To start, Galaxy Quest is an example of satire done right; 1999's sci-fi/comedy sees cinema's greatest space-heroine Sigourney Weaver head a fantastic ensemble cast of TV actors who find themselves living out their cult space show for real when an alien race come to them for help. With an abundance of references to the hugely popular Star Trek series, Galaxy Quest carves its own story line without ever feeling like a parody. Its original characters - ranging from Tim Allen's captain (in arguably a career-best role) to Sam Rockwell's paranoid 'red-shirt' who's convinced he's going to die at any moment like the superfluous extras in Star Trek - provide the greatest moments when bickering and sparring between them. It's a film that, those who love really love, but for anyone else it gets passed off as a silly spoof or forgotten entirely. In a year that saw both The Phantom Menace and The Matrix also hit cinema screens, perhaps Galaxy Quest's most unfortunate failing was that it found itself affectionately mocking the very audiences that were now convinced they lived inside a complex computer system governed by Hugo Weaving. As a movie and as a spoof, Galaxy Quest deserves its spot in amongst the satirical-comedy heavyweights like Airplane!, Life Of Brian and Shaun Of The Dead.
