Thanks to Atrios for reminding us that this exists: The Star Wars Holiday Special.

I was four years old when it aired for the first and only time ever, and for the longest time I couldn’t quite remember if I imagined the whole thing after drinking some bad juice as a child.

Then I found it on ebay (VHS, of course). It took about six non-consecutive days to watch the whole thing, because I could only handle 20 minutes at a time. I urge you strongly to watch the five-minute clip linked above–it pretty much shows you everything you need to see, and you HAVE to stick it out to the end, when Carrie Fisher sings.

George Lucas supposedly hoped that this never see the light of day after its one airing. While it has its fans, I must say that is one decision by George Lucas I wholeheartedly support, at least in principle.

On the plus side, the special gave us Boba Fett for the first time.