“Star Wars Holiday Special” Spoof Is Everything Great About Star Wars [Video]
Although the original Star Wars Holiday Special was painfully awful (the prequels are better, let's put it at that), Funny or Die's new reboot/spoof of the Holiday Special features everything great about the new Star Wars, namely BB-8.
Seriously, the original Star Wars Holiday Special, released in 1978, was an hour-and-a-half-long snoozefest (two hours with commercials). Essentially, Chewbacca is trying to get home to his family for "Life Day" (the Star Wars equivalent of Christmas). There are parts that are genuinely interesting, including the small bits with Han Solo, Luke Skywalker, Princess Leia, and Boba Fett.
However, the amount of time-wasting fluff in the Holiday Special is painful. Why does Mrs. Chewbacca have to watch a space-Martha-Stewart-style cooking show, and how is it relevant to the plot? Is Grandpa Chewbacca (aka: Cranky Kong) watching space porn in the living room? And why are there upwards of 3 musical numbers?
Suffice to say, the original Holiday Special went beyond campy-cute nostalgia. This is why Funny or Die's reboot is so special.
The reboot is less than 10 minutes long, which is what the original Holiday Special should've been. It takes the main plot of the original Holiday Special and replaces Chewbacca and his family with BB-8. Throw in as many new Star Wars characters (and that George Costanza guy) as possible, and you have a perfect mockery of both the Holiday Special and The Force Awakens. The reboot is also spoiler-free, taking information only from already-released promotional material.
So, if you're ready to get into the spirit of the Star Wars/Christmas season, start by celebrating Droid Day with Captain Phasma, BB-8, Kylo Ren, Train (yes, the band), that George Costanza guy, BB-8's adorable family, and more.
You can watch the reboot and the original Star Wars Holiday Special in the videos below.