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{{Infobox_Movie |
movie_name = The Star Wars Holiday Special |
image = [[Image:Tv_star_wars_holiday_special_life_day.jpg|250px]] |
caption = Life Day ceremony in ''The Star Wars Holiday Special'' |
writer = [[George Lucas]] (uncredited) [[Pat Proft]]<br>[[Leonard Ripps]]<br>[[Bruce Vilanch]]<br>[[Rod Warren]]<br>[[Mitzie Welch]] |
starring = [[Mark Hamill]]<br>[[Harrison Ford]]<br>[[Carrie Fisher]]<br>[[Anthony Daniels]]<br>[[Peter Mayhew]] |
director = [[David Acomba]] (uncredited)[[Steve Binder]] |
producer = [[Joe Layton]]<br>[[Jeff Starsh]]<br>[[Ken Welch]]<br>[[Mitzie Welch]] |
costumes = [[Bob Mackie]] |
distributor = [[CBS]] |
release_date = [[November 17]], [[1978]] |
runtime = 97 min. |
movie_language = English |
budget = $1,000,000+ ?|
music = John Williams, Diahann Carrol, The Jefferson Starship, Beatrice Arthur, Carrie Fisher |
awards = |
imdb_id = 0193524 |
}}
'''''The [[Star Wars]] Holiday Special''''' was a two-hour [[television]] special (including [[commercial]]s) broadcast one time only on [[Friday]], [[November]] [[17]], [[1978]] on [[CBS]]-TV from 8:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m., [[Eastern Standard Time]] (EST). In it, [[Chewbacca]] and [[Han Solo]] visit [[Kashyyyk]], Chewbacca's home world, to celebrate [[Life Day]]. Along the way, they are pursued by agents of the [[Galactic Empire (Star Wars)|Galactic Empire]] who are searching for [[Rebel Alliance (Star Wars)|rebels]] on the planet. The special introduces three members of Chewbacca's family: his father, [[Attichitcuk|Itchy]], his wife, [[Mallatobuck|Malla]], and his son [[Lumpawarrump|Lumpy]].
The program also features [[Cameo appearance|cameo]]s (although the cameo actors are listed as stars) by other Star Wars characters, including [[Luke Skywalker]], [[C-3PO]], [[R2-D2]], [[Darth Vader]], and [[Princess Leia]] (who sings the film's "[[theme song]]", set to the music of [[John Williams (composer)|John Williams]]' ''Star Wars'' theme, near the end). The program is probably best known for an [[animated cartoon]] that introduces the [[bounty hunter]] [[Boba Fett]].
{{spoiler}}
==Setting==
[[Image:house_exterior_rmq.jpg|thumb|right|200px|The wookiee household in the high treetops of Kashyyyk.]]
The main storyline of the film transpires on the Wookiee home planet of Kashyyyk. During the course of the film, scenes also take place in outer space and in spacecraft such as the ''[[Millennium Falcon]]'' and an Imperial [[Star Destroyer]]. The variety-show segments and cartoon introduce a few other locales, such as a cantina on the desert planet of [[Tatooine]] and a water planet known as [[Panna]].
==Plot==
The ''[[Holiday]] Special'' is important for being the first film-length ''Star Wars'' story after the original movie, and for showing an expanded look at parts of that universe. For the most part, however, the plot serves as little more than a means to string together a series of musical numbers, celebrity [[Cameo appearance|cameos]], and other variety-show acts. These include songs and comedy routines by such [[1970s|'70s]] talents as [[Jefferson Starship]], [[Diahann Carroll]], [[Art Carney]], [[Harvey Korman]], and [[Bea Arthur]]. Easily the most notable segment is an animated cartoon featuring the pre-''[[Empire Strikes Back]]'' debut of Boba Fett.
==Cast==
[[Image:luke_r2_working.jpg|thumb|right|250px|Mark Hamill as Luke Skywalker working on his X-Wing.]]
*Mark Hamill .... Luke Skywalker
*Harrison Ford .... Han Solo
*Carrie Fisher .... Princess Leia Organa
*Anthony Daniels .... C-3PO
*Peter Mayhew .... 'Chewie' Chewbacca
*[[James Earl Jones]] .... Darth Vader (voice)
*[[Beatrice Arthur]] .... Ackmena
*Art Carney .... Trader Saundan
*Diahann Carroll .... Mermeia [[Holographic]] Wow
*[[Marty Balin]] .... Holographic [[Band Singer]] (as [[The Jefferson Starship]])
*[[Craig Chaquico]] .... Holographic Band Member (as The Jefferson Starship)
*[[Paul Kantner]] .... Holographic Band Member (as The Jefferson Starship)
*Harvey Korman .... Krelman/Chef Gormaanda/Amorphian instructor
*[[Mickey Morton]] .... 'Malla' Mallatobuck
*[[Paul Gale]] .... 'Itchy' Attichitcuk
*[[Patty Maloney]] .... 'Lumpy' Lumpawarrump
*Jack Rader .... Imperial Guard Officer
*Stephanie Stromer .... The Great Zorbak (Holographic Gymnast)
*Michael Potter .... Imperial Guard Officer
*Wazzan Troupe .... Holographic Tumblers
*Yûichi Sugiyama .... Ringleader
*Mum Brothers .... The Reeko Brothers
*Claude Woolman .... Imperial Officer (wallscreen)
*Lev Mailer .... Imperial Guard #1
*John McLaughlin .... Imperial Stormtrooper?
*[[Sir Alec Guinness]] .... [[Obi-Wan Kenobi]] (archive footage) (uncredited)
*[[David Prowse]] .... Darth Vader (uncredited)
*Arthur Rowton .... Zutton Zutmore (uncredited)
*Leslie Schofield .... Chief Bast (uncredited)
==Segments==
===Music===
[[Image:ackmena_bith-th.jpeg|thumb|right|250px|Beatrice Arthur as Ackmena in the Cantina on Tatooine.]]
The special features four songs. The first, sung by Diahann Carroll, is best remembered for the bizarre monologue which precedes it in which Carroll—who is supposed to be an image created by a [[virtual reality|virtual-reality]] machine—tells Chewbacca's father, Itchy, that she is his "fantasy" and suggestively invites him to "experience" her. The second musical number is the song "Light the Sky on Fire", performed by Jefferson Starship, which is presented as a 3-D music video watched by one of the Imperial guards. Later, Bea Arthur, who plays the bartender in the [[Mos Eisley cantina]], sings a song to the same set of aliens that were seen in the cantina in ''Star Wars''. Finally, at the end of the special Carrie Fisher sings (somewhat off key) a song in celebration of Life Day to the tune of the ''Star Wars'' main title.
===Comedy===
Harvey Korman provides comedy in three of the special's skits, including the cantina skit with Bea Arthur. He also performs two solo routines: one as a four-armed parody of [[Julia Child]], whose four arms allow her to work much faster than Malla can keep up with, and one as a malfunctioning android in an instruction video watched by Lumpy. Art Carney has a more integral role in the story, playing a trader on the [[Wookiee]] planet who is a member of the Rebellion and helps Chewie's family. His segments are also largely played for laughs.
===The cartoon===
[[Image:Chewie_droids_fett-th.jpeg|thumb|right|In the famous animated sgment, Boba Fett makes his first ever appearance.]]
The high point of the special is generally considered to be the animated segment, produced by [[Nelvana]]. While the artistic style takes great liberties—R2-D2's body is rubbery and Han's face nearly unrecognizable, the animation is good and the music and sound effects are straight out of the film. With all the main stars from the film doing the voice work for their characters the cartoon sounds like a ''Star Wars'' film even if it looks a little odd at times. Not only does the cartoon introduce Boba Fett, but both his jet pack and rope gun, which do not appear again in the movies until ''Return of the Jedi'' four and a half years later, are both seen in the cartoon.
[[Genndy Tartakovsky]], director and animator of the ''[[Star Wars: Clone Wars]]'' micro-series, states that he payed homage to Nelvana's animation in the ''Holiday Special'' segment, particularly the design of C-3PO. He says that he animated Threepio's eyes to move in a similar way to Nelvana's, and made the droid's overall look similar to theirs.
===Other bits===
The ''Holiday Special'' also includes a circus-style [[acrobatics]] routine that includes uneven bars and juggling. All the acts were loosely linked together with material which involves the Wookiees' preparation for Life Day, Han and Chewie's attempt to evade the Imperials and make it to Chewie's family, and the Imperial garrison's search for rebels.
==Versions and availability today==
[[Image:Holiday_special_ad.jpeg|thumb|right|325px|The original TV guide magazine ad for the special.]]
''The Star Wars Holiday Special'' was lost to the world and mostly forgotten after its only airing in 1978. There was very little evidence of its existence until sometime in the early-to-mid-[[1990s]] when individuals came forward who had in their possession original recordings of the show from 1978. Some of them began to copy the show and sell it illegally as a [[bootleg]] [[VHS]] or [[DVD]] at conventions. It soon became a [[cult classic]] and a legend among ''Star Wars'' fans. [[File sharing|File-sharing]] technologies have made the special more widely available to curious fans to see for themselves. To this day, though, the Special has still not been made officially available.
Most viewers (including Lucas himself) revile ''The Star Wars Holiday Special'' for its meager plot and low production values, but some enjoy it for its wackiness and novelty, and many ''Star Wars'' fans have a copy in their collection. Some fans hope for an official release, if only as a comedic novelty.
Some facts about copies of the Holiday Special:
*The original print rests in the [[Lucasfilm archives]]. Animation-cel merchandise sold in the mid-1990s mentions no source, but probably comes from the special's animated Boba Fett segment. Segments of the cartoon appear in the [[2002]] ''[[Attack of the Clones]]'' web documentary "Bucket Head." Boba Fett actor [[Jeremy Bulloch]] introduces the segment as coming from the ''Holiday Special''.
*The copies that were distributed in 1978 to CBS and its major broadcasting stations are most likely also in the Lucasfilm Archives with the original print.
*Some who watched the program's single airing recorded it to videotape. These have since been duplicated and reduplicated so that most copies of the special available today (and since 1978) are second to sixth generation on DVD and VHS. Some of these fan-made copies include the original commercials that aired during the show, while others have had these edited out.
*In [[2001]] or 2002, an anonymous [[videographer|video professional]] [[Remaster|digitally remastered]] a second-generation recording of the original special with [[Dolby Digital]] technology. Though this "remastered" version does exist, the term "digitally remastered" is often times just used as a slogan to sell illegal copies on [[eBay]] and at conventions.
*There is an isolated version of the Boba Fett cartoon that contains a few extra seconds of material that was either edited or not included in the Holiday Special.
*At some locations on the internet, individual clips from the special are available for download. In other places, such as many [[BitTorrent]] or file sharing sites, the entire special is available for download, in varying quality.
*[[Amazon.com]] has placed an entry for the Holiday Special on its site [http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B00005JOIP/qid=1124948445/sr=8-10/ref=sr_8_xs_ap_i3_xgl74/102-0497441-2631369?v=glance&s=dvd&n=507846], something the company does for nearly all movies and television shows that have not yet been released on DVD. If there are any plans to officially release the ''Star Wars Holiday Special'' on DVD, those plans have never been stated by Lucasfilm and there has never been any announcement suggesting such a release either on Lucasfilm's site, or the starwars.com site.
==Lucasfilm and Media uses and statements of the holiday special==
*In 2002, StarWars.com released, as part of their ''Attack of the Clones'' web documentaires, a documentary entitled, "Bucket Head." The documentary was meant to explain the origins of the Fett family and the fascination with Boba Fett. The first video appearing in the documentary was scenes from the Boba Fett animated segment from the special. Jeremy Bulloch, the actor who originally played Boba Fett in the Star Wars films, appears right after, and notes that the video originated in the holiday special, and that was where Boba Fett made his first appearance. This documentary, later on, was released on the 2002 DVD set of ''Attack of the Clones''.
*In 1996, Lucasfilm released animation cells from the holiday special Boba Fett cartoon segment. These were combined with new artwork to create slightly different images than what is seen in the special. Copies of the cells were sold publically that year.
*The 2005 ''Revenge of the Sith'' scrapbook contained two pages in its section on the planet of Kashyyk, explaining the origins of the planet. One of the pages displayed the original concept art image of the wookiee family treehouse, used in the special. The other page indicated that Kashyyyk first appeared in the special, and gave its full name. The book explained why it was never re-aired due to its production values not being up to George Lucas' standards.
*One of the recent additions to Hyperspace, the paid membership section on Starwars.com, was the video clip "Animation Sizzle", which was shown at Comic-Con International 2005 in San Diego. The clip is a run-down of all the Star Wars animation projects over the years, and naturally it starts out with a segment from the 1978 animated Boba Fett cartoon used in the Holiday Special. This is one of the few occasions when a part of the Holiday Special has been shown officially. Previously a clip from the cartoon appeared in the Episode II webdoc "Bucket Head", which was later included on the Episode II DVD.
*On November 17, 2003, 25 years from the airing of the special, Shephard Smith of the FOX News Channel played a few of the opening clips from the special on his G Block segment. After calling this announcement a "nerd alert," he announced that that day was the 25th anniversary of the one-time airing. He even announced the availability of the special on the internet. The quality of the video shown on FOX news appears to be of a bootleg from an original recording, rather than footage obtained from the Lucasfilm archives.
*Lucasfilm has hired well-known Star Wars author, [[Timothy Zahn]] to write a book entitled "Allegiance," which will serve as a prequel to the animated segment of The Star Wars Holiday Special. The book has been set for a release in early [[2007]]. This announcement has led Holiday Special enthusiasts to believe that this same year could be a likely release period for the special, due to several factors. The first being that the book, being a prequel to a portion of the special, is actually being relased. Also, 2007 will be the year of the 30th anniversary of Star Wars, when Lucasfilm is likely to do many celebratory events and releases. The holiday special could be one of these. The third and final reason is that Star Wars prequel producer, Rick McCallum has stated that he and Lucasfilm would like to see all of the obscure productions of Star Wars, including all of the making-of, released after the completion of the prequels. There is no more likely date for this, than around 2007.
*To aid in designing the sets and look of the planet, Kahyyyk for ''[[Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith|Revenge of the Sith]]'', the Lucasfilm art department reported on the official site that they first viewed the holiday special and based their designs partly on what had already been created there. The look of the planet, the environment of the wookiees, and the types of houses and technology they use was all based partly on ideas from the holiday special.
==Airing Dates and Locations==
The special reportedly aired in:
*Canada in 1978 on November 17, 1978 (the same day of the US airing, most likely on channel CTV, since a black and white still from the show has that channel’s logo on it)
*Mexico in December 1978 on Televisa XHGC Channel 5
*Argentina around Christmas 1978
*France (dubbed in French, under the name "Au Temps de la Guerre des Etoiles" which means "In the Time of Star Wars")
*New Zealand sometime in 1979
*Belgium in 1979 and/or 1980 (in English, with Dutch subtitles)
*Australia in 1980 or 1981 (possibly also in 1982 or 1983 on the WIN Network), and again in 1983 & 1984 on [[Channel Ten]] Victoria (reportedly). It was broadcast once again in the late 1990s as part of the [[Australian Broadcasting Corporation|ABC]]'s youth series ''Recovery''.
*Malaysia in late January/early February 1981 or 1982 (in English, with no subtitles)
*Sweden on May 31, 1979 on SVT TV 2 (in English, under the name "Stjärnornas Krig Och Fred", with Swedish subtitles).
It most assuredly aired in other countries too (It is unknown exactly what or how many countries the special aired in, this list was compiled from reports by people from those countries who saw it when it aired).
==Title==
There has been some dispute since the airing of the special, what the correct name of it was. The correct title is “The Star Wars Holiday Special”, though it is often mislabelled “The Star Wars Christmas Special”. Even ''Star Wars'' creator, George Lucas, once called it that. It has also been called “A Very Wookiee Christmas” and “A Wookiee Holiday”.
In France, the official title was "Au Temps de la Guerre des Etoiles" which means "In the Time of Star Wars".
In Sweden, the official title was "Stjärnornas Krig Och Fred" which literally means "Stars' War and Peace".
==Deleted Scenes==
*There is a deleted scene available for viewing to the special. Although many scenes can be considered deleted between the five drafts of the script, this one is one of the few that was actually created on film. The scene is from a small unused portion of the cartoon, originally part of the special as an in-cartoon commercial. A link to view this extremely rare portion of the special via [[Windows Media Player]] can be found here [http://www.ffrevolution.com/1ocpvideos/HS-CUT_1400kbps.wmv].
*Another confirmed deleted scene from the special was one taking place immediately following the imperial invasion of the wookiee home. An imperial stormtrooper stops at the table to sample one of Malla's wookiee-ookiees, a wookie version of cookies.
==Sequels==
Rumors of a follow-up special called ''A Very Star Wars Christmas'' have spread in recent years, but are an [[April Fool's]] prank. The special's plot was said, according to its creator, the people at stomptokyo.com, to go something like this: Rebellion forces abandoned Hoth after the Empire invaded the base, and some rebels were left behind. The story follows two such soldiers, Coren and Vila. Forced to survive on the barren surface of Hoth, we are told, Coren and Vila have learned to live with the Wampas, who are not so much evil as misunderstood. Vila is particularly fond of one young Wampa whom she has dubbed "Christmas" after her favorite holiday. When [[Darth Tyranus]] comes to Hoth in search for the young Wampa, trouble begins, as Tyranus and the Rebels go on a chase leading them all the way to Coruscant and back to Hoth, where the Rebels attempt an escape. For the record, fans will note that part of this is impossible: Tyranus was killed by [[Darth Vader|Anakin Skywalker]] in ''Revenge of the Sith'', which takes place before the rebellion even existed.
==Role in greater ''Star Wars'' continuity==
''The Star Wars Holiday Special'' is technically in the ''Star Wars'' [[Canon (fiction)|canon]], which means that the events depicted are part of the greater continuity that includes the other films, novels, comic books, video games, etc. Elements from the film appear in several other ''Star Wars'' projects. The Wookiee planet of Kashyyyk, for example, features in various novels, comic books, and video games, including ''[[Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith]]'', the cartoon [[micro-series]] known as ''[[Star Wars: Clone Wars]]'', and video games such as ''[[Star Wars: Battlefront]]'', ''[[Star Wars: Republic Commando]]'', ''[[Star Wars: The Clone Wars]]'', and ''[[Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic]]''. [[George Lucas]], who wrote the basic story for the special but otherwise had very little to do with it, has rarely commented on or even acknowledged its existence except to friends and co-workers. At one Australian fan convention he reportedly said, "If I had the time and a sledgehammer, I would track down every copy of that show and smash it." Later, in a [[May 2005]] interview with StaticMultimedia.com, Lucas was asked if the episode had soured him on working in television:
:"The special from 1978 really didn't have much to do with us, you know. I can't remember what network it was on, but it was a thing that they did. We kind of let them do it. It was done by... I can't even remember who the group was, but they were variety TV guys. We let them use the characters and stuff and that probably wasn't the smartest thing to do, but you learn from those experiences. I had a wonderful time on ''[[The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles|Young Indiana Jones]].'' It was a great series. We did it for four years. I spent those four or five years actually working on it. That's really all I did during those years. It was really a great experience and I love television."[http://www.staticmultimedia.com/content/film/features/feature_1115643931]
===Later character appearances===
Several of the characters in ''The Star Wars Holiday Special'' appear in other ''Star Wars'' works. Chewbacca's family feature in various stories, notably [[Michael P. Kube-McDowell]]'s [[Black Fleet Crisis trilogy]], [[Patricia Wynne]]'s ''[[The Wookiee Storybook]]'' ([[1979]]), [[A. C. Crispin]]'s [[Han Solo trilogy]], [[Troy Denning]]'s ''[[A Forest Apart]]'', and in the comic stories such as [[Marvel Comics]] ''[[Star Wars (comic book)|Star Wars]]'' #91 and in the [[Russ Manning]] comic strip "The Kashyyyk Depths". Boba Fett returns in ''The Empire Strikes Back'', ''[[Return of the Jedi]]'', and in many [[Star Wars Expanded Universe|expanded-universe]] books, comics, and video games (not to mention numerous [[Fan film|fan-made films]]).
==External links==
*[http://www.starwarsholidayspecial.com ''Star Wars Holiday Special'' comprehensive fansite]
*[http://www.lucasfan.com/swtv/index2.html ''Star Wars Holiday Special'' original fansite]
*[http://starwars-union.de/index.php?id=holidayspecial ''Star Wars Holiday Special'' German fansite]
*{{imdb title|id=0193524|title=The Star Wars Holiday Special}}
*[http://www.tvobscurities.com/pages/sw_holiday.php TVObscurities.com - ''The Star Wars Holiday Special'']
*[http://dmoz.org/Arts/Movies/Titles/S/Star_Wars_Movies/Star_Wars_Holiday_Special/ Category at ODP]
*[http://www.tvparty.com/70starwars.html When the Force Was a Farce]
*[http://www.staticmultimedia.com/content/film/features/feature_1115643931'' Site with some of George Lucas's comments on the special.]
*[http://www.timelineuniverse.net/ReviewsArchive.htm#The%20Star%20Wars%20Holiday%20Special ''Another fan's review of the special'']
*[http://www.joplinglobe.com/story.php?story_id=186486 A town's newspaper reports on the special and its availability.]
{{Star Wars episodes}}
[[Category:Christmas television specials|Star Wars Holiday Special, The]]
[[Category:Star Wars spin-off films|Star Wars Holiday Special, The]]
[[Category:Cult films|Star Wars Holiday Special, The]]
[[Category:1978 films|Star Wars Holiday Special, The]]
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