A Long Time Ago in a Galaxy Far, Far Away
As the world gets ready to celebrate Star Wars Day, STACK shines a light on a TV special which is still to see the light of day on DVD or Blu-ray.
Dubbed "May the 4th Be With You", Star Wars is returning to the big screen this month for an awesome movie marathon at selected cinemas in New Zealand and around the world.
However, the announcement jogged our memories about a long-lost spin-off that we would love to see again: the notorious Star Wars Holiday Special. As we as an animated segment - which marked the first screen appearance of Boba Fett - the 1978 TV variety show featured most of the stars of the first movie, along with comedy routines from the likes of Harvey Korman (Blazing Saddles) and Bea Arthur (Golden Girls), and music performances from Jefferson Starship, Diahann Carrol, and Carrie Fisher, who gets to sing a version of the Star Wars theme.
The critics at the time were not impressed and it was subsequently ranked No. 1 in a book entitled What Were They Thinking: The 100 Dumbest Events in Television History. George Lucas is not a fan either, reportedly telling a fan once: "If I had the time and a sledgehammer, I would track down every copy of that show and smash it."
Although the show's animated segment was included as part of the extras for the Blu-ray set, there is still no sign of the full show getting an official release.
So let's just hope that Star Wars' new owner Walt Disney has a change of heart: good or bad, it's still an essential Star Wars artefact.
That said, fans can look forward this month to seeing all six films from the epic space saga back on the big screen, with The Phantom Menace, Attack of the Clones, and Revenge of the Sith screening on 3 May, and the original three trilogy - A New Hope, The Empire Strikes Back, and Return of the Jedi - running the next day.
Cinemas taking part include Auckland's Event Cineamas Albany and Hoyts Cinemas Sylvia Park, Hoyts Cinemas Te Awa in Hamilton, Wellington's Event Embassy Theatre, Rialto Cinemas in Dunedin, and Palmerston North's Downtown Cinemas.
And don't forget, the Blu-ray box set Star Wars: The Complete Saga is still available on Blu-ray at JB Hi-Fi, along with the two Trilogy DVD sets.
Forget the awful [whisper]Holiday Special[/whisper] ... where's the proper release of the animated Ewoks and Droids shows??
