8 Moments That Almost Killed Star Wars

You probably knew this was coming even if you've never sat down to watch the Star Wars Holiday Special. It's something that is so hated by fans, it's become the stuff of legend. Imagine it's 1978, and you're desperately awaiting anything new from Star Wars (which wasn't a franchise... yet).

What you get is a mess so disturbingly awful, Carrie Fisher used to play it at the end of her parties to get people to leave. It was directed by Steve Binder, and George Lucas had very little to do with it. That said, it included Luke Skywalker, Han Solo, Darth Vader, Princess Leia, Chewbacca, and the Droids.

The main story followed Chewie and Han's attempt to visit Kashyyyk to celebrate "Life Day" with Chewbacca's family. It introduced his father, Itchy, his wife Malla, and his son Lumpy. They also looked terrible and were little more than cheap knock-offs of the Wookie design/costume.

It's hard to properly describe how bad this thing actually was — you really have to experience the horror of watching it for yourself. Though, you should never do that. The Holiday Special didn't kill Star Wars, but it certainly didn't do it any favors either.