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Star Wars: Mark Hamill's Honest Answer to "Holiday Special" Question

It's that time of the year again - for Mark Hamill to perfectly respond to a question about Lucasfilm's (in)famous Star Wars Holiday Special.

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Article Summary

  • Mark Hamill shares his favorite part of the Star Wars Holiday Special.
  • The original special is seen as a cult classic, yet it's disowned by George Lucas and not on Disney+.
  • It marked the first appearance of bounty hunter Boba Fett in an animated segment.
  • The special finds Han Solo and Chewbacca on a Life Day adventure to Chewbacca's home planet.

The holidays aren't exactly the best time of the year for Mark Hamill. While he's largely had nothing but fond memories of the Star Wars franchise, there is this perpetual proverbial albatross around his neck, and something he's truly ashamed of which fans by now are aware of is the Star Wars Holiday Special. A true definition of a cult classic, the original 1978 TV special hosted on CBS is the best example of a byproduct of the disco times, following the megahit of the 1977 original Star Wars: A New Hope. Popular fan resource site Wookiepedia reposted the original poster of the CBS special on its anniversary on November 17th., "IT IS HOLIDAY SPECIAL DAY! On this day in 1978, The Star Wars Holiday Special premiered for the first and only time on CBS. Starring @MarkHamill, Carrie Fisher, Peter Mayhew, Anthony Daniels and Harrison Ford! What was your favorite part of this holiday tale? #starwars"

Star Wars: Mark Hamill Still Raking Over Coals from Holiday Special
Mark Hamill in Star Wars: Holiday Special (1978). Image courtesy of Lucasfilm (Screencap)

The Fall of the House of Usher star, who's always sharp with his razor wit deadpanned, "The end credits." Hamill, who played Luke Skywalker, isn't alone in his dread with his co-stars Harrison Ford (Han Solo), Carrie Fisher (Leia), Anthony Daniels (C-3PO), Peter Mayhew (Chewbacca), Kenny Baker (R2-D2), and James Earl Jones (Darth Vader) were also roped into the sordid affair. Luckily, Sir Alec Guinness (Obi-Wan Kenobi) was spared the embarrassment. Joining them were Bea Arthur, Art Carney, Diahann Carroll, Harvey Korman, and Jefferson Starship. If you want to know the extent of the disdain, even creator George Lucas disowns it and to this day, Disney+ still refuses to stream it, assuming it aligns with Lucas's wishes along with not making the original theatrical cuts of the original trilogy to fans on the streaming platform. They do carry the LEGO version that features the sequel trilogy characters.

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Credit: Respawn Entertainment

The Star Wars Holiday Special earns a footnote as the original introduction to beloved bounty hunter Boba Fett (in animated form) who would subsequently appear in The Empire Strikes Back (1980) and Return of the Jedi (1983). Jeremy Bulloch played the original live-action incarnation with Jango Fett actor Temuera Morrison taking over. Fans saw the character's triumphant return in the Disney+ series The Mandalorian and his limited spinoff series The Book of Boba Fett. The original story has Solo and Chewbacca fly the Millennium Falcon to Chewbacca's home planet of Kashyyyk to visit his family for "Life Day" as they're being pursued by the Empire.

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Tom ChangAbout Tom Chang

I'm a follower of pop culture from gaming, comics, sci-fi, fantasy, film, and TV for over 30 years. I grew up reading magazines like Starlog, Mad, and Fangoria. As a writer for over 10 years, Star Wars was the first sci-fi franchise I fell in love with. I'm a nerd-of-all-trades.
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