Prequelitis strikes Topless Robot writer

Dr Helmet diagnoses prequelitisChris Cummins has a serious case of prequelitis. This unfortunate condition afflicts a devastatingly large number of Star Wars fans, especially those under the age of 30, whose expectations of quality from the Star Wars franchise plummetted after watching the Phantom Menace and whatever the other two prequels were called. The result of exposure to these cinematic toxins is that anything that involves or refers to Star Wars becomes, in the victim's mind, an object of admiration, or at least toleration, no matter how objectively atrocious it is.

Mr Cummins' disorder manifests itself in an article on Topless Robot entitled, "8 Things About the Star Wars Holiday Special That Don't Completely Suck". The title itself reveals Mr Cummins as a victim of the disease. That diagnosis is confirmed by reading this sad, belaboured exercise in wishful thinking. The unfortunate Mr Cummins tries to persuade his readers (and himself) that Art Carney's performance was somehow valuable, that the occasional cutting-room-floor scraps of previously unseen Star Wars footage were worth seeing despite the opinions of Messrs Lucas, Kurtz and company that they were not, and (predictably) that the Boba Fett cartoon is "pure joy" instead of pure shit. 

Thankfully, Mr Cummins' editor, "Rob", has so far proved immune from the disease. He writes, entirely correctly, at the outset of Mr Cummins' post:

The Star Wars Holiday Special is an atrocity against god and man. You think it's going to be so bad it's good, but it's not -- it's so bad that nothing in life ever seems quite as good again. Despite what this list says, you still shouldn't watch it. It's not worth the suffering.

Topless Robot: 8 Things About the Star Wars Holiday Special That Don't Completely Suck