Much loved and presumably still embarrassing to many people, the 1978 Star Wars Holiday Special is famous for its bizarre creative decisions, Bea Arthur, Lumpy and much more. Despite its reputation, it’s produced a surprising number of Star Wars tie-ins and in-jokes, including a reference to Life Day in the first episode of The Mandalorian. And now, Mark Hamill apparently wants justice for the special and has called on Donald Trump to deliver one of his (very casual) pardons to the variety show.
Hamill, who’s not above pulling many long-running pranks and fake feuds on Twitter, saw an opportunity in Trump’s apparently limitless legal powers and posted as so:
Hey "Chief Law Enforcement Officer of the Country"…
Pardon THIS: pic.twitter.com/gBYSWqKObj— Mark Hamill (@MarkHamill) February 19, 2020
While it certainly wouldn’t be the strangest reason for a presidential pardon from the current administration, it’s difficult to see Hamill having much luck. Of course, there are many fans of the Holiday Special who don’t find anything particularly controversial to pardon, and it’s arguable that the 1978 experiment in holiday programming is less ridiculous than the majority of content from Trump since 2016.
For those not in the know, the Star Wars Holiday Special was intended to fill the demand for the franchise between Star Wars: A New Hope and The Empire Strikes Back, airing on November 17th, 1978 on CBS. For reasons lost to history, George Lucas presumably signed off on the special, wherein the original cast visit Chewbacca’s family to celebrate Life Day. Viewers get to enjoy a music video from Jefferson Starship, and, in a more substantial turn for the franchise, the first onscreen appearance of Boba Fett in an animated segment.
Hamill’s plea adds to what has been a busy few years for the Star Wars Holiday Special, including Jon Favreau apparently wanting to create a new version, attempts by Solo: A Star Wars Story writers to sneak in references to the production, and the aforementioned love from The Mandalorian. There hasn’t been any official word yet on whether Trump will add the Star Wars special to his growing list of pardons, but we’ll be sure to give you an update as and when we have it.
