Saturday, November 17, 2018

The Star Wars Holiday Special Turns 40!


Greetings Holiday Film Fans, today marks a milestone of sorts in pop culture history.  It was 40 years ago today that The Star Wars Holiday Special aired on CBS for the 1st and only time!  We "celebrated" this special on its 35th anniversary in 2013, you can read that review HERE.

In the five years since we reviewed it, the Star Wars franchise has been experiencing a renaissance of sorts.  We've seen the release of three theatrical films, two animated series and a live-action series is in the works.  Yet we still haven't seen an official release of  The Star Wars Holiday Special!  



We think it's way passed time for Disney and Lucas to get over it and release it on blu-ray or at least give us an "official" streaming edition.  No, my views on the special haven't changed, but I still enjoy the animated segment that introduced Boba Fett.  Doesn't that deserve to be remastered!


If nothing else, today the special feels like an interesting relic of TV's past.  Variety specials that featured stand-up comedy, sketches and musical guests were all over television in the 1970s.  The Star Wars Holiday Special is basically a variety special in outer space!  Which makes it worth of preserving, beyond bootlegs and youtube videos.  Its status as the first "sequel" to Star Wars makes it even more historically significant (even if it isn't very good!).

Also, it's really not much worse than Star Wars Episode I:The Phantom Menace, which is officially available in multiple formats.

While even at age 7 I knew it wasn't very good, I will always enjoy remembering how excited I was about watching it back then.  And I still have some "sentimental attachment" to the first "new" Star Wars content that was released after the original movie.


So come on Disney!  Please Release The Star Wars Holiday Special officially before its 45th anniversary rolls around in 2023!

Happy Life Day everyone,

J.A.

1 comment:

Bob Johns said...

Wow, how is this 40 already? I still have this on Beta Tape someday I will pick up a Beta Player just to watch it again. And your right with Disney not at the fate of Star Wars maybe just maybe they will release it even if its on there streaming channel next year.