The Star Wars Holiday Special

The Star Wars Holiday Special follows Chewbacca as he tries to get home to his family on the Wookiee homeworld Kashyyyk in time for Life Day, the most important holiday of the year for his people. Han Solo pilots the Millennium Falcon to help his co-pilot reach his wife Malla, his son Lumpy and his father Itchy, while Imperial forces pursue them and threaten the family. Back on Kashyyyk, Luke Skywalker, Princess Leia, C-3PO, R2-D2 and others keep the anxious household company as the wait stretches on. The story takes place between the events of the first Star Wars film and its sequel.

The special was directed by Steve Binder and David Acomba in their first credited work of this kind, from a screenplay by Pat Proft, Bruce Vilanch and Leonard Ripps, produced by Joe Layton, Mitzie Welch and Ken Welch. It brought back the films' principal actors, including Peter Mayhew, Mark Hamill, Carrie Fisher, Harrison Ford and Anthony Daniels, with James Earl Jones voicing Darth Vader, across a credited cast of 31. It was made for about 1 million dollars and runs 97 minutes.

Reception has been overwhelmingly negative. On IMDb it holds 2.2 out of 10 from around 18,000 votes, and on TMDB 3.4 out of 10 from 523 votes. A critics' rating of 2.5 out of 10 from 16 reviews is similarly low, showing that professional and audience assessments alike place it near the bottom of the franchise.