A fun doc about that holiday special that tainted the force.
A year after the first “Star Wars” movie “A New Hope” came out, there was a holiday special so atrocious that only bootleg copies of it existed. It was known as “The Star Wars Holiday Special,” and it featured Mark Hamill as Luke Skywalker, Harrison Ford as Han Solo, Carrie Fisher as Princess Leia, the voice of James Earl Jones as Darth Vader, as well as guest appearances by Bea Arthur, Art Carny, Harvey Korman, Diahann Carroll, and Jefferson Starship, among others. It also featured holograms of mini performers, Chewbacca’s sitcom-like family (during his Wookie holiday celebration Life Day, and an animated segment introducing us to Bobo Fett, all of which still looks and feels cheesy, even by today’s standards. The genius George Lucas had nothing to do with this project, but disowned it greatly.
The new documentary “A Disturbance in the Force” is about how it was conceived, how it was panned, and how the marketing campaign was much different back then than it is today. Times change, and opinions can change. Some not so much. “The Star Wars Holiday Special” is one of those negative examples.
This special was created, so people could be better prepared for the then upcoming “The Empire Strikes Back.” TV shows back then had better marketing campaigns than movies did, and “Star Wars” toys wouldn’t be made until months after the movie left theaters. And this special was supposed to give these gifts a jumpstart.
Some say that the “Donny & Marie” special was worse than the holiday special. It featured Donnie Osmond as Luke, Marie as Leia, and Kris Kristofferson as Han Solo, and there was also a moment where Chewbacca put his arm around Darth Vader like they were buddies. This is when you ask: “Really?.” And yet, that was the special George Lucas approved of, especially since he loaned the show some of his props.
You hear a lot of insight from the likes of Seth Green, Kevin Smith, the late Gilbert Gottfried, Taran Killam, Patton Oswalt, as well as die hard “Star Wars” fans and collaborators of the special. If I was an interviewee who saw this as a kid, I would have been disturbed by it. In fact, I didn’t even know this existed as a kid. Probably for the best. I don’t even know how Hamill, Ford, or Fisher agreed to this, but they still were able to survive the sequels. Oh, and a piece of advice, if you ever go to a Harrison Ford Q&A event, don’t ask any Han Solo questions. From what I’ve heard (refer back to my review of “Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny”), it will ruin yours and everyone else’s day.
“A Disturbance in the Force” gets a little off-topic with its discussion of non “Star Wars” segments, but it stays focused on the impact the franchise has had on people as well as their reactions towards this holiday special. And yet, some of the interviews agree that fans should see this special as it is an important part of “Star Wars” history. If I do meet Lucas, I sure as Hell won’t ask him about it. This doc has the force to be a love (hate) letter to a hateful special. It all depends on your views.
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