I like defending the seemingly indefensible. I’ve never had what I consider pretentious tastes. While I certainly enjoy artier fare my bread is buttered on the mainstream side, and I don’t apologize for that. Today, I’m tackling two television programs so infamously bad they defy description, but for 8-year old me they were manna from heaven, and on that basis alone they hold a special place in my geeky heart.
Said shows were telecast between November 1978 and January of 1979 and are emblematic of the worst late 70s TV had to offer. The era of variety television was winding down (thank God) but these two last gasps attempted to combine two of my great loves – Superheroes and Star Wars – with lowbrow slapstick, tacky musical numbers and garish sets. Ladies and gentlemen, I give you The Star Wars Holiday Special and Legends of the Superheroes.
Let me set the stage. At the time, my whole world revolved around comics and Star Wars. I read comics voraciously since the age of five and Star Wars literally rocked my world in 1977.I was in its thrall ever since. The wait between Star Wars films was interminable (back then three years felt like ten), and while, yes there were several live-action superhero shows dotting the current TV landscape (Shazam, The Incredible Hulk, Wonder Woman, even Spider-Man for a time) they never crossed over as they did in the comics. I really wanted to see that.
The only warning I had for these shows during this information Stone Age was probably from ads in TV Guide, or by getting a heads-up from my parents who likely saw the listings in our local paper. To say I was excited was an understatement. My memories of watching them is hazy, but I know I saw them both (they were only aired once), and was thrilled.
Because they were never aired again both programs fell into legend. After a few years I wondered if my mind was playing tricks on me. In the case of Legends of the Superheroes I thought perhaps I made the whole thing up. The memory of the Star Wars Holiday Special was more concrete, especially the animated Boba Fett short that introduced the character.
Years passed and my memories got hazier. As I approached my twenties I started attending large comic book conventions in New York City, and noticed there were tons of dealers selling gray market bootlegs of rare films and television shows never released on VHS. It was at gatherings such as these I got my hands on bootlegs of the unreleased (at the time) Punisher and Captain America films and the never released Fantastic Four film.
My Holy Grail of bootlegs were the SW Holiday Special and LSH. I tracked them down during a 1990 convention, and remember getting them from the same dealer. Back then, they would set up a monitor on the table and allow you to see what you were buying. As soon as I had my first glimpses of these shows I shelled out $20 apiece for them. I did it! I couldn’t watch them fast enough. Shortly I would return to my childhood to re-experience these two gems.
Needless to say, seeing them as a 20-year old was a vastly different experience. I recall watching them with the same friends I attended the convention with, howling at their incomprehensible badness. It turned out there was a reason these were locked away never to be seen again, but thankfully (yes I said thankfully!) these historic curios were recorded by a chosen few during the nascent videocassette era, ensuring they would be preserved in all their gaudy glory (much to the chagrin of George Lucas and DC Comics!)
Where to start? The Star Wars Holiday Special is a hellacious train wreck that shoe horns our beloved heroes between cheesy musical (and dance!) interludes and laugh track enabled comedy sketches featuring revered icons like Harvey Koreman, Bea Arthur and Art Carney (I always felt Don Knotts belonged there as well).
How they got Harrison Ford to participate is beyond me. He obviously didn’t have the clout necessary to refuse. Carrie Fisher warbles her way through a terrible holiday song (likely coked to the gills) and Mark Hamill is spared too much embarrassment with a brief expository (and perfunctory) scene alongside R2-D2 that ends with a gag.
The melding of the variety “genre” with the Star Wars Universe is ummm…forced, to say the least. How Lucas let this out into the world is cause for much speculation. My guess is he wanted the Star Wars characters to remain top of mind during the interval between the two films, as a successful sequel was far from assured. In my case, it did nothing but reinforce my excitement for “Star Wars II,” as I’m sure was the case with most of my young demographic.
If I had to say which was a more epic failure I would give the crown to LSH. Again, as an 8-year old, how thrilling was it to see Adam West and Burt Ward in a new adventure as Batman and Robin after countless reruns? How cool was it to see heroes like Hawkman, Green Lantern and the Flash realized in a live action setting? It was like an episode of the Super Friends come to life!
LSH is comprised of two episodes that aired during back to back weeks in January of ’79. The first, “The Challenge” is a straight-up heroes vs. villains affair (replete with horrific gags), but the real prize goes to “The Roast.” Emceed by Ed McMahon, the superheroes are roasted by an eclectic (and unabashedly un-PC) cast of characters that include some of the villains, Hawkman’s Mom and the indescribable Ghetto Man!
LSH is awesome in its badness. It’s disco bad. The heroes are muscular slabs of meat (aside from West and Ward). The villains at least have some charm and are played by some of the B-list comedians of the day. For me, Frank Gorshin manages to shine one last time as the Riddler.
If you were my friend it became a rite of passage to watch these. I was the gatekeeper who held the keys to viewing these long-lost relics and as bad as they were, it was cool that I possessed them. I have to say it was a little discouraging once the Internet came around and the bootleggers started selling them online, and even worse when they were posted on You Tube for every Tom, Dick and Harry to see.
The real shock came when Warner Home Video released LSH on DVD last year through its MOD program (I bought it if only to have a pristine copy in all its lurid glory!) Even Lucas allowed the Boba Fett ‘toon to be packaged with the new SW blu ray set (I’m confident the entire special will never see the light of day on legit home video though!)
What’s worth defending about these two specials is the joy they gave 8-year old Steve, the thrill of hunting them down years later and sharing them with my friends. Re-watching them brings back waves of nostalgia between the moans and groans, and I’m glad I have them. I can sit through these any day. I can’t say the same about Howard the Duck.
NOOOOOOO! How can you defend even the stock the SW Holiday special was filmed on! Maaaaybe I could enjoy the laughs over the corn if it weren't for the agonizing pain that shoots upward from my feet until it hits my throat. Duuuude! Did I really give you a cake pop? :)
Posted by: Kim | 10/03/2011 at 11:24 AM
The last paragraph says it all Kim, and it was shot on video (thereby increasing the cheese factor exponentially!)
Loved the cake pop :-)
Posted by: Stvivona | 10/03/2011 at 01:56 PM