Oops, meant to put this in earlier.
Honestly, the Holiday Special wasn’t as out there an idea as you think.
In the late seventies variety shows were still a big thing. And pretty much all of them had already done something with Star Wars. Everybody from SNL to Richard Prior had done something with the cantina scene.
It actually made a certain degree of sense to make one for themselves. The result still speak for itself.
The Dark Herald 
the Rise of Skywalker pitch meeting is also very on point.
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It did make sense because back then you getting to see Star Wars again was years off. Every kid was desperate for anything that let you see the characters again. BTW, one of the things that made awards shows watchable was getting to see clips of movies you loved. Thus, a holiday special made perfect sense. The problem was the decade it was made, the 70’s. The decade for those who lived through it shudder at remembrance. There’s no possible way it could have turned out well.
One of the things that made HBO was getting the rights to show Star Wars.
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