Star Wars Holiday Special?

The original Star Wars film was actually an unexpected hit, so in retrospect, it’s no surprise that some enterprising TV network would win a bidding war to host a Christmas TV special, according to a story at Mental Floss.

Of course, after the show laid a massive ratings goose egg, everyone from George Lucas to Carrie Fisher would first deny the show’s existence, then later make elaborate excuses for its suckage.

The Star Wars Holiday Special aired only once in its entirety, on November 17, 1978.

Among the many unfortunate choices made by the producers, the storyline focused on Chewbacca and his Wookie family, who could only communicate via weird whiny noises that sounded like an arctic wolf being shot from a helicopter.

Art Carney, Harvey Korman, Bea Arthur and Diahann Carroll were the special guest stars. The actual stars of the film made what could best be described as a cameo appearance, during which Carrie Fisher sang a heartfelt “Happy Life Day” to the tune of the Star Wars theme song.

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