Thirty-Three Years Ago Last Night: The Worst Holiday Special Ever
I was reminded this afternoon on Twitter that it was 33 years ago last night that The Star Wars Holiday Special aired for the one and only time. It was, well, you’ve probably heard the stories by now.
And here it is, including commercials. I had honestly forgotten the thing was two hours long. Then again, I was ten years old at the time and the selective amnesia was probably my brains way of protecting me.
Watch it, if you dare:
I did not know of the existence of that, and now that I do I will employ zero brain cells in an effort to remember it.
My favorite part is the full minutes of wookie speak…without subtitles or translations.
@Neil Hudelson:
Which is actually more tolerable than anything Jar-Jar Binks ever said
I remember my freshman year of college hearing about this. There were copies floating around, but very hard to find. The rumor was that George Lucas tried to destroy any copy he could find (rumors don’t have to be believable).
Then youtube was invented…
@Neil Hudelson:
The YouTube version is probably based on one of those copies. You’ll notice that they’ve never released that thing on video.
I always thought it a joke that Bea Arthur made an appearance.
Then I watched.
This is why I don’t take it seriously when people say George Lucas has lost his mind. Like it’s something new.
The only copies in existence come from home recordings of the only broadcast. Tapes of it have been passed around and sold at conventions since before the Web existed.
How did I know this is what you were talking about?
You guys are crazy. I saw this when I was a kid and and loved it! (Of course, I was 2…)
As a child of 8, I begged my parents to let me stay up late to watch it, and was bored out of my mind.
A few years ago, as an adult of 37, watching it for the first time since then, I was laughing so hard that I cried.
I think a few hours of childhood disappointment were worth that. Also, I learned that Chewbacca is an absentee father.
Also, the wookie sitcom portion was hysterical, but the virtual reality porn disk that Itchy gets is truly a thing of wonder. If you hunt down the script, it says “Itchy is groggy with satisfaction”.
And Bea Arthur.