Classics The Holiday Special - General Discussion

When Grievous and Obi-Wan were about to fight during Revenge of the Sith and Grievous started slowly walking toward him while spinning his lightsabers, I believe he was using an ancient Kaleesh fighting technique. The original name of the technique is lost to history, but during the days of the Empire some swordsmen have come to refer to it as "Stir, Whip, Stir, Whip, Whip, Whip, Stir".

 

Don't forget the TIE Fighters blown up by the Falcon in the recycled Episode IV footage. It still counts as a death.

I've been working on editing a less terrible version to make it at least somewhat watchable. Here are some of the things I've changed:

Don Pardo-style opening replaced with movie-style crawl.
Recycled ship footage replaced with remastered footage
Tumbling act has been removed!
Jefferson Starship has been removed and replaced with Sy Snootles' little dance number, "Da Hutt Moda", from the Clone Wars season 3 episode "Hunt for Ziro"
The entry to Diahann Carroll's VR sequence has been shortened so it goes straight to her, instead of those kitschy vfx with horrid swimmers (Were they supposed to be alien?)
The required viewing transmission has been expanded to include the fan-film "Troops", before going to the Mos Eisley Cantina.
The cheesy 1970s computer klaxon (which sounds like a controlled blast of air through a French horn or tuba) has been replaced with a more up-to-date klaxon
The second recycled shot of 2 ISDs over Tatooine has been replaced with footage of an SSD from the game "Rebel Assault II" (surprising how well that worked).
Chewbacca's memory flashback has been expanded to include footage of him from the Clone Wars episode "Wookiee Hunt" and Episode III.
The badly rendered closing TV credits of the 1970s have been replaced with a movie-style closing credits, designed by myself and another forum member.

It still has a few small glitches, but when it's done, I plan to release it on YouTube or Vimeo for free viewing. I consider this a fan edit, and am not trying to make a profit on this. All footage was downloaded from YouTube.

I am SO glad that you picked up on that about Leia's song!

Hopefully, you'll check out my edited version when it's done.

It's fun to watch a piece of kitsch every now and then. Like it or not, it IS part of the Star Wars saga, and I watch it when I binge-watch the entire saga.

No, the alien chef is played Harvey Korman. Bea Arthur played Ackmena, the night bartender of the Mos Eisley Cantina. She was also featured as a major player in an anti-slavery group on Tatooine in the Fate of the Jedi books of the Legends timeline.

I'm working on a fan edit with that purpose in mind.

 

Disney just needs to bite the freaking bullet and release this on Blu Ray.

 

I rather like Leia's song. I like the sense of hope it conveys for the day the Empire falls. Besides, since she passed, I can't bear to skip any footage of Princess Leia.

Check out the edit I'm working on when it's done.

That would explain their inclusion of Jefferson Starship. That, and the tumblers, are the only two sections of the Special I can't watch. Fast forward time!

 

Won't happen again.

 

With the Hasbro fan's choice poll running this week, is there a campaign for Gormaanda that I can get suppott? If anyone want's someone from the Holiday Special to be made, this is the chance, but probably only if there's an organized effort.

 

Speaking of which, there was a nice Gormaanda cosplay this week-end at Celebration (and it was seen on the live stream).
https://www.instagram.com/chefgormaanda/

 

I interviewed Kathy Kennedy at Celebration Europe last summer and completely forgot to ask her about this. I've been kicking myself ever since.

I assume she would have said "I'm afraid I don't know what you're talking about," made some tiny gesture and two huge security guards would have taken me away ... but it would have been worth it.

 

That haircut...Its like the result of Luke and and a Ken Doll using the teleporter from "The Fly"

 

If anyone out there likes the HS please explain why?

 

Watching something so bad that it is amusing is always a treat. Laughing at a movie can be as satisfying as laughing with it (ex: Troll 2). I mean, a Christmas special for children where an elderly dog-person is titillated by virtual reality goggles? What isn't to love?

 

Because it's Star Wars. Back when it came out we didn't have Star Wars permeating everything everywhere. We had to take what we got. And we liked it. As campy as it is, it brought back characters that we loved and desperately wanted to see more of. I've heard people claim that they like it more than the prequels. I can't claim the same thing, but I can understand (and honestly put it about on par with TPM).

 

Lumpy's and Boba Fett's first appearances, I love both of those characters. Other then that it was just enjoyable to watch for me.

 

[QUOTEI would love to see a real in-depth documentary about the making (and reception) of it.][/QUOTE]
It could be a nice doc for the upcoming Disney streaming service !

 

I've only seen the Holiday Special once and it was a bit painful, but I've always been fascinated by it. I'm sure I'll revisit it eventually and no doubt it'll be even more excruciating than the initial viewing. I'd LOVE some kind of documentary about it though.

 

I've seen it 5 or 6 times at this point.

I just love showing it to people who never seen it before and then enjoy watching their reactions.

 

There are only two things that Star Wars fans can agree on. One, we all love Star Wars, and two, we all think THS is bad. Not even that Boba Fett short can save as I'm not a Boba Fett fan. Also, Carrie Fisher's singing wasn't that bad. The moral of the story, kids, is that you don't trust anyone with your work, otherwise you'll end up with this.

 

Nope, not even that, I'm afraid. Ackmena is life.

 

I can't believe there is even a thread dedicated to this...um...is travesty too strong a word?

I've seen it all the way through twice...though both times I had to skip/mute certain parts for fear of total cranial meltdown. But- dare I say it? -some parts I actually enjoy. Anything with the original cast is tolerable, the cooking sequence always makes me laugh, and I really don't think Chewie's family is as bad as they say. Malla seems like a typical harried stay-at-home mom while Lumpy is kind of cute. Itchy, though...

The funniest part of any copy I've seen, however, is the 1970's commercials. Wow.

 

It is so bad it is interesting.