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    Jason Nesmith 

Jason Nesmith as... Commander Peter Quincy Taggart

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/gquest_jason.jpeg
Played By: Tim Allen
Voiced By: Salvador Delgado (Latin American Spanish dub), Hirotaka Suzuoki (Japanese dub)

An actor who once starred as the captain in a sci-fi show named Galaxy Quest. He's arrogant, seemingly a jerk to his costars, and is stuck in the past, clinging to the old glory days of the show, enabled by the devoted fans who love his showboating antics. At the beginning of the movie, at yet another convention, Nesmith is confronted with how pathetic he has become and drinks himself into a stupor. It's in this state that he encounters the aliens and unwittingly agrees to his first real mission.


  • '80s Hair: Wears a mullet back on the 1980s show.
  • Bold Explorer: He's the bold Captain Kirk Expy from the eponymous Show Within a Show.
  • Break the Haughty: At the start of the film, he realizes how pathetic he's become.
  • The Captain: His position in the show, which means he gets giddy when he gets to be an actual captain.
  • Character Catchphrase: "Never give up, never surrender!" was Captain Taggart's catchphrase on the show, and de facto the show's Arc Words; unsurprisingly, Jason has embraced it in real life as well.
  • The Charmer: With his fans, yes. With his fellow actors... not so much.
  • Expy: Of Captain James T. Kirk from Star Trek: The Original Series. It's mentioned that Jason is from Iowa, same as Kirk was. A few of his onscreen mannerisms seem to be pulled from Riker, as well.
  • Drowning My Sorrows: After his in-universe Creator Breakdown (see Heroic BSoD) he gets drunk enough to have a massive hangover the following morning.
  • Guile Hero: He's got a good head for tactics and bluff and has an actor's talent for reading people.
  • Heroic BSoD:
    • Suffers an in-universe Creator Breakdown at the beginning of the film after hearing gossip about the negative impact of the show has done to him and his cast-mates.
    • He also has a more guilt-ridden one after he tells Mathesar the truth about the show not being real.
  • Hidden Depths: He is a bit arrogant at first, but he eventually shows a nicer side.
  • The Kirk: He was this for his in-universe role in the show, Captain Peter Quincy Taggart. Jason Nesmith also became this over the course of the movie, as he led the crew to save the day for the Thermians, and also back home on Earth.
  • Jumped at the Call: Once the interstellar shakes wear off, he's thrilled that a bunch of real, actual aliens built a replica of the ship and consider the cast to be actual heroes.
  • Large Ham: Tim Allen has to parody one of the biggest hams in television history. He does so with gusto, much to the annoyance of his fellow actors.
  • The Leader: His position on the show, and he eventually takes the position for real.
  • My God, What Have I Done?: After he tells Mathesar the truth about the show not being real.
  • No Celebrities Were Harmed: To William Shatner. He's the show's main cast member who has an inflated ego and is shocked to discover how the rest of the cast dislikes him for it.
    • Allen stated that he based his performance on Yul Brynner.
  • O.O.C. Is Serious Business: Invoked by Gwen, who notes to Alex that Jason never ever snapped at any of his fans the way he does at the convention.
  • Small Name, Big Ego: He has a hugely inflated sense of self-importance and realizes it at the convention only when he overhears negative gossip about what a laughingstock he is.
  • Stepford Smiler: Behind the egotistically jovial façade lies a sad Manchild escapist who desperately seeks to find the worthwhileness of his famed television role and found it thanks to the Thermians.
  • Took a Level in Badass: He played a badass only on TV; by the end of the film, he proves himself a true fighter.
  • Took a Level in Kindness: Contrast his appearances at the beginning and at the end of the film; at the beginning he was a Nice Character, Mean Actor who was unashamedly hogging the spotlight and gets disappointed when he doesn't get the fanfare he wants. In the end, he realizes that the crowd at the convention isn't paying his costars any attention, and gestures for them all to come up and share the spotlight as they deserve it.
  • Unfazed Everyman: At first, when first found himself on an actual spaceship and faces Sarris for the first time, he at first thinks it's all part of the fandom show despite the interior decor being likely impossible to be constructed by a group of fans, but when he's transferred back to earth via teleporter, he is... considerably fazed.
  • Unnecessary Combat Roll: He does this on the away mission before any actual danger occurs, out of habit from doing it on the show. It doesn't actually help him at first, and even causes him to lose his weapon. It helps him kill Sarris in the end.
    Gwen: Does the rolling help?
    Jason: Uh huh. It helps.
    Gwen: [smirking] Where's your gun?
    Jason: ...Shit!
    Alexander: "It helps."

    Gwen DeMarco 

Gwen DeMarco as... Lt. Tawny Madison

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/gquest_gwen.png
Played By: Sigourney Weaver
Voiced By: Yolanda Vidal (Latin American Spanish dub), Mami Koyama (Japanese dub)

Another star of the show Galaxy Quest now trapped on the convention circuit. Gwen played the show's fanservice character and is resigned to the idea that she never gets taken seriously. On the show, she had a superfluous job of repeating the computer's statements and repeating the orders of the captain to the computer, so when the aliens build a real version of the ship, she gets stuck with that job again. There's some indication that Gwen and Jason were once genuinely attracted to each other but it died quickly once Gwen figured out what kind of guy Jason really was.


  • Action Girl: Though not in the old show, much to her chagrin.
  • Author Appeal: Weaver stated the fact she was Playing Against Type as a Dumb Blonde was the biggest appeal for her, after constantly playing intellectual types like Dana Barrett. invoked
  • Bridge Bunny: Her original role was to stand on the bridge, lean toward the camera, and "repeat everything the computer says". An enforced trope, because the computer responds only to her questions!
  • Buxom Beauty Standard: In-Universe, this was one of Gwen's character's key attributes. Invoked, as the wardrobe has significant effect on Weaver's rather modest bosom.
  • Captain Ersatz: A disgruntled version of Uhura with a healthy dose of Seven of Nine. There's a bit of Troi in her character, too, what with the whole "my job is to be Captain Obvious" thing.
  • Captain Obvious: Her only job on the ship was to repeat what the computer says. Lampshaded.
    Tommy: You know, that is getting really annoying!
    Gwen: I have one job on this lousy ship! It's stupid, but I'm going to do it, okay?!
  • Casting Gag: Sigourney Weaver, famed as the tough-as-nails sci-fi heroine Ellen Ripley from a gritty Used Future science fiction horror franchise, is cast as an actor who became typecast from playing a Dumb Blonde space-bimbo type on a Star Trek knock-off whose only job is to have a prominent cleavage and repeat everything the computer says.
  • Classically-Trained Extra: She despised her role and was very abundantly aware that her only purpose on the show was to be Ms. Fanservice.
  • Communications Officer: She does this during the movie out of principle: it's her one job, and she will do it even though it's stupid.
  • Dumb Blonde: Gwen's character in the show itself. (Sigourney Weaver stated that her IQ dropped significantly every time she put on the wig...)
  • Enforced Trope: In-Universe, the Thermians constructed the ship so that only she could talk to the ship's computer, making her Parrot Exposition an enforced trope.
  • The Face: Parodied. The fact that Gwen has no technical specialty is pointed out: Her 'social skills' amount to "repeating everything the computer says."
  • Faux Action Girl: Gwen's character, in-universe. She is shown kicking ass in the Galaxy Quest intro, but her role on the show is to recite what the computer says.
  • Got Me Doing It: Guy becomes so convinced that he's a Redshirt and bound to die, that when the crew encounters some dangerous aliens Gwen's reaction is, "We've got to get out of here before one of these things kills Guy!"
  • Heart Is an Awesome Power: While not discussed in the movie, one advantage to having the computer respond to only one officer is that it serves as a security precaution (in case, say, an invading force takes over the ship, as eventually happens with Sarris) and in some respects she is actually the most indispensable member of the crew, though admittedly it's probably rather dumb to have only one officer have this responsibility.
  • The Lancer: Alexander is the lancer on the show, but in real life Gwen fills the role.
  • Limited Advancement Opportunities: She just repeats what the computer says, and she HATES that!
  • The McCoy: While her in-universe character is a take on Uhura, Gwen herself fills this role early on with how she interacts with her cast mates. Over the course of the story she becomes this in a bigger way as part of the crew when it is up to them to save the day.
  • Most Common Superpower: The essay on her character is "About my boobs, and how they fit into my suit!".
  • Ms. Fanservice: She's well aware of it, which she felt is an annoyance and sexual objectification-related humiliation against her.
    Gwen: My TV Guide interview was six paragraphs about my boobs and how they fit into my suit!note 
  • No Celebrities Were Harmed: To Nichelle Nichols in her role as a bridge officer, and Jeri Ryan in being a skilled actress trapped as a shameless Ms. Fanservice character (and unlike Ryan, never being able to break out of that role).
  • Sarcastic Devotee: To Nesmith.
  • Show Some Leg: In a deleted scene, she invites two aliens to have sex, even showing them her boobs before instructing the computer to liquify them with a blast door.
  • Smurfette Principle: The only female crew member until Laliari joins.
  • Statuesque Stunner: As portrayed by Sigourney Weaver, she is 5'11". The real Gwen DeMarco likes to describe herself as "six-foot-four in my stocking feet".
  • Stripperiffic: Her uniform, more so after Clothing Damage.

    Alexander Dane 

Sir Alexander Dane as... Dr. Lazarus of Tev'Meck

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/gquest_alex.png
Played By: Alan Rickman
Voiced By: Armando Réndiz (Latin American Spanish dub), Unshō Ishizuka (Japanese dub)

Lazarus is a "Mak'tar", a member of an alien species renowned for their intellect. He is deeply intelligent and has psionic abilities. Additionally, he has a non-standard weapon and a pretentious catchphrase: "By Grabthar's hammer, by the suns of Warvan, you shall be avenged!". A trained Shakespearean British actor, Alexander resents both his catchphrase and being typecast.


  • Alien Hair: The Lazarus character from the Show Within a Show had a ridged scalp, but was otherwise shorn.
  • Always Second Best: To Jason.
  • Author Avatar: Alexander's Shakespearean background and resentment of being typecast following his In-Universe Star-Making Role is likely a Flanderization of his actor's real-life Shakespearean background and his resentment of being typecast as a villain following his Star-Making Role in Die Hard.
  • Bizarre Alien Biology: Mocked in a deleted scene, where the aliens have attempted to construct a toilet for him based on his "very complex" biology. It looks like some kind of hideous medieval torture intrument.
  • Captain Ersatz: Not just of Spock, but of the late Leonard Nimoy, who despised being pigeonholed as well.
    • To a smaller degree of Worf as well with the heavier make-up and particularly his Proud Warrior Race catchphrase and eating living critters that is more in line with Klingons.
  • Character Catchphrase: "By Grabthar's Hammer, by the sons of Worvan, you shall be avenged!" and in shorter form, "By Grabthar's hammer!" for Dr. Lazarus. By contrast to Jason, Alexander is absolutely sick of saying it, and especially of having fans repeat it to him.
    • Also serves as an Ironic Echo, a Tear Jerker and a Pre-Asskicking One-Liner (when he speaks the line to comfort a dying Quellek, who considered him a father figure).
      Alexander: [gentle, but with gravitas] By Grabthar's hammer... by the suns of Warvan, you shall be... avenged .
  • Classically-Trained Extra: He's not quite an "extra", but he still held a very low opinion of his role. The credits list him as "Sir Alexander Dane"note , which makes his appearances at Department Store grand openings all the more demeaning. (He once played Richard III, you know. There were five curtain calls.) Alexander himself is played by Alan Rickman, a former Shakespearean actor.
  • Consummate Professional: Although he openly loathes conventions, his catch phrase and having to do store openings, he will do them and do his best. Jason exploits this by reminding him, "The show must go on." to guilt Alexander into staying at the convention.
  • Deadpan Snarker: His every scene is dry, snarky and bitter. It helps that he is played by Alan Rickman.
  • Hates the Job, Loves the Limelight: Alexander Dane, played to perfection by Alan Rickman. You can feel the self-loathing as he has to say "that stupid line". However, he's ready to bask in adulation for saving the Thermians — until they all yell joyously that "Commander Taggart has saved us!"
    Dane: [sighing] It's just not fair.
  • Heel Realization: Early in the film Gwen tells Alexander that he has a character people loves. He brushes it off but Quellek's death makes him realize how bitter he's been acting towards people for whom the character of Dr. Lazarus has significant meaning.
  • Heroic BSoD: He goes through a minor one when Quellek is killed.
  • Hidden Heart of Gold: When Quellek is shot, Alexander delivers his catchphrase with complete sincerity, after having earlier stopped him from reciting it.
    • Even earlier, after Jason tells Mathesar the truth about the show not being real, he experienced a Heroic BSoD by being guilt-ridden for Jason's explanation along with the rest of his cast-mates.
  • I Need a Freaking Drink: When asked where he's going after the traumatic first contact with Sarris, he shouts back "to see if there's a pub."
  • It's Personal: Once Quellek is killed, Alexander goes absolutely apeshit on Sarris' mooks, beating the tar out of them with his bare hands.
  • Nice Character, Mean Actor: He starts out like this, not hiding his initial dislike of being remembered for just that role at conventions.
  • No Celebrities Were Harmed: Part Leonard Nimoy (bitter about being typecast as Lazarus - Nimoy got over it, though), part Patrick Stewart and part Alec Guinness - a respected Shakespearean actor who ended up on a cult science fiction show and is none too happy about it (Stewart doesn't regret his time on Star Trek and in fact, is proud of his role, but Guinness was upset that many people remembered him only as Obi-Wan Kenobi from Star Wars).
  • Not So Above It All: World-weary, snarky, and British... but he still holds his scanner upside-down on the planet. He realizes only after boldly starting them in the wrong direction.
    Tommy: You know with all that makeup I almost thought you were smart for a second!
    Alexander: Shut up!
  • Parental Substitute: An unknowing one to Quellek, who always considered the Lazarus character a father figure. Despite brushing Quellek off for most of the film Alexander is deeply saddened when Quellek dies... which quickly turns into rage.
  • Perpetual Frowner: Being a bitter actor, he is almost constantly frowning. It's not until the very end that he starts to smile.
  • Pet the Dog: Even at the time he was a Nice Character, Mean Actor who initially hated his role, he tried to break it down gently to the Thermians who had no concept of fiction about the reality of the television show he and his castmates worked on.
  • Phrase Catcher: Fans constantly repeat his character's catchphrase at him and he despises it.
  • Prefers Raw Meat: His character's Trademark Favorite Food is live Kep-mok blood ticks. He very much is not his character and is less than pleased when the Thermians recreate "his" favourite food faithfully.
  • Roaring Rampage of Revenge: After Quellek is shot, he opens up a huge can of whupass on Sarris' Mooks.
  • Rubber-Forehead Alien: Doctor Lazarus is a literal rubber forehead alien. In fact, Alexander is never seen without the prosthetic during the entire film, including at home (though he is in the process of removing it). It becomes visibly damaged near the end so his real hair starts poking through.
  • Screaming Warrior: He charges at Sarris' men screaming when Quellek is killed.
  • The Spock: While Dr. Lazarus filled this role on the show in-universe, Alexander Dane is gradually forced into this role as they wind up saving the day for the Thermians. Eventually he embraces it.
  • Surrounded by Idiots: He never actually says this, but it's all over his face and in his voice that he thinks of the cast.
  • Theatre Is True Acting: Alexander clings to his stage background ("Five curtain calls!") and resents that despite it he's best known for playing an alien on a schlocky sci-fi show.
  • Took a Level in Badass: In the final act, he charges an alien head-on while unarmed and wins.
  • Took the Bad Film Seriously: An In-Universe example. Alexander admonishes Jason for never being serious as an actor. This indicates that Alexander, despite being a Shakespearean actor, brought his A-game to even a schlocky syndicated sci-fi show.
  • Unstoppable Rage: After Quellek is killed, he murders an alien soldier with his bare hands and proceeds to go on an ass-kicking rampage in what can only be described as berserk rage.
  • What Have I Become?: Played for Laughs.
    Alexander: How did I come to this? I played Richard III. There were five curtain calls. I was an actor once, dammit; now look at me, LOOK AT ME! I won't go out there, and I won't say that stupid line one more time. I can't! I won't!
  • When He Smiles: He's a Perpetual Frowner for the most part of the movie up until the very end, where he is genuinely happy and his smile shows it.

    Tommy Webber 

Tommy Webber as... Lt. Laredo

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/gquest_tommy.png
Played By: Daryl Mitchell, Corbin Bleu (young)
Voiced By: Benjamín Rivera (Latin American Spanish dub), Koji Ochiai (Japanese dub)

Tommy parodies an actor in the "boy wonder" role, who has aged considerably since he was on the show. His role as Laredo is essentially that of the pilot, but when he flies the real Protector out, it takes him most of the film (and carefully studying his old Galaxy Quest episodes) to remember how to do it right.


  • Ace Pilot: In the show; not so much in real life. After he reviews his technique he's good enough that he can attract the mines to drag without actually getting hit.
  • Captain Ersatz: Of Wesley Crusher from Star Trek: The Next Generation.
  • Character Catchphrase: "Pedal to the metal!"
  • Former Child Star: At the time the original show was running, he was a young boy. In the present, he's just as jaded and disillusioned as the rest of the group, dependent on the fame from his original role to get by on the convention circuit.
  • Instant Expert: He becomes an expert in flying the real Protector after practicing for half an hour. The justification here is that the controls work in the exact manner that he thinks they do because they were modelled on his movements. It's fundamentally a refresher course.
  • Kid-Appeal Character: On the original show, he was about ten years old.
  • Kid Hero All Grown-Up: Lt. Laredo is a parody of kid prodigies like Star Trek: The Next Generation's Wesley Crusher. At the time of the movie, he's 20 years older, and being put in the position of being that prodigy he played on the series two decades earlier.
    Mathesar: Young Laredo, how you've grown.
  • No Celebrities Were Harmed: To Wil Wheaton, whose Star Trek character was also appointed to the bridge despite being a literal child. Wheaton himself has commented on the similarities:
    Wil Wheaton: I loved Galaxy Quest. I thought it was brilliant satire, not only of Trek, but of fandom in general. The only thing I wish they had done was cast me in it, and have me play a freaky fanboy who keeps screaming at the actor who played 'the kid' about how awful it was that there was a kid on the spaceship. Alas.
  • Screams Like a Little Girl: His high-pitched scream after he broke his arm and has to be carried off to medical quarters.
  • Teen Genius: His character on the show is a preteen with enough skill and knowledge to pilot a starship.
  • Token Minority: He is the only black character among the main cast.
  • Took a Level in Badass: "Pedal to the metal!" is spoken when he learns how to pilot the ship in real life.

    Fred Kwan 

Fred Kwan as... Tech Sgt. Chen

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/gquest_fred.png
Played By: Tony Shalhoub
Voiced By: Paco Mauri (Latin American Spanish dub), Koichi Makishima (Japanese dub)

Chen is in charge of the engine room and the operator of the "digital conveyor" (a version of the Star Trek transporter). He acts in a detached manner and is completely unfazed by the strange and often disturbing events that occur.


  • Bunny-Ears Lawyer: He may be a little nuts or detached but he's good at what he does... eventually... by relegating the technical stuff to his Thermian team.
  • Captain Ersatz: Of Scotty although an inversion of him. Like Scotty, he turns out to be surprisingly skilled, but unlike Scotty deadpans it completely... except at the teleporter, the only thing Scotty never broke a sweat on.
    • Of major Trek actors his laid-back attitude most resembles DeForest Kelley, who was known for being extremely calm and mellow in person.
  • Captain Oblivious: It often feels like he doesn't know what's going on around him.
  • Cloudcuckoolander: His spacey attitude (no pun intended). A cut scene indicated the reason behind this.
  • Cold Ham: Hilariously underreacts to everything.
  • Fake Nationality: "Kwan's not even my real name!" In-universe, he's an actor who plays a guy who changed his name then played a guy who is fake. In the process, the real actor played a guy who played a guy and must become that guy even though he's fictional.
  • Granola Guy: After his team solves a problem, he has a Group Hug with them.
  • Heroic BSoD: He freaks out when he's asked to operate the "digital conveyor," which could kill Jason if he does it wrong.
    • He also has a guilt-ridden one after Jason tells Mathesar the truth about the show not being real.
  • Interspecies Romance: He eventually falls in love with a Thermian.
  • Lovable Nerd: In reality, he's only a Hollywood nerd.
  • No Celebrities Were Harmed: To James Doohan, playing the engineer with an obvious case of Fake Nationality (here made even more obvious by his playing a different race).
  • Obfuscating Stupidity: Or maybe not; frankly, it's hard to tell.
  • The Stoner: It's cut out for the most part, but he is explicitly asked whether he's high at one point, he's constantly munching on snacks, and he's way too relaxed.
  • Token Minority: Parodied with the Lebanese-American Tony Shalhoub somehow being representative of a Chinese character with the family name of Kwan. When the Thermians are naming the crew, he narrows his eyes when his character's name is spoken. Apparently, that's supposed to be enough to make him seem Chinese. invoked He even says Kwan is a stage name, possibly implying that Fred changed his last name to something more "ethnic" sounding (even though it's not his own ethnicity) to try and get a wider variety of roles.
    • This may actually be a nod to the fact that the Chinese-surnamed Dr. Soong was played by the very-definitely-not Asian Brent Spiner.
    • Or to the generic Asian character Hikaru Sulu whose is supposed to be Japanese, but whose surname is actually a regionnote  of the Philippines.
  • Unfazed Everyman: He genuinely doesn't seem that freaked out by the events around him... aside from his doubts about successfully operating the digitizer.

    Guy Fleegman 

Guy Fleegman as... Crewman #6 / Security Chief "Roc" Ingersol

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/gquest_guy.png
Played By: Sam Rockwell
Voiced By: Herman López (Latin American Spanish dub), Kazuhiro Yamaji (Japanese dub)

An actor who played an extra in one episode of Galaxy Quest. He suffers from paranoia that he will end up in a Red Shirt's natural state during the film. The character is based on real-life Star Trek actor Guy Vardaman, who played an uncredited background character.


  • And Starring: He gets an "and introducing" credit at the end of the film, where he plays the ship's head of security in the reboot.
  • Ascended Extra: He played a Red Shirt on one episode of the show. At the end, when the show is re-launched, he makes the opening credits.
  • Ascended Fanboy: While also technically an actor on the show, he seems more like a big-name fan who scored a background role than a peer of the cast, and has parlayed his minor appearance into gigs hosting major fan events.
  • Butt-Monkey: But not nearly to the extent he thinks he is. He's more of a strange, whiny nuisance to the others.
  • Casanova Wannabe: In a blink-and-miss moment, where he tries to hit on a female stagehand, she brushes him off for being a Momma's Boy.
  • Cowardly Lion: Spends most of the movie whimpering in a corner about the gory death he thinks is inevitably coming for him, but is prepared to go on a suicidal charge into the enemy lair, reasoning that if he's going to die he might as well die in a blaze of glory. Luckily for him, he's not destined to die because he's mistaken about his role as a Red Shirt.
  • Defied Trope: He tries to be one for the Red Shirt (although for the most part he is just scared out of his wits' end at the possibility he will become one) and when he tries to pull a Heroic Sacrifice Fred prevents him from doing it by talking him out of it and taking a third option.
  • Expy: A comedic one of the skittish cowboy Lee from The Magnificent Seven.
  • Genre Savvy:
    • He knows full well that Red Shirts like the character that he played in the Galaxy Quest show-within-a-film tend to die to prove the seriousness of the situation, and is terrified that the same fate will befall him now that they're in a situation that mirrors the show's conventions.
    Guy: Didn't you guys ever watch the show?
    • Also the scene with the alien miners.
      Guy: Of course they're cute now. But in a second they're going to turn mean and ugly somehow and then there are going to be a million more of them!
  • Irony: Guy keeps freaking out that he's gonna get killed throughout the entire movie. When Sarris manages to kill off the crew in the surprise attack, he's the only one shown not being shot.
  • Irony As He Is Cast: In-Universe, in the reboot, Guy plays a cocky security chief, completely the opposite of his personality during the film.
  • Meaningful Name: His name is Guy, in keeping with him being just a random extra nobody really knows.
  • Monster Munch: A parody of it; his in-show character was "eaten by a lava monster before the first commercial"; he's terrified that he's going to bite it too.
  • My Beloved Smother: Downplayed. In a blink-and-miss scene, we learn from a stagehand that Guy still lives with his mother.
  • Nervous Wreck: Rather justifiably so, given the outlandish circumstances, his being Genre Savvy, and his known role in said circumstances.
  • No Name Given: He was one of these in the show, identified only as "Crew Member #6". His panic over the fact that this was connected to his Red Shirt status leads to him freaking out and apparently forgetting that he actually has a name in real life:
    Gwen: Guy, you have a last name.
    Guy: "Do I? DO I?!"
    • If you listen carefully, though, you will hear Jason addressing him as "Fleegman" once when they're on the desert planet.
  • Only One Name: For most of the movie, which he uses as prime evidence of his unlikelihood to survive.
    Gwen: Guy, you have a last name.
    Guy: Do I? DO I?!
    • The credits at the end list it as Fleegman.
  • Plucky Comic Relief: Fred tries to comfort Guy in the third act by suggesting maybe he's this - in fact, Fred becomes the Trope Namer as a result. Realizing that he's this and not a Red Shirt is a great relief to him.
  • Promotion to Opening Titles: Having played a Red Shirt on the canceled Show Within a Show, he now gets name-dropped on the new show's title screen playing the chief of security, a position held by the late Tasha Yar.
  • Red Shirt: On the show, he got killed by a lava monster shortly into episode 81. He spends most of the film terrified that he will die since it was his only role on the show.
    (When the whole cast is in equal danger) Gwen: Let's get out of here before one of those things kills Guy.
    • Subverted, as Guy is the only member of the cast sent into space that suffers no injury whatsoever, including when Sarris shoots up the place and kills everyone.
  • Red Herring Shirt: In the movie proper his Red Shirt status is not being actualized. Surprisingly he turns out to be the Plucky Comic Relief. Notice, when Sarris goes on a killing spree, Guy is the only character not killed or mortally wounded.
  • Significant Anagram: Word of God stated they didn't want to make Guy's reboot name too obvious: he was originally "Rob Ingersol" — an anagram for "boring loser". invoked
  • Sixth Ranger: He gets a promotion from Red Shirt to crewmember. Not only in real life, but in the show's eventual resurrection.
  • Small Name, Big Ego: Despite being a Red Shirt on one show, he acts like he was one of the gang at the show, presuming to sit down next to the main cast and sign autographs of his own headshot. Though, somewhat justified in that even minor actors have been featured at Star Trek conventions (we're looking at you, Vince Deadrick.)
  • The Team Wannabe: His aim is to be part of the main cast.
  • Unfortunate Name: "Guy Fleegman" — and that's the actor's name - in the show, he was just "Crewman #6". When he joins the cast of the new series, he's given the name 'Roc Ingersol' — bonus points for the name being the same size as his real name: 3 letters, 8 letters.
  • Wrong Genre Savvy: Rare example of it working in the character's favor. He's terrified of getting killed because he thinks he's the Red Shirt. Fortunately for him it turns out he's actually the Plucky Comic Relief.
  • You Are Number 6: His original character is Crewman Number Six. When the Show Within a Show gets rebooted, this is averted as he's re-cast as Chief Of Security.

The Thermians

    In General 

The Thermians

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/thermians.jpg

  • Accent Upon The Wrong Syllable: They arrrrrrre... notverygood at imitating human speech-patterns.
  • Achievements in Ignorance: The Protector was a completely fictional ship, but the Thermians were able to create a perfect replica of it and all its functions (including ones that didn't exist) because they didn't know this.
  • Aliens Never Invented the Wheel: The Thermians have no concept of falsehood, even in its most benign forms, so they never invented any sort of fiction-based entertainment such as televised serials or theatre plays. When they found the footage of Galaxy Quest, they assumed it had to be a legitimate historical record.
  • Beauty Equals Goodness: Subverted. The cast and audience are led to believe they are pale but handsome humanoids that are also friendly, helpful, and generally benign. They are, indeed, very pleasant people, but are actually Starfish Aliens covered in tentacles who use "appearance generators", and are less humanoid than Sarris and his crew.
  • Bizarre Alien Psychology: They have only recently been exposed to the idea of dishonesty. They cannot imagine any reason to say something that is not the absolute truth, and therefore have no concept of fiction in storytelling, leading them to confuse the cast of a Star Trek-like TV show for real-life spacefaring heroes. This is contrasted with their enemies; Sarris figures out what's going on the second he sees a clip of the show.
  • Brutal Honesty: Teb describes the pig-lizard's teleporter mishap very matter-of-factly. Much to Jason's dismay, since the teleporter is his only way off the planet.
    Teb: But the animal is inside out—
    [splat]
    —And it exploded.
  • Cannot Tell a Lie: They have no concept of lying or fiction in their culture. They don't even have acting. The humans learn this the hard way. It gets even worse in that they're beginning to learn about malicious lying from Sarris, but still have no concept of benign fiction not intended to deceive.
  • Cannot Tell Fiction from Reality: They have this as one of their hats. They lament the plight of the castaways in Gilligan's Island.
  • Cargo Cult: They are an inversion of real-life cargo cults: they produce real, working technology based on nonfunctional, for-show templates.
  • Expy: Of the aliens from the Star Trek Episode A Piece Of The Action, being an alien civilization that modeled their society on a piece of Earth culture.
  • Fictional Accent: They speak with a very distinct accent seemingly meant to sound as alien as possible.
  • Human Aliens: Subverted when it turns out that the cephalopod-like Thermians use "appearance generators" to put the visiting Earthlings at ease (and presumably, to man the Protector II prior to their arrival); much to Fred's delight and Guy's dismay.
  • Humorless Aliens: They have no sense of humor, until the end where they laugh at the "trick" Jason pulled off on Sarris. "The ship was a model, as big as this! Such clever deception!"
  • Innocent Aliens: For example, the concept of deception is so completely foreign to them they don't know what actors are.
  • Last of His Kind: The Thermians on board the Protector are all what's left of their race.
  • No Such Thing as Alien Pop Culture: They obviously don't have a pop-culture of their own, otherwise they would have seen through the sham of the Galaxy Quest TV series not being real. They later started documenting their own society after seeing the Galaxy Quest "historical documents".
  • Octopoid Aliens: They have this as their default form, but they disguise themselves as humans so that the main cast will understand them.
  • Perpetual Smiler: They always have some sort of smile on their faces, even when being tortured.
  • Pretty Boy: Each of the Thermians... or should we say, their holographic disguises.
  • Raven Hair, Ivory Skin: They invoke this with their appearance generators. Their study of "historical documents" obviously indicated that this was a pleasing image for humans.
  • Sci-Fi Bob Haircut: Their human holograms all include this as the hairstyle.
  • Starfish Aliens: In their native form they look like an octopus mating with a squid. Sarris' reptilian race is standard People in Rubber Suits.
  • Starfish Language: When the Thermians' translators are broken (or not on), their speech sounds like shrieking mixed with Nails on a Blackboard. The DVD release contains a Thermian Language audio track, so you can listen to the ENTIRE MOVIE like this if you wish.
  • Stealthy Cephalopod: A more benign example than usual. The Thermians, a race of Octopoid Aliens, disguise themselves as humans when talking to the human protagonists, but they are friendly and are taking these forms only so that the protagonists can understand them.
    • Quellek is stealthier than most, having studied the "Mak'tar stealth haze" from the show.
  • Translator Microbes: Laliari in the limo can initially talk only in a weird screaming noise because her translator is broken. They later switch on a "translation circuit" to understand what the mining aliens are chanting.

    Mathesar 

Mathesar

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/gquest_mathesar.png
Played By: Enrico Colantoni
Voiced By: Javier Rivero (Latin American Spanish dub), Eiji Ito (Japanese dub)

The leader of the Thermians, though he steps back to let Jason lead. He and his other people are completely ignorant of any type of falsehood, including fictionalized entertainment, and thus they have no idea that Galaxy Quest was just a TV show.


  • Actually Pretty Funny: Seen laughing with the rest of the Thermian crewmembers over how the "Historical Documents" they based their entire culture on is nothing but fiction.
    "Their ship was a model, as big as this!" (holds up his thumb and forefinger an inch apart) "A very clever deception indeed! Ah Lah ah lah ah lah!"
  • Big "WHY?!": Attempts this after learning the truth from Jason, but is so emotionally and physically shattered that he sounds like he's wheezing.
  • Break the Cutie: When Jason finally tells him the truth, Mathesar is broken almost beyond the point of speech.
  • Cane Fu: Mathesar uses his cane to beat down Sarris after getting tortured.
  • Heroic BSoD: He breaks down when Jason tells him the truth about Galaxy Quest.
  • Mr. Exposition: By virtue of As You Know — Mathesar is eager to show the crew how perfectly they've replicated the Protector, thus explaining the ship's functions to the audience as well.
  • Passing the Torch: When the actors leave at last, Jason appoints Mathesar Commander of the Protector.
  • Starfish Aliens: Without his holographic disguise, he looks vaguely like conjoined twin octopi.
  • Strange-Syntax Speaker: Thermians speak a language very different from English. They use translators to get around this, but their speech still comes out very stilted and strange, somewhere between this trope and What the Hell Is That Accent?.
  • You Are Better Than You Think You Are: When he wishes that the actors would stay because the Thermians have no commander, Nesmith looks at him and says they have a great commander.

    Teb 

Teb

Played By: Jed Rees

A Thermian who serves as Mathesar's second-in-command.


  • Cannot Tell a Lie: When they beam up the pig-lizard, Teb remarks on what actually happened to it while the actors are trying to reassure Jason that everything's fine.
  • Mr. Exposition: He explains to Jason the history of the Thermians and their conflict with Sarris, not noticing that he's fallen asleep.

    Laliari 

Laliari

Played By: Missi Pyle
Voiced By: Dulce Guerrero (Latin American Spanish dub), Noriko Oka (Japanese dub)

A female Thermian who becomes Fred's girlfriend.


  • Ascended Fanboy: Joins the crew in the reboot of the show.
  • Green-Skinned Space Babe: Hilariously deconstructed. While initially she appears to be a textbook example, she's actually a cephalopodic Starfish Alien who simply disguises herself as a humanoid creature. Like all the Thermians, she's only learning human gestures, so her demeanor comes off as rigid, weird and downright creepy. Fred, however, sees her as an actual Green-Skinned Space Babe, resulting in an Interspecies Romance involving tentacles and a horrified witness in Guy.
  • Hot in Human Form: Fred is madly attracted to Laliari's human form, yet is fine with her true form as well, as he isn't turned off when she reverts to it while they're making out. When Fred returns home with the rest of the crew, Laliari goes with him and becomes a member of the cast for the Galaxy Quest revival as her disguised form under the name Jane Doe.
  • I Choose to Stay: She chooses to stay on Earth with Fred, down to becoming an actress in the reboot under the alias "Jane Doe".
  • Shapeshifting Lover: Her stay on Earth requires her to keep up the glamour at all times.
  • The Silent Bob: She is unable to speak human language for most fo the film due to her translator malfunctioning, but she is usually able to convey her messages through body language.
  • Statuesque Stunner: Her humanoid form is performed by 5'11 3/4"/182cm Missi Pyle, and she certainly has Fred Kwan's eye. Jason doesn't seem to mind her looks, either, until he sees her translator isn't functioning.

    Quellek 

Quellek

Played By: Patrick Breen
Voiced By: José Antonio Macías (Latin American Spanish dub), Koichi Tochika (Japanese dub)

A Thermian who greatly admires Alexander's character, Dr. Lazarus.


  • Alien Blood: During his death scene, blue blood drips from his mouth.
  • Died in Your Arms Tonight: After being shot by one of Sarris' mooks. He lives just long enough to hear Alexander promise to avenge his death.
  • Dies Wide Open: His eyes remain open when he dies in Alexander's arms.
  • Go Out with a Smile: Hearing his idol promise to avenge him, in the same words that inspired him to follow that path, Quellek dies happy.
  • Major Injury Underreaction: He initially doesn't seem to register any pain when one of Sarris' mooks shoots him. Though he collapses just seconds after.
  • Sidekick: He wants nothing more than to be this to Dr. Lazarus.

Antagonists

    Sarris 

Sarris

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/gquest_sarris.png
Played By: Robin Sachs
Voiced By: Ricardo Brust (Latin American Spanish dub), Atsuki Tani (Japanese dub)

A genocidal alien warlord, Sarris is the force that ultimately causes the Thermians to seek the Galaxy Quest team out for help. When he turns up, things get a lot worse.


  • Artificial Limb: His left hand is a mechanic replacement.
  • Bad Boss: The man decapitated his previous lieutenant for failing to raise the shields in time. He then leaves several loyal soldiers to die on the Thermian ship.
  • Big Bad: He is The Leader of the evil aliens and the reason that Thermians called the main cast to help them. Discussed Trope between Jason and Laliari:
    Jason: Sarris is the bad guy, right?
    Jason: Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. I got the picture.
  • Break Them by Talking: Via proxy. He's extremely amused by the fact that the Galaxy Quest crew are actors, and he forces Jason to explain to Mathesar that everything was a lie.
    Sarris: (on seeing the fictional Galaxy Quest show): (almost giggling) Wonderful. You have all done far greater damage than I ever could have. Bravo. Bravo. This is a moment I will treasure. Explain to him who you all really are... Explain as you would a child.
  • Cold-Blooded Torture: He did this to the Thermian commander who preceded Mathesar. He briefly does some on Mathesar too, but stops when he realizes the truth about Jason and the others would break him so much worse.
  • Deadpan Snarker: Emphasis on the deadpan. If he makes a joke at all, it's usually more terrifying than funny.
  • Evil Brit: Played by Londoner Robin Sachs.
  • Evil Has a Bad Sense of Humor: When it's revealed to him that the crew is not a real crew like the Thermians believe but instead a bunch of actors, he finds this extremely funny, and then happily tells the crew that they "have all done far greater damage than I ever could! Well done!" He then forces them to explain to Mathesar who they really are.
  • Evil Is Hammy: He generally gets a bit loud, though it's often terrifying instead of funny. When he stops being hammy, he's really serious.
  • Evil Is Petty: There was no pragmatic or tactical reason for Sarris to force the Galaxy Quest actors to explain who they really are to Mathesar. It was just a particularly villainous Kick the Dog moment.
  • Evil Laugh: Does a particularly cruel one when he is shown footage of the show and realizes how badly the Thermians have been deceived.
  • Evil Plan: According to Laliari, it seems to be basic conquest for slaves and territory.
  • Eyepatch of Power: Wears one after surviving the first attack. At least he's doing better than his first officer...
  • Flaw Exploitation: Exploited the Thermians child-like naiveté in the Back Story, knowing they would believe anything he would say because deception was a foreign concept to them. He then pounces on Jason, knowing what fictional productions were, and playing on his guilt like a fiddle.
  • For the Evulz: He already had the information he needed and explicitly invokes this trope.
    Thermian captain: I have told you all I know... if you have any mercy within you, please, let me die.
    Sarris: When I grow weary of the noises you make, you shall die!
  • Gallows Humor: Leading to possibly his only funny moment in the entire film.
    Jason: Hey Sarris, how're you doing?
    Sarris: [shows the head of his lieutenant mounted on a stick] Better than my lieutenant!
  • Green and Mean: He and the rest of the Fatu-Krey soldiers are green-skinned and evil in contrast to the humans and the appearance-generator version of the Thermians.
  • Handicapped Badass: He's horribly cruel and very depraved, but the guy is a good straight-up fighter in spite of lacking one eye and having a prosthetic hand. And this is just a day or two after he was crippled when Nesmith ordered the Thermians to bombard his ship.
  • Hellish Pupils: His eyes are yellowish-green with dual pupils (one large one and a smaller one next to it).
  • Hope Crusher: It's not enough to conquer and exterminate species he deems as beneath him, but Sarris also takes perverse pleasure in breaking their spirit first, denying a Mercy Kill to the former Thermian commander in favor of listening to its cries of pain under torture, and later making a point to force Jason to confess to Mathesar that he and his crew are only actors, just to push Mathesar fully past the Despair Event Horizon.
  • Kick the Dog: Oh, where to begin.
    • He tortured the Thermian's commander to death to hear him scream.
    • He presented the Thermians promises of mercy only to continue his genocide.
    • Watch as the Protector II leaves the spaceport. You can see Thermia utterly devastated, with only a wedge of the entire planet left. Sarris is the likely culprit.
    • He forces Jason to reveal to the Thermians that everything they believed in was a lie.
    • Even when he has nothing to gain from, he decides to self-destruct the Protector and have the air sucked out of the crew chambers the Thermians occupy.
  • Knight of Cerebus: After it turns out that he's actually a real threat and not something from a B-movie, the humor rating drops significantly whenever he's onscreen, and one of the only two jokes involving him is a bit of Gallows Humor where he reveals he decapitated his lieutenant. And, because he's a real alien military leader, he's significantly smarter than the average villain in a movie of this type. It takes a maneuver no one in their right mind would do AND the activation of the Omega-13 AND some deft shooting skills from Jason/Taggart to finally take him down.
  • Large Ham: The actor playing Sarris (Robin Sachs) hams it up considerably.
  • Lizard Folk: He has a reptilian appearance, along with his entire crew.
  • Loves the Sound of Screaming: His line under For the Evulz above pretty much sums it up.
  • Mage in Manhattan: Appears briefly on Earth at the end but gets shot to death by Nesmith, cheered on by fans who presumably think its All Part of the Show.
  • Mysterious Past: His motives for waging a genocidal war on the Thermians are never explained, not that any explanation could possible justify his actions.
  • Named After Somebody Famous: Named for Andrew Sarris, the legendary New York Times film critic. The man himself felt that it could be a Take That!, but he had no issue.
  • No Body Left Behind: He dies when Jason shoots him and he is disintegrated.
  • Oh, Crap!: His reaction when Jason chortles that his ship is dragging mines behind it.
  • Pass the Popcorn: He watches with amusement as the Protector is getting thrashed in the minefield, telling his lieutenant to be patient when asked if they should continue the pursuit.
  • Pre Ass Kicking One Liner: Delivers one before opening fire on the Protector in a response to Nesmith insulting him when he thought he couldn't hear.
    Sarris: Perhaps I'm not as stupid as I am ugly, commander.
  • Red Right Hand: He has an eyepatch and a prosthetic hand after the first attempt to fight him fails.
  • The Sociopath: He's a mass murdering conqueror who wants to dominate everyone and everything, kills anyone (his men included) simply for annoyance or for kicks and enjoys every minute of this. Can't be that bad.
  • Sore Loser: After Nesmith manages to outwit him and destroy his ship, Sarris decides to beam aboard the Protector and slaughter him and the rest of the crew as payback, not even caring that the ship will crash into Earth, likely killing him too.
  • Space Pirate: He and his crew members certainly fit the typical pirate look, with Sarris's Eyepatch of Power further resembling a typical pirate. His actions towards the Thermians even resemble a pirate's more than a ruthless general's.
  • This Cannot Be!: He yells "Impossible!" when the core detonation sequence on the Protector is stopped.
  • Vile Villain, Saccharine Show: The film is a lighthearted Actor/Role Confusion comedy with endearingly innocent aliens and the cast of a Star Trek Expy... and he is a sadistic, genocidal maniac, not above murdering underlings who fail him, who takes a specific glee in forcing Jason to Break the Cutie by explaining the nature of their "historical documents" to a culture that has no concept of fiction.
  • Villainous Breakdown: After the crew of the Protector start fighting back and manage to take back the ship, he completely loses patience with them, demanding his men to find and kill them even though it's a waste of manpower and runs the risk of killing the men that are still on the ship.
  • The Warlord: He's identified as a general, but he gives no indication of belonging to an actual army or serving any kind of ruler or government. Mention is made early in the film of the "Sarris Dominion", but its nature is never revealed. In the film, Sarris answers to no authority but his own and appears to simply do as he wishes.
  • Your Costume Needs Work: Nesmith initially just thinks he's a fan with a realistic costume.

    The Beryllium Miners / Blue Demons 
https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/miners.jpg

  • Beauty Equals Goodness: Subverted. They appear childlike and cute until the fangs come out. Lampshaded (like most of the film) by Guy.
    Guy: In a minute they're going to get mean, and they're going to get ugly somehow, and there's going to be a million more of them.
  • Cute Creature, Creepy Mouth: They look like cute and childlike until they open their mouths and reveal lots of little sharp teeth.
  • Ditto Aliens: The blue-skinned miners are almost impossible to tell apart.
  • Innocent Aliens: Subverted. They look cuddly and sweet but are sadistic cannibals.
  • Killer Rabbits: While the rest of the crew is Squeeing about how adorable the child-like alien miners are, the very Genre Savvy Guy worries that this cuteness bellies a violent and hideous true nature and then there will be swarms of them to eventually pounce on them once they notice the crew. Seconds later, he's proved right.
    Guy: In a minute they're going to get mean, and they're going to get ugly somehow, and there's going to be a million more of them.
    Guy: (frustrated) Did you guys ever watch the show?!
  • Monstrous Cannibalism: One of theirs comes out of the mine with a limp. It's promptly pounced on and eaten the moment its back is turned.

    The Rock Monster 
https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/rock_monster_3.png

Gorignak, the towering rock monster.


  • Bait-and-Switch: Jason wakes to find a two-legged, hideous pig trying to eat him with the minors cheering Gorignak, with the assumption that this creature is the monster that the Miners are sacrificing him to. When it's dealt with via the teleporter, the chant continues and is translated to rock, revealing that the pig monster was just some random animal that happened to wander to Jason's vicinity and that Gorignak is a sentient rock humanoid.
  • Berserk Button: It will crush anything that makes too much noise near it, disturbing its peace.
  • Rock Monster: It's a pile of uneven boulders forming together into a roughly humanoid shape controlled by the apparent sentience of the stones. It's then teleported up to the ship and begins destroying Sarris's army.
  • Silicon-Based Life: Being a rock monster, its structure appears to be based on silicon rather than on carbon.

Other

    Brandon 

Brandon Wheegar

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/brandon.jpeg
Played by: Justin Long

A young fan of Galaxy Quest.


  • Chekhov's Gunman: He appears at the Galaxy Quest convention and tries to ask Jason about a continuity error from the show. He then comes to their appearance at the tech store opening, where he and Jason accidentally swap communicators. Fortunately, Jason remembers him and calls him for help.
  • I Knew It!: In-Universe. When Jason calls him, Brandon says that he's been thinking a lot since his outburst at the convention and knows that it's just a show and not real. Then Jason tells him it's all real, to which Brandon shouts "I knew it! I KNEW IT!!!"
  • Mr. Exposition: He is able to explain to Jason and Gwen what the Omega-13 actually does.
  • Promoted Fanboy: In-Universe. He helps save the day when Jason calls him for help on how to shut down the reactor.

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