Long ago, in a galaxy not so far away, George Lucas allowed the Star Wars Holiday Special to be made. What happened on the night of November 17, 1978 can never be fully explained, but we make our best effort in our annual special edition of SYSK. May the force be with us all.
AI Summary
In this Stuff You Should Know episode, Josh and Chuck dive into the infamous 1978 Star Wars Holiday Special, widely considered one of the worst things ever aired on television. They explore how George Lucas, riding high on the success of the original Star Wars film, agreed to let CBS create a variety show-style special centered around Chewbacca's Wookiee family celebrating Life Day on their home planet. The hosts break down the behind-the-scenes disasters, questionable creative decisions, and bizarre segments that included everything from Harvey Korman in drag as a four-armed chef to Bea Arthur singing in the cantina, making for a fascinatingly awful piece of pop culture history that Lucas has reportedly tried to bury ever since.
Charlie's Angels
1976
★ 6.7
"Charlie's Angels was getting huge — Describing the popularity of escapist television shows in the late 70s."
— Josh
Fantasy Island
1977
1h 40m
★ 6.8
"this is the time when Fantasy Island had just started — Describing the shift toward escapist television that was starting in the late 70s."
— Josh
"He Hall was still going on. Probably. They didn't know when to quit — Discussing variety shows that were still running despite the genre becoming stale."
— Josh
"stars of the cult classic show, Hey Dude — Referenced in the opening advertisement for another podcast hosted by the show's stars."
Hollywood Squares
1966
★ 7.8
"You've probably seen him on Hollywood Squares — Describing Bruce Vilanch's television appearances to help listeners identify him."
— Josh
"B Arthur of Maud, because as one of the people who wrote one of the articles we based this on points out, she's just basically playing Maud as the owner of the cantina — Explaining how Bea Arthur's Holiday Special character was similar to her role in Maude."
— Josh
"Mork and Mindy was about to change things — Another example of the new type of television programming that was emerging."
— Josh
"he did appear on Robot Chicken in I think 2005 — Mentioning Lucas's appearance where he talked about hating the Holiday Special."
— Josh
Spaceballs
1987
1h 36m
★ 6.9
"Who looks like somebody from Spaceballs, by the way — Comparing the appearance of an Imperial Guard character in the Holiday Special."
— Josh
Star Wars
1977
2h 1m
★ 8.2
"Star Wars has become a huge, huge hit seemingly out of nowhere — Discussing the success that led to the Holiday Special being created."
— Josh
The Carol Burnett Show
1967
★ 7.7
"Carol Burnett show, one of my favorites. Had just been canceled after 11 seasons — Explaining how variety shows were becoming stale by 1978 when the Holiday Special aired."
— Josh
The Honeymooners
1955
★ 7.4
"art carney. Yes. Uh, of the honeymooners — Identifying Art Carney by his famous role to help listeners recognize him."
— Josh
"It finished second to the love boat in the second — Discussing the Holiday Special's TV ratings performance against competing shows."
— Josh
The Real World
1992
★ 5.6
"from 1980 to whenever the real world came along — Defining the era of escapist television programming."
— Josh
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