Review of the Galaxy Quest Mockumentary & Never Surrender Documentary!

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[00:01:10] The audience's first thrill to the site of the NSEA Protective.

[00:01:17] Welcome everybody. Welcome everybody. I'm your host Cam and I do love just giving you guys a bit of everything. Once again, no exception to the rule, regardless of whether I got a host or not, I'm going to do my damnedest to just provide you just

[00:01:31] a just straightforward just mini-sode when we're not doing a deep dive. And today's No Exception, once again, we have something for everybody. We do all kinds of horror, action, mystery, even just historical war epics.

[00:01:50] But in this case, we're back into Sci-Fi-ville and we're taking a break from just the typical, you know, giant sci-fi blockbusters and we're revisiting the beloved, you know, parody that was Galaxy Quest.

[00:02:04] And, you know, years before the Orville and Futurama, you know, this was the go-to in terms of making fun of not only just Star Trek type epics, but also, you know, it was just beloved.

[00:02:15] You know, you had Alan Rickman, Mr. Serious Actor, doing, playing a Leonard Nimoy type who is, you know, gifted with Shakespearean theater type training, but can only get typecast in roles that require him to be in heavy makeup.

[00:02:29] Maybe it's a little also referencing Michael Dorn from Star Trek Next Gen a bit, you know, as Worf.

[00:02:35] But, you know, it was a mega cult hit and it has just continued to live on and everything.

[00:02:42] And I thought I'd revisit two specials that cover the making of that movie.

[00:02:47] And, you know, enough can't be said about it.

[00:02:50] I'm sure you've heard all the stories about Wyatt Clicks.

[00:02:53] It's one of Rainn Wilson from The Office fame's first movies, Justin Long as well.

[00:02:59] And, you know, the movie throughout, I mean, Sigourney Weaver, you know, was no stranger to alien, you know, type sci-fi terror.

[00:03:07] And they even worked in a reference to her Ripley character as well as Tim Allen's animated character, Buzz Lightyear, from the Toy Story franchise.

[00:03:16] But the movie itself is just always a delight.

[00:03:20] I watch it anytime it's on TV.

[00:03:22] It's very easy to get into.

[00:03:24] Even the stuff they cut out is even funny to spot, too, because of how edgy it is without trying to be just crude or uninspired.

[00:03:35] And the rock monster is also very well designed.

[00:03:39] And much like Men in Black, it complements all the mayhem that's going on on screen.

[00:03:45] And altogether, I mean, Sigourney Weaver's character also, when they show her in flashbacks, just looks like a Charlie's Angels type, you know, damsel who's, you know, beating people up.

[00:03:58] And it's also a throwback to other stuff like Lost in Space and Buck Rogers, just the kind of stuff that just dominated the small screens for years.

[00:04:06] That was the type of typecasting if you weren't an A-lister making movies.

[00:04:11] I gotta say, it had a ballsy just campaign, you know.

[00:04:14] Some critics didn't warm up to it at the time.

[00:04:16] But one thing that has been rediscovered and yet to be released on DVD or Blu-ray is to promote the movie.

[00:04:24] They did.

[00:04:24] They got really meta with their humor.

[00:04:26] They decided to make a, you know, a mockumentary, which, as anyone knows, is pretending to be a doc, pretending to be a making of behind the scenes featurette.

[00:04:37] And they had it kind of as part of their, I don't know if it was part of the E! True Hollywood story thing or if it was just a standalone special.

[00:04:45] But either way, they titled it Galaxy Quest 20th Anniversary.

[00:04:48] And having given it a rewatch a few times, it is wild how they're able to make this really amusing and look like a legit making of behind the scenes special.

[00:04:58] But the music is really good and the behind the scenes edits also complemented all.

[00:05:03] But it's so funny how they even just take actual behind the scenes photos from earlier in the actor's career to make it look like it's pertaining to their onscreen actor characters becoming sci-fi genre actors.

[00:05:16] But ironically, Jason Nesmith, who played the commander, almost didn't get the role.

[00:05:22] We had an A-list and a B-list and a C-list and just about everybody in town turned it down.

[00:05:29] I decided we needed someone who was a relatively unknown.

[00:05:34] In other words, somebody who was desperate.

[00:05:36] Yes, I had the reoccurring role on that really lame sitcom.

[00:05:40] I think we all remember Hello Neighbor.

[00:05:42] You remember the joke of the show was that you never saw me from the neck down.

[00:05:46] And from there, he became part of the now legendary crew of Galaxy Quest.

[00:05:51] You don't want to know the truth.

[00:05:53] I was never actually asked to audition for Galaxy Quest.

[00:05:58] They wanted a younger guy.

[00:05:59] I was on the lot auditioning for Ordinary People.

[00:06:02] I mean, well, Redford and I, I like this.

[00:06:05] Nesmith mistakenly walked into the Galaxy Quest casting director's office and began reading a scene from Ordinary People.

[00:06:13] Come on, Conrad, just let it out.

[00:06:16] You know that kind of stuff.

[00:06:17] We were halfway into the first season before I realized that I wasn't doing Ordinary People.

[00:06:23] And it goes by real fast.

[00:06:25] You can find it on YouTube and either split up parts or in a whole deal.

[00:06:28] But it's 20 minutes that you'll chuckle at.

[00:06:31] And they even hired actors to pretend to be production executives and fans for this, which is even more ballsy of a move.

[00:06:39] The original cast members of Galaxy Quest have reunited for a major motion picture.

[00:06:47] Catch up with Jason Nesmith, Gwen DeMarco, and Alexander Dane as they share their adventures

[00:06:53] and tell the real stories behind the legendary TV show that has become America's number one science fiction cult classic.

[00:07:02] All Gwen had to do was worry about her hair.

[00:07:06] She's not around, is she?

[00:07:06] Sometimes I felt like, you know, sort of the camp counselor with a bunch of, like, toddlers.

[00:07:14] You know, kind of the practical one.

[00:07:15] Now, I wasn't sure that it was going to be for quite such a long time.

[00:07:20] Or, indeed, that 15 years on, I'd still be talking about it.

[00:07:24] But, of course, I'm thrilled.

[00:07:28] I can't recommend it enough.

[00:07:29] Just look up Galaxy Quest 20th Anniversary or Galaxy Quest Mockumentary and you will find it.

[00:07:35] But, yeah, it's a hoot from beginning to end.

[00:07:38] And in more recent years, you know, post-2014, indie filmmaker Jack Bennett, who was a mega fan of it,

[00:07:45] and has done all kinds of special effects, writing and producing, decided, as well as short films, decided to produce the Never Surrender documentary.

[00:07:59] And my bad.

[00:08:00] It was actually in 2019.

[00:08:01] But I was...

[00:08:04] You can find that on Amazon Prime.

[00:08:05] I think it's still streaming.

[00:08:07] Yep, it's still streaming.

[00:08:08] But I applaud this one because this just reminds people why this film still sits perfectly at home for so many.

[00:08:17] And they also interviewed, again, the guys playing the aliens, including Enrico, Cullen, Tony, who you might know from Veronica Mars and Person of Interest, as well as Rainn Wilson.

[00:08:30] So that was just lovely.

[00:08:32] And they even interview other Star Trek actors and how they're impacted by it, including Brent Spiner.

[00:08:40] And that was just a nice touch to just remind everyone, hey, it's all fun and games.

[00:08:45] You know, no one got hurt.

[00:08:46] You know, Will Whedon is also interviewed.

[00:08:50] You know him as Wesley Crusher.

[00:08:51] And the director himself was interviewed.

[00:08:53] But I just knew I was going to love it just from that point on.

[00:08:58] They interviewed other people who were inspired by it, including Greg Berlanti, the creator of The Flash and Arrow.

[00:09:04] Just worked on other sci-fi channel stuff.

[00:09:06] But, like, I was sold from the first frame alone when they had a quote from playwright and filmmaker David Mamet.

[00:09:15] Yes, David freaking Mamet.

[00:09:17] And he was just like, there are 10 movies that do this and that.

[00:09:23] And Galaxy Quest is one of them.

[00:09:25] It checks all the merits of a perfect movie that knows its audience.

[00:09:32] It makes fun of people.

[00:09:33] I'm like, see, that is wild because, you know, Mamet is outspoken as he is and with all his hot takes.

[00:09:38] I was just like, he just never came off to me as a sci-fi kind of guy.

[00:09:41] Maybe he doesn't even like Star Trek, but that's not the point.

[00:09:44] I just like, that is funny, funny, funny.

[00:09:48] But, yeah, he refers to it as a perfect movie.

[00:09:51] And, you know, it's kind of going along with that line.

[00:09:59] I mean, how some Star Trek fans legit consider it a one of the many actual best Star Trek movies.

[00:10:08] Nicholas Meyer has even said that.

[00:10:10] But, okay, so I'm seeing the quote here now.

[00:10:13] Yeah, David Mamet stated there were four perfect movies.

[00:10:16] The Godfather, A Place in the Sun, Doddsworth, and Galaxy Quest.

[00:10:24] That's just awesome.

[00:10:29] But, yeah, I mean, this is where it's just awesome to just see fandom being made sense of instead of just people bitching.

[00:10:42] Because, you know, I just grew out of it when I just saw people making documentaries, George Lucas ruined my fandom, this and that.

[00:10:52] Or people were trying to do knockoffs of, like, the Canon Films documentary, and they just weren't getting all that layered.

[00:11:00] And it was like, come on, guys.

[00:11:01] You know, you're telling us stuff most of us already know.

[00:11:04] So, yeah, this is a really good one.

[00:11:11] And I think everybody should check out either of these, especially if they just have seen the movie Galaxy Quest to Death, but have not had enough of just honoring.

[00:11:23] I mean, most people are generally going to say it's funny, but they're going to forget why does it work so damn well.

[00:11:30] And, yeah, both are recommended, beyond recommended.

[00:11:36] And thank you for listening to me babble about this for a brief time period.

[00:11:42] But, yeah, if anyone wants to make any other requests, you can contact us, again, anywhere.

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