Star Wars Holiday Special Discussion Thread

I have had various DVDs of the Holiday special over the years, some with added extras like Kenner Adverts some with the making of SW etc.. all have been typical VHS standard.
I am guessing there was one person who originally had the copy and transferred it to Digital?
I am guessing we will never know ?
I transferred mine on to my HDD so its only ever a click away a few years back..

Its Christmas so might stick it on and its certainly better than Caravan of Courage.
 
There were two or three off-air recordings that were the original sources for trading.
Eventually, someone with a 3/4" U-Matic dub of the show made back in the day made a VHS copy of THAT available, and that, subsequently cleaned up by "EditDroid" (who did one of the better laserdisc-to-DVD original trilogy offerings back when that was a thing), is probably the source of anything remotely watchable circulating now. That source (being descended from a master) did not have commercials, though, and I think people have taken that source for the show but put the ads back in from earlier sources, for fun.
 
Treadwell said:
There were two or three off-air recordings that were the original sources for trading.
Eventually, someone with a 3/4" U-Matic dub of the show made back in the day made a VHS copy of THAT available, and that, subsequently cleaned up by "EditDroid" (who did one of the better laserdisc-to-DVD original trilogy offerings back when that was a thing), is probably the source of anything remotely watchable circulating now. That source (being descended from a master) did not have commercials, though, and I think people have taken that source for the show but put the ads back in from earlier sources, for fun.
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I believe that’s how I got my dvd of it.. edit droid sounds so familiar
 
I've been searching for past references, but so far have had little luck. I'm attempting to find out what the actual prop was that Scratchy was building, and that Harvey Korman was "explaining" to see if I can obtain one for ... reasons. (figured it out, took a couple of hours.) might post later once I obtain one.
 
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Riv said:
I would have been 4 when this originally aired. For the longest time I had this weird, unmapped memory of seeing Han Solo fighting stormtroopers on a raised tree platform, but I had nothing to point to and say "Oh, that was from this media". So I assumed I had imagined it or mis-remembered something from ROTJ. I did recall very vividly a children's book about Chewie and Lumpy and exploring the bottom of the Kashyyyk forest, so I knew that was real- but children's books of licensed properties could be pretty off-brand then, so I didn't think anything of it. And there's been concept art of Kashyyyk from the special floating about- but I'd forgotten the special even existed so I never tied it all together. That is, until my college roommate found a VHS copy in the 90s at a flea market and we watched it. And suddenly all those memories came back and made sense again.

It's amazing how I don't remember seeing ANH at all in the theater, but I clearly remembered aspects of the holiday special- because that was the one and only time it would have ever aired.
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I saw it as well in 1978. Excited and maybe disappointed/confused at the same time? And it ONLY AIRED ONCE!

To think that it exists AT ALL is a miracle!
 
Funky said:
This goes out to the people who caught it when it came on TV only.
I was eleven when this came out. The ONLY Star Wars we had was the first movie. We were ALL still riding that high. We were starved for more in any shape it came. I think I speak for most if us, but we didn’t care what the hell it was. It was more Star Wars with our hero’s! Did any of us really care WHAT it was so long as it was Star Wars? Personally, I LOVED it! Now to be fair you could have asked me the next day what it was about and I’m not sure I could of told you short of”…it was more Star Wars!”
Today, it is embarrassingly difficult to get through.
Anyone else feel this way?

Now, for you young pups who grew up seeing the original trilogy first then discovered the Holiday Special…you have no excuse to like this! LOL!
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And for those with a Video recorder was the first SW media we could grab a part of..
The vhs of SW was still years away at this point and even when it did arrive you had to hunt down a New thing called a Video department in your local or not so retail store, we had to travel 30 minutes in mums car watch it then had to be back same day!
 
Do we know where the source tape came from or were there many. I certainly see a difference in quality in my DVDs..

Maybe a 45 minute Netflix show incorporating a search for.. and surviving props..

Tom Spina subtle resto on Malla a few years back and forma Chewbacca mask..
Screenshot_20220608-204247_Firefox.jpg
 
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Bea Arthur and Harvey Corman…

He gets drunk by pouring drinks in his head!

Jefferson Starship and Grandpa Lumpy’s porn reaction to it…

Carry Fisher can’t carry a tune to save her life…

Mark Hammill’s Cover Girl makeup…

Still though, it’s better than The Ewok’s Battle for Endor.
 
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a HS documentary


Looks like the kind of doc I have no use for, ala Nacelle: talking heads of people who were not involved in any way just giving their reactions.
Yawn.
 
Treadwell said:
a HS documentary


Looks like the kind of doc I have no use for, ala Nacelle: talking heads of people who were not involved in any way just giving their reactions.
Yawn.
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At least its not full of millenials who think they know better and are trying to get their five minutes of fame..
 
bwayne64 said:
I really only remember one thing from the special, and that was the Boba Fett animation. But you could be right, lol.
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I can't understand why there wasn't an animated series., that one was very much seventies style but an animated series would have been an instant hit. Someone must have suggested it at some point I wonder why that path wasn't taken.
 
CessnaDriver said:
I can't understand why there wasn't an animated series., that one was very much seventies style but an animated series would have been an instant hit. Someone must have suggested it at some point I wonder why that path wasn't taken.
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The bottom line is always.... the bottom line. It's money, ESPECIALLY in the TV/film industry. Due to the disastrous Holiday Special, and gearing up for TESB production, I am sure Lucas was "done" with other projects at the time and wanted to focus only on his films.

The 2 Ewoks live action TV specials and the Saturday morning Droids/Ewoks cartoons came after ROTJ.
 
bwayne64 said:
I really only remember one thing from the special, and that was the Boba Fett animation. But you could be right, lol.
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You know, I've come to the conclusion that there is no way to edit The Holiday Special live action segments and make it a good show. It's just bad, all the way around.
 
blewis17 said:
You know, I've come to the conclusion that there is no way to edit The Holiday Special live action segments and make it a good show. It's just bad, all the way around.
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Hey, I guess they had to do something, but couldn't they come up with something better than that. Guess George was busy counting his money, lol.
 

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