History Trivia / TheStarWarsHolidaySpecial

** Creator/GeorgeLucas allegedly said, "If I had the time and a sledgehammer, I would track down every copy of that special and smash it." He apparently didn't mind the Boba Fett short, though -- it was the only part of the special that was remastered and featured as an EasterEgg for the Blu-Ray release of the six films that he oversaw.

* TheOtherDarrin: In the French dub, except for Francis Lax as Han Solo, none of the voice actors from the films reprise their roles.

** Creator/{{CBS}} themselves also seem to be ashamed of it - they've never rerun the special since its first airing.

** Originally, Lucas was to be much more involved in the project - he helped to write the first draft of the script (a standard-issue ''Star Wars'' adventure revolving around Life Day) and contributed to the animated Boba Fett segment. Sounds great so far, but then Creator/{{CBS}} execs decided it had to be a variety show spectacular of the type that was relentlessly inflicted on unsuspecting audiences of the 1970s. Lucas, by this time, had gone off to concentrate on ''Film/TheEmpireStrikesBack'', and other hands - namely [[Film/PoliceAcademy Pat Proft]] and Bruce freaking Vilanch - rewrote the script to fit the network's wishes.

** A more benign example happened (although it's not beneficial so much as the lesser of two evils) - the entire Mind Evaporator sequence was originally intended to be quite explicitly a porn tape. However, it was toned down in order to meet CBS' censorship standards, although the implications of what the Mind Evaporator actually was are still present.

** Downplayed with Creator/{{Disney}}. While the special still has yet to see an official rerelease, the new canon has integrated and poked fun of aspects of it, like Chewbacca's family in ''Literature/StarWarsAftermath'', and a mention of Life Day and the titular protagonist owning Boba's weapon from the cartoon segment in ''Series/TheMandalorian''. They even released a Franchise/{{LEGO}} [[WesternAnimation/TheLegoStarWarsHolidaySpecial animated parody of the special]] on Creator/DisneyPlus in 2020. The four armed chef woman played by Harvey Korman is also mentioned in ''Star Wars: The Life Day Cookbook''.

* KeepCirculatingTheTapes: It's practically the poster child. The only thing about it that's ever seen an official re-release is the Boba Fett cartoon segment; first as an EasterEgg on one of the 2011 ''Complete Saga'' Blu-Ray bonus discs, then on the 2020 ''Film/TheEmpireStrikesBack'' UHD bonus disc, then on Creator/DisneyPlus in April 2021.

** The infamy of the show, and the difficulty of obtaining copies prior to Website/YouTube, was alluded to in the video for Music/WeirdAlYankovic's [[StraightOuttaLynwood "White and Nerdy"]], in a scene where Al's character buys a bootleg copy in an alleyway (in a brown paper bag!) in a way that evokes drug smuggling.

** The infamy of the show, and the difficulty of obtaining copies prior to Website/YouTube, was alluded to in the video for Music/WeirdAlYankovic's "White and Nerdy", in a scene where Al's character buys a copy in an alleyway (in a plain brown wrapper!) in a way that evokes drug smuggling.

** Because of its infamy, as well as Lucas [[StreisandEffect actively trying to bury it]], the special has ''never'' been rebroadcast on television. As of 2020, over '''40''' years later, it still has not, even as ownership of the franchise has [[Creator/{{Disney}} shifted hands]] from Lucas. Podcast/RiffTrax has done a bang-up job keeping the Life Day spirit alive, having played the special '''''twelve consecutive times''''' on November 17, 2021 (the 43rd anniversary) through their Website/{{Twitch}} channel.

** Creator/GeorgeLucas infamously feels the same way about surviving copies of this special that Emperor Palpatine feels about the Jedi -- he wants every last one of them '''''[[OldShame exterminated]]'''''.
** Creator/MarkHamill [[https://youtu.be/p6dIYUoSeFQ thought the script was awful from the first reading]] and initially ''refused'' to participate. Lucas had to tell him that they were pretty much locked into making it as a "favor" to the merchandisers.

* OldShame:
** Creator/GeorgeLucas allegedly said, "If I had the time and a sledgehammer, I would track down every copy of that special and smash it." He apparently didn't mind the Boba Fett short, though -- it was the only part of the special that was remastered and featured as an EasterEgg for the Blu-Ray release of the six films that he oversaw.
** [[Creator/HarrisonFord Harrison "Stone-Face" Ford]] was so embarrassed, he could barely keep from fleeing the room when Creator/ConanOBrien [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l2iVrMEAP5E surprised him with a clip.]] He says he has no memory of making the special, so either he's lying or just ''wishes'' he could forget it. We don't blame him either way.
** Creator/AnthonyDaniels (C-3PO) claimed in an interview that he still has his copy of the script, but is too embarrassed to even look at it. In a documentary promoting the worldwide tour of ''Star Wars: In Concert'', notes with a laugh that the ''Star Wars'' universe includes "The horrible Holiday Special that nobody talks about". In 2019, Daniels referred to the special as a "turd" in his autobiography.
** Creator/CarrieFisher owned a copy of the special, which she obtained from Lucas in exchange for doing the DVD commentaries for the original trilogy. She would put it on when she wanted everyone at a party to leave.
** Because of its infamy, as well as Lucas [[StreisandEffect actively trying to bury it]], the special has ''never'' been rebroadcast on television. As of 2020, over '''40''' years later, it still has not, even as ownership of the franchise has [[Creator/{{Disney}} shifted hands]] from Lucas. Podcast/RiffTrax has done a bang-up job keeping the Life Day spirit alive, having played the special '''''twelve consecutive times''''' on November 17, 2021 (the 43rd anniversary) through their Website/{{Twitch}} channel.
** However, it was voted #2 behind ''WesternAnimation/ACharlieBrownChristmas'' for Christmas specials to be exhibited during the holiday season at the Museum of the Moving Image in NYC.
** Creator/{{CBS}} themselves also seem to be ashamed of it - they've never rerun the special since its first airing.
** Creator/MarkHamill is aware of how bad the special is, but thinks it's fascinating enough and worth it to release it on home video.
** Downplayed with Creator/{{Disney}}. While the special still has yet to see an official rerelease, the new canon has integrated and poked fun of aspects of it, like Chewbacca's family in ''Literature/StarWarsAftermath'', and a mention of Life Day and the titular protagonist owning Boba's weapon from the cartoon segment in ''Series/TheMandalorian''. They even released a Franchise/{{LEGO}} [[WesternAnimation/TheLegoStarWarsHolidaySpecial animated parody of the special]] on Creator/DisneyPlus in 2020. The four armed chef woman played by Harvey Korman is also mentioned in ''Star Wars: The Life Day Cookbook''.

* StreisandEffect: The special wouldn't be nearly as infamous if it weren't for the desperate attempts by George Lucas to bury it so it never sees the light of day again. [[SarcasmMode Yeah, great job with that, George]].

* NoExportForYou: Despite the HUGE popularity of ''Franchise/StarWars'' in Britain, the special has never been shown on UK television. A bullet may have been dodged; [[Recap/TheMuppetShowS4E17 UK viewers did eventually a sort of (much better) substitute]].

* NoExportForYou: Despite the HUGE popularity of ''Franchise/StarWars'' in Britain, the special has never been shown on UK television. A bullet may have been dodged.

** The documentary ''Empire of Dreams'' originally had a 10-minute segment dedicated to the special to emphasize what could've happened to the franchise if Creator/GeorgeLucas hadn't maintained control over it, but it was cut out for pacing reasons.

* CreatorBacklash: Creator/GeorgeLucas infamously feels the same way about surviving copies of this special that Emperor Palpatine feels about the Jedi -- he wants every last one of them '''''[[OldShame exterminated]]'''''.

** Downplayed with Creator/{{Disney}}. While the special still has yet to see an official rerelease, the new canon has integrated and poked fun of aspects of it, like Chewbacca's family in ''Literature/StarWarsAftermath'', and a mention of Life Day and the titular protagonist owning Boba's weapon from the cartoon segment in ''Series/TheMandalorian''. Disney has even announced the release of a Franchise/{{LEGO}} animated parody of the special on Creator/DisneyPlus in 2020. The four armed chef woman played by Harvey Korman is also mentioned in ''Star Wars: The Life Day Cookbook''.

* ActingForTwo: Three characters ([[CrosscastRole Chef Gormaanda]], the Amorphian instructor, and Krelman) are played by Creator/HarveyKorman.

** Averted for Creator/BeaArthur:
--->It was a wonderful time, but I had no idea it was even a part of the whole ''Star Wars'' thing... It's odd. I've gotten so many letters and requests for autographed photos from that thing. I just remember singing to [[RubberForeheadAliens a bunch of people with funny heads]]. [[note]](She was a veteran of some very strange 1970s variety shows, so it probably ''was'' all a blur to her.)[[/note]]
*** Also averted in the case of Lev Mailer, the guy who played the {{Jerkass}} Imperial officer bullying Saun Dann in the special - he was one of the few people involved in its production who actually enjoyed the experience.
*** Also averted by Creator/PattyMaloney in [[http://www.starwarsholidayspecial.com/text/patty_maloney.htm this interview]]:
--->'''[=SKot=] Kirkwood:''' I'll bet it was a lot of fun.
--->'''Patty Maloney:''' It was. It was a lot of hard work, but it was also a lot of fun. It was great to be involved with all of the other characters, too.
--->'''[=SKot=]:''' I can imagine. It sounds like everybody had a relatively good time working on it, at least.
--->'''Patty:''' Yes, we did. And we got along wonderfully, and we were all very pleased with the outcome of it, actually... I was. I was very pleased with it.

* NoExportForYou: Despite the HUGE popularity of ''Franchise/StarWars'' in Britain, the special has never been shown on UK television.

** Downplayed with Creator/{{Disney}}. While the special still has yet to see an official rerelease, the new canon has integrated and poked fun of aspects of it, like Chewbacca's family in ''Literature/StarWarsAftermath'', and a mention of Life Day and the titular protagonist owning Boba's weapon from the cartoon segment in ''Series/TheMandalorian''. Disney has even announced the release of a Franchise/{{LEGO}} animated parody of the special on Creator/DisneyPlus in 2020.

** As mentioned above, the special was supposed to be more what one would expect from a ''Star Wars'' holiday special: It was supposed to be Kashyyyk's turn to host the festivities of the galaxy's holiday, Life Day, with Chewbacca as the main host (since he's a hero due to his part in destroying the Death Star). The Empire hates Life Day, but can't openly ban it without causing huge backlash and uprising; so a female Imperial officer (whom Lucas wanted to be played by 1960-70s sex symbol, actress, dancer, and singer Creator/RaquelWelch) would volunteer for a secret mission to sabotage Life Day by sneaking aboard the ''Starship Muscia'', a ship filled with Life Day stuff which Luke and Leia have appointed R2 and 3PO to make sure it gets to Kashyyyk on time. It's worth nothing that had this gone as planned this would have been the first appearance of a female Imperial. Chewbacca was to meet up with his family in the first 10 minutes of the special, dropped off by Han. Chewie and Lumpy would have then gone to meet up with a trader (who became Saun Daan), who would have had a bigger, less comedic role in the special as he worked on Life Day, but since his family was destroyed by the Empire years ago he has no one to celebrate with, so he plans to go to the Mos Eisley Cantina to drink with his buddies. Lumpy would have begged for the video book (which would have been what the cartoon would have been viewed on), but Chewie denies it to him, only to get it for him in secret as a surprise gift, but Lumpy, hurt, sneaks aboard Daan's ship before it takes off. The infamous VR chair/softcore porno thing Itchy watches in the final special was going to be viewed by Chewbacca, but instead of the notoriously suggestive woman, it would have been a rock music number (possibly the [[Music/JeffersonAirplane Jefferson Starship]] appearance). Afterward, the machine would give Chewie a nightmare about Lumpy, and that's when Chewbacca and his family realize that their son is missing. Daan would have discovered Lumpy (who was watching the cartoon segment on another video book) and decides to take him back after he drinks with his friends, which is where the Cantina sequence would take place. It would eventually lead to Lumpy and Daan on the ''Starship Musica'' with R2 and 3PO as Raquel Welch distracted the crew with a sexy dance while she sabotaged it in secret. Chewie would board the ship and save the day, egged on by encouraging messages from Han, Luke, and Leia.

** Lucas allegedly said, "If I had the time and a sledgehammer, I would track down every copy of that special and smash it." He apparently didn't mind the Boba Fett short, though -- it was the only part of the special that was remastered and featured as an EasterEgg for the Blu-Ray release of the six films that he oversaw.

** Apparently, Fisher would put it on when she wanted everyone at a party to leave.

--->"It was a wonderful time, but I had no idea it was even a part of the whole ''Star Wars'' thing... It's odd. I've gotten so many letters and requests for autographed photos from that thing. I just remember singing to [[RubberForeheadAliens a bunch of people with funny heads]]." [[note]](She was a veteran of some very strange 1970s variety shows, so it probably ''was'' all a blur to her.)[[/note]]

* UncreditedRole: The uncredited announcer who introduces the cast near the beginning of the special is GameShow host Art James.
** Likewise, the voices for Boba Fett (Music/DonFrancks, who would reprise the role for ''WesternAnimation/{{Droids}}'') and Captain Kazan (whose actor currently remains unknown) from the animated segment are similarly uncredited.

** Kenner, which at the time had the license to produce ''Star Wars'' figures, planned to make several toys based on the special including action figures of Chewbacca’s family and the creature that Boba Fett rides during the cartoon, although they were scrapped after the special flopped.

** The documentary ''Empire of Dreams" originally had a 10-minute segment dedicated to the special to emphasize what could've happened to the franchise if Lucas hadn't maintained control over it, but it was cut out for pacing reasons.

* FanNickname: The Imperial guard who takes a groomer away from Saun Dann is known as "[[Film/{{Spaceballs}} Lord Helmet]]" due to their similar outfits.

** The only person with an official copy was Creator/CarrieFisher, who got it from Lucas in exchange for doing the DVDCommentary on the ''Film/ANewHope'' DVD. [[TheThingThatWouldntLeave She used it to scare off house guests.]]

** Originally, Creator/GeorgeLucas was to be much more involved in the project - he helped to write the first draft of the script (a standard-issue ''Star Wars'' adventure revolving around Life Day) and contributed to the animated Boba Fett segment. Sounds great so far, but then Creator/{{CBS}} execs decided it had to be a variety show spectacular of the type that was relentlessly inflicted on unsuspecting audiences of the 1970s. Lucas, by this time, had gone off to concentrate on ''Film/TheEmpireStrikesBack'', and other hands - namely [[Film/PoliceAcademy Pat Proft]] and Bruce freaking Vilanch - rewrote the script to fit the network's wishes.

* HeAlsoDid: One of the writers for this special was Pat Proft, who would go on to have a career working with the Zucker-Abrahams-Zucker trio.

** The only person with an official copy of the special was Creator/CarrieFisher, who got it from George Lucas in exchange for doing the DVDCommentary on the ''Film/ANewHope'' DVD. She used it to scare off house guests.
** The infamy of the show, and the difficulty of obtaining copies prior to Website/YouTube, was alluded to in the video for Music/WeirdAlYankovic's "White And Nerdy", in a scene where Al's character buys a copy in an alleyway (in a plain brown wrapper!) in a way that evokes drug smuggling.

** Creator/GeorgeLucas allegedly said, "If I had the time and a sledgehammer, I would track down every copy of that special and smash it." He apparently didn't mind the Boba Fett short, though -- it was the only part of the special that was remastered and featured as an EasterEgg for the Blu-Ray release of the six films that he oversaw.

** Apparently, Creator/CarrieFisher would put it on when she wanted everyone at a party to leave.
** Because of its infamy, as well as George Lucas [[StreisandEffect actively trying to bury it]], the special has ''never'' been rebroadcast on television. As of 2020, over '''40''' years later, it still has not, even as ownership of the franchise has [[Creator/{{Disney}} shifted hands]] from Lucas.

* ActingForTwo: Three characters (Chef Gormaanda, the Amorphian instructor, and Krelman) are played by Creator/HarveyKorman.

* UnintentionalPeriodPiece:
** Let's just say this part of the ''Franchise/StarWars'' saga hasn't aged nearly as well as the original trilogy. Basically, if you ever doubted that ''Star Wars'' began in TheSeventies... this should prove it. Conclusively.
** The versions which retain the original commercials and news segments add to it. The toy commercials have to be the nadir of this - the "Trailtracker" and "Tobor" were probably innovative when they debuted, but to children of today they might as well be old Marx tin toys. Not that the other commercials (Union-made underwear! Ma Bell! Fake-wood-paneled Mercury station wagons!) are any less dated.
** The special also aired the same night [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Kampiles William Kampiles]] was sentenced for espionage, and UsefulNotes/LeonidBrezhnev admitted the Soviet Union had tested a NeutronBomb (in violation of a treaty) but never put it into production. The news report about these events is included with other commercials on some versions of the special.

* CreatorBacklash: Creator/GeorgeLucas infamously feels the same way about surviving copies of this special that Emperor Palpatine feels about the Jedi - he wants every last one of them '''''[[OldShame exterminated]]'''''.

** Creator/GeorgeLucas allegedly said, "If I had the time and a sledgehammer, I would track down every copy of that special and smash it."
*** He apparently didn't mind the Boba Fett short, though - it was featured as an EasterEgg for the Blu-Ray release of ''Film/ReturnOfTheJedi''.

* NoExportForYou: Despite the HUGE popularity of ''Star Wars'' in Britain, the special has never been shown on UK television.

* FranchiseKiller: {{Averted|Trope}}... which is kind of amazing considering the result and the special's reputation. Let's just say it's a good thing that Lucas was already making ''The Empire Strikes Back'' when this came out, otherwise it might have been the end of ''Star Wars'' entirely. It's possible that the Force is real and Lucas pulled a Jedi Mind Trick on the entire viewing audience to convince them it never happened.