Star Wars Holiday Special, The(1978)

Wookie sidekick Chewbacca (Peter Mayhew) races across the galaxy to spend the holidays with his family in this TV movie, which was broadcast after Star Wars became a pop phenomenon but before the release of The Empire Strikes Back. Sometime after the events of the first film, Han Solo (Harrison Ford) and Chewbacca are working a reconnaissance mission while Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill), Princess Leia (Carrie Fisher), and the others pursue their own missions. Back on Chewie’s home planet, preparations are underway for Life Day, the most important holiday in the Wookie calendar. As Chewbacca’s family — wife Malla (Mickey Morton), son Lumpy (Patty Maloney), and father Itchy (Paul Gate) — anxiously awaits his return, agents of the Empire continue to oppress the people of their planet. Eventually, the Wookie clan is reunited, but not before Bea Arthur, Art Carney, Diane Carrol, Harvey Corman, and Jefferson Starship appear in various vignettes.