The Star Wars Holiday Special The Star Wars Holiday Special is a 1978 based on a story by George Lucas . The main storyline of the film transpires on the Wookiee home planet of Kashyyyk . Chewbacca and Han Solo visit the planet to celebrate the Wookiee holiday Life Day with his family , which includes his wife Malla , his son Lumpy and his father Itchy . As Chewbacca and Han are known Rebel agents , they are pursued by the Galactic Empire , who in the process invade Chewbacca ' s household . The plot is strung together by a series of musical numbers , celebrity appearances , and other variety - show acts , including songs and comedy routines by such 1970s celebrities as Jefferson Starship , Diahann Carroll , Art Carney , Harvey Korman , and Bea Arthur . Lucas ' s involvement with the special was limited , and he was unhappy with the final product . As a result , it has never been re - aired in the US or officially released on home video , but has been widely by fans . Despite its infamy , the special is notable for being the first film - length " Star Wars " story to appear following the release of the , for featuring cameos by all of that film ' s major cast , and for introducing the character Boba Fett . Plot . Aboard the " Millennium Falcon " , Chewbacca and Han Solo are on their way to Kashyyyk to be with Chewbacca ' s family for Life Day , a Wookiee holiday . After departing Tatooine , the pair find themselves being chased by two Star Destroyers . Han wants to turn back , but Chewbacca convinces him to move forward , and they jump to hyperspace . On Kashyyyk , Chewbacca ' s family are anxiously awaiting and preparing for his return . Itchy is carving an X - wing toy for Lumpy , Malla is working in the kitchen , and Lumpy is playing with an already - complete X - wing toy . On the table , Malla has prepared a bowl of Wookiee - ookiee s . Lumpy tries to sneak one before dinner , but Malla catches him and asks him to take out the day ' s garbage . Lumpy sets the trash down outside , and climbs up on the railing to walk along it . Back inside the house , Malla and Itchy are worried , as Chewbacca has not arrived yet . Malla takes down a picture of Chewbacca and Itchy notices her worries . He reassures her that Chewbacca is safe , and she then returns the picture . Lumpy comes back into the house , and Itchy reaches into a cabinet and gets down an activity capsule . He shows it to Lumpy . Malla , however , sees this and objects . Itchy convinces her otherwise , and inserts the capsule into a round table - machine . After Itchy switches on the device , Lumpy sits down and begins to view a computer - generated group of circus performers performing an act . At the conclusion of the performance , Lumpy applauds the acts , and switches the machine off . Malla then asks Lumpy to help wash the dishes . Malla and Itchy begin to worry again . Malla uses a computer to run a search for any starships in the area . However , the computer returns no results . She switches on a hidden viewscreen and contacts Luke Skywalker , who is working on his X - wing starfighter with help from the droid R2 - D2 . Luke does not know what has happened and suggests that Han and Chewbacca probably stopped off somewhere , and would be there soon . He begins to have a few problems of his own when the part he is working on begins to emit steam . Seeing that he is busy , Malla shuts off the communication viewscreen . Next , Malla contacts Saun Dann , a local Human trader on the planet . He is in the middle of a deal with an Imperial Navy trooper when Malla contacts him , so he must deal with the trooper first . Saun Dann suggests a few items , for which the guard expresses no interest . While the guard is distracted looking at items , Saun Dann speaks with Malla through a carefully - worded message that Han and Chewbacca are on their way , and should be arriving soon . However , he too does not know of their current whereabouts . He shuts off the viewscreen , and suggests a multi - functional groomer . The guard takes the item , giving Saun Dann nothing in return . Saun Dann has no choice but to let him take it , and he sarcastically says that he considers it a gift to the guard . Meanwhile aboard a Star Destroyer , an Imperial officer informs Darth Vader that a blockade has been set up around Kashyyyk and a search has begun for the Rebels . Vader tells him to continue the search , even if it takes searching every household in the system . Back on Kashyyyk , Malla is preparing the dinner for the night ' s feast . She turns on a viewscreen to view a cooking program with Gormaanda , a four - armed chef . Gormaanda gives instructions on how to prepare the Bantha rump . When she begins to speed up the process , Malla can ' t keep up and switches the viewscreen off . In space , the " Millennium Falcon " approaches Kashyyyk . Unaware of the blockade , Chewbacca and Han are attacked by four TIE / LN starfighter s . After taking out a few using the cockpit ' s remote controls , Han resorts to going down into the quad cannons to use them manually ; Chewbacca takes the main controls . On Kashyyyk , Itchy is resting in his chair while Malla is walking around . Suddenly , an Imperial officer announces on the viewscreen that a blockade has been set up around the planet , and that the Empire has declared martial law . Immediately after the announcement , they get a knock at the door . Frightened , Itchy goes to open it . To their relief , it is Saun Dann , who has brought each of them Life Day gifts . He gives Malla and Lumpy their presents first , and they go off to open them . Saun Dann then gives Itchy his present — a memory chip — which he inserts into Itchy ' s mind evaporator . Itchy watches with excitement as a human female sings a song . At a Rebel base , Leia and the droid C - 3PO are working on something . Malla contacts them via viewscreen to alert them that Chewbacca and Han haven ' t shown up . Leia asks if Malla is alone , and is relieved that Saun Dann is there to protect her . Malla switches off the viewscreen . Saun Dann says he smells " Wookiee - ookiees " , and he and Malla go into the kitchen . Back on the " Millennium Falcon " , Chewbacca and Han are approaching Kashyyyk . Han notices the abundance of Imperials in the area , so they decide to land on the north side of the planet — a safe section area . He notes that this is far from the Wookiee household however , and will be a long walk . After a protest from Chewbacca , they decide to land as planned . As they enter the atmosphere of Kashyyyk , Lumpy hears the roaring of a ship . Everyone in the house gets excited , and run to the door . Malla opens the door to two stormtroopers holding their blaster pistols at her , with two Imperial officers behind them . Malla roars , but the Imperials force their way in . The head officer checks the house for all residents , and finds that a male Wookiee is missing . He orders his men to do a full search of the house . The officers proceed to look through the house , nearly discovering the hidden communication device Malla uses to keep in contact with Luke . To try to distract the attention of the Imperials , Saun Dann suggests that he and Malla prepare some food for everyone . Saun Dann turns on Malla ' s gift — a music box — for one of the officers , and watches with the officer while Malla does the cooking . A holographic band appears on the box , and sings a song . When the video finishes , the head officer orders the search to continue , and for the officer who viewed the music band to get back to work . Saun Dann leaves , as he believes he cannot help further . The head officer tells Malla to keep Lumpy busy while they search , so Lumpy sits down to watch a program on a viewscreen . During a search for a talisman , the " Millennium Falcon " — piloted by Chewbacca and Han — crashes on a moon in the Panna system . At a rebel base , Leia , Luke , C - 3PO and R2 - D2 are concerned that Han and Chewbacca haven ' t returned , so Luke and the droids take a Y - Wing to the Panna moon . Upon landing , they are attacked by a giant creature that begins eating part of the Y - wing ; This prompts Luke to eject the cockpit from his craft . An armored man appears riding a larger creature , and proceeds to hit the other creature with a blaster bolt from his staff , causing it to flee . He introduces himself as Boba Fett , and suggests that he can help them . Luke drives toward the " Millennium Falcon " crash site , during which C - 3PO tells him not to be eager to trust Fett . Aboard the " Millennium Falcon " , Han has been infected by a sleeping virus caused by the talisman . Luke immediately contracts the virus as well . Fett and Chewbacca make their way into Panna City . It is occupied by Imperials , so Fett instructs Chewbacca to stay behind while he gets the serum . When he is away from Chewbacca , Fett contacts Darth Vader to inform him of the situation . Vader reveals that Fett is a notorious bounty hunter who is working for Vader in a plan to reveal the location of the Rebels . Lumpy shouts out in horror at the events in the program . It alerts the main Imperial officer , who comes over to see what is wrong . Lumpy acts like nothing is wrong , and shuts off the cartoon when the officer approaches . He then resumes the program with C - 3PO caring for Han and Luke . He and R2 - D2 intercept the message between Vader and Fett on their viewscreen , and C - 3PO says that they have to tell Luke . After evading the Imperials , Fett and Chewbacca return to the ship with the serum . After giving Han and Luke the serum , they recover and everyone learns of Fett ' s true allegiance . Boba ignites his jet pack , and blasts away , promising that he will meet them again . Everyone leaves the planet aboard the " Millennium Falcon " . Lumpy shuts off the monitor and applauds . Upstairs , the Imperials search and ransack Lumpy ' s room . One rips the head off of Lumpy ' s stuffed bantha . Lumpy comes up after they have gone back downstairs . He is saddened by what they have done to his treasured toy , and tries to put its head back on . He lays it down on his bed and covers it with a blanket . Lumpy then opens the present Saun Dann gave him and puts in the instruction video , which teaches him how to assemble the device — a mini - transmitter . A humanoid described as an " Amorphiian Being from the system Amorphiia " appears on the video . The video ' s announcer explains that Amorphiian beings have bodies that will often temporarily stop functioning . Throughout the program , this Amorphiian does just that . After instructing Lumpy of the basics of the product , the Amorphiian shuts down completely and falls onto the floor . Lumpy shuts off the video . Downstairs , while the Imperials are still searching , a video comes on the living room viewscreen . Its narrator describes it as " Life on Tatooine " and that it is " required viewing by all Imperial personnel " , so all the Imperials in the house turn their attention to the viewscreen . At first , individuals are seen walking the streets of Mos Eisley . The focus then shifts to inside a cantina , where a band is playing and the patrons are drinking and conversing . The bartender — Ackmena — is in the process of serving drinks , when a humanoid walks in named Krelman . He seems very interested and attracted to her . Krelman offers her flowers and they begin to talk , but are interrupted by an Imperial announcement on the viewscreen ; As part of their search for the Rebels , Tatooine is being put under a curfew by the Empire . The Imperial agent orders everyone to return to their homes immediately . Ackmena is shocked , and asks her customers to leave . When they all refuse , she suggests one more round of drinks for everyone , which she pays for herself . She then proceeds to usher them out by singing a song and dancing . Everyone eventually leaves except for Krelman , who again offers her flowers . After the video finishes , Lumpy ' s plan goes into effect . The Imperials repeatedly get a call to " return to base " . They decide to leave , but the head officer instructs one of the stormtroopers to stay behind . After the other Imperials leave , the stormtrooper still hears the radio call to " return to base " . He immediately sees that something is wrong because there are no more comlinks around . He determines that the sound is coming from Lumpy ' s room upstairs . He runs upstairs , where he finds Lumpy speaking into the mini - transmitter that he had constructed earlier . The stormtrooper startles Lumpy , who jumps up . The stormtrooper grabs the box and smashes it on the ground . Lumpy runs down the stairs and out onto the deck , followed closely by the stormtrooper . Lumpy and the stormtrooper arrive outside at the same time , just as Chewbacca and Han approach the door . Chewbacca growls and runs around the stormtrooper to protect Lumpy . The stormtrooper points his blaster at both of them . Secretly , Han is backing against the wall , ready to attack . The stormtrooper does not see him , and Han sneaks up and hits him . The two get ready to fight , but Han suddenly trips the stormtrooper , who breaks the railing and lets out the Wilhelm scream as he falls to his death in the trees below . Relieved , Han picks up Lumpy and hands him to his father . They go inside , where Malla and Itchy are waiting . Han explains that he has taken care of the threat . Chewbacca and Han hug everyone . Malla asks Han to stay , but he says he has to get back to the " Millennium Falcon " before someone finds it . After saying his goodbyes , Han wishes everyone a happy Life Day and leaves . The family then hears yet another knock at the door . With his bowcaster ready to fire , Chewbacca opens the door to find Saun Dann with a bag in his hand . The same Imperial officer as before appears on a viewscreen , searching for the missing stormtrooper B4711 . Saun Dann replies to the request , claiming that B4711 was left by the other officers ; after they had left , B4711 had stolen a lot of food from his house and left without a trace . The story works , and the officer says he will send out a search party to find the missing stormtrooper . The officer disappears from the viewscreen , to everyone ' s relief . Before he goes , Saun Dann wishes the entire family a happy Life Day . The family then prepares to go the festival at the Tree of Life . They each take a crystal and gather them together above their heads . The entire family — along with many other Wookiees — are next in space dressed in red robes , and are traveling toward a bright star . They arrive at the Tree of Life , where a group of Wookiees have gathered at the tree ' s base . Chewbacca , C - 3PO and R2 - D2 stand before the other Wookiees , and Luke , Leia and Han soon join them . To begin the ceremony , Leia gives a short speech on the meaning of Life Day and sings a song in celebration , to the tune of the " Star Wars " theme . At the conclusion of the ceremony , Chewbacca remembers several of the group ' s adventures : when he first met Luke and Leia , when they all escaped the Death Star , when he played dejarik with R2 - D2 , and attending the award ceremony on Yavin 4 after he and Han had helped Luke destroy the Death Star . As he finishes reminiscing , the Wookiees begin to file out of the ceremony . That night , Chewbacca , Malla , Lumpy and Itchy sit at the family table , where they bow their heads and prepare to eat a Life Day meal . Production . Near the end of 1977 , various " Star Wars " - themed variety segments — such as those on " " and " " — had brought a surge in ticket sales for the , which was still in theaters . Additionally , Lucasfilm had been under pressure from various licensees with ideas for products , among them CBS , who suggested a full - length variety special . Amongst this climate , George Lucas became convinced that such a project would sustain interest in the franchise until the release of " " in 1980 . Publicity director Charles Lippincott told " Vanity Fair " in 2008 , " We wanted something that was going to make us different in variety shows . We didn ' t want the same - old , same - old . " Scripting . Gary Smith and Dwight Hemion were brought on as producers . However , the pair had to divide their time with a number of other projects in development , so they themselves hired other producers to assist , such as Ken and Mitzie Welch . Writers Leonard Ripps and Pat Proft — both of whom had previously worked with Smith - Hemion — met with Lucas for one day , during which the three worked to develop the story , which focused on Chewbacca trying to get home to his family for the Wookiee holiday of Life Day . ( One of Lucas ' s discarded ideas for " A New Hope " was to begin the film in a Wookiee household ; the main body of the film would have been presented as a story told to a Wookiee child by its parents . During this time , he also considered making films outside of the saga , one of which would have centered around Wookiees . ) Lucas allowed the crew access to a large collection of his notes on Wookiee culture , which were developed for the original " Star Wars " film . Like Smith - Hemon , Lucas attended a few subsequent production meetings but was busy with " The Empire Strikes Back " and other projects . Ripps and Proft wrote an outline and first draft based on Lucas ' s notes . Since they were writing for a family audience , the two men tried to avoid writing violence . The script was then given to Bruce Vilanch , who was unsure how to write for characters who do not speak a human language , believing that it would turn out to be " one long episode of " " . " To offset this , Vilanch came up with many of the variety aspects of the special . The character of Saun Dann was also created as a bridge to the audience , based on Lucas ' s early concept of Lando Calrissian as a trader on Kashyyyk . The final writers to work on the script were Ken and Mitzie Welch , who made major alternations . As Lucas later observed , " It just kept getting reworked and reworked , moving away into this bizarre land . They were trying to make one kind of thing and I was trying to make another , and it ended up being a weird hybrid between the two . I ' m not sure either position would have worked on its own , but by combining them . . . " The early story treatment was completed in May 1978 , and the teleplay was in its fourth draft by that September . The only known bit of material shot but deleted from the final film was an in - cartoon commercial during the animated segment . However , a scene was planned — but never shot — in which Luke Skywalker sings a song ; Hamill claims to have vetoed the idea . Design . Stan Winston worked on Stuart Freeborn ' s Wookiee costumes , helping to improve the masks ' facial abilities . Wookiee actors could be in these suits for only 20 minutes at a time . Ben Burtt created the Wookiee family sounds , of which a full hour were required . For the Malla and Itchy sounds , Burtt recorded at the Olympic Game Farm in , where he spent days trying to get the animals to vocalize . Malla ' s " voice " was based on recordings of black bears and Itchy ' s on grizzly bears . One of these sounds — a recording of a lion eating a cow ' s head — was later used for the 1979 film " " . For the sounds of Lumpy , Burtt recorded a baby bear named Tarik at the San Jose Zoo . One of Chewbacca ' s vocalizations from the " Holiday Special " was later reused for " The Empire Strikes Back " , during the scene in which Han Solo is frozen in carbonite . Early in pre - production , the special was considered as the start of a possible TV series . Because of this , the art department created more elaborate designs than would normally be made for a TV special . The sets were constructed on Stage 2 of Burbank Studios . Department head Brian Bartholomew believed the Wookiee household set ( which had been based on drawings by Ralph McQuarrie ) to be good enough for an Emmy award , but never asked Lucas to enter it in the running . The cantina sequence took an entire day to film — from 6am one day to 6am the next . The costumed actors withstood heat , claustrophobia , and ( for some ) low oxygen intake . Rick Baker , who had worked on the original " Star Wars " , again served as creature supervisor for the scene . Although many of the cantina creatures were reused from " Star Wars " , " Lion Man " and " Baboon Man " were created for the special . These two wore complicated makeup that took two and a half hours to apply . The R2 - D2 model built for the special was hollow shelled and operated by remote control . Harvey Korman reportedly kept the cast and crew entertained and brought levity to the set . Shooting . The film was shot mostly on video tape on a budget of over $ 1 million . David Acomba , a friend of Lippincott and fellow schoolmate of Lucas ' s , was initially hired to direct . Acomba showed Lucas the 1976 Nelvana film " " . Lucas liked Nelvana ' s style of animation , and asked them to work on a segment in the special . Clive A . Smith developed an eleven - minute story concept , which he presented to Lucas in early 1978 . Lucas proceeded to work with Smith on streamlining the story , which introduced the character Boba Fett , who was modeled after Joe Johnston ' s sketches as well as Ben Burtt ' s VHS costume test . Acomba was inexperienced directing television , and found it difficult to work with Ken and Mitzie Welch . Acomba shot footage for three of the special ' s sequences — including the cantina sequence and the scene with Jefferson Starship — before finally quitting . In his place , the producers hired TV veteran Steve Binder . Having been hired late in the production , Binder found himself on a project that was behind schedule and overbudget . Lucas gave Binder a " Wookiee bible " , which contained all the information he had developed about the species . Binder shot the scenes with the original cast , many of whom were reluctant to participate . The Wookiee household was originally built as a full set . When Binder was hired , he removed a portion of the set in hopes of speeding up production . The ending celebration was filmed at an aircraft hangar . By that point in production , the project had run out of funds . As a result , the crew had to use relatively inexpensive materials to create the Life Day ceremony ; Store - bought candles were used as lighting , and red robes and Don Post Chewbacca masks were worn by extras in lieu of full Wookiee costumes . After shooting for over a month , the production finally wrapped . Release . The " Holiday Special " aired in the United States on November 17 , 1978 and was seen by an estimated 13 million viewers , second to the ABC TV series " " and miniseries " " . As it premiered on the same day as the sentencing of CIA agent ( to 40 years in prison for stealing a manual and selling it to the Soviets ) as well as then - admitting to violating a by testing a ( and also making clear he never had it mass produced ) , parts of the commercial breaks for the special included various news coverage of the events in question . Prior to the debut , there were a few contemporary media appearances ; CBS aired commercials , an advertisement appeared in " TV Guide " , and Anthony Daniels appeared on " " . Some viewers who recorded the show when it premiered began to copy the show and sell illegal bootleg VHS and DVD copies at conventions . It soon became a cult classic and a legend among " Star Wars " fans despite ( or perhaps because of ) its criticisms . The Internet and file sharing technologies have made the special more widely available to curious fans to see for themselves . The special was screened at the in the 1990s . The full special from a broadcast is available for viewing at the at www . fuzzymemories . tv . Merchandising . A press kit was released prior to the special to promote its airing . Jefferson Starship released a single of " Light the Sky on Fire " that proclaimed " as seen and heard on the CBS - Star Wars Holiday Special . " Kenner originally planned to release action figures based on the special , but they didn ' t go past the prototype stage . A mail - away Boba Fett action figure released that year contained a paper insert that referred to the upcoming special as " A Wookie Holiday . " In 2002 , Hasbro released the first official figure from the special , which was based on the cantina alien Zutton . In 1979 , Random House released a children ' s book called " The Wookiee Storybook " , which featured the characters from the special . Numerous products have been produced based on Boba Fett ' s depiction in the " Holiday Special " . In 1996 , Lucasfilm released animation cells from the animated segment . These were combined with new artwork to create slightly different images from what is seen in the special . As part of its 30th anniversary collection , Hasbro released a Boba Fett action figure that uses the character ' s likeness as he appears in the animated segment . StarWarsShop released a " Holiday Special " Boba Fett maquete from Gentle Giant as a Celebration exclusive in 2007 . released a " Holiday Special " Boba Fett Bobblehead in a special Limited Edition as part of their " Star Wars " Bobblehead series . Another Bobblehead " Holiday Special " Boba Fett was released in November 2007 . On December 2007 , StarWarsShop released an ACME " Holiday Special " Boba Fett character key . The Celebration IV and Celebration Europe stores offered a 4 " × 2 " luggage tag with an image from the cantina scene from the " Holiday Special " on it for $ 5 . Several cards from the Topps ' 2007 " Star Wars " collection feature elements from the special . The 2007 book " The Star Wars Vault " includes the complete audio track of Princess Leia ' s Life Day song " A Day to Celebrate , " along with approximately two pages from the script . Home video . At the 1987 Star Wars 10th anniversary convention , George Lucas told " Starlog " magazine that he expected the " Holiday Special " to be released on VHS at some point . However , Lucasfilm has yet to give the full " Holiday Special " a home video release on any format , and former Lucasfilm director of fan relations Steve Sansweet claimed there will not be one . In 2004 , " Star Wars " DVD producer Van Ling held a Q & A session with the " Washington Post " , in which he was asked about the possibility of a DVD release of the special . He replied , " I seriously doubt it , given that it has never even been shown again after its initial broadcast , let alone released on home video … but as I always say , never say never . " Filmmaker was allowed access to the original print for use in his " Empire of Dreams " documentary . However , the segment using footage from the special was left out of the final cut . An image of Bea Arthur as Ackmena was present amongst other behind - the - scenes images on the 1993 laserdisc " definitive " box set of the original trilogy . This set also included a tour of the Lucasfilm Archives , hosted by Don Bies , in which the Lumpy mask was shown to be residing in the archives . Several seconds of the Boba Fett animated segment appeared in the 2002 " " web documentary " Bucket Head . " The full animated segment was included on the 2011 " " Blu - ray release ; it is located on the " Empire Strikes Back " section of the Episodes IV – VI bonus material disc . Reception . Upon its release , the " Holiday Special " received positive reviews from both " The Hollywood Reporter " and " Starlog " magazine , with the latter proclaiming it to be " one of the most ambitious television spectaculars ever attempted by an American network . " In the years following , however , the film developed a mostly negative reputation ; David Hofstede , author of " What Were They Thinking ? : The 100 Dumbest Events In Television History " , ranked the " Holiday Special " at number one , calling it " the worst two hours of television ever . " of the referred to it as a " ' 70s train wreck , combining the worst of " Star Wars " with the utter worst of variety television . " 2005 television program " Greatest Things about the Holidays " ranked the special # 5 out of 100 . ranked it at number 59 on their top 100 Unexpected Television Moments . ranked the special at number 11 on their " 25 Most Hilarious Holiday TV Moments , " mentioning that it was " unintentionally hilarious . " " Star Wars Insider 83 " ranked the " Holiday Special " as one of the 5 strangest moments in the " Star Wars " Expanded Universe . It was also rated number 3 in " The Five Goofiest Moments Of The Star Wars Mythos " in the UK ' s . In 2010 , ranked the special as " the granddaddy of them all " amongst its list of " Geeks ' most beloved holiday classics . " Responses from cast and crew have been generally poor . The official " Star Wars " site states that the " Holiday Special " " delivered mixed results , " but explains that the highlight of the special was the Boba Fett animated segment . In 1998 , writer Leonard Ripps told " Filmfax " magazine , " To me , it didn ' t come together . The ideas were all right but I ' m not sure that they belonged in the same room . " Harrison Ford made an appearance on the February 8 , 2006 , episode of " " . During the interview , brought up the special , and began asking various questions about it , such as whether Ford remembered making it . Ford made no response and looked away , to which the audience responded with laughter and applause . O ' Brien then asked Ford what he would think if he played a clip from it . In response , Ford pretended to strangle O ' Brien before allowing him to play the clip . Following the clip ( which showed Ford as Han Solo telling Chewbacca and his wife that they are " like family " to him ) , an embarrassed Ford only muttered " thank you . " Carrie Fisher has joked that , in exchange for recording the audio commentary for the 2004 DVD release of the original trilogy , she asked Lucas for a copy of the special , " so that I could , you know , have something for parties . . . when I wanted everyone to leave . " In a 2005 interview , Lucas gave his take : " The special from 1978 really didn ' t have much to do with us , you know . I can ' t remember what network it was on , but it was a thing that they did . We kind of let them do it . It was done by . . . I can ' t even remember who the group was , but they were variety TV guys . We let them use the characters and stuff and that probably wasn ' t the smartest thing to do , but you learn from those experiences . " In 2013 , director Steve Binder told " " : " I have never regretted for one second my decision to direct the television special . I loved every minute on the set and loved coming to the studio every day . I gave it my all and have never worried about the day - after or pro or con critics ' ' opinions . ' To me , ' opinions ' are all subjective anyway . " In 2014 , " Star Wars " producer Gary Kurtz commented on the special : " It did start out to be a lot better [ with a different script ] . We had half a dozen meetings with the TV company that was making it . In the end , because of work on promoting Star Wars and working on the next film , we realized we had no time . So we just left it to them and just had the occasional meetings with them , provided them with access to props and the actors , and that was it . " Throughout the week of November 17 , 2008 , StarWars . com celebrated the " Holiday Special " < nowiki > ' < / nowiki > s 30th anniversary by posting a number of " Holiday Special " – related articles and offering trading cards based on the special to StarWarsShop customers . Features include interviews , photo galleries , and an animation animatic . The " Los Angeles Times " and NBC both ran articles on the special ' s anniversary . The Paley Center held a poll from November 10 through December 3 , for which the top five holiday specials would be screened at the center between December 10 and 24 . " The Star Wars Holiday Special " placed in the top position , with 59 % of the vote . On December 10 , 2007 , humor website RiffTrax released an audio commentary for the special , recorded by former stars , , and . On December 20 , 2007 , ABC ' s " " covered the special on television and on its website . Legacy . Prior to the establishment of the Lucasfilm Story Group , the special was classified as S - canon . The art department used the " Holiday Special " to aid in designing the look of the planet Kashyyyk for the film . For " " , C - 3PO was animated in a style that pays homage to the animation style of Nelvana ' s animated segment from the special . In a commercial for the 2007 " " , an animated George Lucas ( voiced by Lucas himself ) sees a therapist over his hatred of the special . According to " Star Wars Detours " writer Brendan Hay , Lucas later screened the " Holiday Special " for the writing staff of that show . " " features a skit similar to the " Holiday Special " in which Han Solo and Chewbacca visit the latter ' s family on Kashyyyk ; " Menace of the Sith , " the second episode of " " , had a similar scene in which Cad Bane interrupts Chewbacca ' s family sitting below a banner that reads " Happy Life Day . " For " The Mandalore Plot , " a 2010 episode of " " , the Death Watch members ' helmets were based on Boba Fett ' s helmet design from the " Holiday Special " and the " " animated series . The " Holiday Special " was mentioned in the 2005 movie " " . In 2006 music video for his song " " ( parodying " Ridin ' " by Chamilionaire ) has Al , dressed like a nerd , paying a " gangster " for what appears to be a paper bag full of drugs . Yankovic opens the paper bag to reveal a videotape of the special . In 2011 , the TV series " " had a tribute to the " Holiday Special " in the episode " . " The 2012 " " episode " " had a sequence parodying the holographic dancing sequence . A 2014 episode of " " entitled " " begins with characters watching the " Cosmic Wars Holiday Special " . In December 2015 , released a " new " Holiday Special based on " " . Also during this time , the cast and crew of " The Force Awakens " were interviewed about the " Holiday Special " . On May 26 , 2016 , and of " " parodied the " Holiday Special " in NBC ' s " The Red Nose Day Special . " Episodes of " " ( 2016 ) and " " ( 2017 ) also referenced the special . Among the more widely circulating recordings of the " Holiday Special " is one made of the broadcast on ( channel 2 ) in . At several commercial breaks , a bumper advertising the station ' s 11 p . m . newscast was aired in which news anchor simply says , " Fighting the frizzies , at 11 . " ( Other circulating versions of the " Holiday Special " were originally taped from other CBS affiliates , including in , and lack the frizzies reference , and still others have had all the commercials edited out . ) This is parodied in the " " ' s 1999 episode " . " Another episode ( 2002 ' s " " ) similarly spoofed the commercial shown for the .