Holiday
Special > Feedback > Memories
> Mexico
MEXICO
December, 1978
Televisa XHGC Channel 5
From Carlos Perez-Chavez (Mexico):
At that time Star Wars was a great theme between kids and I was
just 8. I had seen the Star Wars Episode IV movie just once like
many of my friends, but it made such an impression on me that
I remembered just as if I had seen it 10 or 20 times.
A day in December 1978 there were ads on TV about a Star Wars
Special that was going to be broadcast on Televisa's XHGC Channel
5. My mom told me about it and she and I expected it with pleasure.
At that time there weren't many good shows on TV and this was
about our #1 movie!!!
We waited and saw it. It was subtitled which was good because
that way the original sound was preserved (on later years Televisa
broadcasted dubbed versions of Episode IV, V and VI with horrible
results). I just remembered the show as boring, the Wookiees were
cool and there were stormtroopers! But as a non-American audience
we didn't know who Bea Arthur or Art Carney were. We did get to
see many American shows but still we were not from the same culture.
That way many of the segments were so boring or meaningless.
In fact the ONLY thing that I remembered of this show was a scene
with the Wookiee family and a stormtrooper... just that.
I don't remember ever commenting on this show with my friends...
until 6 years after in highschool.
A friend and I were talking about Star Wars and I mentioned the
show to him and my vague memories of it. My friend yelled and
was full of joy!! Why? Because he had seen it too but no one in
his family remembered the show (the mind protects itself). Their
parents told him that he surely had dreamed it and he ALMOST believed
that until the day I mentioned the show to him.
Also Televisa used to air the specials many times (for example
the same Carpenters special year after year) but it did never
broadcast this again. Why? I understand that the show did not
do well on ratings.
So I have just seen it again. It's bad but today there are worse
TV shows.
Now, to complete my giving in to the dark side I have to get
a copy of the Mexican broadcast, complete with subtitles.
Carlos Perez-Chavez
Mexico City
Now let's hear YOUR memories of seeing the Holiday Special when
it aired!
|