REVIEW: A Disturbance in the Force
20th Century Fox wasn’t sure what it had in Star Wars, and apparently, neither did George Lucas. The director was building up his company, Lucasfilm, and unleashed his secret weapon: Charley Lippincott. He whipped people into a previously unknown frenzy by working the fans at science fiction and comics conventions. He saw to it DelRey had the novelization out months before the film, as well as three of the six-issue comics adaptation from Roy Thomas and Howard Chaykin at Marvel. These people were lined up for day one, and the word of the month spread so fast that it endured throughout the summer of 1977.
As we learn in the wonderfully entertaining A Disturbance in the Force, a 90-minute documentary from directors Jeremy Coon and Steve Kozak, despite all his statements saying he had everything planned out, Lucas was still figuring things out. So, 20th and Lucas were concerned in 1978 that interest might wane despite the sales success of the toys, Splinter in a Mind’s Eye novel, and comics.
As a result, they thought marketing the property through television appearances would be fine. Here, we’re reminded that late 1970s prime time television was littered with poor product. Sure, there were a handful of prestige series (thank you, MTM Productions) but we were given lots and lots of crap (thankfully, I missed most of it by being in college). So, there were dancing stormtroopers on Donny & Marie and Mark Hamill dancing alongside Bob Hope, and so on.
When CBS wanted a special, Lucas agreed, and enthusiasm got the best of everyone. Hence, it grew to a two-hour extravaganza known as the Star Wars Holiday Special, which the creators thought would be an evergreen special but aired just once on November 17, 1978. Without reruns and before the advent of home video, it became the stuff of legend.
It has also proven to be an embarrassment to the film’s stars who were contractually committed (according to Harrison Ford) or were enticed with perks (Carrie Fisher getting to sing). They have spoken of it in interviews and convention appearances with dread, shame, or a laugh.
Coon and Kozak tracked down as many of the original people involved in the making of the show as were still alive and got them to talk about it with forty years perspective. We come to understand that CBS hired people who knew variety specials but not science fiction and Lucasfilm assigned people unfamiliar with television production.
Writers Bruce Vilanch and Lenny Ripps recount the chaos in shaping the show, based on one intense day with Lucas, who then turned his attention to crafting The Empire Strikes Back. His input placed the focus on Chewbacca’s homeworld and family, with the concept of a Life Day celebration. He also wanted Boba Fett introduced through an animated section, which was nicely done by Nelvana, evoking Moebius’ style.
With Lucas’ UCLA buddy David Acomba signed ot direct things proceeded at light speed until they were four days into production, overbudget and in serious trouble, Acomba was removed in favor of Steve Binder who righted the ship as best he could.
The documentary uses copious clips from the special so you can see for yourself the then-state-of-the-art special effects, the creepy Wookie VR-porn (guest starring Diahann Carrol!), the Jefferson Starship rock video, and more.
Pop culture giants including Weird Al Yankovic and Seth Green are on hand to provide perspective alongside Lucasfilm alum Mick Garris and Craig Miller. Most lay the blame for the show’s quality on veteran musical variety veterans Ken Welch and Mitzie Welch, who were out of their depth from science fiction to being left to edit the pieces together (a first for them).
I found it incredibly entertaining and applauded the directors for tackling this subject and doing so with affection. I have a 9th grader who is a major Star Wars fan and I asked her to watch this and provide her perspective. Among her comments are, “…there’s a constant reminder that they didn’t let George do it AND HE HATED IT SO MUCH that he went to Robot Chicken and voiced himself hating the Holiday Special. I understood why he hated it so much because I hated it. It really sucked, besides the Boba Fett cartoon. Apparently, another reason why it was acceptable was because crazy holiday specials were popular and things that are made without context are automatically funny. Lastly, I belive the most terrifying thing I saw on the Holiday Special was the ugh the… the… TEDDY BEARS!”
The documentary is available for purchase on Blu-ray and for rental on various streaming services and should not be missed.