On November 17th, 1978, the world bore witness to what is considered to be one of the worst holiday-themed programs ever made, the infamous Star Wars Holiday Special. Made only a little over a year after A New Hope, this two-hour special was considered so bad that it only aired once on television.

For decades, this special was thought to be nothing but a rumor, but with the dawn of the internet, its long-forgotten truth was revealed. So let’s take a trip back in time and unearth this forgotten program.



The special came about due to George Lucas wanting to keep Star Wars in the public eye as he was worried that if people forgot it the then-in-development sequel would bomb. A deal was made with CBS to develop a variety show special for the Christmas season. Lucas provided notes and concepts for the story, and after that, the rest was up to the writing staff. It was originally meant to be one hour, CBS was so excited about it potentially doing well that they extended it to 90 minutes, then a full two hours.

The now feature-length special would feature Harrison Ford, Mark Hamill and Carrie Fisher the decision was made to feature prominent guest stars like Harvey Norman, Art Carney, Bea Arthur, Diahann Caroll, and the rockbound Jefferson Starship.



The story focuses primarily on Chewbacca’s family on their home planet of Kashyyyk. The family consisted of Chewie’s wife Malla, their son Lumpy and Chewie’s father Itchy. They are awaiting Chewbacca’s return to celebrate Life Day (A substitute for Christmas). 



The special featured various vignettes/skits, mostly involving the guest stars. These segments range from holographic acrobats to a cooking program, to musical numbers, to a virtual reality adult fantasy, to a computer tutorial, and even a cartoon featuring the first appearance of Boba Fett.



The special itself feels so unfocused that you often forget what the original story was. This can be blamed on the decision to make it two hours instead of one hour. Not to mention, the creative team behind the special weren’t science fiction writers but instead wrote comedy.

The special was so poorly received that it never aired a second time. For decades, the only way to see it would be through bootleg VHS tapes. But with the birth of the internet, it is now available for everyone to see. Lucas himself tried to bury its existence and never acknowledged it in any future Star Wars media. Kenner even produced prototype figures of Chewbacca’s family, but they were scrapped before being put into production.



Decades later, the special has gained a cult following amongst a fraction of the fandom. Some see it as a fun oddity, some see it as a right of passage, and others enjoy referencing it in any way. Even director Jon Favreau has admitted to being a fan and sneaked references into The Mandalorian.

The special has this reputation mostly due to its association with the Star Wars brand. However, this is far from the worst that 1970s television offers. You could argue that the Donny & Marie Star Wars Musical from 1977 was worse than this. Some might even prefer this over the Disney Sequel Trilogy.



This past December, a documentary called A Disturbance In The Force, which focused on the making of the special, was released to commemorate the 45th Anniversary. 

Perhaps someday we might see this show up on Disney+ with a full restoration. If not, fans will always find a way to spread its awareness, introducing new generations of fans to this one wrinkle in the Star Wars tapestry.