A new documentary explains why The Star Wars Holiday Special is awful

This breakdown of the documentary A Disturbance within the Power was initially printed when the film debuted on the 2023 SXSW Convention. It has been up to date for the film’s digital launch.

For a few many years after its one-time-only broadcast on Nov. 17, 1978, The Star Wars Vacation Particular was a secret handshake amongst nerds. “Bizarre Al” Yankovic’s “White & Nerdy” video incorporates a scene the place Al buys a bootleg VHS of the particular in an alley subsequent to a dumpster, winking at how a lot forex this notorious televised fiasco had amongst followers within the days earlier than YouTube. Now, a fast search on that specific website will pull up a number of full-length uploads of the particular — a lot to the presumed angst of George Lucas, who has publicly expressed his want to destroy each copy of Star Wars’ first huge misstep himself.

Simply because The Star Wars Vacation Particular is less complicated to search out in 2023 doesn’t make it any much less baffling, nevertheless. As soon as a fan discovers its existence and watches it, nevertheless they’re in a position to entry it — Lucasfilm has by no means formally launched The Star Wars Vacation Particular, and possibly by no means will — a sequence of questions inevitably comply with. “What?!” comes first, adopted by “Why?” and “How?” The documentary A Disturbance within the Power seeks to reply these queries.

The movie kicks off with the “WTF?” of all of it, in a montage that features sound bites from popular culture speaking heads like Seth Inexperienced and Kevin Smith, each of whom have inextricably tied their personas to their love of Star Wars. These are intercut with legacy clips of Star Wars actors, together with Harrison Ford and Carrie Fisher, refusing to debate the particular, setting it up as a holy grail and interesting thriller: “The Star Wars oddity they don’t need you to see!”

This a part of the movie is wonderful. It’s enjoyable and it’s vigorous, nevertheless it doesn’t actually add something to the legend. Then the movie brings in individuals who can reply the questions raised by the particular, relatively than merely restating them in colourful methods, and A Disturbance within the Power turns into one thing far richer and extra attention-grabbing.

Photograph: Lucasfilm

Probably the most shocking factor A Disturbance within the Power reveals about The Star Wars Vacation Particular is the caliber of expertise concerned. The crew was the most effective 1978 tv needed to provide, and CBS known as in its high stars to make appearances on the present. And but, someplace, one way or the other, every thing went to hell. Listed below are a number of questions which might be truly addressed in A Disturbance within the Power:

Why does The Star Wars Vacation Particular exist?

Briefly, due to a mixture of standard knowledge about film promotion within the late ’70s and George Lucas’ spite towards twentieth Century Fox. On the time, Star Wars was not embedded in our cultural consciousness the best way it’s now, and studio executives thought the passion in regards to the film can be non permanent, regardless of its box-office success. An govt advised Lucas that in a gathering in the summertime of 1977, and Lucas started pushing to get Star Wars characters on TV as a lot as potential, to show that exec flawed. (The truth that Star Wars toys have been nonetheless being rolled out a 12 months after the film first hit theaters, and that Lucas had a private monetary stake within the gross sales of these toys, didn’t harm.)

Why the music and dance numbers, although?

On the time, selection specials have been TV staples — extra widespread than rollicking sci-fi adventures advised within the fashion of old style serials, which meant that Lucas’ new film mannequin received stuffed in an previous field to promote it to the lots. A Disturbance within the Power argues that The Star Wars Vacation Particular was not the worst of Star Wars’ late-’70s TV appearances: That honor goes to a 1977 episode of Donny & Marie during which Donny Osmond performed Luke, Marie Osmond performed Leia (who was, on the time, nonetheless Luke’s love curiosity, not his sister), and Kris Kristofferson performed Han. The clips proven within the doc assist this thesis.

Why does The Star Wars Vacation Particular really feel so disjointed?

A mix of things comes into play right here. First, the unique director, David Acomba, was fired after three days for spending many of the present’s price range inside these 72 hours. Steve Binder, a professional who had additionally directed the Elvis ’68 comeback particular, stepped in to complete the job. However Binder had one other dedication that prevented him from being concerned with the enhancing of the particular, in order that job fell to a pair of producers named Ken and Mitzie Welch, who had made loads of selection reveals, however knew nothing about enhancing, Star Wars, or sci-fi basically.

Who designed all these wild costumes?

Bob Mackie, who was RuPaul’s and Whitney Houston’s favourite designer, and the premiere costumer for movie and TV within the late Nineteen Seventies. Mackie, now 84, has an excellent humorousness about the entire thing, and his interviews are a spotlight of the movie.

Photograph: Lucasfilm

Why does Bea Arthur nuzzle up with a rat within the cantina?

Like the remainder of the masks utilized in The Star Wars Vacation Particular’s cantina scene — and the unique Mos Eisley Cantina in Star Wars, for that matter — the rat was a leftover from one other manufacturing that results artist Rick Baker had labored on previously. The rat was additionally featured within the 1976 creature function The Meals of the Gods.

Why do Chewbacca and his household communicate in unsubtitled Shyriiwook for 9 minutes?

Extra misguided standard knowledge: CBS executives thought viewers would change the channel in the event that they noticed subtitles.

Why is Jefferson Starship in The Star Wars Vacation Particular?

As a result of they’d a music known as “Hyperdrive,” and the band had “Starship” in its title. Actually.

Was Lucasfilm embarrassed by the particular after it aired?

Not likely. TV was extra ephemeral within the days earlier than VCRs turned commonplace, and interviewees within the doc who noticed The Star Wars Vacation Particular as children say that they and their friends thought it was superior — largely due to its Boba Fett cartoon, which marks Fett’s first official look within the universe. Jon Favreau and Dave Filoni have been two of these children, which is why Mando’s rifle on The Mandalorian is modeled after Fett’s on the vacation particular.

Is Disney embarrassed by the particular now?

The corporate has began promoting Life Day merchandise, and has declared Nov. 17 — the day the particular aired on CBS — as an official Star Wars vacation in its theme parks. So, as all the time with Disney: It’s wonderful with any ancillary product, as long as the corporate can generate income off of it.

Why does Chewie’s dad Itchy have fun Life Day by watching Wookiee porn?

Some mysteries are greatest left unsolved. All we all know is that Cher was imagined to play the Diahann Carroll position, however dropped out on the final minute.

A Disturbance within the Power is now obtainable for digital rental by way of Amazon, Vudu, and Apple.