"Recommended" Holiday Viewing

Before I sign off for Christmas, I offer, for your viewing pleasure, a link to the online version of the most famous banned film of the last three decades. The one, the only:


The Star Wars Holiday Special


Some of you may have vague memories of that magical night in November 1978, as you watched Luke Skywalker and Han Solo interact with the likes of Bea Arthur and Art Carney. Others may only have heard rumors of the Holiday Special, and wondered if it was truly real. Well, it's real alright. It's real and it's terrifying.

In the words of Allahpundit, the Holiday Special is "(w)idely regarded as two of the worst hours of television ever aired in the United States". Justifiably so, I might add. You thought the prequel trilogy was bad? The Holiday Special makes The Phantom Menace look like Citizen Kane.

For almost 30 years, George Lucas has prevented the Holiday Special from being shown. According to Wikipedia, he even expressed his desire to personally destroy every bootleg copy in existence. However, the iron fist of Lucasian censorship has proved to be no match for the liberating power of information technology. I'd like to say that the world is a better place because of it. Unfortunately, this is one instance where we probably would have been better off had the censors prevailed.

Watch it at your own risk.

(All links courtesy of Allahpundit at Hot Air)