When the Holiday Special aired in 1978 and I sat in front of the TV like a million other nerds. I was prepared for a sequel to my favorite film ever. I’d lived Star Wars every day up to that point.
Not even midway through, I was wrecked. It was terrible. It was nothing like I had expected. Totally disalusioned, I spent decades hating it as my memory of it faded. By the 1990s, all I really remembered was how I felt about it, not the actual show.
But a funny thing happened on the way to the forum. These days, after decades of Lucas tampering with the franchise and trying to alter history, I’ve come to appreciate it. It’s bad and silly, but it’s Star Wars before Lucas contaminated it. It’s a time capsule. It’s Star Wars before the fall.
Like Voss pointed out, its more Star Wars than the prequels. I agree with Wook. It would be nice to have a proper DVD of it. Looking at it in the context in which it was made, I don’t dislike it anymore. I appreciate the honesty of it. It’s what Star Wars was in 1978.