56 Fun Facts About Galaxy Quest

Who directed Galaxy Quest?

Dean Parisot was the producer's man from the start, but the studio first hired a better-known director and turned to Parisot only after that director quit.

What was the title of David Howard's original spec script that became Galaxy Quest?

Captain Starshine was David Howard's spec script; the producer bought it for its premise and had Robert Gordon write a brand-new screenplay from the concept.

Which director left Galaxy Quest in pre-production over the studio's choice of lead actor?

Harold Ramis couldn't see the studio's choice as the commander and quit, but after watching the finished film he told the producer how wrong he'd been.

Which actor did the original director want for the lead role of Jason Nesmith?

Alec Baldwin was the original director's pick, but the studio wanted a different star for the lead, and that director left the film before shooting began.

Along with Steve Martin, which star was considered for Jason Nesmith before the lead was cast?

Kevin Kline was considered, and some accounts call him the original director's first choice, but that director left over the lead casting before filming.

Which hair color did Sigourney Weaver wear as Gwen DeMarco in Galaxy Quest?

Blonde came from a wig Weaver loved so much that she sometimes wore it home to her hotel at the end of a day's shooting.

Which actor, hoping for a more serious dramatic career, initially considered declining his Galaxy Quest role?

Sam Rockwell nearly passed on Guy Fleegman, worried a comic sidekick part would hurt his serious acting prospects; he took it, and Guy's redshirt panic became the film's running gag.

Which actor originally auditioned for the role of Guy Fleegman before ending up as Fred Kwan?

Tony Shalhoub read for Guy but was offered Fred Kwan, whom he and the director modeled loosely on David Carradine's spaced-out persona in TV's Kung Fu.

Which actor offered up the Thermians' distinctive voice at the end of his audition read?

Enrico Colantoni, cast as Thermian leader Mathesar, came up with that voice, and it became the model for every Thermian actor who followed.

Galaxy Quest's alien planet scenes were shot at Goblin Valley State Park in which US state?

Utah's Goblin Valley State Park played the alien planet because its knobbly sandstone formations already look like another world.

Which famous modernist Los Angeles residence stood in for Jason Nesmith's home?

The Stahl House, Case Study House #22 in the Hollywood Hills, stood in for Nesmith's home; Pierre Koenig's 1960 glass house is among the most photographed residences in America.

Which Los Angeles venue hosted Galaxy Quest's fan-convention scenes?

The Hollywood Palladium on Sunset Boulevard hosts the convention where the cast signs autographs for a price and the Thermians first ask Jason for help.

Why is Gwen DeMarco's top suddenly ripped for the later part of Galaxy Quest?

Its explaining scene was cut: Gwen tries to seduce the alien villains, a sequence removed as the studio pushed for a family-friendly rating.

Which studio chief phoned Galaxy Quest's director to apologize for how the film had been advertised?

Jeffrey Katzenberg called in its second week: instead of dropping off like most films, Galaxy Quest's weekend takings were holding up, and he admitted they'd botched the ads.

Which studio distributed Galaxy Quest?

DreamWorks Pictures didn't know what to make of the finished film, and the producer says its ad campaign never did the movie justice.

Galaxy Quest's lead passed on which Robin Williams film?

Bicentennial Man went ahead without him and flopped, earning $87.4 million worldwide against a budget of $90-100 million.

Which honor, cut from Alexander Dane's backstory, do the credits still show?

A knighthood was scripted for Dane, but his actor felt it would ring hollow for the character, so it was cut, yet the end credits still bill him as 'Sir'.

Guy Fleegman's actor modeled his coward partly on Bill Paxton's role in which film?

Aliens gave him the template of a soldier who is truly terrified; to get properly jittery, the actor also drank cups of coffee before his scenes.

Which company created Galaxy Quest's visual effects?

Industrial Light & Magic created Galaxy Quest's visual effects, including the starship battles and digital creature work, while Stan Winston Studio handled the practical creatures and makeup.

What did Galaxy Quest's official promotional website pretend to be?

A superfan's homemade site, credited to a fictional webmaster and full of fake episode guides, kept up the pretense that the Galaxy Quest TV show had really existed.

Which filmmaker praised Jason's confession scene on the one day he visited the Galaxy Quest set?

Steven Spielberg praised it, and the lead, who came from comedy, said playing that dramatic moment straight fought every instinct he had to get a laugh.

Galaxy Quest won Best Dramatic Presentation at which science-fiction prize?

Galaxy Quest won the 2000 Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation, beating The Matrix, The Sixth Sense, The Iron Giant and Being John Malkovich.

Galaxy Quest won Best Script from the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America, a prize called the what?

The Nebula Award is given by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America; Galaxy Quest's screenplay, by David Howard and Robert Gordon, won the Nebula for Best Script.

Which Thermian idolizes Alexander Dane and dies in his arms?

Quellek, played by Patrick Breen, dodges capture by copying Dane's Mak'tar 'stealth haze', and he is later shot as the crew retakes the ship.

Which Galaxy Quest cast member won the Saturn Award for Best Actor?

Tim Allen won the Saturn Award for Best Actor for Galaxy Quest; his Jason Nesmith is a thinly veiled riff on William Shatner's Kirk-era ego and later humility.

Which official Star Trek film did 2013 convention fans rank last, below Galaxy Quest?

Into Darkness came last, though critics had mostly praised it and audiences polled by CinemaScore gave it an A.

Which Star Trek actor called Galaxy Quest 'a chillingly realistic documentary'?

George Takei, the original series' Sulu, meant it as praise: he said he recognized every detail, and that true Star Trek fans will save the day when aliens kidnap us.

Which Star Trek actor avoided Galaxy Quest, fearing it mocked Trek, then loved its tribute to fans?

Patrick Stewart, TNG's Picard, laughed louder than anyone once he saw it, and was moved that the ship is saved by fans who understand how it works.

Which playwright-director named Galaxy Quest one of only four 'perfect' films?

David Mamet, in his book Bambi vs. Godzilla, called Galaxy Quest a perfect film, listing it alongside The Godfather, A Place in the Sun and Dodsworth.

In 2015, which streaming company took on development of a Galaxy Quest TV series?

Amazon's series was reportedly close to production when Alan Rickman's death in January 2016 dealt it a major blow.

What is the title of the 2019 documentary made for Galaxy Quest's 20th anniversary?

Never Surrender came from Screen Junkies, the crew behind the snarky Honest Trailers videos, who traded their usual mockery for a heartfelt tribute.

What is the name of Jason Nesmith's in-show character?

Commander Peter Quincy Taggart is the role; still thinking he's on a set, Jason plays Taggart for real, barks orders and fires on Sarris's ship.

Alexander Dane, the frustrated Shakespearean actor, played which alien on the Galaxy Quest TV show?

Dr. Lazarus was Dane's role, and Dane swears he won't say its catchphrase one more time, until he says it with real feeling to a dying Thermian.

On the Galaxy Quest TV show, what was Fred Kwan's character's job aboard the Protector?

Chief engineer was his character's post, so the Thermians expect Fred to run the ship's digital conveyor, a machine he has no real idea how to operate.

Guy Fleegman's short-lived character on the Galaxy Quest TV show was credited as what?

Crewman #6 is how Guy's one-episode part was credited; he spends the whole mission convinced that, as the nameless extra, he is destined to die first.

Daryl Mitchell plays Tommy Webber, who as a child actor played which role on the Galaxy Quest show?

Lieutenant Laredo, the pilot was Tommy's boyhood role, so the Thermians hand the grown-up Tommy the helm of a real starship: 'Laredo, take us out.'

Which actor plays the Thermian Lahnk?

Rainn Wilson made his feature debut as Lahnk, but the part stayed mostly in the background, and his big scene ended up among the deleted scenes.

Which future star plays Brandon, the teenage superfan who helps Galaxy Quest's heroes?

Justin Long made his film debut as Brandon, winning the part over better-known actors such as Kieran Culkin and Eddie Kaye Thomas.

Which Thermian, played by Missi Pyle, becomes Fred Kwan's love interest?

Laliari was meant to be a small part with no romance at all, and her love story with Fred was written in partway through the shoot.

Sarris, the villain played by Robin Sachs, is the general of what kind of species?

Reptilian humanoids are Sarris's kind, and the villain was reportedly named after critic Andrew Sarris, who had disliked the producer's earlier film The Natural.

Why do the Thermians believe the Galaxy Quest episodes are real 'historical documents'?

They have no concept of fiction, so the Thermians took the broadcasts as 'historical documents' and built their society and a working starship on what the reruns showed.

What does the Omega 13 turn out to do?

Send everyone 13 seconds back in time is what the Omega 13 does; in-film fans had debated whether it was a universe-ending bomb or a 'matter re-arranger', and Jason uses it to undo Sarris's final attack.

What powers the Thermians' ship and gets badly damaged, forcing a trip to a nearby planet?

A beryllium sphere powers the Protector, and it fractured under the strain as the ship barely escaped Sarris by flying through a minefield.

What does Jason have to fend off when he is left behind on the mining planet?

A rock monster corners Jason, and Alexander's only advice over the communicator is to figure out what its motivation is.

What is the Thermians' true form beneath their human disguises?

Giant squid-like beings are what the Thermians really are; they use 'appearance generators' to look human, and the disguise fails whenever the generators are switched off.

How do Brandon and his friends help the crew from Earth?

They talk them through aborting the self-destruct; Brandon can take the call because he and Jason accidentally swapped communicators at the convention.

Where does the Protector's separated bridge finally crash-land?

A room full of Questerians is where it lands: the bridge smashes into the fan convention, and the crowd assumes the whole thing is special effects.

What is the title of the revived series shown at the end of the film?

Galaxy Quest: The Journey Continues is the revived show seen in the closing sequence; Guy finally joins the regular cast, and Fred's Thermian sweetheart appears alongside him.

Which actor plays the child Tommy Webber in the vintage show footage?

Corbin Bleu, later Chad in High School Musical, plays the boy Tommy in the old footage; years on, the grown Tommy's first real flight scrapes the ship along its dock.

Which Shakespeare role does Alexander Dane bitterly recall playing to five curtain calls?

Richard III is the role Alexander Dane moans about, complaining he once took five curtain calls in it before being reduced to a rubber-headed alien.

Which Star Trek actor said he wished he'd been cast in Galaxy Quest as 'a freaky fanboy'?

Wil Wheaton, TNG's Wesley Crusher, pictured himself screaming at the actor who played 'the kid' about how awful it was to have a kid on the spaceship.

Which on-set habit of Nesmith's actor first annoyed Alexander Dane's actor?

Constant crude jokes first annoyed the more reserved British actor, but he came around, and the two ended up very fast friends.

What does Fred Kwan say when asked if Galaxy Quest's little blue aliens could be the miners?

They're about three years old, Fred says, hearing 'minors' instead, and the cute little aliens soon turn vicious.

Which animated hit's success pushed the studio to recut Galaxy Quest for a younger audience?

The Rugrats Movie was a family hit, so the studio had the filmmakers strip the swearing out of Galaxy Quest to reach more young viewers.

Which creature does the digital conveyor beam aboard inside out?

A pig-lizard is Fred's test subject before he beams Jason up; it arrives inside out and explodes, while the crew assures Jason everything is fine.

Which comic-book publisher released the 2008 sequel Galaxy Quest: Global Warning?

IDW Publishing released Galaxy Quest: Global Warning, written by Scott Lobdell, in 2008; the same publisher followed it with another Galaxy Quest miniseries in 2015.