The Star Wars Holiday Special

Yesterday was the anniversary of the only broadcast of the Star Wars Holiday Special, you know the one that doesn't exist and was just a collective hallucination caused by all the Flouride in the water Jimmy Carter had put in it.

I saw it as a 9 yr old and was soooo freakin' happy to have Star Wars that I didn't notice the failings of it at the time.

I wish they would release it, maybe as a charity benefit, I would like to see a decent version of it again.

Now that Disney has control, you never know...

Sounds like a good bonus feature for a blu ray set of the original theatrical trilogy

I seriously can not watch it all!! But the Boba Fett short was amazing!!

The first 10 minutes are spoken in Wookie...
Features an appearance by Jefferson Airplane/Starship...
Bea Arthur and Harvey Korman in the Cantina...

And the horror of all horrors...

Carrie Fisher as Leia singing the Star Wars song...and we thought it was just a nice piece of instrumental music...

Who North America wrote:

The first 10 minutes are spoken in Wookie...
Features an appearance by Jefferson Airplane/Starship...
Bea Arthur and Harvey Korman in the Cantina...

And the horror of all horrors...

Carrie Fisher as Leia singing the Star Wars song...and we thought it was just a nice piece of instrumental music...

Thanks. I tried to forget those other things.....

I have seen a bootleg of this twice. It has a cameo by the rat from Talon of Weng-Chiang in it. Some of the adverts in between were just as weird. "Fighting the Frizzies at 11."

Evil Monkey Pope wrote:

I have seen a bootleg of this twice. It has a cameo by the rat from Talon of Weng-Chiang in it. Some of the adverts in between were just as weird. "Fighting the Frizzies at 11."

My first copy had a TV commercial for Star Wars action figures......now that was cool!!

It's funny that Lucas disowned this but still let Hasbro produce a toy of the cartoon Boba Fett that debuted there.

Cruel Angel wrote:

Now that Disney has control, you never know...

Sounds like a good bonus feature for a blu ray set of the original theatrical trilogy

As an Easter Egg in that set, yes!

Evil Monkey Pope wrote:

It's funny that Lucas disowned this but still let Hasbro produce a toy of the cartoon Boba Fett that debuted there.

Because he's as ruthless a business man as Edison was. If it would make big bucks, Lucas would sell human feces with the Star Wars logo on it.

The Castellan wrote:

Evil Monkey Pope wrote:

It's funny that Lucas disowned this but still let Hasbro produce a toy of the cartoon Boba Fett that debuted there.

Because he's as ruthless a business man as Edison was. If it would make big bucks, Lucas would sell human feces with the Star Wars logo on it.

He did, it was called The Phantom Menace

BAZINGA!

Whoosier Whovian wrote:

The Castellan wrote:

Evil Monkey Pope wrote:

It's funny that Lucas disowned this but still let Hasbro produce a toy of the cartoon Boba Fett that debuted there.

Because he's as ruthless a business man as Edison was. If it would make big bucks, Lucas would sell human feces with the Star Wars logo on it.

He did, it was called The Phantom Menace

BAZINGA!

I just spat water all over myself from reading that.

Yet we still don't have a complete Chewbacca family in toy form.

Whoosier Whovian wrote:

The Castellan wrote:

Evil Monkey Pope wrote:

It's funny that Lucas disowned this but still let Hasbro produce a toy of the cartoon Boba Fett that debuted there.

Because he's as ruthless a business man as Edison was. If it would make big bucks, Lucas would sell human feces with the Star Wars logo on it.

He did, it was called The Phantom Menace

BAZINGA!

Dunno there, I am not the SW expert, but Qui-Gon was the ONLY Jedi, and one of the FEW SW characters that I ever liked.

Liam Neeson is a heck of an actor. He carried the entire Episode One on his shoulders. And yeah, Qui-Jon is one of the few redeeming qualities of the Prequels.

Agreed on Liam. He can even act like crazy with CGI wolves!

Evil Monkey Pope wrote:

Yet we still don't have a complete Chewbacca family in toy form.

I should do customs of those!!

And my favorite website on the special:
http://www.starwarsholidayspecial.com/

Whoosier Whovian wrote:

The Castellan wrote:

Evil Monkey Pope wrote:

It's funny that Lucas disowned this but still let Hasbro produce a toy of the cartoon Boba Fett that debuted there.

Because he's as ruthless a business man as Edison was. If it would make big bucks, Lucas would sell human feces with the Star Wars logo on it.

He did, it was called The Phantom Menace

BAZINGA!

BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!!! Good one, good one.

I really don't see the issues with TPM that everyone else seems to hate, though. It's certainly not my favourite but I don't think it was as bad as everyone says it was.

It is slow and ponderous, and another thing - midichlorians. WTF?! When did Lucas become a scientologist?

I don't see why they couldn't have called Coruscant for a lift from Tatooine (huge plot hole!)

Whoosier Whovian wrote:

It is slow and ponderous, and another thing - midichlorians. WTF?! When did Lucas become a scientologist?

I don't see why they couldn't have called Coruscant for a lift from Tatooine (huge plot hole!)

I actually think Qui Gon said not to send any messages because they were being monitored by the Trade Federation and as it turned out, the Sith. It is slow,and sometimes I nap during it. As for the midicraps.....I just try to ignore that.

But, in all fairness to Lucas, he said back in 1980, when Empire came out as Episode V,he said he started in the middle because the others were full of politics and not very exciting.

I have been re-watching the movies lately. Prequels weren't as bad as I remember. I think that the reaction I had originally was due to nostalgia for the old films clouding my memories, and making the original films seem like these untouchable masterpieces of cinema. They are great adventure stories, and truly very good films, but they are hardly scripture. No films could have really lived up to that high of an expectation.

That being said, the Phantom Menace is an interesting film, as it is clearly aimed at a younger audience. The humor falls flat for those of us over 8, and the action is pretty tame. However, despite its flaws, I see it kind of like a Harry Potter thing, where each chapter grows up with Anakin. He is a child in Phantom Menace, and therefore it is a more child-oriented story.

Once we reach Attack of the Clones, you have some great action scenes sprinkled in between the most cringe-worthy romantic dialogue imaginable. Was this the same guy who wrote the effortlessly great dialogue between Han and Leia? Then, by the end, we get some jaw-droppingly cool action with the beginning of the Clone War.

Revenge of the Sith is gloriously dark as Anakin finally completes his heel turn. The Jedi are betrayed, the twins are born, the circle is closed. Are they as good as the original trilogy? No. But very few films will ever effect me the way the original films did. Nostalgia is a poisonous thing.

The problem with the prequels in my opinion is we know that Anakin is going to turn. Worst - Lucas knows it too.

There's very little effort into making Anakin's transition make...well...sense. The death of his Mother was really all we were given, and while that was a good stepping stone, it was never really connected to the overall narrative.

Basically, Anakin was a spoiled prat who felt he wasn't given his just due and Palpatine actually acknowledged his strength.

That motivation for one of the scariest and most iconic villains in cinematic history was extraordinarily weak.


I think the problem with that was Lucas' decision to focus on Anakin as a child. While still "Too Old", Anakin was portrayed as young enough to be impressionable, and he was never really surrounded by folks that would cause the turn. Maybe if we'd met Anakin as a Teenager, who had some experience of the harsh realities of being a slave...

I just never bought Anakin's character compared to Darth Vader. And while that's partly the actor's fault I can't really blame the actors in the Prequels who did the best with what they were given - which was less set dressing then most High School One Act Play productions.

Seriously, the behind the scenes shows actors almost entirely acting on a Green Screen with Green Blocks...that's frustrating for getting into a proper character role when there's no sense of the environment around you.

It's ironic that the franchise that revolutionized practical special effects wound up being a cautionary example of a CGI monstrosity.

And yet, I think that 70s Lucas would have done the CGI too if it was available. He would use every tool available to him. Unfortunately, he relied too much on CGI. Hopefully Disney will give us a good balance.

mattmanw54301 wrote:

And yet, I think that 70s Lucas would have done the CGI too if it was available.

Oh most definitely. It's mostly personal preference, but no matter how good the CG, it's still CG. A practical effect will always look more "real". The models in the original trilogy have a "weight" to them CG cannot - and I doubt will never be able to - match.

Coincidentally, I hated that they got rid of the Muppet Yoda for Episodes II and III, lot the least of which because they turned him into a Hyperactive Gummi Bear on Red Bull. That really does ruin Episode II for me. Yoda crushes Force Lightning in one hand? Epitome of Awesome. Then Yoda breaks out DBZ inspired combat moves? Laaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaame.