Galaxy Quest (1999)
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The cast of a fictional cult television series is thrust into a real interstellar conflict when aliens mistake their show for a documentary.
The story
The cast of the 1980s space-adventure series Galaxy Quest attend fan conventions and make trivial promotional appearances. While the vain former star, Jason Nesmith, thrives on the attention, his co-stars resent his behavior. During a convention, a group of aliens known as Thermians approaches Jason for help. Believing they are seeking a promotional appearance, he agrees to join them. He soon discovers that the situation is not a staged event, but a real interstellar conflict where the aliens have built their entire society based on the 'historical' events depicted in the television show.
Full plot (contains spoilers)
The cast of the 1980s space-adventure series Galaxy Quest attend fan conventions. When a group of aliens called Thermians approaches the lead, Jason Nesmith, they take him to their ship, the NSEA Protector. The cast eventually joins him, believing they are still filming. They soon learn the Thermians have no concept of fiction and view the show as a historical record. The group is forced to defend the ship against a hostile force led by Sarris. During the conflict, the cast must navigate the reality of their situation while the Thermians look to them for leadership. After a series of battles and a desperate move involving a 'matter re-arranger' known as the Omega 13, the heroes manage to defeat Sarris and return to Earth. The film ends with the cast being hailed as heroes by their fans, and the show being revived as a sequel series.
- First release year
- 1999
- Runtime (minutes)
- 102
- Production countries
- United States
- Original languages
- English
- Directors
- Dean Parisot
- Writers
- David Howard · screenplay; Robert Gordon · screenplay
- Cast and characters
- Tim Allen · Jason Nesmith; Sigourney Weaver · Gwen DeMarco; Alan Rickman · Alexander Dane; Tony Shalhoub · Fred Kwan; Sam Rockwell · Guy Fleegman; Daryl Mitchell · Tommy Webber; Enrico Colantoni · Mathesar; Missi Pyle · Laliari
- Genres
- satirical science fiction comedy; adventure
- Themes
- fandom; identity; reality vs. fiction
- Tone and mood
- satirical; humorous
- Premise and plot tags
- metafictional; parody; space opera
- Source material / true-story basis
- Original script by David Howard (originally titled Captain Starshine)
- Reception
- The film received positive reviews and achieved cult status, particularly among Star Trek fans for its homage to the franchise.
- Reported review scores
- Metacritic · score: 70 · scale: 100 · review count: 28
- Awards and nominations
- Hugo Award · Best Dramatic Presentation · win; Nebula Award · Best Script · win; Saturn Award · Best Science Fiction Film · nomination; Saturn Award · Best Director · nomination; Saturn Award · Best Actress · nomination; Saturn Award · Best Supporting Actor · nomination; Saturn Award · Best Actor · win
- Production trivia
- The film was originally intended to have an R rating before being edited for a PG rating.; The character name 'Sarris' was a nod to film critic Andrew Sarris.; The script was originally titled 'Captain Starshine' and 'Galaxy Quest: The Motion Picture'.
Film metadata comes from the open sources listed in Credits & Contact. Catalogue details may be incomplete.
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