In Addition to "The Force Awakens"

Stars Wars: A New Hope was released on May 25, 1977. The sequel, The Empire Strikes Back, was released almost 3 years later. Now, with the record-breaking success of The Force Awakens, Star Wars is again a common topic of discussion. Less frequently discussed is a Star Wars mini-film released in 1978, between the two original hits. 

The Star Wars Holiday Special aired only once in the United States, on Friday, November 17^th. Fans were able to create bootleg copies, preserving it so that future generations of fans might both laugh and cringe. Because, in all its sappy weirdness, the Star Wars Holiday Special is a joy to watch. But how did the project ever get the go-ahead at all, and why did it receive such negative reviews? The answer is multi-part; the lure of advertising fused with the hubris of success, and the lack of guidance from George Lucas.

In theory, the Holiday special would have been great advertising for the upcoming Empire Strikes Back. To the producer of a new and upcoming series such as Star Wars, the opportunity would have been tempting. The project was thus able to proceed by riding in the wake of A New Hope. However, though its predecessor’s success was able to provide momentum, the momentum was also its downfall. The holiday special might have looked better had it not been doomed to be compared to one of the greatest Sci-fi adventure films of all time. A New Hope had given Star Wars fans high “hopes”, and the holiday special could not match up in style or craftsmanship.

Perhaps the holiday special would have been better if George Lucas was more involved. Reportedly, Lucas was sent snippets of the film after each day of shooting. However, having been in the midst of the production for  The Empire Strikes Back, Lucas must have paid little attention to the progress of the holiday special. Lucas had no part in writing the holiday special, and the resulting effect is to alienate the viewers who enjoyed George Lucas’s writing in A New Hope. A reviewer from the AV club wrote; “I'm not convinced the special wasn’t ultimately written and directed by a sentient bag of cocaine."

Unlike many other films from the era, the style of Lucas’s original trilogy is relatively timeless. However, because the special was made for 70’s variety television and was lacking Lucas’s guidance, the special ultimately incorporated 70’s cultural elements that simply do not belong in the world of star wars. The band Jefferson Starship may have “starship” in its name, but Imperial Guards in a galaxy far far away should not be watching the bands music videos on hologram players.

It took a strange combination of events to catalyze the creation and release of the Star Wars Christmas special. Looking back on the holiday special, George Lucas said, “We kind of let them do it…We let them use the characters and stuff and that probably wasn't the smartest thing to do, but you learn from those experiences.” Lucas also said, "If I had the time and a sledgehammer, I would track down every copy of that show and smash it.” However, let’s be glad George Lucas is a busy man without a sledgehammer, so that today we get to enjoy the weirdness of The Star Wars Christmas special.