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Amazon Developing TV Series Based On Galaxy Quest

Posted by Soulskill on from the shows-about-movies-about-shows-mocking-shows dept.

An anonymous reader writes: Entertainment Weekly reports that Amazon Studios is developing a TV show based on Galaxy Quest, the 1999 film that parodied classic sci-fi shows like Star Trek. In the movie, actors for a Trek-like show were conscripted by real aliens to help run a starship and negotiate peace with a mortal enemy. The actors had no idea what to do, of course, and ended up getting help from the most rabid fans of their show. The new TV show is still in early stages of development. It's unlikely that the original Galaxy Quest cast will return — it starred Tim Allen, Sigourney Weaver, Alan Rickman, and Sam Rockwell, to name a few. However, several important members of the production crew will return: "The film's co-writer Robert Gordon will pen the script and executive produce the pilot. The film's director Dean Parisot will direct and executive produce. And executive producers Mark Johnson and Melissa Bernstein are on board as well." The show is a ways off, yet — they haven't even been greenlit for a pilot episode — but it'd be a welcome addition to today's sci-fi TV offerings

87 comments

  1. History repeats. by Farmer+Tim · · Score: 3, Insightful

    But will it be another Stargate or Logan's Run? Sometimes a good idea can be spread too thinly.

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    1. Re:History repeats. by grimmjeeper · · Score: 2

      I always set my expectations low for things like this. That way it's hard to be disappointed when my expectations are met. But if the show is good I can be pleasantly surprised.

    2. Re:History repeats. by Hognoxious · · Score: 4, Funny

      That's all well and good, but he mentioned Logan's Run and now I can't stop thinking about Jenny Agutter's tits.

      --
      Confucius say, "Find worm in apple - bad. Find half a worm - worse."
    3. Re: History repeats. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Its for tv. Set your expectations appropriately. Stargate sg1 and logans run were entertaining in there own right. As for galaxy quest. It was a fun movie for the kids with adult humor that's typical for the genre. Most memorable part for me was Segournys character dropping the F bomb right in the middle of the movie when you least expect it. Unfortunately most versions have been censored, but very clear to lip read.

    4. Re:History repeats. by david_thornley · · Score: 1

      I loved that movie.

      However, it was about a bunch of actors thrown into a situation their characters on a long-canceled TV show should be in, who eventually figured out how to use their own abilities to win. You can't have character development like that in a typical TV show. The stupid parts of the ship that were created just to match things in bad episodes were fun, but that wouldn't last long before they'd either exhausted the possibilities or more than filled the ship with idiotic sets.

      Unless they're going to do something like the Galaxy Quest TV show in the movie, which looked fairly mediocre.

      --
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    5. Re:History repeats. by mitzoe · · Score: 1

      Unless they're going to do something like the Galaxy Quest TV show in the movie

      This was my thought, especially it they made it as much a parody of Star Trek as the movie was of the cast and culture.

      which looked fairly mediocre

      Okay, so it'd have to be really well done.

    6. Re:History repeats. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      but that wouldn't last long before they'd either exhausted the possibilities or more than filled the ship with idiotic sets.

      Have you seen Star Trek? Just because you filled the ship with idiotic sets and exhausted all possibilities doesn't mean that the show is over.

    7. Re:History repeats. by OzPeter · · Score: 1

      But will it be another Stargate or Logan's Run? Sometimes a good idea can be spread too thinly.

      I'm betting that it will end up as another Quark which was a good series for what it was.

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    8. Re:History repeats. by Farmer+Tim · · Score: 1

      The lack thereof being one of the TV series' failings. Such a disappointment for young nerds everywhere...

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    9. Re: History repeats. by MightyMartian · · Score: 1

      Stargate's problem was that it just went on way too long, so by the time they went to Atlantis, the thing felt even older and more out of steam than ST:TNG.

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    10. Re:History repeats. by MightyMartian · · Score: 2

      I always thought the crazy gears/blades that Allen and Weaver had to jump through were more inspired by the bizarre security of the Death Star. I don't recall the Enterprise having that many pointlessly dangerous sets in the ship itself. The closet would be the "mains" in Wrath of Khan, but I don't think it's that much of a stretch to assume that a matter-antimatter engine would probably involve some seriously bad radiation.

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    11. Re:History repeats. by jtownatpunk.net · · Score: 1

      And I'm off to GIS.

    12. Re:History repeats. by Darinbob · · Score: 2

      It's on Amazon, which means I'll never see it. Maybe if I could pay $8 for one month like you can with Netflix or Hulu, but $99 for a year with no shorter period is just dumb. They're trying to hard to catch up without actually having an affordable streaming service with a wide selection of titles that you don't have to pay extra for.

    13. Re:History repeats. by Opportunist · · Score: 1

      Yes, but do you think STTOS would fly today? It wouldn't. It wasn't even a success when it first ran. It was a hit in the reruns in the 70s because suddenly SciFi was all the rage. And, believe it or not, for its time it had really deep and developed characters. 60s TV characters were stereotypes, and as stereotypical as Kirk, Spock and the test appear to us (with just a hint of racism at the edges of all the non-US personnel), for the 60s that was actually gold.

      TNG was good not because but often despite some of the characters. Wesley... ok, that's aiming low. But even the rest was usually very ill defined cardboard cutouts that only gained depth during the show. Still, what kept TNG afloat was the effects. And you can easily identify it by looking at the show again and comparing the episodes that look like Michael Bay had a hand in them and those where you can literally see that the budget was tight. Quite bluntly, shows without flashy, gimmicky explosions are simply boring to watch in reruns.

      The same applies pretty much all across the board of the franchise, with Voyager maybe having the best defined characters of the lot, along with the biggest plotholes and requirements of the suspension of disbelief to actually make it bearable. Quite frankly, with the frequency they're losing personnel, they should be done for in less than 2 seasons. There would simply not be anyone left to fix Catherine's hair to withstand the onslaught of the Kazon (quite frankly, hairspray will go through some awesome development in the next 200 years).

      I dare say that we moved on. That we want more out of our shows than cardboard characters that match the interior. I think a Galaxy Quest series would be funny for about one and a half episode. Then we're probably through with the things that could be parodied that neither have been parodied before or that have been done so terribly in the original that it simply is physically impossible to draw a parody thereof without looking completely silly.

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    14. Re:History repeats. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      That is why they invented holodecks - Patrick Stewart wants to be a jazz playing pulp noir detective or he wont leave his trailer . No problem holodeck just goes on the fritz again.

    15. Re:History repeats. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      TLDR - bunch of crap talking down at Star Trek

      Go fuck your Yoda doll.

    16. Re:History repeats. by BlackHawk-666 · · Score: 1

      I'll be in my bunk.

      --
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    17. Re:History repeats. by Hognoxious · · Score: 1

      I'm sure there are other places they can be found, though it might take a bit of searching.

      --
      Confucius say, "Find worm in apple - bad. Find half a worm - worse."
    18. Re:History repeats. by JonnyCalcutta · · Score: 2

      I'm pretty sure you can pay monthly for Amazon's streaming service (in the UK at least). I only tried the free trial but the option was definitely there for monthly payments for streaming video only membership.

      Plus you could always just use a free 30 day trial if its just for one show.

    19. Re:History repeats. by Pseudonym · · Score: 1

      However, it was about a bunch of actors thrown into a situation their characters on a long-canceled TV show should be in, who eventually figured out how to use their own abilities to win.

      Well, you could do it as a fly-on-the-wall backstage mockumentary (a la 30 Rock/The Office/Parks & Rec/Muppets:TNG), set during the run of the original show.

      You're welcome. I'll just make my exit now.

      --
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    20. Re:History repeats. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Will it be featured in the original alien language?

    21. Re: History repeats. by drinkypoo · · Score: 1

      I solved that problem by just not watching Stargate after it became boring. Then when Atlantis came out, I was excited, and watched it. That made me go back and watch the original show. I'm just sad they only cancelled the last show when it was starting to hit its stride. If they were just going to do that, they didn't need to bother to begin with.

      --
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    22. Re:History repeats. by Chelloveck · · Score: 1

      and now I can't stop thinking about Jenny Agutter's tits.

      You say that like it's a bad thing.

      --
      Chelloveck
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    23. Re: History repeats. by Chaos+Incarnate · · Score: 2

      A show shouldn't need 40 episodes to hit its stride. Don't blame the network, blame the writers for taking so long to get to the point.

      --
      Benford's Corollary to Clarke's Law: "Any technology distinguishable from magic is insufficiently advanced."
    24. Re: History repeats. by drinkypoo · · Score: 1

      A show shouldn't need 40 episodes to hit its stride.

      Agreed.

      Don't blame the network, blame the writers for taking so long to get to the point.

      No, I mean, I would have shitcanned it much sooner

      --
      "You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
    25. Re:History repeats. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      But will it be another Stargate or Logan's Run? Sometimes a good idea can be spread too thinly.

      History repeats. Yes. I predict this is going to suck, and not last long. Why? It is based on a punchline, a one-note idea. The whole thing was based around, "you know the whole... Star Trek thing? Well! What if like, aliens from like, another planet saw it, and they like, thought it was REAL!"

      The idea has been thoroughly explored, and there's little room to go anywhere with it now, except maybe to show us the show they started at the end of the film, where they were doing a 'later-this-generation' thing, with the child star grown up, and all the others older, but otherwise, irrationally, doing the same thing. Like the "Captain" would still be a captain 20 or 30 years later? No promotion? No retirement? Unless they've got an idea for how to keep it fresh and not turn it into a Star Trek FAN fiction thing, (there've been enough of those, haven't there?) it's going to be over before it starts.

      Without the original cast, good luck, too!

      Maybe if they do meta-humor with it, making light of the fact that they're doing it at all, like Kirstie Alley and Fat Actress, where she's (I think, never saw the show,) poking fun at her own flabby (if well-formed) ass, then maybe they might crank a season out. But don't hold your breath.

  2. Okay, if they think that will work by Nyder · · Score: 2

    While I do remember seeing the movie, I never felt it was something special. The idea is okay, but really stupid in the long run, guess we'll see if they can pull this off.

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    1. Re:Okay, if they think that will work by MightyMartian · · Score: 4, Insightful

      I actually thought the movie was a pretty good one, probably the best movie outside of the Toy Story films that Tim Allen has been involved in. He played a great Bill Shatner, vain and obnoxious, and of course Rickman and Weaver were pitch perfect as versions of Spock and Uruha. It was much about gently mocking Treckies as it was about mocking the actors. It was a mild, good-natured bit of satire that I've watched a couple of times since it came out and have enjoyed.

      --
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    2. Re:Okay, if they think that will work by lgw · · Score: 2

      Yep, what made the movie work was that it was actually good Sci-Fi, as action movie Sci-Fi goes (which has little enough to do with written SF). Good character development, a bit of actual suspense, you cared about the characters, etc. Even without the parody stuff, it was better than the Star Wars prequels or half the Star Trek movies.

      It was genre-savvy satire, more than simple parody, and it was good. Not sure how you could turn it into a series though, unless they're going to make the Galaxy Quest series that was the backstory to the movie, which could be fun for one season.

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    3. Re:Okay, if they think that will work by Opportunist · · Score: 1

      It was a good idea for a movie. A spoof of the whole circus surrounding fan favorite shows (it's by far not limited to Star Trek), with actors that are sick of being typecast but pretty much forced to do it because they can't get a sensible acting role anymore due to that problem, with fans going bonkers over their idols, and the added "what if that whole shit was real" spiel to push it over the top. Hilarious.

      For a periodical, it's about the worst idea you could have. That whole idea lives off its novelty factor. It's funny once to see the actors suffer at the hands of the fans. ONCE. That is the key word here. Everything about this concept works exactly once. There is simply nothing you could turn into a running gag that is still funny when you do it the 10th time from a different angle.

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  3. Most importantly by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Will the Rock monster and Guy return?

    That would be for the best.

    Of course, I'm also waiting for The Adventures of Mikuru Asahina to be professionally done. The fan film is only so good, except for the occasional special effects like the cat talking.

  4. LIke Tommy scraping the star port by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    If it's fun and campy then most people won't get it and they'll look at it like Tommy is scraping the star port.

  5. In the words of Alexander Dane by MetricT · · Score: 4, Funny

    "By Grabthar's Hammer, we live to tell the tale..."

    1. Re:In the words of Alexander Dane by TheRealMindChild · · Score: 1

      Miners, not minors!

      --

      "When life gives you lemons, don't make lemonade. Make life take the lemons back!" -- Cave Johnson
  6. It'll devolve. by T.E.D. · · Score: 4, Interesting

    The idea behind Galaxy Quest was really neat for a single story. The problem with doing a series that way is that after an episode or two, it will necessarily just devolve into the bad Trek clone the movie was parodying. Voyager had the same problem. They set up this neat twist with mortal enemies forced to work together on the same ship to survive, but then once the pilot was over they were all chummy (because the fundamental survival problem was still there), and the rest of the run it became just another Trek TOS clone.

    I can see two good ways out of this:

    Way 1: Don't resolve the main plot in the pilot. Basically, they'd need to stretch the entire move out over a 3-5 season arc, more like Babylon-5 than like Trek. A lot of modern shows are doing this. The only issue is that it tends to make the series feel really slow and boring if you don't throw some other little things in there to resolve. There's only so much foreplay a guy will sit through...

    Way 2: This time, take a writer with them. An actor playing a writer, I mean. Someone to think up the silly resolutions (like the stuff that TNG always had Wesley do). So every week the "writer" would have to think up a new ridiculous way to get everyone out of the latest pickle. After all, it was really the writers who thought up the BS resolutions that made Galaxy Quest (OK, Trek) so silly. There's probably enough silly kinds of SF plot devices to parody that you could get a good two or three seasons out of it.

    1. Re:It'll devolve. by Higaran · · Score: 2

      Way 1: Don't resolve the main plot in the pilot. Basically, they'd need to stretch the entire move out over a 3-5 season arc, more like Babylon-5 than like Trek. A lot of modern shows are doing this. The only issue is that it tends to make the series feel really slow and boring if you don't throw some other little things in there to resolve. There's only so much foreplay a guy will sit through...

      I take it you didn't watch any of the DS9, especially the later season, I'll argue that it was the best written Trek series.

    2. Re:It'll devolve. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Your Way 1 was basically Crusade.

      Your Way 2 is intriguing. Yo, Dawg, I heard you like Galaxy Quest, so we put Galaxy Quest in Galaxy Quest so we can parody while we parody.

    3. Re:It'll devolve. by Zocalo · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Way 3: Make it an "event series"; a single series run with maybe a dozen episodes that serves as an extended sequel to the original with precisely how many episodes would depend on precisely how many parody scenes the writers can come up with before they start to repeat too much. I think they could probably get to a dozen or so quite easily if they draw on more series than just Trek: the BSG remake is ripe for parody, but you could also draw on Babylon 5, Doctor Who, Stargate, and several other series that hardcore SciFi fans would recognise the scene immediately yet still be obvious enough to be funny to those who haven't seen the show.

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    4. Re:It'll devolve. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Way 1 is writing 101. It's surprising that that anyone managed to fail that one.

      Wile E. Coyote should not catch the road runner.

    5. Re:It'll devolve. by MightyMartian · · Score: 1

      Overall, the last few seasons of DS9 were indeed probably the best in overall quantity. I still think there are about a dozen ST:TOS episodes that are better than anything that later Trek series produced, and a handful of just really brilliant TNG episodes, but the overall story arcs in the last few seasons of DS9 were, as a group very gripping, and in some ways kind of presaged, though I wouldn't say at the same level of quality, the way that the writers of shows like Breaking Bad and Mad Men built up strong characters with long-term character plots and trajectories.

      The problem with DS9 is that I think it exhausted the Trek universe, and they should have paused things there for five or ten years. Instead they saturated and degraded the whole thing with Voyager and Enterprise, which while they might have had the odd episode here and there that was reasonably good, all in all felt like the products of tired writers and producers who no longer really had a zest for the universe, or the ability to conjure up new and interesting characters.

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    6. Re:It'll devolve. by OzPeter · · Score: 1

      Way 2: This time, take a writer with them. An actor playing a writer, I mean. Someone to think up the silly resolutions (like the stuff that TNG always had Wesley do). So every week the "writer" would have to think up a new ridiculous way to get everyone out of the latest pickle. After all, it was really the writers who thought up the BS resolutions that made Galaxy Quest (OK, Trek) so silly. There's probably enough silly kinds of SF plot devices to parody that you could get a good two or three seasons out of it.

      This was basically the main plot element of John Scalzi's Redshirts

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    7. Re:It'll devolve. by rsborg · · Score: 2

      More grist for the parody mill: Aliens, Red Dwarf, Lexx, even (gasp) Andromeda
      Or go for cult-classic goodies like Army of Darkness (in spaaaace!)

      THere's a LOT of potential.

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    8. Re:It'll devolve. by hey! · · Score: 1

      I think it depends. If the show's well put together, smartly written and performed by actors people enjoy watching, it could be successful. If it depends entirely upon recycling material from the movies, it'll definitely fail.

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    9. Re:It'll devolve. by The_Laughing_God · · Score: 1

      Alas Redshirts is already being made into a limited TV series for FX.

    10. Re:It'll devolve. by Opportunist · · Score: 1

      DS9 got turned into that whole metaplot-y mess after Bab5 took off and the writers noticed that viewers like story arcs that bind stories together. You can almost exactly pinpoint the transition from episode style writing to metaplot writing. Which is fine, I liked Bab5 and it's season spanning story arc. Lovely.

      The only problem is that in DS9 the writers did not cooperate. For B5 it was easy. One main writer can easily spin a plot and drive it. With DS9 you had multiple writers with little communication among them and a hastily slapped together metaplot "war on dominion" that none of them really dared to drive (or could not/were not allowed to). This led to a pace that made molasses look like the Niagara falls. Shows that drove the plot for maybe an inch, followed by episodes that had nothing to do whatsoever with the whole plot. And not in the B5 style of "oh, you just don't know yet HOW they fit", they simply had NOTHING to do with the whole metaplot system.

      That alone made it really tedious to watch, to the point where I simply didn't give half a fuck about the whole metaplot anymore.

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    11. Re:It'll devolve. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      LEXX already parodied itself at every turn!

    12. Re:It'll devolve. by herbierobinson · · Score: 1

      Don't forget Dark Star...

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    13. Re:It'll devolve. by T.E.D. · · Score: 1

      This was basically the main plot element of John Scalzi's Redshirts

      Yup, that's precisely where I got the idea. This would be pretty different, as in Redshirts they essentially invaded the writers' universe to force them to resolve the plot holes in theirs to end the whole thing properly. They essentially blew a huge gaping hole in the "third wall". GQ, due to its setup doesn't have that third wall problem. (unless you count the aliens who don't understand the concept of fiction). What I'm talking about is simply bringing a writer along on the ship for their weekly "adventures".

  7. It's about time! by techno-vampire · · Score: 1

    I don't know why it's taken so long, but it's about time that they got Galaxy Quest back on the air!

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    1. Re:It's about time! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I always wondered why the Galaxy Quest television series, with such a huge and fanatical fan base that the actors had full-time jobs making appearances, wasn't brought back. If nothing else to at least resolve the cliff-hanger the series ended on.

    2. Re:It's about time! by Opportunist · · Score: 1

      I heard the actors are not too keen to play those roles again. But it's probably just silly rumors, they are all so happy at the fan fests.

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  8. Just has to be good, right? by Trax3001BBS · · Score: 1

    I've watched the movie many times. funny stuff. But as mentioned a series could be a hard thing to pull off.

  9. Oh no! They'll ruin it. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Oh please no.

    GQ is considered by many to be the best Star Trek film to date.

    It is one of my favorite films.

    The original film managed to be a perfect homage to ST:TOS, the fans surrounding it, without utterly destroying it like the Austin Powers parodies did to spy thrillers everywhere.

    Obviously a big part of the movie is the "Fish out of water" of having "Actors, not astronauts". And, simply, you can only have that once.

    The characters outside of their roles are basically uninteresting, they're not "heroes", they're not even "everyman". And watching them continue to muddle their way through the universe, trying to parody and pantomime their archetypes -- no. I can't see. They'll just pummel the delightful players that they were and drive headlong in to as extreme a stereotype as they can be.

    Where GQ treated the community around TOS with respect, I look at the Abrahms Star Trek and the clown caricatures they came off to be. More Heroic! More Scottish! More Vulcan! Damnit Jim, I more a Doctor than I am an Auto Mechanic. Just dreadful.

    So, anyway, no, I can't see it. GQ is a jewel and it's not designed to go under the microscope that a series will put it through.

    "Did you ever watch the show?" -- Guy

    1. Re:Oh no! They'll ruin it. by jwillis84 · · Score: 1

      Eh? It was Home Improvement on Hiatus.. something to do inbetween Ghostbuster reboots,, a dead cat bounce

  10. Didn't Yahoo Already Do This? by willworkforbeer · · Score: 1

    https://screen.yahoo.com/other...

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  11. DS9 aka "Cspan" by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    DS9 was less exciting than an hour of Cspan, dude. DS9 was pretty fuckin' terrible, but not as gawdawful as Voyager.

    Trek is limp dicked. Go watch "LEXX" . LEXX is the finest TV sci fi ever created, it is brilliant and delightful and never takes itself seriously.

    LEXX is ... wondrous. Even the flawed final season 4 had some amazing moments.

    1. Re:DS9 aka "Cspan" by TangoMargarine · · Score: 1

      Just don't go into Lexx expecting to get another version of Star Trek. It's a lot of black humor and since it's a German-Canadian production it has the occasional softcore porn-y scene thrown in.

      So sad that Eva Habermann couldn't continue doing the show :P

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    2. Re:DS9 aka "Cspan" by MightyMartian · · Score: 1

      LEXX lost steam after the first season, and just began to resemble Star Trek, and in all the bad ways. DS9 turned into a political/wartime strategic series, and I'd say if you have a love for military SF (which I do), it was probably the finest of its kind. I really wish they had continued in the vain of the grubbier, less noble Federation, muddied and made ugly by its wars, sort of a "The Third Man" of galactic proportions. Instead, they made the completely irrelevant and silly Voyager with a cast of characters that I never could even remotely get into, and the even worse Enterprise, which might have been interesting in the right hands, but instead just ended up being an even worse version of Voyager.

      --
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    3. Re:DS9 aka "Cspan" by Opportunist · · Score: 1

      Enterprise had great potential. Especially because of the limitations. Star Trek suffered from the "poof it's done" problem that supercharged technology creates for writers: If technology can solve all problems, you have no plot. Enterprise offered a lot to its writers in this aspect but it gave them a huge problem due to its universe. May I spell it out?

      How can we include new races that the viewer has not seen yet?

      That is the main problem with Enterprise. Essentially, due to technology, they can't by any means reach a place that has not been explored by the shows that play in this show's future. To compare it to Earth, imagine you're doing a show about the ancient Greeks and their sea voyages after you have done a show about the discovery of the new world. OF COURSE you would have seen everything those iron age Greeks could discover and explore with their ships that can't leave the Mediterranean Sea if your previous show is about ships that sail across the Atlantic Ocean.

      So they started to come up with one silly, far-fetched idea after the next. When they started the time travel insanity I turned away.

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    4. Re:DS9 aka "Cspan" by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      LEXX never resembled Star Trek at any point. The 2nd season was wondrous. and the 3rd was basically Dada Bardo.

      you should have kept watching.

      there were never any musical numbers on Star Trek!

    5. Re:DS9 aka "Cspan" by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      there were never any aliens who resembled small carrots crawling up people's assholes to control their mind on Star Trek!!!!!

  12. Stop!!! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    Can there be an original idea that is used for a series instead of trying to stretch out an idea that was meant for a movie? Jeeez. The best shows were written and produced as shows. The problem with most entertainment these days, no original ideas.

    1. Re:Stop!!! by tlhIngan · · Score: 1

      Can there be an original idea that is used for a series instead of trying to stretch out an idea that was meant for a movie? Jeeez. The best shows were written and produced as shows. The problem with most entertainment these days, no original ideas.

      They tried that on TV. Didn't work out. Original shows just don't get the ratings. The only way around it is to not care about ratings (e.g., Netflix, HBO and others that survive not on eyeballs, but on subscriptions).

      You have to see where the money stream is to figure out the show.

      For Amazon, it' sales of the US prime membership (why is it Amazon limits their shows to US only? Didn't they develop/pay for/distribute the show? Seems silly that Amazon exclusive content means Amazon US only). For Netflix and HBO, it's subscribers.

      Netflix and HBO have to produce programming to get and keep subscribers, so they know their market. They don't do reality because even though those bring in the eyeballs, they don't bring in subscribers. Which is why you see a lot more original programming - the proportion of TV watchers who would pay for good programming prefer original programming. But the general public does not, which is fine since the general public doesn't pay for Netflix or HBO.

      Amazon is more interesting - they want to produce programming to attract the masses who already shop at Amazon. So they know who's likely to become a Prime subscriber and they'll generate programming based on that. Since the general public uses Amazon, Amazon's programming will cater more to them, especially the ones who use free shipping a lot to whom they have a better chance of upgrading to prime.

  13. By Grabthar's hammer by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I will reboot you

  14. Ships computer by LunaticTippy · · Score: 1

    I really loved the film, cautiously optimistic for a real tv show based on the movie based on a fake tv show.

    I really enjoyed Joe Frank's voice for the ships computer. If they can get him back it will all be worthwhile IMHO no matter how else it turns out.

    --
    Man, you really need that seminar!
  15. 99.9% chance it will be a failure... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    ...but, I'll give it better odds if every episode resolves through the clever use of a rudimentary lathe.

  16. Not a parody. A love letter. by denzacar · · Score: 2

    This was my thought, especially it they made it as much a parody of Star Trek as the movie was of the cast and culture.

    The same actions, characters and tropes that movie is poking fun of, turn out first heroic then triumphant by the end.
    They really become heroes they were playing on a show, they save the world, help out friendly aliens, redeem their fans AND they get a revival of their show.

    I doubt that the same effect can be achieved with a lesser (cheaper) cast and as a running gag over a season or more.
    Sam Rockwell alone already used up most of those jokes.
    While being awesome and ultimately - heroic.

    Trying to copy Rickman on the other hand... simply won't work.

    --
    Mit der Dummheit kämpfen Götter selbst vergebens
    1. Re:Not a parody. A love letter. by Forever+Wondering · · Score: 4, Interesting

      The sad part was that Galaxy Quest was marketed to kids instead of a parody of, or homage to, Star Trek (TOS in particular) and its adult fan base. Thus, didn't do as well at the box office as it should have. Note: I've seen ST:TOS in original network first run and have been a fan of all forms of the show since (and I'm a huge fan of Babylon 5 as well).

      Galaxy Quest had a great mix of comedy, parody, character development, and heroism as well as some classic sci-fi elements. It's one of the first works that was respectful to the sci-fi genre without taking itself too seriously.

      If done carefully, the series could work. In TOS, there were a number of plot holes (e.g. in "Balance of Terror", Spock hitting a button that causes a beeper to go off, alerting the Romulan ship--this ignores the fact that sound doesn't travel in a vacuum). In ST:TNG, they got around things with the "exotic particle/ray of the week" approach.

      For example, "cross phased polartronide delta particles", CPPDP for short. They threaten to rupture space/time, etc.

      The new series could work because maybe the ship has something that could combat CPPDP but they'd have to explore the ship to find it. Then, they'd have to figure out how to operate it. Plenty of opportunity for comedy. Plenty of opportunity for traditional Star Trek plots, just presented in a lighter vein.

      In TOS, the "A Taste Of Armageddon", the planet fights its wars with computers and herds casualties into suicide stations. Everybody took this so seriously (Kirk, Spock, the aliens, and Ambassador Fox). Nobody ever said "How silly that is".

      How about having a smart-mouthed android that says: "Completely logical. Our ship's sensors have determined 99.44% of your population is composed of genetic defectives" (like the robot in "Lost in Space" saying "Dr. Smith is a quack").

      Further, the android is programmed to abide by Azimov's robot principles. But, the android is constantly trying to break that programming so he can kill the rest of the crew (e.g. Like Klinger doing outrageous/funny things to win him a section 8 discharge in "Mash").

      The ship, internally, could be much larger than the outside (Think: Tardis). In Stargate, they were always discovering new stuff left behind by the "ancients".

      If the interior of the ship were large enough, it could have a ST:DS9 "promenade". In Babylon 5, there was the "zocalo". Plenty of room for a shady character like Quark, Harry Mudd, etc. In B5, it wasn't all equal. They had levels that were little more than tent cities, with the denizens living in poverty.

      How about "breaking the fourth wall" and speaking directly to the audience. This was done by George Burns in "Burns & Allen" [and "Wendy and Me"]. It was also done in "She Spies". Let the android do it, functioning as narrator: "Android's log: The ship is headed to Omicron Burpo Five to initiate trade negotiations. I, however, have determined that the Omicron Burpo system has large amounts of Kyratron radiation and that if I'm able to collect enough of it, I'll be able to break my Azimov programming and finally kill the crew".

      Oh, yeah. How about a character like Jonathan Harris' "Dr Smith" in "Lost in Space", who is just as cowardly. Or, like Colonel Klink from "Hogan's Heroes".

      Or, maybe there's the lovable ship's cook (like Neelix in ST:Voyager), but who is inept. Food poisoning after his meals, etc. The crew has to find ever more clever ways to disguise the fact that they're not eating his food anymore, lest it hurt his feelings.

      Because the ship is so big [internally], it could have a passenger liner section (Think: Love Boat). ST had a number of episodes around transporting diplomatic personnel to peace conferences. A passenger orders a vegan meal. Gets a vegetarian meal. But, the passenger really wanted "sauteed kremloks" served as they do in Vega star system.

      Do a main plot each week, just like Star Trek, albeit a little more tongue-in-cheek. Add more sarcastic stuff in smaller side plots and characters. This was the form for a lot of episodes of the Mash series, which carefully balanced serious subjects with comedy.

      In short, Galaxy Quest as a series, has the potential to be just about anything.

      --
      Like a good neighbor, fsck is there ...
    2. Re:Not a parody. A love letter. by Snowgen · · Score: 1

      In TOS, there were a number of plot holes (e.g. in "Balance of Terror", Spock hitting a button that causes a beeper to go off, alerting the Romulan ship--this ignores the fact that sound doesn't travel in a vacuum).

      While the sentiment may be correct, I have to disagree with the example.

      While it's true that sound doesn't travel through space, even archaic 20th Century technology like laser microphone would detect Spock's beep. While it's true that the cloaked Romulan probably wouldn't be using such an active sensor, there could be a legitimate way of detecting such vibrations passively. Indeed it might be exactly these types of vibrations that the show refers to every time Spock says something like "I'm [not] detecting any life signs, captain". So that particular example is well within the framework of the Trek canon.

    3. Re:Not a parody. A love letter. by Forever+Wondering · · Score: 1

      There have been some discussions about sound in [sci-fi] space, particularly about whether you could hear the sound of an explosion during a space battle. Somebody showed how it could be theoretically possible. The main point is that hearing explosions during space battles makes them more exciting. ST:TOS did this in "The Ultimate Computer" by showing the bridge of Bob Wesley's ship when it was it by a phaser blast. Inside the ship, no problem. So, a bit of poetic license and suspension of disbelief adds to the enjoyment.

      The series was just getting started. "Balance of Terror" was a loose adaptation of the Robert Mitchum film "The Enemy Below", which was about a U.S. Navy destroyer and German U-Boat during WWII. The whole thing about the sound was taken from that. At the time, not many television writers had experience with sci-fi. ST:TOS needed plots. So, they borrowed heavily where they could.

      ST:TOS had a number of inconsistencies that varied from episode to episode. They were still developing the canon. By Gene Roddenberry's own admission, the reason for the "transporter" was that "he couldn't figure out how to land this thing" where "thing" meant the starship. Plus, the special effects for the transporter were far less costly than showing the ship land/takeoff, etc.

      In most ST episodes, put antimatter in contact with matter and it explodes [except under controlled warp engine conditions]. This means any matter and any antimatter. In one episode, somebody said "There's less than one ounce of antimatter here, but it's more powerful than 10,000 cobalt bombs".

      However, in "The Alternative Factor", there were two universes, one of matter, one of antimatter. Each universe had a copy of a given person. In this case, Lazarus. Matter Lazarus [who went insane] wanted to meet his antimatter counterpart and destroy both universes. Matter Kirk got sent to the antimatter universe. Met with antimatter Lazarus [the sane one]. No explosion because they needed to be the alternate version of the same person. Made for a great story, but violated canon from all other episodes.

      By the time ST:TNG rolled around, the canon was well established enough that you had "continuity" editors that would spot the canon violations. Hence, the workaround was the "exotic particle" that had whatever properties the plot needed. Since, for the most part, it only showed up in a single episode, no conflicts.

      Regarding B5, J Michael Straczynski was asked "How fast is travel through hyperspace?". His reply: "As fast as the plot needs".

      BEWARE: B5 Spoiler Alerts!

      Because JMS developed the entire five year story arc, JMS was able to fully develop the canon before shooting frame 1 of the pilot. Thus, far fewer canon violations. Two years into the series, B5 viewers were [pleasantly] shocked when the true identity of Valen was revealed. But, this identity was given away, heavily disguised, in the pilot movie.

      This was done deliberately for major themes throughout the series. JMS has said [something like] "I'll lay my cards on the table beforehand. No surprises. But, you won't see it then because it's done in a disguised way and you don't [yet] have the context"

      The main violations of B5 canon were due to actors wanting out of the series and rewriting so that plot points of their characters were given to other characters. Oh, let's not forget that B5 was slated to be cut short after season 4.

      The epic space battle/war that appeared near the end of season 4 was originally planned to spill over into at least 1/3 of season 5, but was cut short. B5 was given a reprieve, but, by then, the "war" was over. Season 5 had to have some other subplots stretched out to compensate. The series finale episode ("Sleeping in Light") was shot near the end of season 4 and would have been the end of season 4. When the series was extended, they had to scramble to write/shoot an alternate season 4 last episode and save "Sleeping in Light" for the end of s

      --
      Like a good neighbor, fsck is there ...
  17. I'm inclined to agree, but there is hope by rsborg · · Score: 1

    I loved that movie.

    However, it was about a bunch of actors thrown into a situation their characters on a long-canceled TV show should be in, who eventually figured out how to use their own abilities to win. You can't have character development like that in a typical TV show. The stupid parts of the ship that were created just to match things in bad episodes were fun, but that wouldn't last long before they'd either exhausted the possibilities or more than filled the ship with idiotic sets.

    Unless they're going to do something like the Galaxy Quest TV show in the movie, which looked fairly mediocre.

    The Galaxy Quest TV show reboot could be very awesome - there are tons and tons of Trek (hell, even B5) stuff that's great parody material. Super-powerful aliens (Q), weird alternate-realities that are too-much-like-reality, time travel... or things like how reboots and retcons are done.

    And then there's sci-fi comedy like Red Dwarf which could lend some ideas. Or maybe pull stuff from Aliens or other scifi movies. There is a rich vein of material that awaits good parody.

    I think there are dangers of being repetitive and derivative but there are opportunities out there too.

    --
    Make sure everyone's vote counts: Verified Voting
  18. Make the characters the fans by Culture20 · · Score: 1

    New fans every episode, abducted for their individual expertise. They could be brought back for several episodes, or all of them for the series finale. The ship could be the only constant.

  19. I predict by JustAnotherOldGuy · · Score: 1

    I predict it will suck, like 95% of all remakes do.

    --
    Just cruising through this digital world at 33 1/3 rpm...
  20. Redshirts by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Skip this and do a show based on Redshirts...
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/...

    1. Re:Redshirts by 0123456 · · Score: 1

      Why? A Galaxy Quest show would actually be funny.

  21. They'll need to go to space... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    ...or it's "Con Man" all over again.

  22. Oh! This has Wesley Crusher written all over it by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Galxy Quest - The Next Generation

  23. It's Like "FireFly" without the Fire or Fly by jwillis84 · · Score: 1

    But I agree Will Wheaton has to be a Recurring Character with Crossovers from the Big Bang crew.

    1. Re:It's Like "FireFly" without the Fire or Fly by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Who produces and owns Big Bang Theory?

      Who's making this?

      Wil Wheaton might appear, but I doubt the rest of your fantasy will come true.

  24. By Grabthar's Hammer... by NerveGas · · Score: 1

    ... what a series.

    --
    Oh, you're not stuck, you're just unable to let go of the onion rings.
  25. And then they can make fun of '80s hairstyles... by denzacar · · Score: 1

    You are missing the point.

    You can make fun of everything. You can jam in jokes anywhere.
    Hell... just put a laugh track on it and some people will laugh at anything.
    Just like with that show where people tune in to laugh at how awkward nerds are.
    You can also parody SciFi up the kazoo. Most of it has already been done by Red Dwarf though.

    The fact that there is room for jokes can't change the fact that Galaxy Quest was not about joking about SciFi tropes or making fun of such shows or its audiences.
    That's what The Big Bang Theory is about.

    Galaxy Quest is your classic "the dream is real and I am secretly a hero king" story.
    And THAT story can't be stretched out for too long before it becomes a genuine story of heroics and NOT a parody.
    Galaxy Quest ends by becoming Galaxy Quest the Journey Continues.
    It stops treating the show or the work of those actors on the show as a joke - but as a real and highly important MISSION.

    They are no longer actors. They are an ACTUAL HEROIC CREW of NSEA Protector which was a real starship.
    They are no longer acting. They are on a diplomatic mission, sending messages into outer space.
    They have a real living alien with them on the set. They KNOW things and they did things that have changed them and the entire universe they live in.
    The ending changes the GENRE for the audience. It becomes obvious that it is not a SciFi parody but genuine SciFi.
    Because it is a love letter - not a parody. Goofy characters become heroes.
    Seen Guardians of the Galaxy?
    Seen Antman?

    MASH never stopped being a comedy, turning around and making every joke actually just a bizarre scene in a gritty war drama. If it did, it would be Kafkian.
    Neither did Hogan's Heroes.
    Nor did Lost in Space or Star Trek get a laugh track and started being about crazy hijinks of a wacky crew.

    They can try doing that, sure, but all they'll end up with is just another lame "reference is a joke" show, like that crap Seth MacFarlane keeps churning out.

    --
    Mit der Dummheit kämpfen Götter selbst vergebens
  26. Re:And then they can make fun of '80s hairstyles.. by avgjoe62 · · Score: 1

    Nor did Lost in Space or Star Trek get a laugh track and started being about crazy hijinks of a wacky crew.

    Are you thinking of something along the lines of Quark?

    Quark is an example of good actors, decent writing and genuine parody dragged out WAAAAAYYYYY too long.

    --

    How come Slashdot never gets Slashdotted?

  27. Re:And then they can make fun of '80s hairstyles.. by Forever+Wondering · · Score: 2

    See my second paragraph:

    Galaxy Quest had a great mix of comedy, parody, character development, and heroism as well as some classic sci-fi elements. It's one of the first works that was respectful to the sci-fi genre without taking itself too seriously.

    That acknowledged all that you were saying and the key word is mix. BTW, I saw GQ in a theater, and I own a copy, so I may understand it better than you seem to think I do.

    So, where does the series go? Ignore the movie and spread the movie across five seasons and the characters achieve their final growth by the series finale? Or, do you start the series where the movie ended? So, will it just become another serious Star Trek like series without much humor. Or, will it try to blend the best of both?

    I think you lept to the conclusion that it's laugh track jokes or nothing. How about more subtle humor blended directly into a serious plot point?

    For example, in B5, the station breaks away from the Earth Alliance. They can no longer be resupplied. So, Ivanova gathers together a bunch of smugglers/black marketeers in a conference room. Ivanova: "I know in the past we've had our differences. You tried to bring in contraband and we've had to come down on you. Sorry about the shoulder, Jaxos". She then goes on to explain how smuggling in useful stuff will benefit both the station and them. So, they agree to an alliance. Solves the plot point of how B5's supply chain was fixed, with a little humor thrown in.

    Now that the main characters of the Protector have matured and are heroes, they are the anchors for the serious plots in the stories. But, you needn't drain them of their sense of humor to fit some rigid heroic vision. GQ, in addition to everything else, was more broadly comedic. Why toss away one of its strengths? Because the main characters have matured, you can move the broader comedy to infrequent recurring characters in subplots.

    And, if you want to talk about the injustice of something, sometimes the most effective weapon is humor/comedy/irony/mockery of it (e.g. an officious bureaucrat).

    --
    Like a good neighbor, fsck is there ...
  28. Get Smart by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    It could be good if it hits a sort of Get Smart vibe. Definitely I'd give it a watch.

    I really liked Galaxy Quest; it hit the right notes for a satire without being snide or biting. It mocked the original tropes but it was done with love and appreciation.