Cinematic Excrement: Episode 75 - The Star Wars Holiday Special

[@CaminoAir]

In Ireland in 1978 we read about the imminent broadcast of this TV special in our newspapers. Can you imagine how envious we were that Americans were getting to see a SW TV special?!!! We were the lucky ones! It's never been broadcast in Ireland or England to my knowledge.

[@CaminoAir]

@Spitfire Mark1A I think George Lucas probably prevented it being shown again, or anywhere else. SW was serious business then and I know ITV would have shown it for advertisement revenue.

[@jamescrow4915]

One day when I rule the world I'll make sure the holiday special is mandatory viewing and aired on all channels everywhere

[@nahomgirma5095]

From what I researched, the Star Wars Holiday Special was broadcasted in Ireland and even other countries like Sweden.

[@gracekim1998]

Are you sure?😅

[@gracekim1998]

@@nahomgirma5095 hmmm yeah thought so

[@Unknown-bq9id]

Carrie Fisher said she was high on drugs DURING the making of this, and it shows (and, really, who can blame her?); she got a video of the special, and would show it to guests to get them to leave...

[@FegeleintheLostTapes]

Nothing says "Happy Holidays" like seeing your grandpa get off to virtual smut in your living room.

[@juhaniaho6698]

FEGELEIN! FEGELEIN! FEGELEIN!

[@vaultdweller2295]

Ew

[@scipioafricanus5871]

Well it sounds like it was Happy Holidays for grandpa, so there's that...

[@JadeEyes1]

And no one in the family seems the slightest bit shocked or disturbed by it. Is this normal in Wookie culture?

[@fredjones2170]

13:20 "Too many Y's" is a perfect way to describe this special

[@riffgroove]

You have to remember that this was the late 70's when absolutely *everyone* in Hollyweird was doing handstands in mountains of cocaine... I remember watching this on TV when it aired... I was 7 at the time. I honestly don't remember much about it as I haven't watched it again since, but I DO remember , even at that tender age, that what I had watched was profoundly disappointing. I remember telling my class-mates who *hadn't* seen it the next day how "weird and boring" it was. I remember having the same feeling as when I was at the movies not too long ago and watching 8 year-old kids coming out of M. Night Shamalan's "The Last Airbender" going "That was fucking stupid!!" When kids THAT YOUNG are calling your movie a piece of shit, you know you have problems.

[@jamescrow4915]

Most of the mistakes made in the 80s can be blamed on Tony Montana amounts of blow. Hell the 2000,s is an after product of the love children conceived on that same arrogance and mountains of cocaine.

[@jimvim3497]

@@jamescrow4915 Sure! Blame the Coke. Not all media folks were on drugs just a bad idea. Has a B movie style so bad it's good. Proof that no one is perfect. I'm glad this exists for the novelty SW Fans.

[@ersturdevant2831]

I was 7 when I watched this. The 70's were deluged with drug use. At this particular time, people were flipping out on "Angel Dust" (PCP). The animated segment was the only cool part. In Des Moines, local news interrupted the end credits early...it was that bad. My entire second grade class was traumatized. Memories.

[@jesusrox4u]

While I do wonder what eight year olds are saying that a movie was f***ing stupid, I’ll admit the idea of that happening, especially with M Night’s Last Airbender’s hilarious.

[@frankm.2850]

Kids are sponges with little to no filter. If they hear someone swear they’re entirely capable of figuring out how to use the word from context and repeat it.

[@MrJohndoakes]

8:16 Aside from Bruce Vilanch, the rest of the writing staff had backgrounds in doing either sitcoms, comedy specials, or musical specials, which explains why this show looks like your average TV variety program from the 1970s, just with sci-fi stuff pasted in.

[@deandupont5503]

@ 13:14 "That's not a name, that's a bad Scrabble hand." - M. Nelson

[@MattHawes]

I was one of the unfortunate bastards that sat through the Holiday Special in 1978. I was still a wee child, but sadly was all too aware of the truly horrible trash that was being inflicted upon me, and the viewing public. I was actually embarrassed to be watching this in the presence of others. Sigh. Merry Christmas, and happy Life Day! Yayy!!!

[@PungiFungi]

I actually saw the Holiday Special before the actual Star Wars movie.

[@jamescrow4915]

Happy life day and snort more cocaine to forget

[@anikmonette2140]

I was fortunate enough to be born in 1983 so I was spared this atrocity in my youth(Gosh! How devastating if I had to watch this while my brain was developing) but I just accidentally discovered that it was translated into French and that it aired in Canada as well. Now my new goal in life is to find people in my circle of friends and family that watched this special and ask how they felt about it!(I myself watched it multiple times because I have a high tolerance to boredom and it almost cross the event horizon where it's so boring it becoms entertaining again)😁

[@scipioafricanus5871]

People trashing the SW Holiday Special are the same people that make war on -Christmas- Life Day and I will not tolerate it!

[@aussiebaka4588]

The Star Wars Holiday Special: The original torture porn.

[@scipioafricanus5871]

The Star Wars Holiday Special has been banned in countless territories because of being deemed as "cruel and unusual punishment".

[@roberttreacy8271]

I agree that Disney should release The Star Wars Holiday Special, because I think it’s one of those things that must truly be seen to be believed.

[@ersturdevant2831]

I saw this when I was in second grade. It was embarrassing to watch. The animated Boba Fett episode was the only redeemable feature of this atrocity. Fact: it was so bad, they cut to local news early, interrupting the end credits. My entire second grade class was traumatized.

[@NikoZguri]

"we present the following piece of shit" i lost it there XD XD

[@jameswormsley460]

+Niko Zguri yea me too,happy holidays!!

[@NikoZguri]

James Wormsley happy holidays to you too

[@jameswormsley460]

Niko Zguri thanks

[@Foustdoodles98]

I love that opening, it looked beautiful! He really took the time to edit that. and make the special logo look REALLY special!!

[@stephenusaf6315]

I saw this 1 month before my 13th birthday and honestly I don’t remember anything except the Jefferson Starship video.

[@ZOSO900]

It's pretty clearly meant to be a Thanksgiving special more than a Christmas special. The message of Life Day (what there was of it), the Fall tones, the focus on dinner rather than Presents, and of course its original airing in November. Always want to correct the record on which holiday it's ruining exactly.

[@DrGregoryHouseIT]

The Star Wars Holiday Special: All Singing, All Belching!

[@ph89787]

Wow you kept your sanity through this. That's a lot better than what happened to the Nostalgia Critic.

[@jamescrow4915]

The nostalgia critic was always ass

[@LaineMann]

@@jamescrow4915hard disagree

[@SuperMarkerComicBro]

Anyone else wondering about the Harvey Corman android? It just seems so weird that he's a robot that looks like a human while every other robot in Star Wars looks like a robot.

[@dvass7253]

Another Linkara reference? OK, now I know for a fact that you have to review The Spirit! Oh, and awesome review. Personally, I think Attack of the Clones is the worst Star Wars-related thing ever, but to each their own. Merry Christmas, Sean!

[@troyschulz2318]

The worst Star Wars related thing of all time, in my humble opinion, was Super Bombad Racing

[@jordeusiii3900]

We wish Sean a merry Christmas we wish Sean a merry Christmas We wish Sean a merry Christmas and a happy new yeaaarr!

[@zakkizer2490]

Is it wrong that I want Disney to bring Bea Arthur back to life so her cantina can be in Episode 8, or even get her own spin-off movie?

[@nicholasdruce5346]

Disney: Golden Girls, and Star Wars

[@rainbowstreak9615]

Would the Golden Girls be darker/If we resurrect Bea Arthur?

[@gracekim1998]

Hmm 🤔

[@ericjohnson6120]

Lost it at "Fuck the police! We're stayin' and we're drinkin'"

[@jameswormsley460]

+eric johnson hahahahaha there it is lol!!!

[@MrRimant]

RIP Kenny Baker. Bless his stars that he did not have to appear in this abomination. Lol.

[@Achillez098]

Thank you so much for keeping footage of the wookies to a minimum, I was trying to watch the Nostalgia Critic's review of this, and despite footage of the wookies lasting only a few seconds, there was just too much, and I had to stop the video and never attempt to watch it again.

[@artrosemedia353]

I love how you do all this research before doing a full review. It lets me know that you're honest and that were not missing any important details instead of just hearing non stop criticism. Keep up the great work_! I think you're a lot better than the Nostalgia Critic!

[@patrickshields5251]

+Art Media yeah the nostalgia critic is a hack nowadays

[@markusforsberg6741]

@@patrickshields5251 🤬🤬🤬🤬🖕🖕🖕🖕

[@patrickshields5251]

@@markusforsberg6741 Looks like somebody is butthurt that people like me really doesn't like NC.

[@roberttreacy8271]

Agreed. NC is overrated.

[@thefanwithoutaface8105]

God this was hilarious. I mean that truthfully, I've seen two other reviews of this special, The Nostalgia Critic and Jontron Reviews encase your curious, but this one I think was probably the best due to it having a good balance of humor and insight. I enjoyed the fact you not only made the review funny but also informative, adding little details about the production, release and the like that made this more than just a video talking about how much this special sucks, which I can believe just by looking at it on mute. Granted I'm not a huge Star Wars fan and while I do wanna see the Force unleased I'm not gonna lose sleep if I don't see it right away. I just enjoy watching people complain about how crappy this thing is and I was looking forward to this since your last review. Anyway good work and I can't wait to see what you do next.

[@TheFLAMEXD]

I literally have no idea how to describe that Christmas special

[@EquivalentZero]

This was a nice treat for Christmas Eve. I hope your holidays are pleasant, Sean.

[@adambozek4732]

Thank you very much Sean for creating and uploading this review, it was pretty good. And with that being said, Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to you to, thank you very much again for making and uploading this review, and May the Force Be With You to.

[@AxioProductions]

This special is now a secondary canon. That means that Disney and the new head of Lucas Arts made Darth Plaguis novel, a story of Palpatine's house of card/game of throne rise to power, events that lead up the prequels really well, and explains how midichlorians work in a way that makes sense only to be replaced with wookie porn, Leia high on set as well as getting some tail from the actor who plays Chewie on said set, and Coreman's career being ruined for being in the special

[@AxioProductions]

However, I do think Disney should as a special feature.

[@ryandowney8743]

I do wish they would release this on BluRay. I really in depth making of documentary as a special feature would be far more interesting than the special itself.

[@MissGreenAgain]

I should note, Harvey Korman left "The Carol Burnett Show" prior to its final season to have his own variety show, thus making his participation in this look even more depressing in retrospect.

[@cutiepuppy4427]

This review needed more Santa Christ. Also, have yourself a merry Patrick Swayze Christmas, Sean!!

[@MetallicaRules]

Santa Christ, Santa Christ, we all love Santa Christ. He is Santa and Jesus, goddamn he's Santa Christ.

[@westernstudios2484]

Nah it needed super mecha death Christ

[@Torterra625]

The actor who plays Santa Christ needs Jesus... and possibly jail time.

[@GermanLeftist]

@@Torterra625 What did Rob Walker do now? I mean, Channel Awesome are awful employers but that doesn't necessarily qualify someone for jail time.

[@Torterra625]

@@GermanLeftist You mean besides condone what his shit brother was doing to his coworkers?

[@roberttreacy8271]

16:51 Maybe Anakin built some secret blinking function for C-3PO. EDIT: The robots in the animated movie Robots blinked as well.

[@JustinSimpson]

Great review! I've heard of this special for so long, and I'm glad I got to see your take on it first.

[@MisterTutor2010]

Any argument that TLJ was the worst entry can be refuted with two words, Holiday Special :)

[@jbvader721]

I don't even want to hear about the prequels either thanks to the Holiday Special. It's that bad. FYI, "Last Jedi" was the best "Star Wars" film since "Empire" (which got similar backlash upon initial release) and f** the whiny fanboys who say otherwise and feel entitled to bully the cast and crew on social media because it wasn't the movie they imagined in their heads.

[@MisterTutor2010]

jbvader721 Fanboys really needed to lighten up. TLJ being crap is not a crime.

[@vadersbiggestfan13]

Making the Star Wars Holiday Special 1080p would be like polishing a turd.

[@coolnerdlll6053]

According to MythBusters, that's entirely possible.

[@KorenLesthe]

It would result in one of the most beautiful turd ever;

[@garethspotfur1]

i actually saw this on the day. (yes, i know i'm old) the only parts that stuck in my memory were the goldfish holocube, harvey as the malfunctioning robot instructor, and the animated bit. i am grateful that this entire mess didn't get stuck in my braincells.

[@sirtalkalotdoolittle]

I was 13 when this aired and I saw it. I also remember turning it off before Jefferson Airplane or whatever they were. I think it was after the hologram

[@krdragon6950]

#STARWARS Holiday Special 43 years ago today…. Damn I’m old

[@Foustdoodles98]

+Cinematic Excrement merry Christmas buddy, and keep doing these videos, we love 'em and you.

[@sarademoor]

Circe de So Lame. Priceless xD (Yes, I'm late, I just discovered this channel!)

[@asheer9114]

Now i known why Kaylo Ren was so "lightsaber happy"... Snoke trained him by showing non stop "Star Wars Holliday Special"... anyway... Merry Christmas for the Light Siders and Happy Holidays for the Dark Siders (^_-) , and may The Force be with you all. (^_^)

[@justinriley]

To be fair, I'd be more than a little unstable too If I had to watch the special non-stop.

[@anarchomando7707]

@@justinriley watch that he probably had to be there in person the only reason leia survived was because she was high and Han survive because he was drunk That kid was the only one sober and Luke was probably the using force

[@MadameSomnambule]

Whoever recorded this special must've had some amazing tv reception. The video quality, especially for a late 70s tape, is pretty nice, especially the colors in the cartoon segments.

[@Mr72Dolphins]

The Holiday Special is awesome. I seriously watch this every Christmas Day.

[@jamescrow4915]

Dear god what is your family like?

[@MissBarker93]

"Who ever heard of a robot that blinks?" Umm...WALL-E and Eve?

[@tyrantgregcagkaiju71]

And the Terminator. At least I'm SURE we've seen him blink from time to time.

[@ElOchentero]

+Tyrant Gregcag (Kaiju71) isn't Terminator more a android?

[@larrywolf2509]

+srbarkerchan To be fair, a robot would most likely blink. How else would it clean it's lenses easily?

[@MrThischarmingman2]

+Luppercus An android is the term used for a humanoid robot.

[@ElOchentero]

MrThischarmingman2 exactly

[@chrisandrew7577]

Rumor has it, the producers of this were forced to watch it on repeat for their sins

[@troyschulz2318]

What's the music used in the opening crawl.

[@henrygvidonas9573]

Imaging wanting to feast one's eyes on the great Lynda Carter to calm one's nerves and getting _this_ instead...

[@frankfedison5203]

19:23 Officer: OK, troops, gather round the television. Trooper: But, sir, I- Officer: DENIED! SIT DOWN!!

[@NJGuy1973]

Harrison Ford's like, "If they think I'm staying past five o'clock, they're nuts."

[@WobblesandBean]

Happy christmas, Sean!

[@peterkrug2327]

6:37 This is the movie where we learn Chewies family live in a matt painting.

[@MissGreenAgain]

Boba Fett is voiced by the late Don Francks, father of Cree Summer.

[@eamonndeane587]

thechickinthemiddle and the voice of Sabertooth in the 1990's X Men Animated Series.

[@POLE7645]

I'll always remember him as Mok from Rock and Rule.

[@SpamEggSausage]

Elmira is annoying enough to be in this so I guess it's appropriate.

[@victorhernandez8723]

Seriously?

[@thefourseasons100]

I didn't even know that existed.....and now I'm scarred for life. They turn Luke into the Barbie doll Ken lol. The tutorial video....my mouth just fell open. That's the crappiest acting I HAVE EVER seen. In my life. I LOVE the prequels lol. If people can't understand or accept the backstory, don't watch it. Anakin going evil is like....losing a brother. You lose him with the movie. Jar Jar is hilarious. Maybe I'm just easily amused, but he just added laughter to the movie. As always goes to your videos, this is another favorite video of mine now lol. Though I must say, your dungeon and dragons and twilight reviews are just superb. I laugh every sentence you say. That holiday special will scar people. I swear it will.

[@Zackmanshark]

Merry Christmas Smeg!!!!

[@elsamaria2999]

After this travesty, no one has any right to hate on the Prequels.

[@kali3665]

There's only ONE way to watch this horror: with the Rifftrax boys behind it.

[@MST3Kfan1]

Kali Exactly! It’s amazing the RiffTrax guys managed to get the rights for the actual video.

[@ericseitzler81]

Even as funny as they r I still couldn't get threw the whole rifftrax video.this is the worst thing I've even seen.if I saw this as a kid I woulda still not been able to get threw it

[@benjaminguzman8645]

23:18-23:22 It’s not overrated it’s just not for everyone.

[@troyschulz2318]

Merry Christmas Eve and Other Such Seasonal Pre-Holidays!

[@tay-dor7147]

I was 9 when this came out and I ate it up. Tho I only got to watch the first half back then.

[@Sandlot1992]

this is way better than the Nostalgia Critic's review!

[@roberttreacy8271]

Agreed.

[@thefantasticretroreviewer3941]

5:58, Guess Mr. Lucas didn't count on People recording the Special back in 1978

[@thehoosierfortheUK]

Merry Christmas, Sean!

[@Timbo6669]

Thank you for the idea to watch this on acid!!

[@caitling.9358]

"Cirque du so-LAME," lol

[@ProjectFlashlight612]

Take a drink every time Matt Frewer Jr does NOT finish a host sequence with a long pause then a snappy zinger. Change the disc, man.

[@daneast]

I thought that there were licensing agreements with Fox in which a TV special was an option, and thus after the movie made a killing, they most certainly exercised that right. I hadn't heard that Lucas actually wanted the special to occur or thought it was a good idea (like to bridge the gap between the movies).

[@sirtalkalotdoolittle]

I can't believe we missed the 40th Anniversary of this mess!

[@roberttreacy8271]

Well this year is its 45th anniversary.

[@perfectallycromulent]

i was 4 when i saw this. i think it resulted in me not being nearly so much a star wars fans as the other kids who didn't see it. also, when you're 4 years old, the beginning of A New Hope where all the rebels are killed, that's pretty terrifying. so i got a bunch of gi joes instead.

[@oisin2406]

The opening 'A long time ago' gag bad me in stitches

[@swirvinbirds1971]

I remember as a kid being thoroughly disappointed by this special. You know it was bad when a 7 year old Star Wars geek thought it was awful.

[@rebeccavaughn8897]

Itchy and Lumpy sound like rejects from Snow White.

[@LinkMarioSamus]

Sean seems to be under the impression this was broadcast at Christmas, when it was more like Thanksgiving.

[@scorpionsunday9483]

I had a vhs of the special, I was gift from a friend. It was sold along with 90% of my stuff when my storage locker was sold

[@zombiedodge1426]

The Rifftrax for this, available through their website likely because Disney/Lucasfilm doesn't want to acknowledge its existence, is amazing, especially because they riffed not just the special but the ultra-cheesy '70s commercials and even the news updates. ("This just in: Christmas has been cancelled due to sadness over the Star Wars Holiday Special.")

[@deandupont5503]

@ 6:45 Actually, there was an eighth dwarf named Lumpy, but he died of cancer. Sorry, I had to do that.

[@SpamEggSausage]

and a ninth dwarf named Itchy who gave Snow White the crabs

[@deandupont5503]

Here's a bit of trivia.... What helped sell the cantina scene in the first movie? Mucus. Yes, mucus, eye-boogers, and watery eyes in general. The FX creators kept looking at the aliens they'd built and thinking (correctly) "Shit, they all look like we stole them from an old Star Trek episode, and one from season 3. Bleagh." Solution? Eye boogers, watery eyes, and snot. It's a damn desert planet! And it worked. The bizarre species stopped looking like the rubber masks they were, and resembled normal animals: oozing fluids from the appropriate orifices. You're welcome.

[@OceanbornAngel]

Is it a really bad thing if I said I remember watching this in the 70's as a kid...and liked it?

[@grainneorgracequinn2888]

I feel sorry for you

[@superpan218]

The cartoon that was in the special was good enough to be a standalone cartoon in Disney+.

[@cjpaeropaint]

I was 10 when this aired. You must remember we had 4 channels to watch. I watched and I thought This was terrible and Star Wars has peaked. I was bored and confused by most of it.

[@TheHeroOfTomorrow]

Is EVERYONE gonna talk about this now? I mean, it's a great review as usual, but next the Nostalgia Critic's gonna--oh, wait.

[@SuperMarkerComicBro]

There's a cartoon in the special. YOU MUST REVIEW IT, TOO!

[@Sandlot1992]

+SuperMarkerComicBro no worries Hewy Toonmore already reviewed it!

[@vaultdweller2295]

Wait what?

[@tvmasterc]

I saw this when it came out. As a big Star Wars nerd, I have only been able to get through the first twenty minutes.

[@luisumana1238]

I'd watch the shit out of a Star Wars\DragonBall crossover

[@dragonmaster613]

Shmeghead: "that terrible noise" Me, an Intellectual: **understands what the characters are saying in shyriiwook**

[@raymathews1474]

I was mercifully drunk when I encountered this. I may not have otherwise survived.

[@lakituscamera1508]

No preview for the next episode? Oh well, at least this was a good year for this channel.

[@heidifedor]

The same guy who came up with watching Life on Tatooine is the same guy who ordered, “Hold your fire, there are no life forms on board.”

[@harrisoncastleberry458]

I was living in Japan at the time so I’m happy to say that missed out on this POS!

[@marquan1976]

9:06 WTF? I lost it ☠️☠️☠️

[@gracekim1998]

😊well watching episode 7 is what got me into Star Wars so um yeah. Saw 2021

[@heidifedor]

My sister was 13, and I was 6 when this aired. I liked it because I was only 6, and I liked anything Star Wars. But my sister was in love with Harrison Ford so she liked anything he was in.

[@sepollcas]

Bea Arthur cantina sounds a lot of fun!

[@sargonsblackgrandfather2072]

I think I must be one of the only kids in the uk to have seen it. Right up until the Internet I would tell people about it and they’d think I was either lying or crazy.

[@jonmichaelhalsey6471]

Why in gods name are Harvey Korman and Art Carney in this? That must've been a hefty paycheck!

[@SpamEggSausage]

Harvey Korman was in a LOT of bad TV shows

[@charlesvan13]

Han's pilot seat in the Falcon is an office chair in this.

[@cinnamonchic22]

Happy new year I have been drinking heavily lol

[@manmadegod100]

I was 9 years old when this came on TV. I was not amused

[@glennledrew8347]

Lumpy's communicator a Commodore 64 knock-off? How about a Radio Shack electronics experiment kit. It appears to have not been altered at all, even though they were common enough to have been recognized as such back then.

[@troyo.8294]

(Congo music) CBS SPECIAL PRESENTATION! Excellent work my friend!

[@grapeshot]

This is a perfect example of success has a thousand fathers. But failure is just a poor little orphan.