The science-fiction show ‘Galaxy Quest’ ran on Network TV from 1979 until 1982. It was canceled a couple of dozen episodes shy of reaching the magic syndicated number of 100 shows that would have ensured its actors a cushy residual income for the rest of their lives. Instead these actors, typecast by their silly-ass roles in ‘Galaxy Quest,’ make an uncomfortable living in the present attending fan conventions and reprising roles they despise. Only Jason Nesmith (Tim Allen) seems to be resigned to his fate, and accepts jokingly being referred to as ‘Commander Peter Quincy Taggart.’ Fellow actors Gwen DeMarco ("Alien’s" Sigourney Weaver) and Alexander Dane ("Die Hard’s" Alan Rickman) aren’t as enamored as Nesmith of their fictitious roles as ‘Lieutenant Tawny Madison’ and half-human/half-reptilian scientist ‘Dr. Lazarus.’
Then one morning a group of dweeb... I mean, fans of the show appear at Nesmith’s home and ask him to come onboard their make-believe mock-up of The Protector, the make-believe spaceship piloted by Nesmith and co-workers in ‘Galaxy Quest.’ Little does the make-believe space commander knows that this replica of The Protector is for real, and that the dorky-looking fans are an alien race called Thermians that are under threat of extermination by a hostile alien force being led by the evil Sarris (a heavily made-up Robin Sachs)! Apparently the Thermians got the transmissions from the ‘Galaxy Quest’ TV show a few decades later than planet Earth’s viewers, and cannot tell that the show is make-believe. Led by a child-like alien emissary named Mathesar (played by Enrico Colantoni), these Thermians really believe that Nesmith, Dane, DeMarco and the rest of the ‘Galaxy Quest’ crew can save them from the invading alien force threatening to wipe them out. Can the crew of resentful actors do for real what they did in make-believe TV sets two decades prior?
Tim Allen’s best movie to date, "Galaxy Quest" works not because the star of TV’s "Home Improvement" brings anything special or unique to his portrayal of the William Shatner-like captain of a fictitious space ship in a cult TV show. It works because Allen’s talents for being serious one moment and self-mocking the next work in tandem with strong supporting performances, particularly from Rickman (hilarious as a resentful Leonard Nimoy/Dr. Spock-type), Colantoni and a hilarious pre-"Monk" Tony Shalhoub (doing a schitck similar to the one he’s currently using on his hit USA/ABC-TV show). The funny script draws its inspiration from the well-publicized spats on the set of the "Star Trek" TV series (which is this movie’s obvious inspiration) between stars William Shatner and George Takai, along with a million other stories from ‘Trekkie’ lore. It’s also directed with effective affection (!) by Dean Parisot, who mocks the adoration fans can feel for a TV series without the meanness of a "Revenge of the Nerds"-type scenario.
"Galaxy Quest" also sports some mighty impressive special effects and quality out-of-this-world sound effects (no pun intended) that give the whole movie the feel of a well-executed and well-told joke. Stan Winston’s special effects aren’t a joke in tandem with the movie’s premise, but the real deal! Mel Brooks once said that production values as big as the motion pictures he was spoofing were key to getting big laughs in his comedies; "Galaxy Quest" is a modern-day example of the formula Brooks exploited to its fullest, and getting away with it. Maybe Tim Allen’s agent should shop around his/her star for more quality ensemble films like this one, instead of wasting the man’s talents on dribble like "Big Trouble" or generic star vehicles like "Joe Somebody." If you haven’t done so in a while, give "Galaxy Quest" a chance to entertain you today as much as it did theater-going movie audiences back in 1999.
The Disc:
It’s a Dreamworks movie folks, what else needs to be said? The Widescreen Anamorphic (2:35:1) Video Transfer and English DTS, Dolby Digital 5.1 & 2.0 Surround Soundtracks that are as close to perfection as money can buy. Things start quiet and non-threatening in the early scenes on planet Earth, when simple dialogue and cheesy background music fill the air. But, once the Galaxy Quest crew and Thermians hightail it into outer space, the quality of the film’s special effects (zero compression artifacts on the many dark scenes set in outer space) and sound effects (laser blasts, explosions, David Newman’s heroic-without-being-histrionic music score, etc.) are akin to any of the latter "Star Trek" motion pictures. English Closed Captions are also included.
Supplementary material for this Dreamworks DVD is good but not outstanding, and the movie would have benefited tremendously from an introspective commentary track of some sort. Instead we get a jokey THERMIAN Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround Track (I’d rather listen to "Kung-Pow’s" ‘lost’ alternate tracks than to this bore), a handful of funny Deleted Scenes (named ‘From The Cutting Room Floor’), Production Notes, Theatrical Trailers (for now-available Dreamworks DVD’s "Chicken Run," "Road Trip," "The Road To El Dorado" and "Galaxy Quest") and in-depth Cast Biographies for 12 actors and six crew members. Half of the Cast Biographies come with short video vignettes/interviews, which further entice my belief that there should have been a commentary track of some sort to push "Galaxy Quest" into must-own status.
The ’On Location In Space’ Featurette is mostly recycled talking head interviews mixed with movie footage, but a few behind-the-scenes shots of the locations where the movie was shot make it slightly-interesting. Finally a hidden feature unlocks when the movie is watched once on the DVD player, and I’ll let you find it by yourself.
bottom line:
Trekkies like this website’s two executive editors (names withheld to prevent present and future girlfriend from dumping them for being too dorky :-P) are not the only one’s who will get a kick out of seeing themselves been gently satirized. Anyone who has ever been emotionally attached to a TV show will see something of themselves in "Galaxy Quest’s" fans, and will thoroughly enjoy its absurd but well-executed plot. Picture and sound in this Dreamworks-issued DVD are flat-out phenomenal (duh!), and only the lack of better extras keeps this one from getting a higher score.
By - J.M. Vargas
