Before I became a Trekkie I was a Questerian. In case you don’t know, that’s someone who’s a fan of the 1999 sci-fi comedy Galaxy Quest which is commemorating its 20th anniversary with a documentary.
I never watched the film in theaters but I remember seeing the commercials on TV and renting it on VHS. I immediately became a fan. I once told my mother that if this show really existed, I would’ve been a “questerian” as they say in the movie. I had no clue that this film was inspired by Star Trek and its fandom, but now it’s considered by many Trek alumni to be the best “Star Trek movie” ever made. I love what Patrick Stewart about his viewing experience:
I had originally not wanted to see Galaxy Quest because I heard that it was making fun of Star Trek, and then Jonathan Frakes rang me up and said “You must not miss this movie! See it on a Saturday night in a full theatre.” And I did, and of course I found it was brilliant. Brilliant. No one laughed louder or longer in the cinema than I did, but the idea that the ship was saved and all of our heroes in that movie were saved simply by the fact that there were fans who did understand the scientific principles on which the ship worked was absolutely wonderful. And it was both funny and also touching in that it paid tribute to the dedication of these fans.
The film went on to develop a devoted fan base that became evident when Alan Rickman passed away from cancer, by posting tributes to his character, Dr. Lazarus.
Sadly, the same can’t be said for Gentlemen Broncos, which is turning 10 this year.
Written and directed by Jared and Jerusha Hess, the same husband and wife team that brought you Napoleon Dynamite and Nacho Libre, this film is a love letter of sorts to sci-fi publishing, as demonstrated by its memorable opening credits, done to the tune of “In the Year 2525” by Yeager and Evans.
The film was scheduled to be released nationwide but due to extremely poor reviews (it got a 19% on Rotten Tomatoes), it was immediately pulled from theaters and marked a career derailment for the Hesses, which is a pity because I found the film to be very unique and far funnier than some of the more slicker, mainstream comedy films in distribution at the time or since. Heck, I’d rather watch this film than more critically acclaimed “nerd” shows like The Big Bang Theory or Community.
So you may be wondering why I’m dedicating a post to two films that couldn’t be any more different from each other (after all you’ve heard of Galaxy Quest, but you can be forgiven for never having heard of Gentlemen Broncos). Well, both are love letters to different SF mediums: GQ is a spoof of SF TV, while GB is a spoof of SF literature.
And they both star Sam Rockwell, who (almost) steals the show.
Another trait both have in common is despite being spoofs of science fiction, these films avoid falling into the trap of portraying science fiction fans as losers and instead depict them as every day, relatable people. While there are quirky characters in the main casts that are written to make audiences laugh, most of the humor comes from the situations thrown at the characters. The “crew” of the NSEA Protector has to deal with fading careers, product placement and aliens that don’t know the difference between fantasy and reality. Teenager Benjamin Purvis has to deal with the realization that the SF author he idolizes is stuck up, stole his story about a space traveling hero and receives all the credit for it, while two nutty independent filmmakers also stole his story ideas.
Another trait they have in common is their use of the “show within a show” trope. Throughout Galaxy Quest, footage of the titular show is used as a reference, while sequences from Benjamin’s and Dr. Chevalier’s stories are interspersed throughout Gentlemen Broncos‘ narrative.
Another one of the subjects both films address is the need for a comeback albeit of a positive/negative dichotomy. After defeating Sarris and saving the Thermians, the cast of Galaxy Quest make a triumphant comeback when their hit show is renewed, while Dr. Chevalier briefly enjoys a comeback with his “novel” Brutus and Balzac after his publishers reject his previous manuscript. Of course once it’s found out that Chevalier plagiarized Benjamin’s work, then Gentlemen Broncos ends up becoming a success story for Benjamin. But whatever the outcome for the characters, I hope that one day Gentlemen Broncos will receive more widespread appreciation like Galaxy Quest did. So in a combination of both films I leave you with these quotes:
“Remember who you are and what you stand for.”
“Never give up, never surrender.”
Have you seen Galaxy Quest or Gentlemen Broncos? What did you think of them? Do you notice any other similarities between the two or am I just imagining things? Let me know in the comments.
Oh and I’m also leaving you with some “advice” from Dr. Chevalier and this E! mockumentary about the “history” of Galaxy Quest.
the lady from planet x 