20 Things You Didn’t Know About Galaxy Quest
9. The Thermians Weren't Just Based On Vulcans
Although their Appearance Generators mask squidlike cephalopod bodies, the form the Thermians present to the world is humanoid with the hairstyle and dress sense of a Vulcan milkmaid. However, the Thermian characters in the film are distinctly different from the stuffy, deadpan logic-wed race from Trek.
Childlike, kind and trusting, the Thermians are gullible and easily taken advantage of - and hella odd. Supposedly, the weirdly monotone-yet-melodic trilling of their voices was brought to set by lead Thermian Mathesar, aka the amazing Enrico Colantoni, and they loved it so much they kept it and made it a racial characteristic.
Colantoni, Pyle and the other Thermian actors would often improvise the alien race’s quirks and foibles, working together off-set to bring as much new and interesting stuff to the table as possible. Apparently their bizarre gait was copied from the puppets in Gerry Anderson’s seminal Fireball XL5.