you 'd think it would be easy to spoof star trek , but try spoofing it without cruelly mocking it .
that 's a bit more difficult .
the farfetched sci - fi series is , after all , enormously popular , what with its gigantic fan base and ongoing installments both on television and in movies .
if you 're not nice to it , you lose .
galaxy quest is to star trek what mel brooks 's spaceballs was to star wars ,
an affectionate , riotously funny parody that freely takes jabs at various elements of its subject but never seems mean - spirited or malintentioned .
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the show 's been cancelled , but the journey is far from over .
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that is the current tagline of " galaxy quest , " a star trek - type show that 's no longer produced but lives on forever in reruns .
it also lives on in conventions , gatherings of the show 's obsessive fans who never fail to dress in " galaxy quest " costumes and ask absurdly logical questions about its delirious technobabble .
jason nesmith
( tim allen ) played " commander peter quincy taggart " on the show and is the only one of the cast who still gets excited about the gigs they have to do .
the attitudes of the rest -- tommy webber ( daryl mitchell , gwen demarco ( sigourney weaver ) , fred kwan ( tony shalhoub ) and alexander dane ( alan rickman ) -- range from indifference to utter contempt .
dane , who played a spock - like alien , is especially disgusted , considering himself above his demeaning job and stubbornly refusing to recite his character 's cheesy trademark line " by grabthar 's hammer , you shall be avenged " ( or something like that ) for his die - hard fans .
one day , nesmith is greeted by an especially fanatical group of " galaxy quest " followers .
they are actually aliens from a planet known as thermia .
they have mistaken the " galaxy quest " episodes for historical documentation of actual heroic space travel .
the next day , the thermians whisk nesmith away to a spaceship to help them defeat the evil sarris ( named , in one of the film 's only mean - spirited gags , after village voice film critic andrew sarris ) .
nesmith thinks it is only an elaborate gig , and sort of blows it off , but when he is transported -- or i should say shot -- back to earth in a rather celestial manner , he believes .
next thing the cast knows , they are being dragged by nesmith to this spaceship .
of course , they all think he is out of his mind
and once he does convince them that there really is a spaceship , what they want to do is get out of there as fast as the transporters will take them .
but after some persuading , they stay on to fight the icky sarris and find a way to provide a peaceful existance for the flailing thermians .
i was quite surprised how well this comedy , which came off as utterly brainless from its marketing campaign , worked .
taking shots at both the obvious and not - so - obvious elements of star trek and its fandom , galaxy quest never goes for cheap laughs , opting instead for broad but smart parody .
nothing is safe -- not the cliches , not the fans , not the absurd taglines -- but on the other hand , everything is safe , since galaxy quest treats its subject with utter respect and sometimes even subtle admiration .
the highlight of the movie is tony shalhoub 's fred a .
k .
a . tech sergeant chen who , when in character , is the complete opposite of scotty from the original star trek .
while scotty , who was the technician for the enterprise would constantly yell " i need more power down here captain ! " ,
chen 's cry for help is more to the tune of " the core , like , wo n't take it or something .
" it 's a hoot , but it does n't stop there :
weaver , whose character has the menial task of repeating everything the computer says and rickman , with his relentlessly holier - than - thou attitude are n't far behind .
galaxy quest succeeds as a funny parody of star trek and while it 's not a masterpiece -- it tends to falter in its more serious moments --
it is immensely entertaining fluff and excellent counterprogramming to all the sober oscar contenders being released this holiday season .
by grabthar 's hammer , this is a hell of a movie .
Output: P