— Ch. 1 · Origins And Development History —
Star Wars Holiday Special.
~7 min read · Ch. 1 of 6
The Star Wars Holiday Special aired on CBS television on the 17th of November 1978. It was a unique project born from the massive success of the original film released in 1977. George Lucas had long imagined a story focused entirely on Wookiees during his planning phase for sequels. He wanted to explore the species without any other characters interfering with their narrative. CBS approached Lucas and marketing head Charles Lippincott with the idea of a television special after seeing cast members appear on variety shows. Everyone involved agreed that a TV special was a good idea at first. Lucas remained busy moving his production company to a new location so he did not get heavily involved in daily operations. Gary Kurtz, a producer at Lucasfilm, noted that the studio was not deeply engaged in the creative process. The network hired experienced writers like Bruce Vilanch who worried about centering a show on grunting aliens without subtitles. Lucas refused to change his vision despite these concerns. The production went through two directors before completion. David Acomba started the project but left after filming only a few scenes including the cantina sequence. He felt disconnected from the producers and lacked experience with multiple-camera setups. Steve Binder took over as director and received a document called the Wookiee bible from Lucasfilm. Stan Winston designed the costumes for Chewbacca's family members. The final broadcast ran from 8:00 pm to 10:00 pm Eastern Standard Time. It preempted popular shows like Wonder Woman and The Incredible Hulk which were pushed back by one week.