Galaxy Quest (1999)
Friday, 10:00 pm, Newcomb
Director: Dean Parisot
Writers: David Howard, Robert Gordon
Cinematographer: Jerzy Zielinski
Cast: Tim Allen, Sigourney Weaver, Alan Rickman
In the world of the film Galaxy Quest, nearly two decades have gone by since the cancellation of the classic TV adventure with the same name (a thinly disguised spoof of Star Trek) and the stars of that show have been reduced to making appearances at cheesy science fiction conventions and store openings.
When Jason Nesmith (Tim Allen), who portrayed the fictional Captain Taggart, is approached by a group of strange people dressed as aliens asking for his help to fight their ruthless galactic enemy, he happily goes along, assuming they are fans who will pay him for being part of their elaborate scenario. Soon, he discovers that they are real aliens who have intercepted the Galaxy Quest TV broadcasts and have mistaken them for actual historical documents.
Although fighting real aliens is far more dangerous than pretending to do so on television, Nesmith realizes that it is also more exciting and meaningful than signing autographs for fans he doesn’t respect. And so he boldly reassumes the identity of Captain Taggart.
Nesmith convinces the rest of the cast to join him, and so is accompanied by Fred Kwan (Tony Shalhoub), who played the engineer; Tommy Webber (Daryl Mitchell), a former child actor who portrayed the helmsman; Alexander Dane (Alan Rickman), a former Shakespearean actor who resents that he’s best known for donning a rubber head to depict Dr. Lazarus, a Spock-like alien with a silly catchphrase; and Gwen DeMarco (Sigourney Weaver), the blond bombshell whose only job on the show was to repeat what the computer said.
This movie, originally released in 1999, both mocks and pays tribute to the real-life phenomenon of Star Trek and its fandom, and has evolved into a cult favorite. Galaxy Quest producer Mark Johnson will introduce the film and pay tribute to its special effects creator, Stan Winston. A show reel of Winston’s most famous creatures will precede the feature.
