Veteran Star Wars actor Mark Hamill has given a brief opinion on the infamous Holiday Special, on the anniversary of its first and last official airing in 1978.
The official Twitter for Wookieepedia, the extensive wiki for the franchise, posted earlier this week to commemorate the special's sole televised release. "On this day in 1978, The Star Wars Holiday Special aired for the first, and only time," the tweet reads. "To date, it has never been released again. Have you seen it? What did you think of it?" Hamill, who starred as Luke Skywalker in the Holiday Special, indicated his distaste through a short review: "There's a reason it aired only once."
Star Wars' Most Infamous Story
The Star Wars Holiday Special aired on CBS on November 17, 1978, to immediate negative reception. The special follows Han Solo (Harrison Ford) accompanying Chewbacca to his home world to celebrate "Life Day" with his family. Surrounding this frame story is a variety of different shorts set in the Star Wars universe. Although it never received another official release following this original airing, the special can often be found streaming unofficially on various content sharing sites online.
Despite its abysmal critical reception, the Holiday Special has gone on to be embraced by many fans of the franchise. Nov. 17 has even been dubbed by many Star Wars fans as "Life Day" in honor of the special. The special is also noteworthy for having the first ever appearance of Boba Fett, albeit in animated form. This animated segment, titled The Story of the Faithful Wookiee, was made available to stream on Disney+ in April 2021.
Even outside the Star Wars franchise, the Holiday Special's influence can still be felt all these years later. Marvel Studios' upcoming Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special, which is set to premiere on Disney+ on Nov. 25, was partially inspired by the Star Wars television special. Writer and director James Gunn also revealed that he "unironically loved [the Star Wars Holiday Special] as a kid." Many Marvel Cinematic Universe fans have even theorized that the upcoming Disney+ special would feature Hamill as Santa Claus himself alongside the titular Guardians; however, so far there's been no sign that the 40-minute presentation will feature St. Nick's MCU debut.
The Story of the Faithful Wookie is available to stream now on Disney+, while the Star Wars Holiday Special in its entirety remains unavailable via official means.
Source: Twitter
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