True gripes about the holiday special?

There's not really any way to describe just how awful it is, or what exactly is so awful about it. But I do think everyone should see it at some point. It's fascinating in the way watching a wreck is. Just when you think it's at it's worst... it gets worse, until it's over and all you can do is sit there in stunned silence.

I have only seen the animated segment and a collection of the live action sequences. It isn't a movie, and it was produced right after the first film. Often the criticism is given out of context and with more modern conventions placed on it as well. It's campy, it's hokey, but it's also fun and those that made it intended it to be so. Of course the acting is terrible, of course the set ups are quite frankly stupid. But if you were to watch it then, with the kind of television and the standards of it then, see it as the party after the movie was made. Everyone was still high on the excitment that was Star Wars and did something that would bring the cast and the crew back together.

As for the animation, I thought it was quite unique. You don't see things like that being made today, and it had a very artistic and bizarre way that it was executed. The color palatte was of Heavy Metal and The Wall, or many of the cartoon series that came out in the early 80's. But some of the animation--particularly of the characters themselves while speaking and while they interacted was more articulate and surreal than much of the conventional animation for its time. If anything, the animated segment is the most engaging of the whole series and the most adventureous.
on a whole, yes, The Holiday Special is stupid and it's laughable at how trite and ridiculous it reached the camp level, but it's also fun and entertaining and it came out when Star Wars was fun and new and everyone was happy to be apart of it. And most of all it's important to consider that it's goal to bring kids and family into that world.

the fact that George doesn't even want to make money off some crap he filmed (episode 1?) is amazing to me
he must actually be really embarassed

Actually that is a good point. He likes to squeeze every penny he can out of anything and everything, and the fact that he refuses to sell us this (and we would buy it... I know I would anyway...) goes to say something!

Yeah, I'm with you 100% about Don Bluth. I think The Secret of Nihm totally rocked. And, yeah, what's up with Titan AE? that was terrible.

I think animation is too easy to produce these days, technically, and it has produced an atmosphere where untalented, uninteresting people are able to get some $ together and produce crap. Now the studios have too many choices, and as most producers are all about the $ they pick the stuff they think will generate funds not the stuff that has artistic merit.

only good part is the Boba cartoon. not just cuz it's Boba, but because he has three fingers on each hand, a completely different armor set, and it's canon. and that kashyyyk came out how george imagined it, which is the same as episode 3, which i liked kashyyyk.

plus george lucas stated that he would burn every copy in the world if he could. luckily, he was one of three directors of the SWHS. and he was one of six writers of the screenplay. i think that it may have gone better if it was all his.

Well, the story goes is that Lucas wrote a very basic script, then went off to concentrate on Empire. Then they brought in more writers and changed it to the point where it was unrecognisable from the first draft. I belive Lucas didn't even realise what had happened (supposibly the most time he had spent working on with the HS was the Fett short) until it was screened to him a few weeks before it was to air. And by then it was too late to pull it from the scheduel.

So far I have not been convinced, does anyone have any more specific complaints to justify all the hate?