User blog:ARTaylor/40 Years of The Star Wars Holiday Special

Today is the thirty-sixth anniversary of the premiere of The Star Wars Holiday Special. The plot follows the heroic Rebels who must return the mighty Chewbacca to his homeworld of Kashyyyk in time for Life Day while evading the evil Galactic Empire. The special is presented more like a variety show, which were popular at the time, featuring guest stars and music numbers in between the moments of story. It was developed as a way to maintain interest in the franchise until the second movie, The Empire Strikes Back, could be released.

The television special was given high praise at the time of its release for being one of the most ambitious holiday specials. However, in subsequent years it quickly lost favor with fans and critics. It was notoriously hated by franchise creator George Lucas and only aired once and was never released on home video, though it is greatly bootlegged among fans. Most of the cast and crew had similar negative feelings. It has become something of a cult classic amongst fans who enjoy the cheesy elements. While infamous for its poor quality, it did introduce a number of characters, planets, and other elements that would be featured in subsequent films, series, and games.

The special features the talents of Mark Hamill returning to his most famous role as Jedi-in-training Luke Skywalker as well as Don Francks as the bounty hunter Boba Fett in the character's first appearance. The special occurred after Hamill's car accident that disfigured his face. The producers decided to create an in-universe explanation in Empire so Hamill was forced to wear extensive make-up in the special to recreate his original look. Lucas is credited for his creation of the characters.