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The Star Wars Holiday Special: Difference between revisions
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Want to know more about the rich planetary culture of these proud creatures, starting with why they're mostly named after embarrassing incidents at the frat house? Too bad, they all speak only [[The Unintelligible|Shyriiwook]]. You know, the whining, moaning, growling, and barking that only Han Solo could understand in the movies? The first 10-15 minutes of the special is conducted entirely in those. There are no subtitles whatsoever.
The basic idea linking the segments together is that Chewie is trying to get home for the big Wookiee holiday, [[You Mean "Xmas"|Life Day]]. During the course of the film, we get updates from the [[Cool Starship|Millennium Falcon]] as a seriously-bored [[Harrison Ford]] and Peter Mayhew race for "Kazook" space. The catch is that they may not make it in time as they're being pursued by agents of the Galactic Empire, who are also searching the planet for Rebel agents. [[A Nazi
For the rest of the running time, we're given insight into the proud rich Wookiee tradition of watching 1970s-style Earth TV:
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And although not exactly related, the [http://www.platypuscomix.net/videos/lifedayads.html commercials] that aired during the special (and preserved on some bootlegs) are also [[Narm|absolutely hilarious in an unintentional way]].
If you care to, the best way to watch ''The Star Wars Holiday Special'' is with several [[Hitchhikers Guide|Pan-Galactic Gargle Blasters]] or your local planetary equivalent. If you would first like to have an idea of what you're getting into in relative comfort, I-Mockery.com has published a three-page synopsis with accompanying animated GIFs of scenes [http://www.i-mockery.com/minimocks/starwars-holiday/ here]. Watching it with the ''[[
Finding copies of the special on a legal basis is downright impossible, as [[George Lucas]] will ensure it won't be released on DVD as long as he lives... however apparently looks the other way when it shows up on certain video sites. The special is regularly brought up during the month of December on [[Wrestlecrap]], reviewed by a fellow Troper [http://madnessmonster.wordpress.com/2009/06/28/star-wars-holiday-review/ here.]
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* [[Acting for Two]]: More like acting for [[Just for Pun|too]] ''many'' — practically half the characters are played by [[The Carol Burnett Show|Harvey Korman]].
* [[Actor Allusion]]: Art Carney's excessive noodling with a device in exactly the same way Ed Norton did in ''[[The Honeymooners]]'', complete with an Imperial Guard yelling, "Will you just ''get on'' with it?!" in the same way as Ralph Kramden.
{{quote| '''[[
* [[Camp]]: And not the good kind, sadly, managing to scrape together the absolute worst of the variety show format and none of the good elements.
* [[Broad Strokes]]: While George Lucas is doing his best to make sure nobody knows it was made, many elements are accepted in canon... but with the understanding that they happened during something that wasn't a crappy variety show.
* [[Canon Immigrant]]:
** Yes, that's still really Chewbacca's family. However the official canon sources, trying desperately to put a positive spin on things, turn the names given here into nicknames, along the same lines as 'Chewie' <ref> "Itchy" is short for "Attichitcuk", and "Lumpy" is short for "Lumpawarrump"</ref>. [[Unfortunate Names|Not that it helps.]]
** Bea Arthur's character has actually been used in some ''Star Wars'' books, most recently helping to free slaves in ''[[
** In ''[[Knights of the Old Republic]]'', the Wookiee homes are faithful to ''Holiday Special'', albeit [[Darker and Edgier]].
** None other than Boba Fett himself, appearing in animated form two years before showing up in 'Empire'.
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* [[Cute but Cacophonic|Ugly And Cacophonic]]: Lumpy.
* [[Dastardly Whiplash]]: Luke is the only character who trusts Boba despite this. [[What an Idiot!]].
* [[A Date
* [[Deadpan Snarker]]: Bea Arthur, alone of the cast. Which is saying something when ''Han Solo'' is also around.
* [[Dude Looks Like a Lady]]: An extremely unfortunate side effect of the makeup job used to conceal Mark Hamill's scars from his recent car accident. Did they really need to get mascara involved? (In canon, the scars would be explained by the Wampa attack in ''[[The Empire Strikes Back]]'', but that doesn't happen until ''after'' this special.)
{{quote| '''[[
* [[Early-Bird Cameo]]: Boba Fett.
* [[Evil Is Petty]]: The Empire has nothing better to do than shutting a bar down. Riiiiiiight...
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** As was strongarming a groomer by Lord Helmet from Saun Dann.
* [[Fictional Holiday]]: The Wookiees' Life Day. Which is now considered canon, despite the huge section of the fandom that wishes otherwise.
* [[Flash Back Back Back]]: Chewbacca at the end. [[
* [[For the Evulz]]: While searching the house for Chewie, the Stormtroopers make sure to go out of their way to completely trash Lumpy's room for no reason other than to be dicks. Keep in mind that this was long before they were clones with no free will.
** Also, the only possible reason they close Bea Arthur's cantina.
** The executives when they mandated the script rewrite.
* [[Informed Ability]]: Darth Vader tells Boba Fett he's "the best bounty hunter in the galaxy," but he does nothing in the short, and if Luke hadn't been [[Too Dumb to Live]] he'd have noticed Boba's [[Dastardly Whiplash]] behavior.
* [[Its Pronounced Tropay]]: For some reason, the Imperial Guard calls Kashyyyk "Kazook". [[
* [[Kick the Dog]]: The Imperial trooper ripping Lumpy's stuffed bantha's head off.
{{quote| '''[[
* [[Notable Original Music]]: Diahann Carroll, Jefferson Starship, Bea Arthur, and Carrie Fisher singing while high!
* [[Obviously Evil]]: Boba Fett. He's constantly one step away from breaking out into evil laughter, and yet Luke just blindly trusts him.
* [[Off-Model]]: The character designs in the animated segment are all over the place, especially for the human characters. Han in particular looks like somebody smashed him in the face with a shovel.
{{quote| '''[[
* [[Old Shame]]: Harrison "Stone-Face" Ford: So embarrassed, he could barely keep from fleeing the room when [[Conan O
** Bea Arthur: Averted.
{{quote| "It was a wonderful time, but I had no idea it was even a part of the whole ''Star Wars'' thing... It's odd. I've gotten so many letters and requests for autographed photos from that thing. I just remember singing to [[Rubber Forehead Aliens|a bunch of people with funny heads]]."}}
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** Lumpy assembling a transmitter with the aid of an instructional video, which we see ''in its entirety''. The "joke" is that Korman, as a robot showing how to assemble the thing, gradually runs out of power and collapses at its conclusion. Doesn't help.
* [[Police State]]: Kashyyyk is ruled by The Empire as one, which is why every home has [[Nineteen Eighty-Four|a two way view screen]]. The Wookiees have learned to subvert the tech to their own needs, and have their own hidden screens.
* [[Porn Stache]]: "[[Spaceballs
** One thing the Rifftrax crew failed to note, however, was Lord Helmet's astonishing resemblance to riffer Kevin Murphy. Seriously, it could have been Kevin's twin.
* [[Railing Kill]]: A Stormtrooper goes through the rail of the Wookiee treehouse with the [[Wilhelm Scream]], no less! Appropriate, given that the show's choreographer was none other than David "''[[Space Mutiny]]''" Winters.
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* [[Sixth Ranger Traitor]]: Boba Fett. Go figure.
* [[Space Clothes]]: Harvey Korman's are particularly notable... and terrifying.
* [[Stalker
* [[Stock Footage]]: All of the space battles are lifted straight from the first movie. Darth Vader's whole appearance in the special is a brief [[Deleted Scene]] from ''[[A New Hope]]'' with his one line of dialogue redubbed. This, along with the different context, "cleverly" changes it so that he and an Imperial officer are talking about locating Han and Chewbacca rather than C-3PO and R2-D2. Also, said officer died on the Death Star, resulting in [http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Unidentified_Moradmin_Bast_look-alike this.] What's even more hilarious is how not-Bast's vocals don't match up with his lip movements.
* [[Thousand-Yard Stare]]: [[Mark Hamill]], during the scene where Luke communicates with Malla over the TV screens. While he blinks several times, the way he gazes directly into the camera, wearing heavy makeup and mascara gives him the illusion of being a stoned model.
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