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Galaxy Quest vs TREK

Galaxy Quest isn't a Trek film. It is a parody of the behind the scenes and fandom of the show, loosely based on a Joan Winston short story. That's where the similarities end. Comparing this to other Trek films and insisiting such is like comparing apples to a couch.

Don't be so sure. George Takei thought it was close enough to Trek to laugh like a fiend when he saw it...

I thought it was hilarious!! Not a Star Trek film.
 
It is one of my favorite Trek films. Galaxy Quest is a better Star Trek film than some Star Trek films. Therefore, I highly recommend it to any Trek or sci-fi fan and it is in my Trek collection.
There are just too many parallels and nods to Trek fans:
- Tim Allen was a better Shat than Shat, action loving captain, ripped shirt, etc.
- Alan Rickman as the alien crewmember
- Sigourney Weaver as the female who doesn't do much but communicate
- Crewman 6 "Guy", the redshirt/fan
- Corbin Bleu as the boy genius pilot (in his first big screen role)

I could go on, but most anyone who has seen it will tell you it IS a Star Trek movie. IMO, it is closer to what Trek movies should have been: a fun romp with action and adventure.
 
I think it was great (as my signature shows :)) and it shouldn't be compared to the Trek films because unlike them it was never meant to be taken seriously. To choose between them would be like choosing between "Blade Runner" and "The Fifth Element".
 
It is one of my favorite Trek films. Galaxy Quest is a better Star Trek film than some Star Trek films. Therefore, I highly recommend it to any Trek or sci-fi fan and it is in my Trek collection.
There are just too many parallels and nods to Trek fans:
- Tim Allen was a better Shat than Shat, action loving captain, ripped shirt, etc.
- Alan Rickman as the alien crewmember
- Sigourney Weaver as the female who doesn't do much but communicate
- Crewman 6 "Guy", the redshirt/fan
- Corbin Bleu as the boy genius pilot (in his first big screen role)

I could go on, but most anyone who has seen it will tell you it IS a Star Trek movie. IMO, it is closer to what Trek movies should have been: a fun romp with action and adventure.

Please, don't forget the Rock-Man, who was a better Rock Man than they ever could have put into ST V.
 
Galaxy Quest isn't a Trek film. It is a parody of the behind the scenes and fandom of the show, loosely based on a Joan Winston short story.

"Loosely based?" What's the evidence that the writers of this film had ever heard of Joan Winston or read that story?
 
Galaxy Quest isn't a Trek film. It is a parody of the behind the scenes and fandom of the show, loosely based on a Joan Winston short story.

"Loosely based?" What's the evidence that the writers of this film had ever heard of Joan Winston or read that story?

I'll second that question.


I have no evidence, but having read the short story, the similarities are obvious... either way, Galaxy Quest is not a Star Trek film and there is no real reason to comare the two as the same thing.
 
What's the short story? The only ones I know of that come close to this type of story are "Visit To a Weird Planet" by Jean Lorrah, "Visit to a Weird Planet, Revisited", by Ruth Berman, and "Revisiting a Visit to a Weird Planet Revisited", by Melanie Miller-Fletcher.
 
What's the short story?

It is a short story written by Joan Winston from a compilation that came out in the 70s. Shatner and Nimoy and, I believe, Kelley are on set and somehow get transported to the "real" Enterprise and have a dangerous encounter with Kor before Scotty figures out how to get them back to the Paramount lot.
 
That would be "Visit To a Weird Planet Revisited", by Ruth Berman, which was in "Star Trek: The New Voyages" by Bantam.
Ruth Berman?!??

Well, I stand corrected. Why did I think it was Joan Winston? Was it because she compiled the compilation?

Thanks for clearing that up for me.

Old age has taken a toll on my few working brain cells, apparently.
 
I love Galaxy Quest. It's one of my favorite comedies. But because it's a comedy, comparing it to trek films is like comparing apples and oranges.

Exactly. I love Galaxy Quest, but to say it's "better" than some other trek movie doesn't really make sense. And "Insurrection" is a great movie for anybody who loved and appreciated Star Trek TNG...
 
I think Galaxy Quest deserves a sequel unlike the NG franchise. Just my two cents.
 
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I can't really see a GQ sequel. I think they made their statement. I also think the NG franchise has gone as far as it can go.
 
Hey, is their any room for a Galaxy Quest nitpick in here?
I've seen the film many times, and it's funny, and it's not to be taken seriously, but let me ask you:

If the Thermians ( the good aliens ) thought the Galaxy Quest tv show was real, why did they feel the need to build a new Protector? Wouldn't they assume the ship still exists?

I'm sure there are a lot of reasonable conclusions ... I have a few myself. (like, they wanted their own fleet of ships, only needing the crew to teach them how to use them strategically against foes like Sarris)... but still, isn't that strange?

Ah, who gives a shit...
 
Hey, is their any room for a Galaxy Quest nitpick in here?
I've seen the film many times, and it's funny, and it's not to be taken seriously, but let me ask you:

If the Thermians ( the good aliens ) thought the Galaxy Quest tv show was real, why did they feel the need to build a new Protector? Wouldn't they assume the ship still exists?

I'm sure there are a lot of reasonable conclusions ... I have a few myself. (like, they wanted their own fleet of ships, only needing the crew to teach them how to use them strategically against foes like Sarris)... but still, isn't that strange?

Ah, who gives a shit...

Haha, the job of the trekkie is to poke holes... but Galaxy Quest never presumes to take itself seriously, so as a viewer I never tried.

If I were to "explain away" your question, I would say that it's namely because they are a species with exceptional technological capacity-- but they are too benevolent and innocent for their own good and are incapable of comprehending deception/evil. I would imagine, at the very least, they knew that the "show" had been off for a number of years and could tell through technology alone that the ship was no longer on Earth.
 
If I were to "explain away" your question, I would say that it's namely because they are a species with exceptional technological capacity-- but they are too benevolent and innocent for their own good and are incapable of comprehending deception/evil. I would imagine, at the very least, they knew that the "show" had been off for a number of years and could tell through technology alone that the ship was no longer on Earth.

Ah ha, but if they were incapable of deception, why did they hide their true alien forms from the Galaxy Quest crew?

Oh god, I can't help myself, I gots ta nitpick...
SOMEBODY STOP ME !!
 
That would be "Visit To a Weird Planet Revisited", by Ruth Berman, which was in "Star Trek: The New Voyages" by Bantam.

"Visit to a Weird Planet Revisited" was the first thing I thought of when I saw Galaxy Quest. Specifically, why didn't Berman get any credit for the idea? I was surprised to not see her name even in the end credits.

Admittedly it's possible that more than one person could have come up with the premise independently. OTOH, Harlan Ellison successfully sued the producers of Terminator or Terminator II based on similarities between those scripts and a couple of his short stories.
 
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