2020 Holiday TV Specials Roundup: 'The LEGO Star Wars Holiday Special' and Two Others

I actually watched these three holiday TV specials early last month.  But I wasn’t able to write proper reviews for them since, first, I got busy (especially with producing our school’s virtual caroling video), and then, lazy.  Writing individual reviews for them at this point feels too late already.  However, for the sake of having a complete listing of every 2020 TV program I’ve gone out of my way to watch, I still decided to review them, but only briefly and in one place.  Thus, this roundup.

The LEGO Star Wars Holiday Special

An allusion to and a satirisation of the infamously goofy Star Wars Holiday Special of 1978, The LEGO Star Wars Holiday Special is set after Rise of Skywalker (non-canonically, of course), and follows Rey, who bows out of her Life Day duties so that she can travel to an ancient Jedi temple that is only functional during Life Day, where she hopes she can gain more wisdom as a Jedi.  There, she sets off a mystical crystal that begins to threaten galactic history.  Meanwhile, Poe Dameron, Finn, Rose, and Chewbacca’s preparation for Life Day gradually devolves into chaos.

Without any irony or exaggeration, let me say this: for what it is – a spoof – this special is more delightful than The Last Jedi and Rise of Skywalker combined.  Indeed, remarkably, The LEGO Star Wars Holiday Special displays more cleverness, creativity, and mindfulness than both Episodes VIII and IX.

Moreover, it possesses the same kind of wit present in the Lego DC direct-to-video animated movies, which I love.  Hence, just like how Lego DC wonderfully presents silly gags that cleverly reference, celebrate, and roast DC lore, The LEGO Star Wars Holiday Special does the same, but with Star Wars.  This movie had me in stitches.

It also has some serious fan service, as it not just pays tribute to Star Wars Holiday Special, but to all three cinematic trilogies as well – plus The Mandalorian!  And the ideas involved in the execution of its fan service is absolutely way cooler and more thoughtful than those in the sequel trilogy.

On top of all these, it even explores to some extent certain plot threads that the sequel trilogy set up but neglect to pursue.

All in all, any Star Wars fan who has a decent understanding of what’s been going on with the franchise will likely be pleased with The LEGO Star Wars Holiday Special.

Jeff Dunham’s Completely Unrehearsed Last Minute Pandemic Holiday Special

A new Jeff Dunham special will always be a treat for me.  Thus, like every past specials of his, I also enjoyed this a lot.  Nevertheless, just like the case with his last special prior to this, I’ve seen him do better.

I also have a nit to pick.  In his introduction, Jeff asserts that the material in this special will all be original.  But I’ve been a fan long enough to notice that some of the jokes here are derivatives of jokes he already did in the past.  There’s even one stunt that is an exact replica of something he already did in a past special.

Still, that doesn’t really matter.  Regardless of whether the material is old or new, Jeff Dunham and his puppets never fail to entertain and incite chuckles.  And with his original material, the hits are much more than the misses.  He even throws a couple jokes that the Left will certainly find “offensive”, which I appreciated Jeff doing, as not many comedians now dares going there.

Here’s to hoping that the next Jeff Dunham special comes sooner than later.

Minions Holiday Special

“This half-hour primetime event, starring the iconic Minions, features four mini-movie escapades and includes special guest appearances from some of Illumination’s most beloved characters from their The Secret Life of Pets and Sing franchises.”

That is how this special was described.   I got curious and watched it because the description led me to believe that at least one of those min-movies would feature a fun, little crossover between Illumination properties.  But, nope.  That was not what happened in this program.  The characters of The Secret Life of Pets and Sing only made fleeting appearances during transitions between the mini-movies.  That was apparently their “guest appearance.”  What made it worse was the fact that the four mini-movies weren’t even new at all, as they were previously released alongside the home media of past Illumination movies.

Oh, well.  Whatever.