then Wookiees are also allowed to have a kind of separate belief system that is just fine too. It's really cool. Like it's a very specific, almost non-denominational kind of thing. It's very friendly, very welcoming. I'm into it. Well, the other interesting thing too about the holiday special is that it's mostly, I mean, you have a kind of like, it almost weirdly reminded me of like World War II movies on the home front, you know, of like, what's it like when your loved ones are overseas in battle and

everyone's just worried at home about them? Yeah. that's a great point that even in this light comedy special that is supposed to be pretty casually enjoyed on 1970s TV, it's still like kind of a refugee story because what they're waiting for is for Han and Chewie to show up. The holiday special may be goofy, but it's not tongue-in-cheek. The tone of the show is completely sincere. Whenever the Imperial characters show up in the holiday special, there's drama. They're always harassing everyone on that planet, and it's not fun to have your country or your planet taken over by aggressive forces

that don't care about your civil liberties or your happiness. But also, you just have these dramatic moments. You could tell, you know, Chewbacca's wife, Mala, is really worried. You know, she's like worried about what's going on and what's happening to her husband and what's going to happen to them as a family. Come on, don't look so worried. Now Chewie's not going to want to come home to a household of long faces, is he? Come on, Mala, Let's see a little smile.

Come on. There, that's better. Try to enjoy your life day. I got to get back to this engine. I think we might have it solved. And the best part of the holiday special, in fact, the only part that is universally praised, or mostly praised, is the introduction of Boba Fett. We actually meet him in a series of animated segments, which allow the writers to get around the issue of a TV budget. In fact, when we first see Boba Fett, he is riding what looks like a pink dinosaur. You saved my life. Thank you. You are alone. I have two droids.

We've come in search of a ship that crashed near here. Maybe I can help you. I am Boba Fett. You know, and for years, fans have complained that Boba Fett doesn't actually do that much in the movies. But in this cartoon, he's got a lot of screen time and dialogue. He even has interesting character moments, like tricking the heroes into R2's information bank. What are you talking about? We intercepted a message between Boba and

Darth Vader, sir. Boba Fett is Darth Vader's right-hand man. I'm afraid this whole adventure has been an imperial plot. We'll meet again, friend. And you know the weapon that the Mandalorian uses on the Disney Plus show?

It looks like a rifle, but one end is actually more like a tuning fork, and the Mandalorian uses on the Disney Plus show? It looks like a rifle, but one end is actually more like a tuning fork, and the Mandalorian uses it to electrocute people or creatures. That weapon was not in the movies. It was introduced in the holiday special cartoon. And in the first episode of The Mandalorian, one of the characters mentions Life Day. Now, The Mandalorian, one of the characters mentions Life Day. Now that character is not a Wookiee, but either way, Life Day is now officially in canon. Yeah, I was hoping to be free for Life Day. Maybe even get home to the family. But I guess that's not going to happen this year. Probably not.

And with the success of The Mandalorian, the showrunner, Jon Favreau, is getting more opportunities to expand the Star Wars universe on Disney+. And guess what he said he wants to do next? A brand new Star Wars holiday special. At first, people thought he was joking, but he says he's not. And looking back at Wars holiday special. At first people thought he was joking, but he says he's not.

And looking back at the holiday special, Bonnie thinks there is something to value in a version of Star Wars that was meant for kids. Kids who had not seen the darker Empire Strikes Back yet, who had not grown up yet, and asked for more serious Star Wars stories that they could argue with each other about on devices that would have seemed like science fiction in 1978. I mean, I think what makes the holiday special truly of its time is that it is a version of Star Wars that is still full of childhood innocence, even if it underestimated the sophistication of the kids who are watching it.

I'm not going to lie. There's some moments there where I'm like, okay, I'm going to go take a pee break. Like I don't stand riveted to it. But when I was a kid, I did. And as an adult, I just appreciate the campiness. And I'm a big fan of Star Wars humor. This is one of its kind. And I think we should be proud of it as star Wars fans instead of trashing it. Happy life day, everyone. Eric, happy life day.

And, and thank you for celebrating it with me. I'll see you in the void. I'll see you in there. When we put on our robes, I'll see you in the void that we all, we all go to. Yeah.

A lot of orbs and robes in this show. People should know. It's very exciting. Wonder woman starring Linda Carter and Incredible Hulk starring Bill Bixby will return at their regular times next Friday evening on most of these stations. That is it for this week.

Thank you for listening. Special thanks to Alex Schmidt and Bonnie Burton. My assistant producer is Stephanie Billman. You can like the show on Facebook. I tweet at emalinski and imagineworldspod. And the show's website is imaginaryworldspodcast.org. you