Title: GalaxyQuest

By Terry Bisson

Based on Screenplay written by James V. Hart and Michael Goldenber which led to the film directed by Dean Parisot

Publishing Info: New York: Ace paperback, 1999.

General Catagory Fiction

Genre: Novel

Sub-genre: - Science Fiction/ Satire

Nationality: - American

Time Period: 20th Century/ Contemporary

Use: Science Fiction and Fantasy Club and Leasure

First read by Dr. Rearick: May 2000

Rated: B+

Location: - Dr. Rearick's Home Library

Scripture which Comes to Mind:

Comments: This was an enjoyable read, but it was so primarily because it allowed me to re-experience my favorite moments from the movie upon which it is based. Most of the time when I laughed I did so because I was being reminded about how funny a scene had been. Bisson's prose, however, does not seem to capture the comic timing and character expression which made the film so hilarious. Of course Bisson has a difficult assignment since "the novel" and "film" are two different genres and so are different ways to tell a story. What can be done by sight is not always easy to do in prose. Here's Bisson's portrayal of the scene in which the original crew is opening a computer super-store:

    "Take it from us," Gwen announced to the tiny crowd. "We've been all around the universe!"
    "And beyond!" improvised Guy.
    "But we've never seen space-age savings like these--" chimed in Fred.
    "Here at TechCo Electronics Superstore!" continued Tommy.
    Silence.
    They all turned towards Alex who was scowling. Gwen nudged him.
    "By Grabthar's Hammer, what a savings!" Alexander finished releasing a handful of balloons with a look of galactic disgust. (39-40)

Again, not bad. But Alan Richman's portrayal of this moment has just a bit more. His character, Alexander Dane / Dr. Lazarus, loathes the words he is being forced to say. Just after Gwen (Sigourney Weaver) nudges him. He takes a breath.
        "By Grabthar's Hammer, (gulp) what a savings!" In his face is not just a scowl; Alan /Alex's face has disgust mixed in with resignation and numbness.
        Perhaps I am asking too much, but it did seem to me that the text was funny most of the time because I had the images of the performances of the actors.
        On the other hand, the novel does return a lot of lost scenes cut from the film, and being a novel, there are no lost lines. For example, with the return of dropped scenes, several lines make sense which did not in the movie. Brandon (Justin Long), the leader of a small group of serious fans, is the one who had planned the "appearance" for Jason Nesmith about which the rest of Nesmith's fellow actors are so angry in the story's opening. So when Nesmith runs over Brandon as the store opening the confusing comments in the film by Brandon about the Commander not turning up earlier that morning suddenly make sense. Furthermore, it takes several viewings of the film to catch all of Tony Shalhoub's side comments as the spaced (or burned) out flower child Fred Kwan / Tech Sergeant Chen. But in the novel nothing is missed. Main dialogue and side comments all appear in text. So I recommend the novel because it is faithful to the story, wider in its portrayal and still a lot of fun.

This page last updated
May 24, 2000
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