"Galaxy Quest" TV show?

[fireproof78]

There is potential here, but only if it gets treated as more than a parody by the studio.

It's a parody. That's what Galaxy Quest is: it's a funny parody of Star Trek and more essentially Star Trek fandom.

Treating it as other than a parody is equivalent to treating peanut butter as chocolate sauce.

It's a parody in that it imitates Star Trek in an amusing way, certainly.

It is a little bit more in that it has interesting characters and a story with a point that is more than comedic in value.

Regardless of what it is called or defined as, I'll probably watch it

 

[Ghel]

I'm in. If Galaxy Quest is on TV, you can bet I'll be watching.

 

[Chronos]

I haven't seen Galaxy Quest so maybe I'm not well-informed on the topic, but I don't see how a light parody of Star Trek could devalue the entire franchise. If anything, I think that it might get a new generation of fans interested in Trek more than NuTrek ever could.

 

[Greg Cox]

Galaxy Quest as a series will only work if it's about Commander Taggart and his crew, not about the actors that played them in the eighties. At least IMO.

Gotta disagree. The whole point of the movie is that it's a comedy about washed-up sci-fi TV stars having to be space heroes for real. That's what "Galaxy Quest" is, not the imaginary show-within-the show, which is just a thinly-disguised version of TOS.

A straight version of "Galaxy Quest," featuring Taggert and Co., would be just another space opera. It's the show-biz spoof angle that makes "Galaxy Quest" Galaxy Quest . . ..

Done right, this could be a lot of fun. The movie is sublime, though, so the bar has been set high. (I actually dragged my Star Trek editor to the movie when it first came out: I thought he was going to bust a gut laughing.)

And this isn't going to hurt Star Trek any. Pretty much every Trek fan I know loves Galaxy Quest. Star Trek is big enough to take a little good-natured ribbing.

Finally,this isn't a case of having choose between a Galaxy Quest TV show or a new Trek series. Different studios, different properties, different approaches. One doesn't preclude the other.

 

[Flying Spaghetti Monster]

I just think that Star Trek is a hard franchise to get right as it is. It's easier to make fun of Star Trek, or to make bad Star Trek, than it is to make good Star Trek.

Take City on the Edge of Forever.. an undisputed classic episode, where there is so much to love, the writing is so good. Yet to today;s audience they could probably think, during it's teaser, that it looks pretty cheesey. Fortunatly, what is happening on screen is still interesting enough to keep most people watching until the episode starts to get really interesting.

But if this Galaxy Quest show regularly makes fun of how cheesy Star Trek and its various story-telling conventions were, the fans looking at a great episode like City after having seen a season of GQ might not every accept it for what it is .. which is one of the greatest hours of science fiction television ever produced.

I'm sorry.. I just feel that marginalizing Star Trek, while easier than writing good Star Trek, isn't the right way to go, especially since many of the aspects of the reboot almost parodied the franchise at it was.

 

[Kemaiku]

You know very few people even in the fandon take Trek as seriously as you're implying.

City on the Edge of Forever is alright, but greatest hour of scifi? not even close.

It's a science fiction comedy series being produced for mild entertainment that you're taking far too seriously and blowing this situation well out of proportion.

 

[JRoss]

I disagree with the OP. Last week I went and watched Galaxy Quest on IMAX. So many fond memories and it only increased my Trek nostalgia.

 

[Greg Cox]

Again, this isn't being offered to us in lieu of a new Star Trek series; it's its own thing. And there's no reason we can't have a serious Trek series AND an affectionate spoof of the genre at the same time. One doesn't destroy the possibility of the other.

I mean, look at James Bond. Generations of spy-movie spoofs, from Get Smart to Austin Powers, haven't stopped Bond . . . or Bourne . . . or any number of other more serious spy movie franchises.

And the last time I checked, The Rocky Horror Picture Show has hardly reduced the entire horror genre to utter ridicule and extinction. Ditto for Young Frankenstein, Love at First Bite, Teen Wolf, or even Abbott & Costello Meet Frankenstein!

And clearly nobody ever made another western after Blazing Saddles or The Three Amigos . . .

No genre or series is so fragile that it can't survive being spoofed. If jokes about redshirts and tribbles were enough to kill Trek, it would've died decades ago.

 

[JirinPanthosa]

I think a GalaxyQuest TV show is a good idea for maybe a six episodes per season deal. It couldn't hold up for full seasons.

 

[CorporalClegg]

I think a GalaxyQuest TV show is a good idea for maybe a six episodes per season deal. It couldn't hold up for full seasons.

How do you know?

The premise is good; the staff is talented. Anything is possible.

 

[Nebusj]

Gotta disagree. The whole point of the movie is that it's a comedy about washed-up sci-fi TV stars having to be space heroes for real. That's what "Galaxy Quest" is, not the imaginary show-within-the show, which is just a thinly-disguised version of TOS.

It's also about how a person can be doing something he regards as silly or trivial or even tedious, and discover that to the right person, that same action can be meaningful and heroic. It's a theme that's a little terrifying: it implies that your everyday could be inspirational.

Finally,this isn't a case of having choose between a Galaxy Quest TV show or a new Trek series. Different studios, different properties, different approaches. One doesn't preclude the other.

Oh, absolutely. We are really far from the days when there might not be enough hours of programming slots available to support two space-adventure shows.

 

[The Wormhole]

I just think that Star Trek is a hard franchise to get right as it is. It's easier to make fun of Star Trek, or to make bad Star Trek, than it is to make good Star Trek.

Take City on the Edge of Forever.. an undisputed classic episode, where there is so much to love, the writing is so good. Yet to today;s audience they could probably think, during it's teaser, that it looks pretty cheesey. Fortunatly, what is happening on screen is still interesting enough to keep most people watching until the episode starts to get really interesting.

But if this Galaxy Quest show regularly makes fun of how cheesy Star Trek and its various story-telling conventions were, the fans looking at a great episode like City after having seen a season of GQ might not every accept it for what it is .. which is one of the greatest hours of science fiction television ever produced.

I'm sorry.. I just feel that marginalizing Star Trek, while easier than writing good Star Trek, isn't the right way to go, especially since many of the aspects of the reboot almost parodied the franchise at it was.

Galaxy Quest the movie has been out for over 15 years and it hasn't tarnished Trek at all. Galaxy Quest the TV series won't either.

Besides, even though it's a show I loath, The Big Bang Theory has actually given geek culture more mainstream acceptance than it's ever had before. For all we know, a Galaxy Quest series might generate interest in Star Trek. Or maybe not, the movie didn't really have much of an impact either way.

And finally, The City on the Edge of Forever is one of the most overrated Trek episodes ever.

 

[FormerLurker]

Galaxy Quest as a series will only work if it's about Commander Taggart and his crew, not about the actors that played them in the eighties. At least IMO.

Gotta disagree. The whole point of the movie is that it's a comedy about washed-up sci-fi TV stars having to be space heroes for real. That's what "Galaxy Quest" is, not the imaginary show-within-the show, which is just a thinly-disguised version of TOS.

A straight version of "Galaxy Quest," featuring Taggert and Co., would be just another space opera. It's the show-biz spoof angle that makes "Galaxy Quest" Galaxy Quest . . ..

Done right, this could be a lot of fun. The movie is sublime, though, so the bar has been set high. (I actually dragged my Star Trek editor to the movie when it first came out: I thought he was going to bust a gut laughing.)

And this isn't going to hurt Star Trek any. Pretty much every Trek fan I know loves Galaxy Quest. Star Trek is big enough to take a little good-natured ribbing.

Finally,this isn't a case of having choose between a Galaxy Quest TV show or a new Trek series. Different studios, different properties, different approaches. One doesn't preclude the other.

Where did I say it had to be straight? It could be as comedic as hell. But I think it would work better as a comedy about the crew rather than the cast.

I'm a Star Trek fan that LOVES Galaxy Quest. I never said or implied that Star Trek couldn't take a little ribbing. I do it all the time myself. I never feared that GQ would ever hurt ST. I just think that an ongoing series about washed up actors making a TV show will play itself out too easily, and too soon.

 

[The Wormhole]

I just think that an ongoing series about washed up actors making a TV show will play itself out too easily, and too soon.

I don't know, I see potential. Particularly if they decide to make the show about the cast of the different iteration of the Galaxy Quest franchise, which I guess they'll have to since I doubt anyone like Tim Allen or Sigourney Weaver will be in this show. Maybe throw in producers desperately trying to shake things up to make Galaxy Quest popular again ("let's go dark and gritty." "No, no. Hip, young attractive cast.") or even fans who constantly bitch and moan on the internet that the producers don't give a damn and what is up with the current registry codes they're using for the ships that violate canonical precedents.

This shit writes itself. Yeah, I see loads this show can do.

 

[Greg Cox]

I'm a Star Trek fan that LOVES Galaxy Quest. I never said or implied that Star Trek couldn't take a little ribbing. I do it all the time myself. I never feared that GQ would ever hurt ST. I just think that an ongoing series about washed up actors making a TV show will play itself out too easily, and too soon.

That part about Star Trek being able to take a little ribbing wasn't aimed at you. That was me responding to the original topic of the thread. Sorry for the confusion.

But I still think that "Galaxy Quest" is about actors playing space heroes on an imaginary show, not the imaginary show.

 

[eyeresist]

I don't see how GQ could work as a TV show. The "twist" of the movie, that washed-up actors end up saving the galaxy for real, has already been done, and wouldn't sustain over series length. And if the networks want a cheesy retro-style sci-fi show, there are a ton of episodes of the real thing available for cheap (not only TOS, but also Space 1999, Buck Rogers, BSG, - hell, even Jason of Star Command).

The backstage angle could possibly work, if writing was at a 30 Rock level, but (a) that's unlikely, and (b) even 30 Rock didn't rate well enough to justify a sci-fi level budget.

 

[Mudd]

But I still think that "Galaxy Quest" is about actors playing space heroes on an imaginary show, not the imaginary show.

Exactly so.

Really, the idea of taking the "show" seriously is the sort of thing that the movie was parodying.

 

[urbandefault]

So here's what I'm thinking: Each week the cast goes on adventures on the real NSEA Protector, then those events are translated into episodes of the 'show'. Real historical documents.

 

[Draculasaurus]

I think the burnout actors making a show could work if they're secretly using real aliens and ships to make it look big budget.
Then they could be called upon to really save the planet and end up just shooting it for the show.
Art imitating life instead of life imitating art which was what the movie did.

 

[elric428]

IDW already published a comic book sequel to the movie.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Galaxy_Quest_(comics)

Wonder if it will be like the comics.