Galaxy Quest was made as a parody of the Star Trek franchise but is still beloved by Star Trek fans for its positive portrayals of fan culture. Premiering in 1999, Galaxy Quest featured a star-studded cast and a plot revolving around a group of washed-up actors from a popular but defunct sci-fi show called “Galaxy Quest“. Now living their lives on the convention circuit, the actors are stunned when they are contacted by a group of actual aliens called the Thermians who believe the show is real and have modeled their entire civilization off it. The Thermians subsequently draw the actors into an interstellar conflict that forces them to participate in many situations from the show in real life.
Galaxy Quest made many references to other sci-fi works, but the main thing it parodied was Star Trek: The Original Series. Many of the characters in the film were allegories to TOS’s characters and actors, most notably Jason Nesmith (Tim Allen) and Alexander Dane (Alan Rickman), who parody William Shatner/Captain Kirk and Leonard Nimoy/Spock respectively. In addition, many members of Galaxy Quest’s production team have said they paid intentional homage to Star Trek in a variety of ways, wanting it to feel like “a great Star Trek episode” in the words of the film’s director Dean Parisot.
While enjoyable for Trekkies, these homages are not ultimately what ended up endearing Galaxy Quest to the Star Trek fandom so strongly. The main reason was that the film portrayed fans in a way they had never been depicted before. Devotees of the fictional Galaxy Quest TV series play a huge role during the story, with a group of young “Questarians” even helping to save the day through their knowledge of the show during the film’s climax. While participating in the activities that many Star Trek fans do is much more mainstream today, the late 1990s and early 2000s was a time when nerd culture was still looked down upon and made fun of. Although marketed as an out-and-out parody of Star Trek, Galaxy Quest chose instead to blend parody with a true love letter to the fandom that made many Trekkies feel seen and appreciated, while still delivering a hilarious movie that allowed fans to laugh at themselves.
![Why Galaxy Quest Was The Perfect Star Trek Parody](https://static1.srcdn.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/image-35.jpeg)
This fact combined with a considerable complement of Star Trek references and Easter eggs gained Galaxy Quest cult classic status and is part of the reason many people consider it an unofficial Trek movie. Additionally, several famous Star Trek actors, including Jonathan Frakes, Patrick Stewart, Brent Spiner, and Wil Wheaton have also gone on record to express their love for the movie. Wheaton called Galaxy Quest “the best Star Trek movie“, and Stewart – although reluctant to see the film when it first came out – has since endorsed it wholeheartedly and pronounced the movie “brilliant“. This nearly universal love from all corners of Star Trek is another big reason Galaxy Quest remains the perfect parody of the franchise.
Along with the Trekkies, Galaxy Quest has gained its own fandom over the years and calls for a continuation have been consistent since the film first premiered. Although there have been several attempts at developing another film or even a TV series, nothing has ever been finalized, but rumors of projects being developed as recently as 2021 demonstrate just how much people love the film. Despite plenty of other works that have parodied aspects of Star Trek, Galaxy Quest remains the perfect example of a well-done parody that fans can still enjoy over twenty years later.