Galaxy Quest
Frequently Asked Questions

 

 

Q: Who are you?

A: I'm John E. Bielak of Westfield Massachusetts.  I have B.S. in Information Systems, A.S. in Video Production and a PhD in getting involved with painfully neurotic women... but that's a whole other novel :) .

Please note: I am just a fan... I'm not associated with DreamWorks, I don't know the stars,  and I'm not selling anything :)  

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Q: Why have you decided to do this?
    Is this a hobby or something?

A: To answer your questions:

Is this a hobby? Yes.

Why have I decided to do this?  ....Well you asked for it :)

I went to see the Galaxy Quest on December 26th and enjoyed it immensely!  So like any good Tech-nerd sci-fi fan at the edge of the 21st century I had to extensively check it out online when I got home!

One of the first things I found was a good online interview with Tim Allan.   Being a sci-fi fan I was delighted to learn that Tim Allen was a big fan as well.  During the interview Tim made a nice defense of fans (I found it personally gratifying because he's used practically the same football fan analogy that I've used!) I also found out he has a full sized replica of Robby the Robot from Forbidden Planet... anybody that has a full sized Robby is very OK in my book! :)

Eventually I made my way to the official Galaxy Quest Web site and shortly there after found the "Travis Latke" site.  I got a good chuckle out of how they were playing it up as though it were a real Galaxy Quest fan site.   On the bottom on the main page was this little banner add which read, "Join the Galaxy Quest WebRing...Click here"... so I clicked here, and without very much surprised I discovered it did absolutely nothing.

Over the next day or so I hunted up a couple thousand of Galaxy Quest related references on the net... hundreds of  reviews, previews and show times, even more references to Sigourney Weaver's amazingly optimized breasts, a few articles on the making of the film, a number of interviews with the actors and director, here and there a fan of one of the actors would mention the film on their site... nothing very "fan" related.  I made my way back to official site, then back over to the "Travis" pages. After poking around the site for a while I found myself staring at the "Join the Galaxy Quest WebRing" banner add once again.  As I stared at it I laughed as the thought occurred to me:  "You know John, There isn't a Galaxy Quest WebRing, the banners all just a part of a marketing gag... they put out the challenge.. so why not run with the joke?" So I did.

For years I wanted to do some kind of web site, something fanish, somewhere to vent some of my creativity, but I could never find anything that I could get really enthused about.  There's lots of fans out there doing lots of fantastic stuff and I just didn't what to be yet another wannabe with nothing new to contribute... Just replicating what had been done hundreds of times before. Then came Galaxy Quest.  Having been a sci-fi fan forever, I just loved the inside jokes in the film and I though they made the picture with a great deal of affection and respect for fandom... unlike the documentary "Trekkies" which, though I'm not sure if it was accidental or intentional, just made Trek fans look like they all needed extra therapy sessions and their medication seriously adjusted... I gained great deal or respect for the cast and crew.  Galaxy Quest is virgin territory and I finally felt it was something that I really liked, something I could make a real contribution to and something I could have a good time doing.  So a few minutes later I'd created the WebRing and within a couple hours the first pages were complete and the Galaxy Quest WebRing was born!

We're only 6 sites at the moment.  It's going a bit slow, but then it's a young ring for a film that's only slightly older :) As for the future I plan to keep the WebRing and my Site(s) actively going for a very long time!

So, basically that's how it started.  Look for it in paperback this spring :)

 Note: at the time of the writing there where only 6 sites... We've hooked a couple more since then :)

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Q: What do you hope to accomplish?

1. Add to and enrich a non-existent mythos!
2. Provide continuing support to the GQ fan community (see above).
3. To stick it out long after the official site go's 404!
4. Prove conclusively I have way to much free time. (see: Get a Life)
5. Have fun!
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Q: Where is the site going in the future?

A: The life cycle of the film Galaxy Quest is complete... So, What do we Questies  & Questarian do next?  Well, we hope somebody comes out with some neat merchandise, wait to meet up at the next GQ convention, and pray for a chain of sequels!

As far as this site goes (for those that have asked),  As I've said before, I plan on keeping the site going long after the official site goes away... So as long as I'm around, 1 site or a hundred, we'll be here!

Update: Though we are going on "hiatus" the site will be around as long as I can keep it going, it's focus may change some what over time, the GQ fandom will always be at the heart of it.
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Q: Why have you closed?

A:  I was a fun run, but we really haven't many people looking participate in the "Fandom" of it... and that why we really started it, to meet and get to know the fan, and maybe create a little fan works of our one... and we have to some extent

 

Q: Is there any Galaxy Quest Merchandise?

A: Yes, They are:

1. The novelization of the screenplay.
2. The Soundtrack CD (No longer available)
3. The Video/DVD
4.Promo Material, occasionally minor props, and 8,000,037 DVD's on eBay

See the  GQ for sale page for current finds.

As far as I'm aware there aren't any toys or other "official" stuff at the moment. 

Tim Allen Indicated in an interview that he had modeled for a GQ action figure and , for reasons not mentioned,  the line of toys were scraped.  Several pic's of the canceled Galaxy Quest Toy Line by Resaurus can be found on the Action Figure Times site.  The Canceled 12" action figures include  figures of Sarris, Commander Taggert , Lieutenant Tawny Madison, and Dr. Lazarus.

For the model makers out there I've heard a few rumors about a Protector kits from one of the small kit makers sometime in the future. 
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Q:Where Can I get ...Can you help me find...?

A: Because I can not guarantee the quality and authenticity of items or the integrity of a seller, I am unable to reply to requests for assistance in locating sources of  screen used props and collectable items.  I also do not have, nor do I intend to offer in the future, Items from my own collection, or other peoples personal collections,  for sale on this site. 

If you're looking for collectable Items, try searching Internet auction sites such as eBay periodically.  These sites often offer "wanted" message areas that may help you find the items you are looking for

The other option is to search out movie memorabilia dealers on the net.  Try  search terms such as:  "movie prop", "movie memorabilia", "Galaxy Quest prop", Etc. Bookmark the sites you find and check them regularly... what they don't  have today
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Q: What happened to Daryl Mitchell?

A: Daryl was paralyzed from the chest down after a motorcycle accident in 2001.  He remains optimistic that one day he may walk again.  We're all rooting for you Daryl!!
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Q: How can I contact the Stars?

I don't have direct contact information for Galaxy Quest cast and crew, and even if I did I wouldn't give it out... So don't bother asking.
If you'd like to write fan mail (At the moment I only have these) send to:

TIM ALLEN
C/O William Morris Agency
151 El Camino Drive
Beverly Hills, CA 90212
USA		 SIGOURNEY WEAVER
C/O International Creative Management
8942 Wilshire Blvd.
Beverly Hills, CA 90211
USA
ALAN RICKMAN
C/O Creative Artists Agency
9830 Wilshire Blvd
Beverly Hills, CA 90212
USA		 SAM ROCKWELL
C/O The Gersh Agency
130 West 42nd Street
New York, New York 10036
USA
JUSTIN LONG
C/O Innovative Artists
1999 Avenue of the Stars #2850
Los Angeles, CA 90067 
USA

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Q: I have this script idea, can you... ?

A: I'm more then happy to post your fan fictions on the site but sorry no, I'm not going to forward your GQ script Ideas, or give you contact names and addresses, to DreamWorks.  I don't know what DreamWorks policy is on unsolicited scripts* is,  I'm not going to ask,  and if you feel your writing is that good get an agent.   

*Please note: What I've heard most about unsolicited scripts is that they get trashed as soon as they come in... There are a lot of reasons, including several legal issues, why they do this.  Yes, there are exceptions like "Star Trek: The Next Generation", but those are very RARE exceptions. Typically Scripts get solicited to studios though the writers agency.

Q: Is there going to be a Sequel?

A: Well, I'm a hopeless optimist, so I'd still like to say maybe.  While I've consistently hear that the cast would like to do another film,  How DreamWorks feels about the idea is a total mystery.

Update:  Since I get asked to guess at this regularly, I thought I'd include the official  fandom "so much from so little" breakdown :)

Not counting Alan Rickman who lucked out with the hugely popular Harry Potter films being spaced about a year apart, the GQ star's sequels have spaced out  like this: 

Sigourney Weavers:
    7 years between Alien and Aliens, 
    6 years between Aliens and Alien 3,  
    5 years between Alien 3 & Aliens 4, 
    5 years between Ghostbusters & Ghostbusters 2.  

Tim Allen: 
    4 years between Toy & Toy Story 2, 
    8 years between The Santa Clause 1 & 2.   

If we except that the sequeling of above films is roughly typical, the time between sequels is:

    Average = 5.83 years
    Median = 5.5
    Mode = 5 

So, with a high of 8 years and a low of 4,  the window of opportunity for a Galaxy Quest Sequel is from 2003 to 2007 with the most probable date being 2004 or 2005. 
 (with an error factor +/- 300 years)

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Q: What Constitutes Canon* Galaxy Quest?

A: If it appeared in the movie it's canon.  There's no "Official" ruling on what's Canon... and I how do wish there was so much GQ material that it was necessary :)  Like what's been well established in Star Trek films,  whatever points that were previously established as canon facts can and will be ignored or bent to fit whatever sequel storyline that they come up with... (regardless of whether it makes sense or not :)

sources that are generally considered to be canon:

  • The "Fan" Promo material
  • The Novelization
  • The "Travis Latke" Fansite
  • The Sci-Fi Channel Special
  • Information from Props Items

THE STARLOG ARTICLE ON GALAXY QUEST IS NOT CANON! The article is a cute attempt to play along with the "it's real" marketing theme of the film.  From the promotional "Fanzine" it's clear that the "Actors" in the film are the same actors as in the series, and not Actors playing the "Actors" as Starlog suggested.  Starlog needed a way to bridge the "it was real" with an actual review of the film so they used this devices.

When you look at the promo/prop "fan material" there is no indication as to the content of  the "Galaxy Quest Movie" in the alternate reality where the material "originated".  So without going on for several hours about the probability of cinematic parallelism across realities (See Null State Physics),  the Galaxy Quest movie we saw is not at all likely to be the same the movie "they" saw... if in fact they saw one at all.

*Canon - in the context of a fictional series,  what are considered the "established facts" of the series  (the who, when, where, why and how)  In Star Trek for example, novels based on the series are considered "non canon", which is to say that in the official "reality" of the series, the events describe in the books never happened.

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Q: What are common misconceptions  about Galaxy Quest?

A: There are 2 of common misconceptions:

1. Officially, While admitting that in many places they have tipped their hats to Star Trek and other popular Sci-Fi, The Film makers have repeatedly stated that Galaxy Quest is not a parody of Star Trek. 

Comment: Ok, while in strictest sense Galaxy Quest certainly isn't a  direct parody of Star Trek, considering how faithfully  the film makers got fandom down, and the Nesmith/Shatner parallels, is has to be a bit more then random coincident or some instance of parallel convergence.  Seeing how consistent the cast and crew of GQ have been in stating  "Galaxy Quest in not a parody of Star Trek" ever time the subject came up in interviews, There are undoubtedly legal or professional relationship reasons for this.

2.  The film was not making fun of Trek/Sci-fi fans or fandom. 
The cast and crew have been very clear on these points whenever interviewed.  

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Q: Was Fred Kwan Stoned?

A: To be honest, I don't know... and as the character "Guy" asks Fred the question, my guess is that the other characters don't know either :)   Other then Fred's extremely mellow disposition and his perpetual snacking,  I can find no direct indication in the film that this is anything other then Fred's natural disposition.   In an draft of the script I've read, Fred seem to be played completely "straight"   

The other possibility which gets overlooked is, carrying on the Trek character analogies,  that Fred's munching might have been a reference to Jimmy Doohan's weight gain.

My belief is that they played Fred "Stoned" because it was a funny contrast to both  the "Tech Sergeant Chen" persona the Thermians saw him as and to the general panic of the rest of the "cast" members.

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Q: Can You send me a (MP3, Wav, Blank Check)?

A: As a general rule no... If you have a suggestion for something you'd like to see on the site feel free to let me know... but I don't do custom sound/video clips.   If you having a problem downloading something let me know and I'll see what I can do to help.

If you're looking for something custom you can ask, and if you catch me on a good day and it sounds like it would be an interesting addition to the site then maybe.... but I'm NOT going to put up the sound track as MP3's, tell you how to crack the encryption on the GQ DVD,  or tell you where to find VCD's of the film... Not gonna happen :)

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Q: I can't download... Please send me...

A: I apologize for the inconvenience but because of a lot of external linking to files and images on the site, and limited bandwidth, I've been forced to implement some simple redirection and rejection routines to stop some of it.   I've tested it with IE and Firefox, and out of a frame from a Google search and it works.  I know some people have had a problem,  but it seems to be working for the majority of visitors.   If you are having a problem, let me know (please give me as  much details as to the date, time, and how you accessed the page) and I'll look into the problem, but please be aware that I'm not going to email you the file or give you FTP access. 

Q: What is you site's link/banner exchange policy?

A: Because we are dedicated to providing our viewers with a "crap free" environment, We absolutely, positively WILL NOT PLACE BANNER ADDS FOR ANY COMMERCIAL SITES/SERVICES OR NON SCI-FI SITES ON ANY PAGES FOR ANY REASON.

The Questarian maintains a number of link pages and is always happy to actively support the efforts of other Sci-Fi Fans and Fandom. The general policy for link exchanges at the Questarian is:

  1. The Link should be "Galaxy Quest", Sci-Fi/Fantasy, Fan/Fandom related or items Questarian staff feels would be of general interest to it's visitors.
  2. We give highest priority, the most page space and the most promotion to other fan run sites.
  3. We are happy to set up links to any site, project, charity, Etc. of  DreamWorks or any member of the Galaxy Quest Cast and crew. It's the least we can do for giving us something so interesting to obsess on :)
  4. We do not list sites with political or religious addenda's.
  5. Sites with "Adult" themes which have some artistic or literary value are acceptable, but we do not list sites which contain or distribute pornography.
  6. We do not except sites related to online gambling or any "money making" schemes.
  7. If the site is strictly commercial in nature, to be listed in "the Trading Post" it must have some Galaxy Quest Items for sale or items the Questarian Staff feels would be of general interest to it's visitors.
  8. A site may be commercial and listed in the general links area, but it must have significant content other then sales listings and product reviews.
  9. The Questarian is non-profit fan run tribute site and has no interest in participating in or subscribing to any "fee per hit" or "pay referral" services.
  10. The site must not promote illegal activities.
  11. All sites are subject to review and approval by the Questarian staff prior to posting.
  12. The Questarian makes no promises as to the length of time links will be carried on the site. Links may be discontinued at any time without notice in favor or more relevant content or if the linked violates any of the above considerations.

As we are a non-profit fan run tribute site we do not maintain much in the way of, nor are we particularly interested in keeping or distributing, long-term site statistics.

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Q: What are the site's submission policies?

A: Fans are encouraged to submit any material they would like to share with the Galaxy Quest fan community... be it a story, review, an editorial, Observations, How to's,  Artwork,  etc. 

When Submitting material, please indicate how you would like to have it attributed.

The sites has a few basic rules:

1. NO SEXUALLY EXPLICIT ADULT CONTENT! 

2. NO CONTENT WHICH PREJUDGES AGAINST ANY RACE, RELIGION, SEXUAL ORIENTATION, POLITICAL IDEOLOGY, OR CONTENT THE SITE MANAGER MAY DEEM AS UNFAIRLY BIASED AGAINST ANY OTHER GROUP, PEOPLE OR PERSON.

3. NO CONTENT WHICH PROMOTES OR DESCRIBES ILLEGAL ACTIVITIES.

4. Any Submission containing child pornography, Hate speech, or threats, will be brought forwarded to the proper law enforcement authorities.

5. As this is a "Fan Site", and  you can stretch "Fair Use"  just so far, we exist at the gracious mercy of the copywriter holders... and as such the Questarian tries not mangle copywrite laws too extensively... So any submitted content that we feel goes way beyond "fan tribute" (Such as MP3's of the soundtrack, Electronic Text versions of the Galaxy Quest Books, or Video VCD's) will be rejected.  I will also not post content that replicate any officially licensed product... which sadly there isn't much of. 

6. Submitting does not guarantee posting on the site.  All content is reviewed and approved by the Questarian staff prior to being posted.

7. Submissions are posted based on availability of space, relevance to area content, conformity to size, format, content, media requirements, and Artistic/Technical merit as determined by the Site Operators. The Questarian makes no promises as to the length of time submitted material will be carried on the site. material  may be discontinued at any time without notice in favor or more relevant content.

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Q: What screen resolution is this site designed for?

A: I've designed the pages so they can be viewed at minimum screen resolution of 800 x 600, but also to look the best at a screen resolution of 1024 x 768 or higher.  I choose this size because for today's PC this is typically the standard display resolution.

If you're running at 800x600 or below I strongly suggest upgrading your video card and/or screen resolution and join the rest of us in the 21st century :)

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Q: If you're not a commercial site why are you a .com and not an .org or .net?

A: Simple, I thought .com looked and sounded cooler :)

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Q: Can you send me the Fraunhofer MPEG layer-3 Codec?

A: Because of excessive downloading / linking, The Questarian will no longer be hosting, or taking requests for,   the Fraunhofer Codec from this site.   If you are unable to play the sound files, you should download one of the many current media players.

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Q: Why haven't you replied to my e-mail?

A: Typically, I try to respond to everyone that emails, unless:

Spam Filtering! - Unfortunately the Questarian's gotten on a lot of spam lists and I get hundreds of spam hits a day (Better then 2800 spams the week I went for Christmas).  As I result I've had to tighten mail filtering, which unintentionally clips some legit e-mails.   I apologies to everyone that's sent a mail and gotten no answer,  the new address is "Galaxy.Quest", and/or to bypass the filtering preface your subject line with "GQQ:"... which will flag the message as "priority"  

YOU'RE TRYING TO SELL ME SOMETHING! - As if the million junk emails I get from address harvesters weren't bad enough.... At work I have to play nice and politely tell you to send over some materials for us to review before I hang up on you.... Here, I'll just hang up on you. 

I don't have a chance - As much as I like spending time working on the site and talking to other fans,  there are many other things in my life I try to make time for, so I don't always get a chance to respond as quick as I'd like.

System problems - E-mail isn't infallible, and neither is my PC, so occasionally mail either gets lost in transit or lost in translation.

You're being lame - I'm a big fan of fans... but I've gotten messages over the years like "I went to college with so-and-so, can you give me their phone number."  or some wise guy's looks at the FAQ and ask for everything that I say I won't send. 

Too Weird - Along with the lame stuff, every so often I also get some really weird messages I'm not sure how to classify... If I can't make sense of what your asking, why your asking for it, or in which state it's legal, into the trash bin it goes.

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Q: Why does the count on sites hit counter jump up and down?

A: I'm running a fairly simple counter script, and for reasons I've yet been unable to determine, it likes to flake out and it clears part of the page counts periodically.  As I have a running hit log, When the counter glitches, I add back the missing hits.

Q: Why haven't you been updating the site?

A: Unfortunately,  I'm running the site pretty much solo.  As I'm limited as to how much time I can dedicate to the site, there isn't much new to work with... Not like there ever was a whole lot... and fan participation have trickled off,  updates are coming in "as needed"... which at this point means about every other month or so.   

Q: How can the left side of the nose of the Protector 2 scrape the space station without damaging the left wing?

A: There are 2 ways that the Protector can scrape it's nose on the wall with out damaging the wing: 
1. Dramatic License.
2. Looking at shots of the "Starport" there are 2 sections that protrude from the sides, If they are deep enough the wing would slide under it while the nose scrapes on it.


Q: Why all the typos? 

A: For the longest time I though it was a joke, but really!   Hey this is a fan site, and if it weren't for the spellchecker, I'd be spelling "cat" wrong :)   (that's a joke... please no mail on that)   I don't know why every so often I get these long letters complaining about the number of typos on the site...  I just don't get it? are there thousands of really board neurotic English teachers surfing the web?  I really appreciate people letting me know when I've misspelled someone's name or gotten some fact wrong, but if you feel the need to write me a 500+ word spelling and grammar critique... Please don't!!!  Save us both  the aggravation and consider switching to something decaffeinated!

This Page Was Last Updated: Tuesday, August 27, 2013 04:47 PM
"GALAXY QUEST" & ALL RELATED MARKS & MEDIA ARE TM & © 1999 DREAMWORKS SKG. NO OTHER OWNERSHIP IS IMPLIED. THIS SITE IS IN NO WAY AFFILIATED WITH ANY ENTITY INVOLVED IN THE PRODUCTION OF THIS MOVIE. ALL OPINIONS CONTAINED HEREIN ARE THOSE OF THE AUTHOR(S) ALONE