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The Holiday Special - Happy Life Day!
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Whill
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PostPosted: Sat Nov 10, 2018 9:02 pm    Post subject: The Holiday Special - Happy Life Day! Reply with quote

The Star Wars Holiday Special aired on November 17th, 1978. We had seen somehow learned of it in advance and loving Star Wars, my brother and I were excited to see new Star Wars at home on TV.

It must have been very lackluster because I had very few memories of it by only a year and half later when TESB came out. I had no memory of the HS cartoon segment and Boba Fett by 1979 when the Boba Fett action figure was a free mail-in offer - I thought he was a brand new character when I ordered the figure. Of the HS, I remember the characters of Inchy, Malla and Lumpy. I remember Malla cooking something, and someone watching something live-action on a TV-like device. I remember Han Solo knocking a couple stormtroopers off a walkway of the tree city. That's it! I'm not even certain these specific memories are reliable.

The cartoon segment is on the ANH blu-ray and I have watched it three times since 2007. I still have absolutely no memory of seeing that in 1978 or that there even was a cartoon segment in the HS. I've read a little about the HS here and there over the years, and nothing has brought sparked any other memories to surface. I don't remember Bea Arthur or Art Carney or Harvey Korman being in this. I don't remember Luke Skywalker, Vader, or the droids even being in this. I don't even remember Chewbacca but obviously he was there since his family was in it. Jefferson Starship? No. A bunch of musical numbers and comedy routines? No. Princess Leia singing a Life Day theme with words set to Star Wars themes? You'd think I could remember that, but no. Not at all.

I had remembered the Ewok TV movies a little better and seen them again in recent years - Somehow the HS seems worse. When I started reading about the HS, I was quite horrified that live-action Star Wars released between the original Star Wars and TESB could sink that low and guessed that I probably willfully pushed the HS out of my mind when I was a kid. I had absolutely no desire to ever watch it again because maybe I remembered so little of it for a good reason. One of my best friends (since before RotJ) watched it on YouTube in recent years just for the helluvit, and I still didn't have any curiosity to see it again. We have similar tastes in Star Wars and he said it was bad. I am not surprised.

My son didn't even know of the HS's existence until recently when it somehow came up in one of our conversations about Star Wars. I told him it aired in November of 1978, and he quickly did the arithmetic in his head and said, "It's almost the 40th anniversary!" He said even though it will probably be awful, he still wants to see it one time and suggested we watch it together on the 40th anniversary.

So despite my trepidation, I relented and agreed. So we are going to watch the Star Wars Holiday Special on Saturday the 17th. I'm sharing it here because misery loves company. Who else is going to "celebrate" the anniversary with us and watch it Saturday?
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BentonGrey
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PostPosted: Sun Nov 11, 2018 11:52 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Ha, well, you're in for a very interesting time! I'm ASTONISHED that you could forget the utter and complete madness of this thing. It's seared into my memory! The 30 minute section entirely in Wookiee, the dirty wookiee grandfather and his holo-almost-porn, and the scenery chewing of everyone not wearing a wookiee costume. It's amazing. It's certainly worth seeing again, if only so you can revel in its complete insanity.

I will say this, though. It's a lot more fun, and a lot more bearable, to watch the Rifftrax version!
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Whill
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PostPosted: Mon Nov 12, 2018 1:38 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

BentonGrey wrote:
Ha, well, you're in for a very interesting time! I'm ASTONISHED that you could forget the utter and complete madness of this thing.

Astonished? It was 40 years ago! And for the most part, the 20th century is pretty vague in my memory. I lost a lot of brain cells in the 90s.

And maybe the utter insanity of the thing is why I don't remember more of it. I probably don't want to remember it. I've had no curiosity in seeing it again and just thought that once was enough - I'm good. It wasn't until my son saying he wanted us to watch it that I even considered it. But I think he is safely past the point of being turned away from Star Wars so it should be ok.

BentonGrey wrote:
It's seared into my memory! The 30 minute section entirely in Wookiee, the dirty wookiee grandfather and his holo-almost-porn, and the scenery chewing of everyone not wearing a wookiee costume. It's amazing. It's certainly worth seeing again, if only so you can revel in its complete insanity.

I will say this, though. It's a lot more fun, and a lot more bearable, to watch the Rifftrax version!

My son and I are adept at cracking eachother up. I think it would be more fun with our own commentary track. But if we are in the mood to ever watch it again, we could do the rifftrax version. Maybe for the 50th anniversary. 8)
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Sutehp
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PostPosted: Mon Nov 12, 2018 1:55 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Whill wrote:
And for the most part, the 20th century is pretty vague in my memory.


Eh, you didn't miss much. A couple of World Wars, a Cold War between the US and the USSR, disco music...

Really, the whole 20th Century is overrated. Then again, we did get the women's vote, civil rights, rock'n'roll and a few other goodies so it wasn't all bad.

Whill wrote:
I lost a lot of brain cells in the 90s.


I lost a few myself but probably not as much as you did. I wasn't much of a drinker in college (and hardly at all since then) and I only smoked a bong once in my entire life (and that was with a couple of my college roomates being BIG Deadheads).

BentonGrey wrote:
It's seared into my memory! The 30 minute section entirely in Wookiee, the dirty wookiee grandfather and his holo-almost-porn, and the scenery chewing of everyone not wearing a wookiee costume. It's amazing. It's certainly worth seeing again, if only so you can revel in its complete insanity.

I will say this, though. It's a lot more fun, and a lot more bearable, to watch the Rifftrax version!


I was only 6 years old when the Holiday Special came out on TV. Either one of two things happened: 1) either I saw it on TV and don't remember it or 2) I saw it and repressed my entire memory of seeing it. Either is eminently possible. Shocked

I might make time for the Rifftrax version someday if I care to go look for it.
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Pel
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PostPosted: Tue Nov 13, 2018 12:02 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Sutehp wrote:
I might make time for the Rifftrax version someday if I care to go look for it.


Those guys actually make the Holiday Special watchable. Just jump straight to their version and save yourself a LOT of grief.
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PostPosted: Tue Nov 13, 2018 12:07 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Sutehp wrote:
disco music... rock'n'roll

You and I are the same age. I do remember the rise and fall of disco. I wasn't impressed but that was before I was old enough to be interested in dancing girls. In the late 70s my friend Rob and I were the little rebels in the back of the school bus chanting, "Disco sucks! KISS Rocks!"

Sutehp wrote:
Whill wrote:
I lost a lot of brain cells in the 90s.

I lost a few myself but probably not as much as you did. I wasn't much of a drinker in college (and hardly at all since then)

I joined a fraternity in college and unfortunately it was a bit too much Animal House at times. But three years ago I quit alcohol completely and I am really happy without it.

Sutehp wrote:
and I only smoked a bong once in my entire life (and that was with a couple of my college roomates being BIG Deadheads).

I actually saw the Grateful Dead in concert one time in college (in 93, two years before Jerry Garcia died). It was a good show but they're not my favorite band.
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PostPosted: Tue Nov 13, 2018 1:45 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Whill wrote:
"Disco sucks! KISS rocks!"

Ha, that's awesome. KISS didn't impress me that much, but yeah, it was better than disco. Especially that one Song That Must Not Be Named...

Nowadays I can somewhat tolerate disco...but I absolutely despise the Song That Must Not Be Named.

And no, I'm not going to name the Song That Must Not Be Named even if you ask me nicely. Shocked Razz
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Pel
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PostPosted: Tue Nov 13, 2018 11:58 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Sutehp wrote:

Nowadays I can somewhat tolerate disco...but I absolutely despise the Song That Must Not Be Named.

And no, I'm not going to name the Song That Must Not Be Named even if you ask me nicely. Shocked Razz


What, something like
  • Disco Duck
  • The Morning After
  • Stayin' Alive
  • Disco Inferno
  • or Victim of Love?
  • How about Dancing Queen?

Twisted Evil Very Happy
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PostPosted: Tue Nov 13, 2018 10:06 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Pel wrote:
Stayin' Alive

This and Dancing Queen are the only ones of those I know by song title (but I probably have heard all the others and would recognize them if I heard them). Stayin' Alive by the Bee Gees is a good one to know because its tempo is 103 bpm and 100 is what they say is ideal for performing CPR. Stayin' Alive can literally help someone stay alive!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qr-_iuS3EZ8
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PostPosted: Wed Nov 14, 2018 11:38 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I had no idea. That is an excellent running song, so it makes sense.

Btw, did you see the Holiday Special ad in the latest Adventurer's Journal? I forgot that Harvey Korman was in it. Always loved his work.
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PostPosted: Wed Nov 14, 2018 4:29 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Pel wrote:
Sutehp wrote:

Nowadays I can somewhat tolerate disco...but I absolutely despise the Song That Must Not Be Named.

And no, I'm not going to name the Song That Must Not Be Named even if you ask me nicely. Shocked Razz


What, something like
  • Disco Duck
  • The Morning After
  • Stayin' Alive
  • Disco Inferno
  • or Victim of Love?
  • How about Dancing Queen?

Twisted Evil Very Happy


Nope, all wrong. Laughing

Stayin' Alive is a disco song I actually like, oddly enough. It's got a nice beat to it. And Dancing Queen I can tolerate. Just like Whill said, I don't remember the other songs, but I'd probably recognize them too if I heard them.

Now I'm a bit worried I hijacked this thread about the Star Wars Holiday Special and people will keep posting to guess about the Song That Must Not Be Named.

Not that that would be a bad thing....
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PostPosted: Wed Nov 14, 2018 9:46 pm    Post subject: Re: 1978 Reply with quote

Pel wrote:
Btw, did you see the Holiday Special ad in the latest Adventurer's Journal? I forgot that Harvey Korman was in it.

Yes, I saw the ad. I had also forgot Harvey Korman was in it, and almost everything about it until I read about it.

Sutehp wrote:
Now I'm a bit worried I hijacked this thread about the Star Wars Holiday Special and people will keep posting to guess about the Song That Must Not Be Named.

Not that that would be a bad thing....

I have no idea what song you are talking about, but don't worry about hijacking the thread. A thread talking about the Holiday Special is already one of the wackiest threads on this website. Disco is another cheesy thing from 1978, so whatever.
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PostPosted: Sat Nov 17, 2018 3:25 pm    Post subject: Re: The Holiday Special Reply with quote

HAPPY LIFE DAY everyone!


Telsij wrote:
HAPPY 40th ANNIVERSARY TO THE STAR WARS HOLIDAY SPECIAL!

Thanks Telsij for compiling your Holiday Special stats in one post!


Who is going to watch the Holiday Special today?
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PostPosted: Sat Nov 17, 2018 5:51 pm    Post subject: Re: The Holiday Special Reply with quote

Whill wrote:



Who is going to watch the Holiday Special today?


1 2 3 NOT IT!
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PostPosted: Sat Nov 17, 2018 7:27 pm    Post subject: Re: The Holiday Special Reply with quote

Whill wrote:



Who is going to watch the Holiday Special today?


"What? You think you're some kind of Jedi, waving your hand around like that?"

I do see the Rifftrax version is on sale, though...
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