History YMMV / GalaxyQuest

** Creator/TimAllen in a space-themed movie? [[WesternAnimation/ToyStory1 Oh, all this time, we thought it was a new thing!]]

* TheWoobie:
** The entire cast of the ''Galaxy Quest'' television series due to how, after the show's cancellation, its [[IAmNotSpock recognition negatively impacted the lives and careers of the actors]]. Gwen [=DeMarco=], in particular, counts due to just being remembered as every fanboy's degrading MsFanservice object of lust rather than a fellow skilled actress, much to her embarrassment. It's even sadder in real life when it's based on the real-life experience of the ''Star Trek'' cast. However, after experiencing the space adventure of their lives in this movie, their recognition becomes worthwhile in the eyes of the public and in turn makes them embrace their roles with complete sincerity.
** The Thermians count too, due to them being a nearly happy-go-lucky man-child-like race having no conception of fiction, now on the verge of ''extinction'', and Mathesar being absolutely devastated upon hearing the reality of the television show.

* EnsembleDarkhorse: Creator/AlanRickman plays Alexander with such seething self-loathing and bottomless {{Deadpan Snark|er}} that for many fans, he's the show-stealer.

** Mathesar at the end. [[spoiler:When he says Jason's explanation of the show was "a very clever deception indeed," does he now accept the truth, or does he think it was something Jason made up to trick Sarris?]] Either way, it implies that Mathesar ''has'' at least learned [[spoiler:deception isn't ''universally'' bad]], something he seemed incapable of at the beginning of the film.
*** On top of that, if Mathesar believes the deception, is he trying to explain it as a deception to his crew to make them laugh and accept deception as an option in negotiations and confrontations or [[spoiler:is he trying to hide the truth that the show is fake to save his crew from the same pain he felt?]]
** How justified ''is'' Sarris? Sure, Sarris is always shown to be nothing but a vicious and cruel warlord (as evidenced below) who wants the total extinction of the Thermian species, but the Thermians are also shown to be exceedingly dangerous on their own: they are horrendously gullible, easily misled, and yet so technologically brilliant that they build a device that could either rewind time or destroy the universe in seconds ''and they don't know which it does.'' Sarris is a brutal tyrant that approves of the most monstrous acts imaginable to be committed on a completely innocent race, but objectively speaking, the Thermians are a ticking time-bomb just waiting for a deceiver worse than Sarris to set them off. It's only through sheer luck that they're influenced by the relatively altruistic humans and their idealistic morality-play rather than by some rogue OmnicidalManiac.

** The Thermians human forms are a bunch of pale, black-haired people who are constantly smiling, waving their arms at their sides, and speak with strange syntax, and they are just so naïve and adorable, you can't help but love them.

* CriticalBacklash: Defied. The critics and even ''Franchise/StarTrek'' cast members loved and praised it. Playwright and filmmaker Creator/DavidMamet called this movie one of four "perfect" films (along with ''Film/TheGodfather'', ''Film/APlaceInTheSun'', and ''Film/{{Dodsworth}}'').

* ValuesDissonance: In-universe example: The Thermians have no concept of fiction and thus [[ActorRoleConfusion think everything from the show is real]]. When Jason explains it's not real, the Thermians consider it to be lying.

** Guy offers to sign autographs alongside the main cast, and while some may question how in the world some background RedShirt could ''possibly'' have people who would even know who he is have never been to a ''Star Trek'' convention where, indeed, anonymous Red Shirts ''have'' been autographers ''and'' celebrated. Just ask actors like Vince Deadrick and Mal Friedman.

** It is possible to move a spaceship just by making parts of it really hot. It's called a "Black-Body Radiation Engine." However, this provides a tiny ammount of speed in exchange for a staggering ammount of power, so the ''Protector II'' moving at rocket speeds is unrealistic.

* SugarWiki/DevelopmentHeaven: The film pays incredible attention to the minute details of the franchise and fandom it's poking fun at. For example, in the opening credits of the revamped ''Galaxy Quest'' show seen at the very end of the movie, most of the cast get brand new, properly fitted, uniforms that are seen for all of three seconds each.

* SpiritualAdaptation: The movie is basically ''Film/ThreeAmigos'' [[RecycledInSpace IN Space!]]

* SpiritualAdaptation: The movie is basically ''Film/TheThreeAmigos'' [[RecycledInSpace IN Space!]]

* UncannyValley: The somewhat unnatural way the Thermians act when they have their "human appearance" generators activated. This might be owing to the fact that they are not really a HumanAlien species... or that their reference on how to act human came from fictional TV shows. Or a combination of the two, really.

* FunnyAneurysmMoment:
** After Tommy is injured badly, he has to be carried out to the medical bay in a bit PlayedForLaughs. Daryl Mitchell, the actor playing Tommy, was later in a motorcycle accident and was left paralyzed from the waist down because of it. Now watch the scene with this fact in mind...
** A running gag is Guy's worry about getting killed off. In ''Film/{{Moon}}'', [[spoiler:his actor, Sam Rockwell, plays a character whose purpose is to get routinely cloned and killed off over and over]].

* HarsherInHindsight: Gwen's complaint that the most media attention she received was a full page magazine interview about how "her boobs fit into her uniform." This has become a more frequent complaint from [[https://www.huffpost.com/entry/mark-ruffalo-scarlett-johansson-interview-avengers_n_7152084 actresses during similar interviews about their movies]].

* MexicansLoveSpeedyGonzales: Despite the film being a big ol' mockery of ''Star Trek'' and aiming a few jokes at Trekkies, the fandom as a whole seems to have essentially adopted ''Galaxy Quest'' as one of their own (it's not uncommon to claim that it makes the StarTrekMovieCurse still work, since the general order seems to have switched places after ''Galaxy Quest'''s release). It does help that the parody in question is very definitely in the AffectionateParody camp; the main not-Trekkie may be shown as a bit pathetic, but his love of the franchise ends up being instrumental in saving the day.

** "IS THERE ''AIR?'' YOU DON'T ''KNOW!''" (Oh, who are we kidding; basically much of Guy's dialogue in general.)

* CrossesTheLineTwice: The TeleporterAccident is so gross that it loops around to being funny again. If it was any ''less'' gross, it wouldn't be nearly as funny. It's had quite a few shout outs over the years as a result.

* CompleteMonster: [[BigBad General Roth'h'ar Sarris]] is a vile galactic warlord who seeks a powerful, mysterious device known as the Omega 13. Sarris launches a genocidal war against the peaceful Thermians, wiping out a massive chunk of their populace whilst subjecting many to inhumane fates of slavery and torture--torturing one of their commanders for days on end and killing her only when he "grew weary of the noises" she made--while [[BadBoss killing even his own men]] for failure. Sarris takes a perverse glee in forcing the crew of ''Galaxy Quest'' to reveal to the Thermian leader Mathesar that they're just actors [[KickTheDog in order to completely break his spirit]]. After this, Sarris tries to throw the cast of ''Galaxy Quest'' out of an airlock, and failing this, attempts to suffocate the remaining Thermians to death while throwing away his remaining men, personally massacring his way through every last obstacle between him and the Omega 13 before he's finally stopped. Sarris is [[KnightOfCerebus played utterly straight]] in naked contrast to [[VileVillainSaccharineShow everything else in the film]], possessed of no humorous or likable traits to detract from his atrocities.

* SugarWiki/HeReallyCanAct: Enrico Colantoni was thought of as just a lightweight sitcom star at the time, and seems the same for much of this movie. Then comes his ''devastating'' performance when Mathasar learns the truth about the Galaxy Quest show.

** The Thermians count too, due to them being a nearly happy-go-lucky ManChild-like race having no conception of fiction, now on the verge of ''extinction'', and Mathesar being absolutely devastated upon hearing the reality of the television show.

* SugarWiki/AwesomeMusic: The soundtrack by Music/DavidNewman is very good, particularly as it emulates many of the ''Star Trek'' themes combined with the humor and witty feel of Music/HenryMancini's score to the Creator/{{Disney}} movie ''WesternAnimation/TheGreatMouseDetective''. The main theme of movie is a SuspiciouslySimilarSong towards Mancini's theme to the aforementioned Disney film.

** How justified ''is'' Sarris? Sure, Sarris is always shown to be nothing but a vicious and cruel warlord (as evidenced below) who wants the total extinction of the Thermian species, but the Thermians are also shown to be exceedingly dangerous on their own; they are horrendously gullible, easily misled, yet so technologically brilliant that they build a device that could either rewind time or destroy the universe in seconds ''and they don't know which it does.'' Sarris is a brutal tyrant that approves of the most monstrous acts imaginable be committed on a completely innocent race, but objectively speaking, the Thermians are a ticking time-bomb just waiting for a deceiver worse than Sarris to set them off. It's only through sheer luck that they're influenced by the relatively altruistic humans and their idealistic morality-play, rather than some rogue OmnicidalManiac.