- Happy Life Day, you wonderful nerds,
and especially to all of you new subscribers
we've been picking up lately,
you guys are the best, so allow me to make you suffer a bit.
I'm sure a lot of you remember the horrible
Star Wars Holiday Special from 1978
that makes everyone attached to the franchise
deeply, deeply uncomfortable.
Not that it's much better for us fans.
Oh God, that is, that is gonna live in my nightmares.
The special's legacy as a stain on the Star Wars brand
is both invisible and ever-present.
It's like a 98-minute fever dream
of sketches, musical numbers, cartoons,
and Wookies incoherently gargling.
If you've never seen it,
you wanna know what I'm talking about?
Here's a taste of what you're, uh, missing?
That feels too generous of a term.
Anyway, here's this.
(silly music)
- I knew you'd like it.
- Yep, yeah, all of that, that was real.
Every one of those clips was a real,
the Holiday Special is like a cacophony of nonsense
cobbled together into an anxious nightmare
where the only appropriate response is,
"No, no, no, no, please don't, no, WHY?"
And that is exactly what we're gonna
try to answer today: Why? Right.
Why was this cringey creation made at all?
Was there any way it could have been good?
Or, at least not terrible?
Well, a recently discovered alternate treatment
of the special reveals the Star Wars story
that was almost made instead.
A version that we never quite got.
So, the Star Wars Holiday Special, let's talk about it.
Featuring the original cast and including
the creative forces behind the original film,
the special is a series of weird Star Wars-ish vignettes
strung together by Chewbacca's family, as they await
for him to return from his adventures,
so they can celebrate Life Day together.
Life Day is an incredibly momentous holiday.
The importance of which is rivaled only by my
inability to explain what it is.
I, I don't, something with robes?
Some sort of, Wookie cult, ritual? I don't know.
The whole special is honestly, highly forgettable
and awkward, but it does feature exactly
two things, of notes, you know,
other than providing unnecessary lyrics for
your favorite Star Wars jingles. That happened.
So, one, it was the first on-screen appearance of
the Wookie home world, Kashyyyk,
or however you pronounce that.
And two, it also introduced the world to Boba Fett,
albeit in cartoon form, a year and a half before
The Empire Strikes Back, but the special is more known
for its otherworldly oddities,
like Jefferson Starship in a music box, or
galactic cooking segment, or the original Star Wars cast
looking and acting like someone slipped something
real strong into their drinks
right before rolling the camera.
There is no denying that it is uncomfortable to watch.
But at one point, the Star Wars Holiday Special
was shaping up to be a good time on television.
So, what happened, and how did it all go wrong,
and who's responsible?
I know that Star Wars is a cultural phenomenon now,
but obviously, wasn't always that way.
When the film first premiered in 1977 it was surprise hit,
it was an idea nobody believed in.
With a production everybody wanted to forget,
and yet despite doubts and disbelievers
it became the biggest film of its time.
Summoning an attack of clones, so to speak,
copycat sci-fi and space fantasy film started
popping up left and right.
Attempting to capitalize on the success of Star Wars.
20th Century Fox couldn't lay down and let imitators
make money off of that hype,
true they already had a sequel planned, under the
exhilarating, tentative title "Star Wars Two."
But that was years away from being released
it takes time to make a Star Wars movie
and the higher-ups at Fox and the Lucas camp believed,
three years between films was a bit too long
to keep audiences waiting.
So, in 1978, CBS approached the studio with this idea
for a hasty effort to keep the public's attention.
A Star Wars TV event.
Now they could've done like a super cool world-building
vignette of life within the galaxy far, far away right?
A side story, or spin-off to further show
what life is like in the Star Wars universe,
and I mean, I guess that's kind of what some parts
were about, but the final result was much more akin to a
variety show, which was probably not the best idea.
You see, American television audiences were kind of
getting tired of the variety-show format during the late 70s
nearly all of them had ended production around this time.
Sonny & Cher, The Carol Burnett Show, et cetera, and yet
everyone despite all this, decided to move forward
with the Star Wars variety show.
What could possibly go wrong?
Now to their credit, they didn't initially
phone-in the production.
The special assembled a dream team of comedy
and variety show writers and producers
to make this Star Wars holiday event a reality.
Legends of the field who knew exactly what they were doing
and tried desperately to make their variety show stand out.
The main cast was all set to appear, the animation company
Nelvana, was brought on to create the cartoon segment
that introduced Boba Fett, easily
the highlight of the entire special.
So many advertisers jumped on board that the initial
one hour event, was stretched into two.
George Lucas who was totally on board with this idea,
was the one who suggested centering the story
around Chewbacca's family.
You see, Lucas loves to recycle any
and all, ideas and concepts that come into his mind,
and he especially loves the Wookies so,
when their home world of Kashyyyk was rejected
from appearing in Empire Strikes Back,
he went out of his way to make it a reality
in some capacity.
Lucas was also the one who thought up Life Day
but he took things a step further.
According to the official production notes,
a 40 page Wookie Bible was created at Lucasfilm
with an insane amount of detail
regarding the lifestyle of the furry species,
including, how they reproduce.
Which seems, at best, irrelevant but kudos for
going the extra mile there George.
Lucas also reportedly told one of the writers
that Han Solo was married to a Wookie.
It was never explained in the Holiday Special
but I wanted you guys to know about it
because it's been haunting my thoughts
and I don't want to be alone.
With everyone on the same page in terms of Wookie mating
series conceptual artist Ralph McQuarrie,
who designed everything from Darth Vader to C3PO,
illustrated Kashyyyk concept arts
and provided the names of each Wookie family member,
including Chewie's son, Lumpy, how adorable.
To translate McQuarrie's art onto the screen,
huge, beautiful 360 degree sets were built for the event.
It seemed like everything was shaping up
to be genuinely awesome.
And here's the really interesting thing,
if this Holiday Special took off,
it would serve as the basis for a Star Wars TV show.
Imagine this as the pilot to the very first
Star Wars television series.
(clicking sound)
I am all in.
Well this is when things started going poorly.
In trying to bring Star Wars to TV,
there quickly became a contentious mismatch of film
and television that did not blend together at all.
Probably the best example comes from
the initial director David Acomba.
Acomba was hired on to take over the project
just as George Lucas was departing
to focus on Empire Strikes Back.
Acomba was used to working in film but he didn't
really like, or understand the television atmosphere.
Most of the Star Wars special was shot like a sitcom,
multiple cameras shooting all at once,
long slow days on the same set over and over.
It was driving him crazy.
As one camera operator recalled quote,
end quote.
The notoriously high strung Acomba left the production
after filming just a few scenes
he was replaced by TV producer and director Steve Binder,
or Bai-nder, I'm gonna say Binder because
who's gonna stop me?
Our boy, Binder here had a bit of a challenge
in front of him.
You remember those big 360 degree sets that were
built for this special?
Yeah, turns out a crew made up of mostly
television creatives, found it pretty difficult
to shoot anything in a closed-off set.
As Binder explained quote,
end quote.
Another problem with the special was a bit more elitist.
At the time, Hollywood actors wouldn't do TV gigs
because it wasn't as, glamorous
or sophisticated, or whatever.
Harrison Ford didn't want to be there,
Mark Hamill only did it for George Lucas,
and Carrie Fisher signed on under the condition
that she'd be able to do this.
♪ To dream, to grow, to trust, to love ♪
- Yeah, she wanted to do that.
So, we have a crew that wasn't prepared,
and a cast that didn't want to be there.
With that recipe the production was actually
as bad as you would expect, and somehow worse?
At one point associate producer Rita Scott
was walking around the set wringing her hands like a,
totally calm person, asking sensible questions like,
are we gonna get out of here alive?
Sounds dramatic, but uh, it's actually
a pretty sensible concern.
You know that whole sequence in
the cantina with Bea Arthur?
(sings)
Yeah, that one.
The day that scene was being filmed
co-writer Pat Proft took his son
down to the studio to visit productions.
Proft's son was a huge Star Wars fan
and visiting the cantina would be
a dream come true to any nerd.
The Holiday Special was filmed during an especially
warm part of the year in the Los Angeles area
and you might notice the many alien extras in this scene
that were heavily costumed under the hot, hot studio lights.
It's not a great equation, so yeah.
Some of the extras were literally passing out
from heat exhaustion and a lack of oxygen on set.
As Proft later recalled, his son was quote,
end quote.
Look, this special is bad enough on its own but knowing that
it probably scarred the mind of a child before it was
even released, is just, incredible.
(laughs)
Honestly the more I look into the history behind
the Star Wars Holiday Special, the more I start to
genuinely love it.
Don't get me wrong, it is not good.
I don't even think it's so bad
that it's entertaining.
It is mind-numbingly dull, but it could've been saved
it wasn't always this bad.
Just a few years ago, an early treatment of
the Star Wars special surfaced
featuring a bit of a different take on what could've been.
The story we almost got, instead of the one
we really wish we didn't.
The alternate treatment of Holiday Special was discovered
among Ralph McQuarrie's belongings after he died in 2012.
It's unclear who wrote it, but some say
that it reads a lot like George Lucas.
The story still centers around Chewbacca's family
celebrating Life Day on Kashyyyk,
but that's about the extent
of its similarities to what actually aired.
At least this time around, Life Day was explained
a little bit more, quote,
end quote.
That's right, it's not just a Wookie holiday
but a galactic festival.
Each time it occurs, a different planet is chosen
to host Life Day, and this time the Wookie home world
is the lucky host, with Chewie
being the main fuzzball of honor.
Chewbacca and his family are greeted by a traveling merchant
Chewie buys a video book as a Life Day present for his son
still, still named Lumpy, so, fun.
And of course that makes the three most consistent parts
of the Star Wars Holiday Special, Wookies, Life Day, Lumpy.
And look I know that Lumpy is short for Lumpawarump,
but that's equally silly and not a defense.
Anyway, at some point Lumpy sneaks out of the house
and stows away on the merchant's ship while Chewie watches
a rock band performance on a Mind Evaporator.
That detail of course does, show up in the final product,
but instead of Chewie using it, it's his father Itchy
watching a very, sensual program instead.
- Oh, we are excited aren't we?
- After noticing his son's disappearance
Chewbacca tracks down the merchant, who made his way to
the Mos Eisley Cantina on Tatooine
that classic meetup spot in the Star Wars universe.
Too drunk to make the trip back himself
the merchant agrees to send Lumpy home aboard
the Starship called the Musica,
which is already headed to Kashyyyk
to begin the Life Day celebrations.
The way it's described is kind of
like a giant Life Day party bus in space.
This is the ship that's going to knock the kid, uh what?
This is the ship that's going to kick off the festivities
so it's kind of important.
But here's the thing, the Empire sees Life Day as a threat
like it could potentially unify the galaxy
which might be bad for them.
So, they attempt to shut down the celebration
by sending an Imperial spy to ensure
that Musica, never reaches Kashyyyk.
The spy, which was to be played by some celebrity
guest star, seduces the ship's captain
and starts tampering with the ship's power supply
putting everyone aboard, in danger.
Lumpy, every time I read his name I keep
remembering that it's Lumpy.
Lumpy is of course one passenger in trouble
but there are two other important characters aboard,
R2D2 and C3PO.
Who I guess are on the ship because of,
convenience to the plot?
It's never explained,
that's pretty much par for the course.
The droids report the Imperial spy's sabotage to Luke
who in turn, alerts Chewbacca that something
weird is going on aboard the Starship.
Desperate to save his son, his friends,
and the entirety of Life Day,
Chewie takes a shuttle to the approaching Starship Musica
takes control of the wheel, and makes a quote
perfect landing on the Wookie planet.
This act of heroism earns Chewie medals and honors,
a little bit overdue, if you ask me.
We got there in the end.
The story wraps up by affirming that quote
Aww, you know, Life Day really got me in the end there.
I don't know about you but that story sounds way better
than what we ended up getting.
Would it have been a flawless hour of TV?
Probably not, there were still weird moments like
Wookies listening to Rock and Roll
and boy we didn't even talk about the fact that
the Imperial spy literally dances through the ship.
So, maybe not an all-time classic,
but certainly a fun little Star Wars adventure
with a bit of surreal 70s silliness.
Characters have purpose, though right?
There are actual stakes and a rising conflict
and the bizarre nature is definitely toned down
at least a little bit.
So why didn't we get this story?
Why was this treatment changed into?
(clip)
Yeah, that.
Well it seems, this original concept was molded into madness
courtesy of producers Ken and Mitzie Welch.
Chewbacca was removed as a main character
and the central story, if you can call it that,
was changed to be about Chewie's family
waiting on him to arrive while keeping busy with
various entertainment and activities,
and that allowed for more of those shoe-horned variety
segments, instead of one cohesive narrative.
That and many other terrible decisions led to
the Star Wars Holiday Special's awful reception.
It was instantly panned by critics
and reviled by the nation of Star Wars fans
and it assembled in the 18 months since the
inital film's release.
And it lingered in the pop cultural consensus
for all of, one evening, as Lucas' consultant
Miki Herman said quote
(laughs)
I'm sorry, that's the first time
I've read that part out loud.
(laugh)
Oh, wow.
That is poorly timed.
The special is regarded today as one of the worst
pieces of media under the Star Wars name
and that, did not feel great for George Lucas.
Just before it aired, Lucas asked for his name
to be removed from the credits of this garbage.
Not that he was super attached to the project anyway.
True, some say that he saw footage on a daily basis
but it's more than likely that he was too busy with Empire
to care about a silly little TV special.
At least, until he saw what a disaster it was.
As Chris Taylor summed up in his book
"How Star Wars Conquered the Universe" quote,
end quote.
Many of the minds behind the Star Wars Holiday Special
clearly weren't as concerned with quality television
as they were with keeping the public's interest
until Star Wars Two hit theaters.
And competing with the many knock-offs
that were trying to cash in on the big and small screens
at the same time.
It was less, do something good,
and more, do something, anything.
But as the original treatment shows,
there was some promise to this thing.
It wasn't inherently a bad idea.
It just became one thanks to poor, conflicting direction.
As a result, these days the special stands as an odd
creature representing a studios hasty and unnecessary grab
for continued relevance in the wake of
a pop culture phenomenon.
But at least, makes for an interesting story.
- Happy Life Day everyone.
(Wookie sound)
- Oh boy, there are so many
details we didn't even cover here.
Check the sources in the description,
for a ton of further reading and first-hand accounts,
but I want to know what you guys think.
Also, what do you think of the
original treatment that was scrapped?
Would that have been interesting to see?
And not to keep the adding things on to here,
but if you're feeling extra creative,
what would you write as the plot
to a Star Wars Holiday Special?
Let me know your thoughts in the comments
and I'll respond to some of them
in the next, comment-response video.
It's coming up real soon.
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