Why Star Wars’ Forgotten Holiday Special Deserves More Attention

The famously bad TV event is as influential as it is bizarre. So why isn't it available to legally stream? If you have trouble reading this message, view it in a browser.       The Star Wars Holiday Special Is a Brilliant Disaster. That's Why Disney Shouldn't Erase It From History.   On Friday, November 17th, 1978, The Star Wars Holiday Special aired once on CBS, and then never again. Not officially, anyway—if you look hard enough you can find the infamous special that Lucasfilm has worked decades to erase. The Star Wars Holiday Special, which was one of several Star Wars tie-ins that CBS proposed to Star Wars Corporation (a subsidiary of Lucasfilm) has earned its reputation as a mortifyingly unfunny variety show featuring Star Wars characters. The program has a cocktail-napkin-sized plot: Chewbacca's family is harassed by Imperial troops while they wait for Chewie (Peter Mayhew) and Han Solo (Harrison Ford) to return home for Life Day celebrations. Read More           How To Avoid Political Fights With Your (So-Called) Loved Ones Over the Holidays   Things are tense in America. Have you noticed? These times are fraught and fractured, and as a nation, we are hurtling headlong toward certain catastrophe and chaos, by which I mean the holidays. Read More           Puglia Is Italy's Lesser-Known Seaside Food and Wine Haven   Created by Esquire for Locations   Where to stay, dine, and beach in the Italian wine country. Read More           Drink a Jelly Doughnut Beertail—a Recreation of Sufganiyot—for Hanukkah   While Christmas is rife with cocktail standards, us Jews don't really get any for our holiday season. Which is absurd, because we have eight different nights to have people over to light the menorah and celebrate! Yeah, I suppose you could make an eggnog with rabbi-blessed eggs and Manischewitz, but I mean, come on. Read More           Rey's Ending in The Rise of Skywalker Gave a New Meaning to the Star Wars Name   (This contains spoilers.) Hyperbole is the language of Star Wars criticism. It's encouraged (and click-y) to make huge, unsubtle claims about the films as soon as they debut. But it seems the critics saved their best adjectives for The Rise of Skywalker. Many of the top publications have taken aggressive swipes at the film, using words like "incoherent," "awful," and "manic," drawing comparisons to terrible finales like Spider-Man 3, with Forbes even deeming it "The worst Star Wars movie ever made." Read More           Take a Break From the Family With These Movies to See on Christmas Day   No matter what your holiday looks like, there is always one fool proof way how to spend it: Go to the movies. The real bonus here is that you don't have to talk for at least 90 minutes, and after an entire day of family (or friend) time, everyone can use a break. That's the true holiday miracle. This year there are plenty of options for films that will please everyone in your movie-going party. Maybe you don't even have to choose between Star Wars and Little Women—a double-feature is a great way to pass those lazy hours after a holiday meal. Or, make this Christmas a weird one and let the bizarro Cats adaptation haunt your waking nightmares. That's the American way. Read More         Read More on Esquire.com       Follow Us     Unsubscribe  Privacy Notice   esquire.com ©2019 Hearst Communications Inc. All Rights Reserved. Hearst Email Privacy, 300 W 57th St., Fl. 19 (sta 1-1), New York, NY 10019