I haven’t done a retro-review type thing in a while and so I’m going to focus on a film that’s probably one of the best Star Trek movies made, this one features Tim Allen in the captains chair as he finds himself in the middle of an intergalactic incident. Yes, Tim Allen. No, not really Star Trek.

The film is based around a group of actors from a dead TV Show. Much like the real stars of sci fi television they’re doing the convention circuits and just like the Shatners and Hamils couldn’t escape their cult fame, neither can this fictional cast who are ever to be known as the guys in funny suits on that space ship from that TV show people used to watch and now laugh at.

Problem is, not everyone knows their stories are works of fiction and some nearby aliens in distress have come to Earth to search for the crew believing that their TV show was reality. So they head to a convention to take the captain to a replica of his ship they’ve built for him so that he’ll speak to their enemies and end a brutal war on them.

With only a superfan to help guide them from the ground, the actors muddle through their mission and try to save the day – this time for real.

The casting for this was brilliant. Despite me not being a fan of his comedic endeavers most of the time, Allen nailed this role taking the piss out of William Shatner, who mentioned years later on Raw Nerve that he loved the parody. And he’s he full parody. The character he plays, Captain Taggart, is a womaniser who’s shirt will fall off with the slghtest scrape and he immerses himself in his fans who see him as a joke of his former self.

Alien star Sigourney Weaver joined the fun as the fictional shows Uhural but for me the standout performance is Alan Rickman’s portrayal of Sir Alexander Dane/Dr. Lazerus, the Spock of the show. A classically trained actor who resents his television role and how it’s typecast him since the show was cancelled.

Like most other Rickman role’s he’s just absolutely wonderful at the comedic and witty bitterness and steals any scene he’s in. But considering the Shatner-Nimoy rivalry, I’m not entirely sure that’s an accident.

The film was one of the best parodies I’ve ever seen. Not only that, it was just plain fun. But let’s look at the opinions of the objects of the affectionate humour…

I had originally not wanted to see Galaxy Quest because I heard that it was making fun of Star Trek and then Jonathan Frakes rang me up and said “You must not miss this movie! See it on a Saturday night in a full theatre”. And I did and of course I found it was brilliant. Brilliant. No one laughed louder or longer in the cinema than I did, but the idea that the ship was saved and all of our heroes in that movie were saved simply by the fact that there were fans who did understand the scientific principles on which the ship worked was absolutely wonderful. And it was both funny and also touching in that it paid tribute to the dedication of these fans
-Patrick Stewart

I think it’s a chillingly realistic documentary ! The details in it, I recognized every one of them. It is a powerful piece of documentary filmmaking. And I do believe that when we get kidnapped by aliens, it’s going to be the genuine, true Star Trek fans who will save the day. … I was rolling in the aisles. And Tim Allen had that Shatner-esque swagger down pat. And I roared when the shirt came off, and Sigourney rolls her eyes and says, ‘There goes that shirt again.’ … How often did we hear that on the set?
-George Takei

If you’re a fan of Star Trek – or sci fi in general – whether you’re a convention goer or a casual watcher, or are even caught up in the nostalgic novelty of old productions, you’ll get the inside gags. If not, you’ll be entertained by it all anyway.

So go watch it…

…or I’ll send Worf out to eat you.

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Tags: fandom, geek, movies, sci fi, star trek