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The infamous Holiday Special is sort of a cinematic Bigfoot. It's so notorious, everyone reading this knows which Holiday Special we’re talking about. Many speak of it, but few have actually seen it, and facts about TheStar Wars Holiday Special are sparse and murky. The Special was a much-hyped television event that aired exactly once in 1978, and has since been passed around via bootlegged tapes and, eventually, Internet piracy. The singular live airing adds to the event’s mystique, but it was hidden for reasons more closely related to shame.
The "story" follows Chewbacca’s Wookiee family as they await Chewie’s return for Life Day, which is basically Space Christmas. The Special is a sort of variety show, with multiple bizarre, oddly placed vignettes interspersed throughout the main drama. The story of what happened to TheStar Wars Holiday Special is almost as outrageous as the TV event itself. Though it has been largely buried, nerds have famously long and detailed memories, so the infamous TV special lives as a curio for an entirely new generation of Star Wars fans.
Photo: Disney-ABC Domestic Television
It Only Aired Once, But Drew In Massive Audiences
TheStar Wars Holiday Special, ostensibly a Christmas film, aired only once, on November 17, 1978. It was a highly anticipated event, with a full-page advertisement in TV Guide (that was a big deal, at the time) and a runtime of 98 minutes. A massive home audience tuned in for the second installment in the Star Wars saga. The Special reportedly reached around 13 million American homes.
Photo: Disney-ABC Domestic Television
Harvey Korman Plays Three Roles
The Holiday Special features cameos from some classic comic actors, like Art Carney and Richard Pryor, but it’s Harvey Korman who puts in the most work, playing three different roles. Unfortunately, his standout character was memorable for all the wrong reasons.
Korman’s turn as Chef Gormanda, a four-armed alien, saw the veteran actor wearing blackface. That’s right, The Star Wars Holiday Special is not just awful from a storytelling perspective, it’s also unconscionably racist. Despite the insanely offensive costume choice, the physical comedy of a gangly Wookiee trying to keep up with the cooking pace of a four-armed alien is one of the few legitimately humorous moments in the Holiday Special.
Princess Leia Haphazardly Harmonizes The "Happy Life Day" Song
The Holiday Special culminates in a musical number where Princess Leia sings the "Life Day" song, which conveniently goes to the tune of the Star Wars theme. This performance was a major reason Carrie Fisher signed on to the Special in the first place, as she was looking to launch her own musical career.
The "Life Day" song obviously didn’t help her there, although the quality of her singing suggests she wasn't quite as enthuiastic by the time the special actually came around.
Photo: Disney-ABC Domestic Television
Chewbacca’s Dad Watches Risque Holograms
Perhaps the most bizarre scene in the entire Holiday Special occurs fairly early on, when Chewbacca’s father, Itchy, plugs into his personal hologram machine, the Mind Evaporator. Despite the foreboding title, the Mind Evaporator allows users to turn their fantasies into holographic realities.
Itchy immediately uses it to imagine a human woman in a revealing dress and a wig, because apparently Chewie’s dad is into some freaky stuff. She starts by attempting, quite successfully, to the seduce the elderly Wookiee with a bit of breathy dialogue about how “adorable” he is. The woman then sings a vaguely erotic song. Throughout the show, Itchy grunts with what appears to be pleasure, despite the fact that his entire family is in the house.
Photo: Disney-ABC Domestic Television
The Wookiee Suits Caused Trouble Behind The Scenes
The Holiday Special introduced Chewbacca’s family, who the Wookiee then proceeds to never visit or mention for the rest of the trilogy. Chewie’s wife Malla, his son Lumpy, and his father Itchy all live in the same treehouse on Kashyyyk, but they look a little less put together than the rebel in the family.
Their Wookiee suits were made a lot more cheaply than Chewbacca’s, which made them functional death traps. The actors could only be inside the suits for 20 minutes at a time before overheating, after which they needed rest, fluids, and, in some cases, oxygen.
Photo: Disney-ABC Domestic Television
It Featured The First Appearance Of Boba Fett
For such a strange installment of the Star Wars franchise, the Holiday Special did introduce at least one important element to the mythos. The broadcast marked the official debut of Boba Fett, who would go on to be one of the most popular characters in the original trilogy.
Boba had appeared in various promotional images, and George Lucas thought the Holiday Special was the perfect place for the Fett-man to make his onscreen debut before The Empire Strikes Back. Boba Fett appears in a colorful and trippy animated sequence based on the artwork of French artist Mœbius.
Boba rides an alien dinosaur and has more cool dialogue than in the rest of the films combined. Oddly enough, he’s referred to as “Darth Vader’s right-hand man.” Most agree this is the best part of the entire Holiday Special.
