Man, the world sure was different back in 1978. The previous year, Star Wars had dominated the box office, setting records and staying in theaters for months on end. This was before the video revolution, so the concept of owning a copy to watch at home was still inconceivable at the time. Even more disconcerting was the state of television at the time. Dominating the entire broadcast landscape were variety shows with poor writing and execution that felt random and exploitative. These two worlds collided in one of the most bizarre and still sought-after anomalies that has perhaps ever graced a television screen, the 1978 Star Wars Holiday Special.

The Holiday Special exists with two purposes in mind, sell more toys and keep Star Wars in people’s minds as George Lucas and crew were in preproduction on The Empire Strikes Back. But it appears that nobody actually sat back to wonder if it was a good idea at all. A Disturbance in the Force features a star-studded lineup of Star Wars mega fans, the likes of Kevin Smith, Seth Green, ‘Weird Al’ Yankovic, and more, along with most of the creative team behind the original special to unravel the true story. The story also takes a stab at explaining the environment the Holiday Special arrived in, which actually serves as a nice time capsule glimpse into the media of the day.

George Lucas himself only appears through quotes and old interview clips, his thoughts and the fiasco have been well-documented over the decades. But that does not stop the filmmakers from constructing an informative and entertaining exploration into the world of the special and the impact it still has today, with the implementation of LifeDay into the vernacular and more. But that still does not explain the casting of Bea Arthur.