Why So Blu?

Galaxy Quest (25th Anniversary) (4K UHD Blu-ray Review)

Media fandom is something sacred to the people who revel in it.  Trekkies, Star Wars Nerds, Twi-hards… There’s something about fandom that has spread much further than the niche conventions that once were. Way back in 1999, Galaxy Quest touched on the idea of fandom with an accurate portrayal that wasn’t all parody.  Its genuine representation of media fandom has made the film a bit of a cult hit. It would seem that many Trekkies saw themselves in the early and climactic convention-based scenes. So, after 25 years, how does Galaxy Quest hold up? Find out more while I figure out if there is such a fandom for Galaxy Quest now!

Film:

Years after cancellation, the stars of the television series Galaxy Quest cling to their careers. When a distressed interstellar race mistakes the show for “historical documents,” lead actor Jason Nesmith (Tim Allen) and his crew of has-beens are unwittingly recruited to save the alien race from a genocidal warlord. Featuring an all-star ensemble, including Sigourney Weaver, Alan Rickman, Tony Shalhoub, Sam Rockwell, Daryl Mitchell, Justin Long and Rainn Wilson, Galaxy Quest is a hilarious adventure that boldly goes where no comedy has gone before.​

As the film begins, we meet the cast of Galaxy Quest, a long cancelled sci-fi series not unlike Star Trek. At a convention, the cast grumbles through the motions as they prepare for a Q&A and some autographs.  Alexander (Alan Rickman) complains that he threw away a career as a Shakespearian actor to wear heavy makeup and a headpiece.  Gwen (Sigourney Weaver) remarks that she was once interviewed for TV Guide, and they used 6 paragraphs to explain how her boobs fit in her costume. Fred (Tony Shaloub) is mild mannered but out of acting gigs, and Tommy (Daryl Mitchell) is the token black cast member. As a child actor during the shows run, he was 2 tokens at once!

Rounding out the crew is Jason (Tim Allen) the lead of the series.  He appears to have himself together, but upon hearing some convention attending trolls trashing the fans and the show, he disassociates and drinks away his disappointment.  When he’s awakened by 3 people identifying as Thermians, visiting from another planet, Jason is hungover and displeased.  He thinks this is an invitation to some other random appearance and he goes along with them in a limo to what he thinks is a gig.  He puts himself into character and manages to defeat Sarris, the Thermian’s biggest nemesis and threat.  Realizing that at some point the Thermians transported themselves, Jason and the limo to their home planet, Jason begins to believe there may be more to his role on Galaxy Quest than just acting.  As he drops back down to earth, right in the middle of a middling ribbon cutting job the cast is appearing at, he is so excited to tell his castmates. They don’t believe him.  Why would they?

When the Thermians end up appealing to the cast’s good nature, they all end up on a fully functional replica ship just like their show had and leave Earth once again to face Sarrin who survived his tangle with Jason. As the crew bands together with the fan-Thermians, they all begin to feel a sense of purpose helping these alien visitors and finding the Thermian’s use of American TV, especially their show, as historical documents empowering. As the crew battles intergalactic enemies, they each find their purpose again.

Galaxy Quest was an above average hit for Paramount in 1999.  It was a film that had wide appeal for fans of sci-fi and comedy and banked on its stacked cast to deliver the goods.  Tim Allen is quite good as the intrepid leader of the Galaxy Quest crew, offering some interesting dramatic shifts in quieter moments of the film.  Sigourney Weaver is a bright light as she often is in films, with some quick wit to keep her going.  Alan Ruck is delightful in full alien headgear for the duration of the film, while Tony Shaloub and Darryl Mitchell are minor characters with some majorly funny moments.

Director Dean Parisot moves the film along with a good pace and manages to keep the film on the rails by bringing in the aspects of media fandom, cheesy sci-fi tropes and knowing comedy and making them sing together.  While the film may not be everyone’s cup of tea, Galaxy Quest stands as a sound reminder of great commercial 90’s filmmaking and is a lot of fun for fans of comedy, sci-fi or the very telling nature of fandom as it appears here.

Video:

Encoding: HEVC / H.265

Resolution: 4K (2160p)

Aspect Ratio: 2.39:1, 1.85:1 (Windowboxed), 1.33:1 (Windowboxed)

Layers: BD-100

HDR: Dolby Vision

Clarity/Detail: Galaxy Quest begins with a rather odd stylistic choice. As the film opens it is in the aspect ratio of vintage 80’s TV. As it breaks away from the viewing of the show at the convention, we get a windowboxed widescreen image that doesn’t fit the screen.  I waited as patiently as I could to make sure there wasn’t an encode issue on the disc, and it fleshed itself out to it’s 2.39:1 ratio about 20 minutes into the film.  When the image opens up to it’s correct aspect ratio, the film looks naturally filmic with a layer of grain and just a touch of softness on the image.  There is a sharper level of texture on clothing, hair and skin, but nothing appears to have been processed or scrubbed.

Depth: There is a softness to the image on occasion that can make the film look nearly of lesser quality, but I believe that has to do with how the film has been lensed, and not so much with the actual resolution. I noticed more softness in quick shots (such as a camera cutting to Tommy to reveal shock on his face) but nothing that would distract the viewer or make them question the validity of the film’s transfer.

Black Levels: Black levels translate nicely with no crush.

Color Reproduction: Blues, sandy beiges, purples and greys pop on the image.  Costume colors come through nicely rendered as well.

Flesh Tones: Flesh tones and textures are spot on save for the spry few moments of softness I mentioned above.

Noise/Artifacts: Clean. Grain is retained but very minimal overall.

Audio:

Audio Format(s): English Dolby Atmos, English Dolby TrueHD 5.1,Thermian Dolby Digital 2.0

Subtitles:  English, English SDH, Spanish, French, Portuguese

Dynamics: Galaxy Quest gets the Atmos treatment for this 4K release and the fun is turned up to 11! Atmospherics are excellent with music sounding fantastic as well as a lot of rumbling and bass response as well as some sly overhead effects.

Height: From above you hear spaceship sounds, large space enemies and the music score.  Since the soundtrack isn’t object based, these sounds don’t bounce around your room, but still are very impressive.

Low-Frequency Extension: Bass response is heavy.  The ship that the cast is on for much of the film keeps a constant low rumble and when that subwoofer gets louder, it will certainly rattle things around your house.

Surround Sound Presentation: Surround channels give you more lively ambiance and work especially hard during intergalactic battles and Galaxy Quest-Con moments

Dialogue Reproduction: Dialogue is delivered with perfect volume.

Extras:

Extras for Galaxy Quest are ports from the previous 2 Blu-ray releases of the film. There is one new feature, a Filmmaker Focus segment with director Dean Parisot.  No doubt Galaxy Quest was set for a Paramount Presents release at some point, as Filmmaker Focus segments usually start on those exceptional releases. The standard edition comes with a slipcover and digital code, but no Blu-ray. There is also a Steelbook variation available.

Bonus Features:

Filmmaker Focus with director Dean Parisot—NEW!

Historical Documents: The Story of Galaxy Quest

Never Give Up, Never Surrender: The Intrepid Crew of the NSEA Protector

By Grabthar’s Hammer, What Amazing Effects

Alien School: Creating the Thermian Race

Actors in Space

Sigourney Weaver Raps

Deleted Scenes

Theatrical Trailer

 

Summary:

For my first viewing of Galaxy Quest, the film felt like it more than earned its cult hit status.  The film isn’t fall down funny, but its sly humor is warm and has a comforting feel to it.  As a Star Wars Nerd and a Star Trek appreciator, I can see those fans in the fans within Galaxy Quest. I can’t think of a better way to watch this film than in this new 4K edition.  The bonus features are fun, the audio presentation exceptional and the video one is not half bad either! This new edition of the film comes with a buy now for fans and for newcomers alike!

 Order your copy of Galaxy Quest HERE

Order the Galaxy Quest Steelbook HERE