Galaxy Quest: The Spaceballs of Trek Spoofs

Galaxy Quest is the rarest of spoof movies: one that manages to reference the source material and tell a proper story without being nothing more than a string of one-liners. While most spoofs of the past 20 years have been nothing more than joke-filled genre bait (Scary Movie, Superhero Movie, Disaster Movie, or any movie ending with Movie, Not Another Teen Movie excepted), Galaxy Quest rises above the dreck thanks to its smart casting and meta-tale.

“No one laughed louder or longer in the cinema than I did, [watching Galaxy Quest].”
—Patrick Stewart

the naive Thermians

Originally sold as a spec screenplay, Galaxy Quest was rewritten as an homage to Star Trek. Tim Allen stars as actor Jason Nesmith, the swashbuckling leading man. His biggest role was that of Peter Taggart, captain of the NESA Protector on the show Galaxy Quest. Eighteen years after the show’s cancellation, Nesmith and his fellow actors Gwen DeMarco (Sigourney Weaver), Alexander Dane (Alan Rickman), and Fred Kwan (Tony Shalhoub) are out of work, subsisting on in-person appearances. When a group of aliens approach Nesmith at a convention, he laughs them off as dedicated fans. But this time the aliens are real. They are Thermians, locked in a bitter battle with the reptilian alien Sarris. Having no concept of fiction, the Thermians believe the Galaxy Quest TV show was real, and they need Taggart’s help defeating Sarris. Once he’s convinced of the reality of it all, Nesmith enlists the help of his friends to help the Thermians. But he has to overcome his friends’ animosity and his own anxiety to defeat the warlord.

“The only thing I wish they had done was cast me in it.”
—Wil Wheaton

Justin Long learns the hard way why you should never meet your idols.

What sets Galaxy Quest apart from 90% of all other spoofs is its examination of fandom. Mel Brooks’s Spaceballs comes closest with its comment on merchandising; in Mel’s universe everything is branded with the Spaceballs logo. Its intense fan base is to Star Trek what Ewok dolls are to Star Wars, and Galaxy Quest does a brilliant job at showing the more dedicated side of fandom. Justin Long, in his debut role, plays a young obsessed fan who initially has an upsetting encounter with Nesmith (akin to Shatner’s famous “Get a Life!” sketch, below). At the end of the movie; however, it’s the fans who truly save the day, thanks to their encyclopedia knowledge of the NESA Protector, which the Thermians have faithfully recreated, plot conveniences and all. The Thermians themselves are great spoofs of fans who are unable to distinguish fantasy from reality. Their race has no concept of make-believe, and several of them are killed before it’s made painfully obvious how much they were mistaken in trusting Nesmith and his crew. The tale them becomes one of redemption, as Nesmith must redeem himself in the eyes of the Thermians; failure to do so means more than a fan’s hurt feelings.

“I think it’s a chillingly realistic documentary.”
— George Takei

Pretty much Sam Rockwell’s expression for the entire movie.

Every actor in Galaxy Quest gives their all in sending-up Star Trek and other science fiction shows. Tim Allen has the Shatner swagger down. Sigourney Weaver recites the computer’s lines just like Uhura used to do. Bonus meta: Weaver’s dumb blonde character is a 180-turn from her character on Alien: the tough Ellen Ripley. Alan Rickman’s lamentations about being typecast as Dr. Lazarus echo Nimoy’s concerns about playing Spock. Finally, Sam Rockwell knocks it out of the park as Guy, a redshirt. Rockwell’s manic energy delivers some of the show’s best lines (“Is there air? You don’t know!”) and he’s a delight whenever he’s on-screen.

While the 1999 special effects are showing their age, the CGI is kept to a minimum, which helps suspend the audience’s disbelief. Available on Netflix, Galaxy Quest is a great movie for anyone who appreciates Star Trek and enjoys tightly written comedy.

Galaxy Quest tl;drs

Quick summary: Eighteen years after their series was cancelled, former Galaxy Quest actors are making a living attending conventions and strip mall openings. When a race of aliens believes their TV show is real, the crew head into space to stop a genocidal warlord.

Too many writers? Just two, which contributed to the movie’s tight writing and pacing.

Recommended if you like: Star Trek (obviously), spoof movies not directed by the Wayans brothers.

Better than I expected? The film is solid overall; each element props up the whole film.

Worse than I hoped? Some of the special effects are beginning to show their age, but the use of practical effects over CGI helps keep the film feeling realistic.

Should it be rebooted? A TV show is reportedly in the works.

Verdict: Spoofs don’t get much better than this, from the note-perfect acting to the send-up of both show and fandom.

Related Reading: Wiki article

Related Viewing: William Shatner’s “Get a Life!” sketch from Saturday Night Live