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Star Wars on the Little Screen
The following came from a post to a toy thread regarding Zutton, a “Snaggletooth” character appearing in the Holiday Special. I thought that the train of thought here would inspire memories and discussion of the history of Star Wars on television.
Enjoy….
Zutton appears during a Mos Eisley Cantina sketch/musical number featuring a number of familiar faces from the movie Cantina along with Harvy Korman (sporting a volcano head) and Bea Arthur taking Wuhur’s place at the bar, and at least three brand new aliens produced to make up for a shortfall in surviving original masks. You almost have to have been around back then to have seen the thing as Lucas has rarely acknowledged its existance, much less made it public knowledge. And it didn’t end there back in the nutty 70’s. A contengent of Stormtroopers lent their previously unknown dance talents to a Star Wars based musical number on the Donny and Marie Show (this was a musical/comedy variety show, not their current talk show). And the surviving “cast” of the Cantina peopled a more terestrial bar in a sketch on the short-lived Richard Pryor show. And as we all know, Luke (Mark Hammil to be exact), 3PO and R2 made a Muppet Show guest appearance on an episode of “Pigs in Space!”. And who could forget C-3PO’s Cereal? “Oh! Crunchy food!” (an actual line spoken by 3PO on a commercial for the breakfast fare when confronted by a hungry rock monster). Yes, there is a sad television history to Star Wars that is little discussed and largely forgotten. And it all culminated in four of the most tragic black spots on the entire Star Wars Saga, the Droids and Ewoks cartoons (black marks one and two) and the two Ewok television films (the remaining black marks). Perhaps someone needs to start a tread on the subject of Star Wars on television. I remember my friends all wondering when there would be a Star Wars weekly television drama. Even at the tender age of twelve I secretly hoped, NEVER!
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