60 Fun Facts About Galaxy Quest

Who directed Galaxy Quest?

Parisot came aboard late in pre-production and later reunited with much of the crew's comic sensibility on Fun with Dick and Jane.

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

Producer Mark Johnson liked the concept more than the script and brought in Robert Gordon to rewrite it.

Which director was hired in November 1998 but left the project over the casting of Tim Allen?

The Ghostbusters co-writer wanted a different lead entirely; his replacement stepped in within three weeks.

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

Baldwin passed, and the studio's preference for a proven comedy star ultimately drove the director off the film.

Which actor was considered for Jason Nesmith but turned the part down for family reasons?

Steve Martin was also in the mix before Tim Allen took the role.

What did Sigourney Weaver keep from the production after filming wrapped?

She had lobbied for the role partly because she wanted to work with Tim Allen and Alan Rickman.

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

He took it anyway and turned Guy's redshirt panic into the film's most quoted running gag.

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

He lost Guy to a younger actor and instead played the ship's perpetually mellow engineer.

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

The stilted, over-enunciated delivery became the template for every Thermian in the film.

The alien planet scenes were shot at Goblin Valley State Park in which US state?

The park's mushroom-shaped hoodoos made a ready-made alien landscape without any set dressing.

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

Case Study House #22, perched above the city, is one of the most photographed homes in America.

Which Los Angeles venue hosted the Questarian gathering scenes?

The Palladium, a 1940 ballroom on Sunset Boulevard, has hosted everything from big bands to the Grammys.

What rating did Galaxy Quest originally receive before it was recut?

Producers wanted a family audience, so profanity was trimmed and one line famously dubbed over.

Whose profane line in the 'chompers' scene was dubbed to a milder 'Well, screw that!'?

Her lips clearly form a different word, a mismatch fans have enjoyed pointing out for decades.

On what date was Galaxy Quest released in US theaters?

It opened on Christmas Day against The Talented Mr. Ripley and Man on the Moon.

Which studio distributed Galaxy Quest?

Producer Mark Johnson's first-look deal with the young studio is how the script landed there.

What was Galaxy Quest's approximate worldwide box office gross?

About $71.6 million of that came from the US and Canada, where it hung around the Top 10 for nine weeks.

How many consecutive weeks did Galaxy Quest spend in the US box-office Top 10?

Solid word of mouth kept it there long after its Christmas opening.

What was Galaxy Quest's production budget?

That covered ILM's effects and a full-scale starship bridge built on Los Angeles soundstages.

How long is Galaxy Quest's running time?

Roughly the length of a two-part TV episode, which feels fitting for a film about a cancelled series.

Which company created Galaxy Quest's visual effects?

The Thermians' true octopoid forms and the space battles all came out of ILM.

Who composed the score for Galaxy Quest?

His stirring main theme is a deliberate pastiche of the great 1960s and 70s TV space anthems.

In theaters, the film's aspect ratio changed once the actors left Earth. From what to what?

The frame widens the moment the actors leave Earth, so the real adventure literally looks bigger than their sad convention lives.

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

It beat The Matrix, The Sixth Sense, The Iron Giant and Being John Malkovich for the science-fiction fandom's top prize.

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

It remains one of the few comedies ever to take the writers' prize.

How many Saturn Award nominations did Galaxy Quest receive?

Tim Allen took home Best Actor, beating dramatic performances from far more serious science-fiction films.

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

His Nesmith is a thinly veiled riff on William Shatner's Kirk-era ego and later humility.

In a 2013 fan poll ranking the Star Trek films, where did Galaxy Quest place?

Fans slotted it in among the twelve real Star Trek movies, ahead of several official entries.

Which Star Trek actor joked that when we get kidnapped by aliens, the true fans will save the day?

He also called the film 'a chillingly realistic documentary'.

Which Star Trek actor avoided the film thinking it mocked Trek, then loved its tribute to fans?

He was won over by how affectionately it treated the devotion of convention-goers.

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

The others on his list were The Godfather, A Place in the Sun and Dodsworth.

Whose death in 2016 did Tim Allen call 'the real kicker' for a hoped-for sequel?

A sequel script had been in the works, and the loss of Dr. Lazarus stalled it indefinitely.

In 2015, which company announced it was developing a Galaxy Quest television series?

Paul Scheer was hired to write it, and Paramount+ took its own swing at a series in 2023.

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

It was produced by the fan-wiki site Fandom and features most of the surviving cast.

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

Taggart's on-screen swagger is exactly what convinces the Thermians he is a real starship commander.

Gwen DeMarco's only real job aboard the ship turns out to be what?

She is the only officer who can give orders to the ship's computer, which she points out is a stupid design.

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

His catchphrase 'By Grabthar's Hammer' started as a placeholder line in the script.

Fred Kwan played Tech Sergeant Chen, who held which job aboard the Protector?

Kwan is so unflappable that he cheerfully operates the digital conveyor with almost no idea how it works.

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

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 show?

Webber has to fly a real starship as an adult using skills he faked as a kid.

Which actor plays Mathesar, leader of the Thermians?

Rainn Wilson, years before The Office, plays fellow Thermian Lahnk.

Which future star plays Brandon, the teenage superfan who helps the crew?

It was his film debut; he later became the 'I'm a Mac' guy in Apple's ads.

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

When her appearance generator fails, her true tentacled form does not put Fred off in the least.

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

His scarred, armored look was a practical creature suit rather than a digital creation.

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

They built their entire society, and a working starship, on what they saw in the reruns.

What does the Omega 13 turn out to do?

Fans had debated for years whether it was a universe-destroying bomb or a 'matter re-arranger'.

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

The replacement is guarded by ferocious, childlike alien miners.

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

Alexander's ill-timed advice about a rock monster's motivation is one of the film's best gags.

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

Sarris exposes their true form to humiliate them in front of the actors.

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

Brandon and Jason accidentally swapped communicators at the convention, which is why the fans can call in.

Where does the ship's separated bridge crash-land at the end of the film?

The crowd assumes it is the greatest convention stunt ever staged.

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

Guy and Laliari join the cast, finally giving Crewman #6 a name and a future.

In what decade did the fictional Galaxy Quest television series originally air?

The gathering that opens the film takes place long after cancellation, with the cast reduced to store openings and autograph tables.

What Rotten Tomatoes approval rating did Galaxy Quest hold as of 2024?

Metacritic put it at 70, and Roger Ebert praised how it spoofed the illogic of the TV show.

Which Star Trek actor said he wished he had been cast as 'a freaky fanboy' in the film?

As a former Wesley Crusher and lifelong nerd, he was the fandom's most natural fit for the part.

Tim Allen said he based Jason Nesmith less on William Shatner and more on which actor's Ramesses II?

The pharaoh in question is from Cecil B. DeMille's 1956 epic The Ten Commandments.

Which science fiction author wrote the November 1999 novelization of Galaxy Quest?

IDW Publishing later added comic-book sequels, starting with Global Warning in 2008.

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

The original cut carried an R rating and included Gwen trying to seduce aliens and a decapitating escape-pod crash.

Which documentary about Star Trek fandom did the director give Justin Long to prepare for Brandon?

Long also borrowed from Philip Seymour Hoffman's Scotty J. in Boogie Nights and The Simpsons' Comic Book Guy.

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

The same publisher launched a four-issue follow-up in 2015 titled after the revived show, The Journey Continues.