Galaxy Quest is a 1999 science fiction comedy film written by David Howard and Robert Gordon and directed by Dean Parisot. It stars Tim Allen, Sigourney Weaver and Alan Rickman and features Tony Shalhoub, Sam Rockwell, Daryl Mitchell, Missi Pyle and Justin Long in his feature-film debut. The original music score was composed by David Newman. The movie, a parody inspired by the television series Star Trek, is about the washed-up stars of a fictional 1978–1982 TV series called Galaxy Quest. On the show, the actors played the crew of a spaceship, the NSEA Protector and are recruited by aliens who believe that their fictional adventures were real. Portions of the movie were filmed in Goblin Valley State Park, Utah, USA. Galaxy Quest won the 2000 Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation. In the film's universe, the TV series Galaxy Quest was a highly popular space-drama, until it was canceled after only four seasons. Seventeen years after the series ended, the stars of the show have been reduced to convention appearances and store openings. Only Jason Nesmith (Tim Allen), the egomaniacal star and crew "commander," enjoys the devoted fanbase. His other crew members are less enthusiastic, fed up with being typecast by their roles on the show. At a convention, Jason meets an eccentric group of people claiming to be extraterrestrial beings called "Thermians" led by "Mathesar" (Enrico Colantoni), who ask him to appear in what he assumes to be an amateur episode. Jason humors them, whereupon the Thermians transport him to their spaceship to negotiate with Sarris (Robin Sachs), a reptilian humanoid warlord engaged in a genocidal war against them. Sarris demands the "Omega 13”, a device mentioned (but not used) in Galaxy Quest's final episode. Jason thinks the situation is fictional and orders them to attack Sarris before asking permission to return home. Jason is sent to Earth through space in a gelatinous "pod", and realizes the ordeal was real. Jason tells his co-stars about it, and they reluctantly join him and return to help the Thermians. The Thermians turn out to be a peaceful, naïve, octopoid alien race whose society had fallen into disarray some time ago. However, they then discovered Earth's TV transmissions and, having no concept of fiction, theater, or lying, mistake the Galaxy Quest episodes as factual "historical documents". Observing the success of the crew in the show, they then proceed to model their entire society after the show's example, building an actual version of the show's spaceship (the NSEA Protector), using "appearance generators" to make themselves appear humanoid, inventing actual versions of the fictional technologies portrayed in the show, and following the show's inspiring ideology. Thus, the human cast is obliged to assume their television roles in order to survive. Sarris attacks the Protector, and the ensuing fight forces them to flee through a minefield, which damages the ship's reactor powered by a "beryllium sphere". The actors travel to a nearby planet to secure a new sphere, and the crew narrowly escapes being attacked by goblin-like natives, leaving Jason behind at the mercy of a giant rock monster called "Gorignak". He is teleported back aboard the ship by Fred (Tony Shalhoub), but in his absence Sarris has invaded and taken control. Interrogated by Sarris about the Omega 13, Jason reveals the truth about the "historical documents" to him; Sarris understands the truth of the show and orders Jason to tell Mathesar, who is crushed after learning that Jason and his crew are frauds. Sarris returns to his ship while his men remain behind and activate the self-destruct sequence. Using a gambit from the show, the actors escape and proceed to try and rescue the Thermians. To deactivate the self-destruct sequence, which Jason and Gwen (Sigourney Weaver) don't know how to do, Jason contacts Brandon (Justin Long), a Galaxy Quest fanboy with whom he accidentally traded communicators at a convention previously. Brandon, excited at the show being "real" as he secretly suspected, guides Jason and Gwen through the Protector's unnecessarily dangerous inner systems to the core's control center and tell them how to shut down the self-destruct sequence. On the way, Jason and Gwen end up underneath the Omega 13 itself: Brandon reveals that according to fan speculation, the Omega 13 may either be a bomb capable of destroying the universe, or a device which re-arranges all matter in the universe to the state that it was 13 seconds before the device was activated, effectively acting as a time-machine which can send the user back thirteen seconds. Meanwhile, actor Sir Alexander Dane (Alan Rickman) and a young Thermian named Quellek (Patrick Breen) free the Thermian prisoners, and Fred transports the monster Gorignak onto the ship to attack Sarris' soldiers. Taking back control of the ship, the actors and Thermians engage Sarris' ship in combat and destroy it with mines from the aforementioned minefield, child-pilot Tommy (Daryl Mitchell) having practiced piloting by re-watching old episodes of the show. Celebrating their victory, the actors return to Earth. On the way, Sarris sneaks aboard the ship disguised as Fred and attacks, wounding the crew as the ship nears Earth. Lacking a pilot, the Protector is about to crash into the Earth. Seeing no other option as his friends are dying, Jason activates the Omega 13 and is sent back in time thirteen seconds, long enough to incapacitate Sarris and land the ship with some degree of control. With Brandon's help to provide a bearing, the crew lift off from the Protector in a separate shuttle craft, leaving the Thermians to pilot the bulk of the ship towards their own adventures. The shuttle crashes at a Galaxy Quest convention, where the crowds assume it to be part of the show. As the crew emerges from the wreck to massive applause, Sarris revives and attacks, but Jason finally dispatches him with a blaster pistol. The crew stand together and take a bow before their audience. In a trailer following the climax, it is revealed that the spectacular display at the convention lead to a revival of the Galaxy Quest series, starring all the original cast, in addition to a Thermian named Laliari (Missi Pyle), who chooses to stay as Fred's lover, and former redshirt Guy (Sam Rockwell) as a new crew member, "Security Chief 'Roc' Ingersoll". - Tim Allen as Jason Nesmith / Commander / Captain Peter Quincy Taggart (both titles are used): The Kirk-like captain of the Protector during the original television run, Nesmith remains the putative leader of the Galaxy Quest crew members as they travel to conventions and strip mall dedications. Initially loving the devoted fans, he overhears a conversation among them calling him a mockery, and re-evaluates his position. As Taggart, and later during his genuine adventures, Nesmith is prone to losing his shirt at the slightest pretext, and is said to have had romantic relations with minor characters who appeared throughout his television career.
- Alan Rickman as Sir Alexander Dane / Dr. Lazarus of Tev'Meck: The equivalent of Spock (along with some elements of Jean-Luc Picard), Lazarus is a member of an alien species renowned for vast and prudent intellect; he is deeply intelligent and has psionic abilities. Additionally, he has a non-standard weapon and a pretentious catchphrase: "By Grabthar's hammer, by the suns of Warvan, you shall be avenged!". A Royal Shakespearean trained actor, Alexander resents both his catchphrase and being typecast. He is never seen without his prosthesis, even when he is at home; the only scene wherein it is removed is during his distraction of Sarris' people, wherein it is partially torn off. He is the last of the actors to embrace his television role, which all of them must do in order to satisfy the Thermians, and only does so when Quellek, a Thermian who idolizes Dr. Lazarus, dies in Alexander's arms, whereupon he is moved to recite his catchphrase and avenge Quellek's murder.
- Sigourney Weaver as Gwen DeMarco / Lieutenant Tawny Madison: The Computer Officer of the Protector, who performs communication duties similar to Uhura. Her job consists largely of repeating what the computer says (much to everyone else's annoyance) and talking with the ship's computer, which (inexplicably) does not take commands from anyone but her. Her shirt gets torn up by the end of the film. Weaver later compared her role as Tawny to her role as Ripley in the Alien series, describing Tawny as "a stereotypical dumb blonde" who fulfills a useless function in contrast to Ripley's dynamic centrality. It is sometimes implied that Gwen and Jason are romantically interested in each other, though they won't bring themselves to admit this.
- Tony Shalhoub as Fred Kwan / Tech Sergeant Chen: Chen is in charge of the engine room, and is the operator of the "digital conveyor" (a version of the Star Trek transporter). As Fred, the character panics only once, and that when he is forced to assume the role of Tech Sergeant Chen by the need to save Jason's life; in all other situations, including those threatening himself, he is startlingly calm and blasé. In a deleted scene, he bluffs his way through a question about a technical problem with the ship by stringing along the engineers, getting them to answer the question themselves. He is in love with Laliari.
- Daryl Mitchell as Tommy Webber / Lieutenant Laredo: A parody of "Boy Wonder"-type characters, similar to Pavel Chekov or Wesley Crusher, who has aged considerably since his role. His role as Laredo is essentially that of a pilot, when he flies the real 'Protector' out of the spaceport he scrapes it against a wall and it takes him most of the film (and re-watching the old Galaxy Quest episodes) to learn to do it properly.
- Actor Corbin Bleu played Tommy at age 9 during the film's introduction, a "recording" of an original episode.
- Sam Rockwell as Guy Fleegman / Crewman Number 6 / Security Chief "Roc" Ingersoll: Guy begins the story as a "Questerian" (Trekkie) who had a small role as a redshirt in one episode of the series. He spends most of the movie fretting about his imminent demise which he believes is inevitable for minor characters such as he once was, showing a difficulty to separate reality from fiction when in perceived danger. Ironically, he suffers the least damage of any of the actors throughout the flight on the Protector - when Sarris attacks the crew, Guy is seen screaming amidst the carnage unharmed. When the television series is revived, Guy appears as a more prominent character named "Security Chief 'Roc' Ingersol".
- Enrico Colantoni as Mathesar: Leader of the Thermians. Mathesar is, like all his people, an upright octopoid who appears as a white-skinned, gray-clad, black-haired human, speaks in stiff tones of voice, and lacks any concept of fiction.
- Robin Sachs as General Roth'h'ar Sarris: The villain of the film. Sarris is a reptilian humanoid who seeks to steal the Omega 13 device from the Thermians. He is said to have already destroyed their home planet and most of their race, being bent on their destruction.
- Justin Long as Brandon: A devoted Galaxy Quest fan, who is initially brushed aside by Jason Nesmith. His encyclopedic knowledge of the show allows him to provide vital assistance to Nesmith and the crew during the film's climax.
- Missi Pyle as Laliari: The Thermian crew member who falls in love with Fred. Although mostly shown in her human form, she exposes her tentacles when embracing Fred after he successfully implements a clever and impressive plan. Having received the permission of her people, she travels to Earth with Fred and joins him as a cast member of the revived television series given the Earthly name "Jane Doe".
- Jed Rees as Teb: Teb is Mathesar's second-in-command. He is one of the Thermians sent to recruit Captain Taggart and is among the crew members who were suffocating in the air lock.
- Patrick Breen as Quellek: A Thermian who idolizes the Dr. Lazarus character, he assists Alexander but is initially brushed off by him, especially when he tries to repeat Lazarus' catchphrase. He is later killed by one of Sarris' men, and admits to Alexander he considered "Dr. Lazarus" a father figure, motivating Alexander to avenge him.
- Rainn Wilson as Lahnk: The Thermian requisition officer and a member of the four Thermians sent to recruit Captain Taggart.
[edit] Reception The film garnered a 70 out of 100 (signifying generally favorable reviews) on Metacritic from 28 reviews.[1] It received a 90% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes, with 94 out of 104 reviews determined to be positive.[2] The New York Times's Lawrence Van Gelder called it "an amiable comedy that simultaneously manages to spoof these popular futuristic space adventures and replicate the very elements that have made them so durable".[3] Roger Ebert praised the ability of the film to spoof the "illogic of the TV show".[4] The Village Voice offered a lukewarm review, noting that "the many eight-to-11-year-olds in the audience seemed completely enthralled".[5] [edit] Box Office The film was a Box Office success even though in it's opening weekend it suffered with a mere $7,012,630, it's total domestic tally stands at $71,583,916 and world-wide it grossed $90,683,916. [edit] Reaction quotes from Star Trek actors - I had originally not wanted to see Galaxy Quest because I heard that it was making fun of Star Trek and then Jonathan Frakes rang me up and said "You must not miss this movie! See it on a Saturday night in a full theatre". And I did and of course I found it was brilliant. Brilliant. No one laughed louder or longer in the cinema than I did, but the idea that the ship was saved and all of our heroes in that movie were saved simply by the fact that there were fans who did understand the scientific principles on which the ship worked was absolutely wonderful. And it was both funny and also touching in that it paid tribute to the dedication of these fans. — Patrick Stewart[6][7]
- I've had flashbacks of Galaxy Quest at the many conventions I've gone to since the movie came out. I thought it was an absolute laugh-a-minute. — Tim Russ[8]
- I thought it was very funny, and I thought the audience that they portrayed was totally real, but the actors that they were pretending to be were totally unrecognizable. Certainly I don't know what Tim Allen was doing. He seemed to be the head of a group of actors and for the life of me I was trying to understand who he was imitating. The only one I recognized was the girl playing Nichelle Nichols. — William Shatner[9]
- Yes, I have seen Galaxy Quest and no, it's not really like that. — Casey Biggs[10] (About the film's portrayal of the fandom.)
- I loved Galaxy Quest. I thought it was brilliant satire, not only of Trek, but of fandom in general. The only thing I wish they had done was cast me in it, and have me play a freaky fanboy who keeps screaming at the actor who played "the kid" about how awful it was that there was a kid on the spaceship. Alas. — Wil Wheaton[11]
- I think it's a chillingly realistic documentary [laughs]. The details in it, I recognized every one of them. It is a powerful piece of documentary filmmaking. And I do believe that when we get kidnapped by aliens, it's going to be the genuine, true Star Trek fans who will save the day. ... I was rolling in the aisles. And [star] Tim Allen had that Shatner-esque swagger down pat. And I roared when the shirt came off, and [co-star] Sigourney [Weaver] rolls her eyes and says, 'There goes that shirt again.' ... How often did we hear that on the set? [Laughs.] - George Takei[12]
[edit] Relation to Star Trek Galaxy Quest is an acknowledged homage to Star Trek; therefore a variety of elements in the former correspond to those of the latter. The television program within the film, Galaxy Quest, is set around the starship NSEA Protector, an instrument of the National Space Exploration Administration: thinly veiled replicas of the USS Enterprise and Starfleet (or the United Federation of Planets) respectively. The theme of imitative aliens was explored in a few Star Trek episodes, including "A Piece of the Action" and "Patterns of Force'. This homage even extended to the original marketing of the movie, including a promotional website[13] intentionally designed to look like a poorly constructed fan website, with "screen captures" and poor HTML coding. [edit] References to Star Trek - The NTE part of the Protector’s registration number (NTE-3120 as opposed to the Enterprise’s NCC-1701), ostensibly alludes to some sort of similar space federation, but in reality stands for "Not The Enterprise", according to visual effects co-supervisor Bill George in a 2000 interview with Cinefex magazine.[14]
- The constant pseudo-gymnastic "rolling" of Taggart corresponds to the rolling of Kirk, starting with the first aired episode "The Man Trap", wherein Kirk rolls between fake boulders whilst searching for Crater.
- Usually, as in the case of Star Trek, when there is an explosion, the camera would tilt to one side and the actors would fall to the other, creating the visual effect of the set rolling and the actors reacting (an effect often called the Irwin Allen rock-and-roll by film buffs). The Protector's bridge set was built on hydraulic rams (or 'gimbals'), so when an explosion supposedly occurred, the set would actually (and very suddenly) rock to one side, vibrate wildly, and throw the actors out of their seats. According to interviews on the DVD release of the film, the effect was so real that it actually frightened (and injured) several of the main cast.[15]
- The name "Thermians" was probably not a reference to Vulcans. In the screenplay the alien planet was originally called "Theramin", instead of "Thermia" (an homage to early scifi film use of the theramin to make eerie noises, as in Forbidden Planet.)
- When consuming the food that was synthesized for the crew's personas, Tim Allen's character refers to his meal as being like "corn-fed, Iowa beef." This is a possible allusion to Star Trek as James T. Kirk was raised in Riverside, Iowa.
- The original Star Trek, like Galaxy Quest, did not have a main character who was security chief. The first security chief came in the revamp Star Trek:The Next Generation, as Tasha Yar.
- The final episode cliffhanger is very similar to the Season 3 episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation, "The Best of Both Worlds" where the final line was "Mr. Worf, fire" and Taggert's was "Mr. Chen, activate the Omega Thirteen..." finishing with a 'To Be Continued'
- Towards the end of the movie, after Mathesar takes command, he says "On Teb, on!" and repeatedly makes an arm gesture. The arm motion is similar to the distinctive gesture used in Star Trek: The Next Generation and Star Trek: Voyager by characters to "Engage!" a navigational course.
- The Protector's engine is powered by a "beryllium sphere". Beryllium is the fourth element on the periodic table after lithium. Dilithium crystals are the fictional power source for starship engines in the Star Trek universe.
- The Omega 13 is a device that is feared to be capable of destroying the galaxy. In Star Trek: Voyager, the Omega particle is a particle capable of ending all warp travel through space.
[edit] In other media - In December 1999 E!, the US entertainment channel featured a mockumentary entitled "Galaxy Quest - 20th Anniversary The Journey Continues" concerning the making of the Galaxy Quest television show
- Galaxy Quest was novelised by science fiction writer Terry Bisson and this novel stays very close to the plot of the movie.
- In 2008, IDW Publishing released a comicbook sequel to the movie entitled Galaxy Quest: Global Warning.
- A Deluxe Edition DVD was released May 12, 2009.
- In 'Apogee of Fear', the first science-fiction movie made in space, NASA astronaut Michael Fincke refers to the need to 'fashion weapons out of a rudimentary lathe'. Both Michael Fincke and fellow NASA Astronaut Greg Chamitoff deliver the line 'Never give up... never surrender.'
- There is a feature on the DVD simulating the Omega 13, by reversing the opening sequence to the main menu. If the Omega 13 feature is selected before watching the movie however, it comes up with an "Access Denied" error. Only by watching the movie in its entirety (or skipping to the end credits and letting them play) will the Omega 13 feature activate.
[edit] See also [edit] References - ^ "Galaxy Quest (1999) Reviews". Metacritic. http://www.metacritic.com/video/titles/galaxyquest. Retrieved 2008-07-03.
- ^ "Galaxy Quest Movie Reviews, Pictures". Rotten Tomatoes. http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/galaxy_quest/?critic=columns&sortby=rotten&name_order=asc&view=#mo. Retrieved 2008-07-03.
- ^ Van Gelder, Lawrence (1999-12-24). "Yet One More Final Frontier: Fighting Bad Aliens, for Real". New York Times. http://movies.nytimes.com/movie/review?_r=1&res=9C02EFD91539F937A15751C1A96F958260&partner=Rotten%20Tomatoes&oref=slogin. Retrieved 2008-07-03.
- ^ Ebert, Roger (1999-12-24). "Galaxy Quest". Rogerebert.com. http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/19991224/REVIEWS/912240303/1023. Retrieved 2008-07-03.
- ^ Taubin, Amy (1999-12-28). "Pulling Punches; 'Star Trek' Trickery". The Village Voice. http://www.villagevoice.com/film/9952,taubin,11362,20.html. Retrieved 2008-07-03.
- ^ BBC Online - Cult - Star Trek - Patrick Stewart - Galaxy Quest
- ^ Lyall, Sarah (2008-01-27). "To Boldly Go Where Shakespeare Calls". New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/27/theater/27lyal.html?_r=1&pagewanted=all&oref=slogin. Retrieved 2008-06-28.
- ^ STARTREK.COM : Transcript
- ^ STARTREK.COM : Transcript
- ^ STARTREK.COM : Transcript
- ^ WIL WHEATON dot NET: Where is my mind?: Tangent
- ^ STAR TREK: George Takei Is Ready To Beam Up
- ^ Travis Latke's Galaxy Quest Vaults
- ^ Jody Duncan & Estelle Shay, "Trekking into the Klaatu Nebula", Cinefex #81, April 2000
- ^ IMDB trivia
[edit] External links |
