Star Wars News
Editorial: ‘It Seemed Like a Bad Idea at the Time’ – Bruce Vilanch’s New Book and Writing the ‘Star Wars Holiday Special’
By Colin Walker
March 27, 2025
In 1978 something bizarre and not of this world was unleashed upon unsuspecting audiences. Some people believe it to be the worst thing ever to come out of a beloved franchise. Others see it as a relic of a bygone time. Still others view it as a quirky curiosity; something to be dredged up form the internets and passed along to those not in the know. For the writer of this unique piece of kitsch, one that has remained amazingly stubborn in its tenacity to survive into these modern times, it was just another project and paycheck.
Of course, we’re talking about non-other than the infamous Star Wars Holiday Special, a disaster of such epic proportions that the father of all things form that galaxy far, far away, has deemed it only worthy to exist at the end of falling hammer. What once was spoken of in hushed tones and passed from fan to fan via bootleg videotape or DVD is now as much a part of modern Star Wars as blue milk and “I’ve got a bad feeling about this.”
While countless articles and opinion pieces have been written about the history of this much maligned turkey of a show, broadcast by CBS on November 17th, 1978, until recently, we had only ever heard bits and minor anecdotes from those involved in the production. Enter the newest player to spill the beans—Hollywood writer, Bruce Vilanch. Larger than life, Vilanch is a writer, actor, comedian, and queer icon, if you were consuming American television any time between the 1970s to the late 90s, you’ve more than likely encountered this man’s work.
Released earlier this month, It Seemed Like a Bad Idea at the Time: The Worst TV Shows in History and Other Things I Wrote is a tell-all book from one of the biggest names in late 20th century film, stage, and television you’ve more than likely never heard of. Vilanch has written for Broadway, film, and television and has acted, both on and off the screen, and was even a long-running mainstay on the popular B and C-list celebrity gameshow, Hollywood Squares (if you haven’t heard of that one, ask you parents or maybe even your grandparents). Amid all these projects and accomplishments, the man gleefully acknowledges and revels in the fact that he has written for and participated in some of the lousiest productions imaginable:
“When you write something for variety television, you don’t have the burden of greatness taking up residence on your shoulders. And you are getting paid, unlike Eugene O’Neill, who understood the maxim all playwrights understand—the theater is a great place to make a killing, but a lousy place to make a living. In TV you can make either, or enough so that you can walk away and exercise your inner O’Neill. If you have one. And you feel like letting in out to play. Not everyone does, especially with the dazzling array of substances we have at our disposal to keep our inner O’Neills at bay.”
—Bruce Vilanch (It Seemed Like a Bad Idea at the Time)
Like another queer icon of film and television, John Waters, Vilanch wields nostalgia and camp with the deftness and precision of a brain surgeon—he knows that what he does is more than likely going to be viewed as crap and he revels in it all the way to the bank. The book covers a huge chunk of the writer’s worst works from his appearance in the cult classic Star Wars knockoff The Ice Pirates to the disco fueled fever-dream that is Can’t Stop the Music and a personal favorites of mine, the delightfully campy The Paul Lynde Halloween Special. Each of these projects, whether it be a small budget sci-fi film, a starring vehicle for the Village People, or seeing Paul Lynde be the very first to introduce KISS to TV audiences, like the writer behind them, never take themselves too seriously.
Then there is the slowly moving train wreck that is, The Star Wars Holiday Special; the strange child born of George Lucas’s influence and a heaping dose of television variety show staples such as Art Carney, Harvey Korman, and Bea Arthur. It’s the kind Bizarro World experience that, as you watch, feels both like a fever-dream and infinitely, painfully longer than it’s relatively short runtime of an hour and thirty-seven minutes (about the length of a modern comedy or an animated Disney film) make it feel.
In his book there are fantastic stories and anecdotes; Vilanch praises Carrie Fischer for her singing chops as well as her willingness to roll with such a stinker of a program all while trying to get the producers to let her really belt out something special. He also fills in some of the strange casting decisions and even speculates on which creations were his and the other writer’s
(Gormaanda) and which were Lucas’s. According to Vilanch, most of the special’s plot and characters were directly provided by Lucas himself:
“Given this hindsight, it might be hard to recognize that at the time, The Star Wars Holiday Special was itself something of a joke idea. If it had been the thing George originally envisioned, it might have gone on to be a joyous season perennial, to be trotted out along with the Bing Crosby—David Bowie duet on “Little Drummer Boy” that routinely shows up between Thanksgiving and Kwanzaa. But, as I think you know, it wasn’t that thing.”
—Bruce Vilanch (It Seemed Like a Bad Idea at the Time)
Some might criticize the decision to not end his book on such a colossal pop-culture misfire, I would argue that Vilanch’s choice to put it out front sets the tone for everything that is to follow in the subsequent chapters. Honestly, the stories in this book are all so great and hilarious and mind-meltingly cringe that going for broke and putting the most simultaneously revered and reviled of these works out front is a bold statement that says, “You came for the worst and I’m here to tell you that it only goes downhill from here, folks!”
While I’ve been a lifelong fan of Vilanch and his work, upon discovering his involvement in the iconic disaster when I was a kid made seeking out the show even more of a joy knowing that he had a direct hand in something so beautifully bad in ever facet of its production and something still intrinsically woven into the fabric of my beloved space-opera. If you’ve never heard of Bruce Vilanch, don’t fret, by the end of this book, you will be seeking out clips online from each of these projects and hopefully finding them equal parts odd, of their time, and hilariously cringy.
It Seemed Like a Bad Idea at the Time: The Worst TV Shows in History and Other Things I Wrote is now available.
The Star Wars Holiday Special is still unfortunately not available to purchase, for better or worse.
