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Holiday Special > Feedback > Memories > Canada


CANADA

November 17, 1978

on CTV


From Mathieu Massicotte (Canada):

I must have been about 8 when I saw the Holiday Special (strange how most people who remember it seem to have seen at it at that particular age). I live in Montreal, so it was probably the night they aired it on CTV in 1979. I was a total Star Wars maniac as a kid. I remember lying in my bed at night , holding my hand out towards some toy or object, concentrating hard on The Force, trying to get it to move by the power of my will. I would have given anything to be magically transported in the Star Wars universe! I mean, what could possibly be cooler than being a Jedi Master of the Force, fighting evil in strange, exciting worlds in a galaxy far, far away? Ordinary reality was in my opinion highly over-rated...

My mom must have seen the show in the TV Guide and I remember being pretty ecstatic about it. I had seen the movie more than once and to get a new glimpse of that awesome universe was very exciting, to say the least, and the fact that it was on TV just added to the excitement. Star Wars coming to you straight in the living room! Fantastic! So my mom, my sister and I got ready for one of our TV nights. Popcorn was made, Kool-Aid was brewed and we sat down for this momentous event.

Unfortunately, I remember very little of the show!! I remember being thrilled to see Chewbacca's home planet. I remember thick forest and the scene where we first meet Chewie's family. I had completely forgotten the music and that Leia does a cheesy musical number. I still don't remember that. I've never seen it a second time. After reading other people's reminiscences, I do vaguely remember the Imperial forces ransacking Chewie's home. I remember feeling very disappointed when it was over...

It was a lot of fun reading other peoples' stories. It made me laugh to realize that others too wondered if they dreamed up the whole thing. Nobody I know remembers having ever seen the show. Not even my sister, who was 4 or 5 at the time. I kept insisting that no, the Ewok TV movies weren't the only ones! I had been privy to a unique event in Star Wars history! There is a mysterious, unknown, movie out there. A kind of Starwaryan Shangri-La, a mystical, mythical movie covered in mist. And now, thanks to the wonders of the Internet, not only do I find out this Shangri-La exists, but that it exists on eBay! So I just bought myself a copy and am anxiously waiting for it. It'll be a blast to see it again. Though this time around, I expect less awe and a lot more laughs!

Mathieu Massicotte


From Scott Johnston (Canada):

I have enjoyed reading your site. I was about 7 years old when this aired on CTV in Canada, so only have recollections of a few of the scenes rather than the entire story. I haven't seen this video since it aired, not even on any bootleg web links. I do recall the scenes with the holograms, and the stormtroopers ransacking the house, with one of them being pushed off the balcony of the house. But the one scene that I will never forget (and I have no idea why this one would stick in my mind above all else) was of Harvey Korman as the robot video instructor showing the kid Wookiee how to assemble his toy. He breaks down in the middle of the video, and slowly drops down to the table. His nose sticks on the edge of the table and then his hand slowly comes up to push his nose of the edge....... totally hilarious (at least it was for me at the time). I mentioned this scene to my dad a few years ago and he recalled it too.

Thanks for rekindling some old memories!

Scott A. Johnston


Now let's hear YOUR memories of seeing the Holiday Special when it aired!