To Boldly Spoof: ‘Galaxy Quest’ (1999)

This post is part of the Outer Space on Film Blogathon, hosted by Moon in Gemini. See the other posts here.

Resistance is futile.

Live long and prosper.

By Grabthar’s hammer.

The last of these is not like the others. Grabthar hails from Galaxy Quest, a cinematic love letter to Star Trek that boldly parodies what many have parodied before, but with an important distinction: it laughs with fans, not at them. It’s the greatest film about Starfleet never made.

Once there was a television show called Galaxy Quest. The crew of the NSEA Protector travelled through space, exploring new worlds, defeating villains and always making time for the commander’s catchphrase, “Never give up, never surrender.” Then the network gave up on them and the show was cancelled. Eighteen years later, its faded stars while away their days at conventions, resentful of each other and of the series that has taken over their lives. The only member of the cast still having fun is Jason Nesmith (Tim Allen), who played the Protector’s commander, Peter Quincy Taggart, and whose massive ego cushions him from reality. His fellow actors despise him. When a group of fans calling themselves Thermians ask Jason to appear in their amateur film, he is happy to oblige. It’s only when they send him home, hurtling across space, that he realises the truth: the Thermians are actually aliens and they think he’s a real captain. Soon, he and his ‘crew’ are swept into outer space and to survive, they’ll have to give the performances of their lives.

If any series was ripe for parody, it’s Star Trek. The rubber-forehead aliens, the techno jargon, the earnest philosophizing, the cult-like following, the (sometimes Shakespearean) actors struggling with ludicrous dialogue—the Star Trek franchise has it all. (Full disclosure: I grew up in a Trek-friendly household and my affections are liberally distributed between the original series, Next Generation and Voyager crews. I also have good things to say about Deep Space Nine and Discovery.) What makes Galaxy Quest special is that director Dean Parisot, and writers David Howard and Robert Gordon, treat the franchise and its fan base with affection. The jokes aren’t snide. They’re good-natured and side-splittingly accurate.

Take the film’s opening scene, a brief glimpse of Galaxy Quest the show. There’s an alien intoning gravely (Spock), a woman whose chief role is to repeat what the computer says (shades of Uhura, Troi and other underused female characters) and a child at the helm (notorious teen genius Wesley Crusher). When the ship is fired upon, the cast reels about the set in a farcical attempt at a shockwave. Even the aspect ratio mimics the first Star Trek. No character embodies the film’s knowing sense of humour better than Guy Fleegman (Sam Rockwell), an extra on the show who gets roped into the cast’s adventure. A living compendium of sci-fi clichés, Guy frequently says what the audience is thinking and is so well-versed in the tradition of ‘red shirts’ (“I’m expendable. I’m the guy who dies to prove the situation is serious.”), he panics on an away mission and believes he’s marked for death. (The crew’s predicament becomes even funnier when you realise there’s a Star Trek fan fiction story from 1967 with a similar plot.)

As befits a film steeped in meta humour, the Thermians are the ultimate fans, bringing the show they revere to life. Parisot puts his special effects budget to good use in our first look at the Protector: the ship is a bonnie lass, as Scotty would say, a symphony of sleek curves that dazzles the audience as much as it does the crew. The Thermians have modelled their technology on Galaxy Quest, but with every piece of TV narrative logic intact, and the actors quickly realise how little of it makes sense in the real world. In a delightfully ironic bit of casting Sigourney Weaver, Ripley herself, plays Gwen DeMarco, a talented actress whose character’s main function on the show was simply to echo the ship’s computer. Thrust into outer space, Gwen keeps doing her absurd job because it’s the only one she has.

The Star Trek spoof extends behind the scenes too. As Jason Nesmith, world-class egotist, Tim Allen pokes fun at William Shatner, marshalling all the bombast he can muster. Swaggering on stage at a convention, over an hour late, Jason throws his arms wide to embrace the cheering crowd and basks in the adulation he’s convinced is his due. Later, the Thermians’ hero-worship goes straight to his head and his ego becomes so enormous, it could likely sustain multiple satellites in orbit. Allen’s Jason is outrageously self-centred, but also charming and, ultimately, an idealist. More than anything, Jason wants to be a real hero. Seeing him become one is enormous fun.

While Jason can’t let go of the show, his co-star Sir Alexander Dane (Alan Rickman) can’t escape it. A cross between Patrick Stewart (a British Shakespearean actor) and Leonard Nimoy (who grew to resent being typecast), Alexander has been reduced to appearing at store openings (“By Grabthar’s hammer, what a savings.”). Riddled with self-loathing, he drags himself in front of a crowd of fans, only to hear the catchphrase he detests play on the speakers: “By Grabthar’s hammer, by the sons of Warvan, you shall be avenged!”  Rickman’s look of resignation, followed by barely-concealed rage is marvellous. Galaxy Quest’s resident misanthrope, Alexander is acutely aware of every indignity visited upon him and reacts accordingly. When a trip through a minefield leaves the crew battered and bruised, he stalks off “To see if there’s a pub!” Rickman isn’t primarily remembered for his comic roles, but he steals every scene he’s in and the film is the greater for it.

One of the most beautiful things about Galaxy Quest is that it understands what it is to be a fan. With the lightest of touches, Howard and Gordon reveal what it’s like to be so inspired by something that it becomes an indelible part of your life. When the crew needs help, it seems only right that the fans come to their rescue. Galaxy Quest is a rollicking adventure that not only spoofs Star Trek, but also celebrates the franchise’s imagination and ideas, and the devotion it has inspired for over 50 years. By Grabthar’s hammer, what a film.