Holiday Special - Riff + Opinions

So earlier this month I got some friends together to do some riffs on some of the worst Christmas specials ever made. One of the ones we did was, of course, the Star Wars Holiday Special. It's the last one in a series of four so there is the occasional reference to an older special we made fun of but I think some of you might like it regardless.

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If you don't want to watch it all the way to the end, our final conclusion is that this special is still pretty bad, but not AS bad as people have made it out to be.

Hear me out.

First, you have to remember that when this special was made, we were only one movie in. They had NO lore to work with, so it's honestly kind of impressive that we got some legitimate worldbuilding out of this.

Second, the main plot isn't actually that bad. True, there are some pretty awful moments, but those are all from the variety show filler bits. If you only go by the main plot involving Chewbacca's family... I mean, it's not great, don't get me wrong, but the family was likeable enough, and Art Carney's character is honestly pretty fun.

Third, and most importantly: We all sort of take for granted that the Empire is a fascist dictatorship, but nowhere is the Nazi comparison more overt than it is here. The movies are all about the soldiers fighting against the Empire, but the special is from the perspective of just a normal family living under Imperial subjugation, and the Stormtroopers ransacking the place looking for evidence of Rebel activity is extremely reminiscent of Nazis searching houses suspected of harboring Jews. The ending actually does a decent job complementing this. Don't get me wrong, it's insanely corny and the actors have clearly checked out by this point (especially Carrie Fisher, who was apparently high as a kite) but the note the film ends on is shockingly wholesome. Luke, Leia, and Han celebrate Life Day with the Wookiees despite the fact it isn't their holiday, simply because they're friends, and to reaffirm that these dark times are when different cultures need to band together most. That's honestly a really nice way to close it out, especially how overt the Imperial fascism is in this.

Now, the special is still laughable, but there's definitely SOME merit to be found in this, and I honestly don't think it's nearly as bad as it's made out to be.