10 years of Flick Filosopher: never give up, never surrender

Ah, Galaxy Quest. I remember seeing this film and having my brain explode in awe:

The creators of Galaxy Quest get it. They get that it's a healthy obsession that drives fans of Star Trek, Babylon 5, Doctor Who, and even more obscure cultish TV series to lovingly catalog a show's every plotline, alien creature, and spaceship; to turn even bad actors into demigods; to see past wobbly sets and rubbery monsters to embrace an imaginary world. (To see just how much they get it, check out Travis Latke's Galaxy Quest Page, a hilariously dead-to-rights "fan site" for Galaxy Quest the departed TV show, complete with badly mangled photos, too many fonts, and a poorly written episode guide.) But they also get that fandom is a yin/yang kinda thing, a love/hate relationship, especially for cynical Xers: We'd like to totally buy into Star Trek or Doctor Who, but we're just too mocking to love unconditionally. So even though Galaxy Quest treats us to worshipful teens who live and breath Quest -- and have the technical expertise to help out "Taggart" in a pinch -- the filmmakers just can't resist throwing in the two twentysomething fans, whom Jason overhears in the convention's public restroom, snickering about how Jason doesn't know what a laughingstock he is.

• review of Galaxy Quest, posted 12.28.99

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