The Star Wars Holiday Special is known as a giant misstep in both the history of Star Wars and of cinema in general. Because it’s bad. It’s really, really bad. Terribly made, terribly written and just a terrible, terrible idea all-round.
However, that doesn’t mean we aren’t completely opposed to a second attempt. Well, we sort of are. It’s pretty hard to explain. We’ll do our best to dive into five of the reasons we should let Disney have a go at a second holiday special, and five reasons they absolutely should not.
SHOULD: It’s Actually Really Funny
No matter what you think about The Star Wars Holiday Special, it is a massive laugh. We all know it’s terrible, horrendously made and written with less poise than the prequels (though this should have been a warning to everyone about what they might have been like…) but it makes you laugh out loud. A lot.
Seeing the likes of Harrison Ford lowering himself to this level of performance and the brilliant acting of Carrie Fisher being left to sing over the iconic title theme is chilling to watch. But it really does make you laugh. The problem with this whole thing, though, is that it wasn’t really supposed to be funny. Should a new Holiday Special be made, we’re not sure if intentional humor would have the same impact.
SHOULDN’T: It Was So Weird
Despite how funny it is, it’s almost incomprehensible how bizarre this release really was. Structured as a series of loosely connected skits (with guest musicians and a cartoon slotted in for some reason beyond our comprehension), it appears more like a Saturday night variety show than the second installment of the biggest film series of all time.
The fact that someone signed off on this shows some serious disregard for the legacy of Star Wars, and creating a second Holiday Special now would prove Lucasfilm and Disney are running on empty in terms of their respect for the series.
SHOULD: We Want Another Wookie Life Day
That said, we do love Chewie. The cringy opening scene where Han and Chewie are racing back to Kashyyyk is weirdly wholesome, with everyone’s favorite Wookie just wanting to see his family and wife!
As bad as it is, if it gives us a chance to see more Chewie, we’ll take it. Who wouldn’t want more screen time with such an absolute legend? Another Holiday Special would give us just what we need…
SHOULDN’T: We Don’t Need Wookies To Speak
George Lucas isn’t exactly known for his user-friendly approach to life or his crowd-pleasing actions. For example, refusing to allow the committed fans who made him a multi-billionaire to see the original cut of his film and forcing us to endure his insistence that The Phantom Menace is the best Star Wars.
He also forced us to endure multiple, long scenes in The Holiday Special in untranslated Shyriiwood (Wookie language). Not only does no one watching have any idea what’s happening, but the trademark roars that made Chewie so loveable are noticeably less adorable when they’re so… persistent. This was a mistake we hope never to see again.
SHOULD: What Happened To TV Specials Anyway?
TV specials of shows used to be a thing. Now, we get a Christmas themed episode of The Simpsons here and there, but how often do you get a special, low-budget spin-off of a film direct to TV these days?
It would be pretty funny to see the worlds The Star Wars Holiday Special Episode II: Itchy And Chewie on the TV guide come Christmas morning.
SHOULDN’T: We Definitely Don’t Need Another Vocal Version Of The Title Theme
Without a doubt, the unequivocal worst moment in the original Holiday Special is when Carrie Fisher is forced to sing a jarring (and quite frankly, awful) vocal melody over the Star Wars theme.
She can obviously sing well, but we all know Carrie to be a light-hearted joker, and the image of her painfully pushing herself through these lyrics (which I’m sure Lucas must have written himself) is genuinely hard to think about, let alone watch. Imagine a second Holiday Special with Daisy Ridley laughing her way through a cover of this classic track? No thanks!
SHOULD: We Still Want More Star Wars
The thing is, no matter how overpopulated the Star Wars universe has become in recent years, as fans of the franchise, we can’t help but be secretly glad there is always new content on the horizon.
Whether it’s a film, a game, a TV series or even a book, there is something about getting new Star Wars that’s like Christmas come early every day. The announcement of a new Holiday Special would be met with total derision, and surely the reviews would follow similar lines, but don’t pretend you wouldn’t be excited.
SHOULDN’T: Maybe No More Animation
The universally agreed-upon thing about the Holiday Special is that the animated section (no matter how weirdly out of place it was) is the only part that borders on ‘good’. However, if there is one thing we don’t need from Star Wars these days, it’s animation.
We’ve had Star Wars: Rebels, Star Wars: The Clone Wars and various other drawn ventures. At the time, this was the first cartoon in the Star Wars universe so it was new, interesting and a bit of a novelty. Obviously this novelty is gone now and I’m pretty doubtful it could bring anything particularly interesting to a Holiday Special rebirth.
SHOULD: It Could Introduce A Cool New Character
Having said that, it was this cartoon that first introduced us to Boba Fett, one of the best characters in the Star Wars universe. It was in a crudely drawn cartoon that made no sense in the continuity of the episode, but we can’t deny the importance of his introduction.
In a future Holiday Special, there is every chance that a brilliant new character could make their first appearance. Perhaps a Gungan bounty hunter? A Mandalorian Sith lord? A Jedi Toydarian?
SHOULDN’T: But Maybe Stick To Good Star Wars?
The main problem with the Star Wars Holiday Special is that it was just absolutely incomprehensibly awful. With an exceptional cast and some amazing characters, the idea that this was even created in the first place is totally baffling.
With the disappointment of Solo and the incredibly mixed response to The Rise Of Skywalker, even attempting to make a new Holiday Special could be the final nail in the Disney-Star Wars coffin. I mean, I know it obviously isn’t going to happen, but if it did, the only way it would work is as a cartoon joke aimed at children.
