A Call For Our Readers To Request Disney+ Add The Holiday Special

This morning Lucasfilm creative art manager and author of the "Art of" books, Phil Szostak, sent out the following Tweet showing how subscribers can request content for Disney+:



For Star Wars fans, I believe there is only one answer to this request: The Star Wars Holiday Special. We all know that the Holiday Special isn't particularly good in total, and George Lucas himself has said he'd like to destroy every copy in existence. If you've read me at all, you know that I can't stand the concepts of "so bad it's good", ironic appreciation, or kitsch. Frankly, I think such attitudes toward products, be they entertainment or goods, are a cop out. It's just leaning into something bad, which is easy and lazy. It's lame. We should always strive for things to be the best they can be, and forcefully reject poor products, especially if we're trading our hard earned dollars for them. Never send the wrong message by rolling over like a lap dog and accepting inferiority. This is within reason of course. If something is truly meant for children, like the animated shows, they should be judged in that context. I'm not saying we should push for The Clone Wars to be Henry V.

So why then would I, as an anti-ironic appreciation evangelist, call for the community to request something that I fully admit is not very good? Well, it happened just like Jar Jar stepping on "leavings" happened. It's part of our history. It's a time capsule. It's a testament to Star Wars' immediate pop-cultural impact that this bizarre, and at times quasi-hallucinogenic, offering could even see broadcast. This special even preempted big CBS hits like The Incredible Hulk and Wonder Woman. It's amazing that big stars like Bea Arthur and Art Carney would sign on for this project. Somehow it's not amazing that Harvey Korman participated. That part just seems right, and he and the Holiday Special went together like shoe and shoelace. Stir whip. Stir whip. Whip whip stir.

But there's also the good. As was pointed out on a great episode of The Goldbergs, the Holiday Special was also our introduction to Boba Fett via a curious animated interlude. I would also like to add that it's some of our best looks at the cantina costumes. Yes, you have to endure Bea Arthur's tribute song to last call, but being video taped (I assume), these shots offer us clearer looks at the costumes (some of which are unique to the Holiday Special) than we get from the gritty filmed scenes in A New Hope.

So if you're with me, please follow the instructions above to request The Holiday Special. If you don't, I'm retiring from Bantha Skull.

---

comments powered by Disqus