The cast of an old 1980s space-adventure television series, Galaxy Quest, spend most of their days attending fan conventions and making promotional appearances. Though the series' conceited former star, Jason Nesmith (Tim Allen) (who played Commander Peter Quincy Taggart, the commander of the NSEA Protector and main character of the series), thrives on the attention, the other cast members -- Gwen (Sigourney Weaver) (who played Lieutenant Tawny Madison, the ship's communications officer and the only officer aboard who can give orders to the ship's computer), Alexander (Alan Rickman) (who played Dr. Lazarus, the ship's science officer and a member of the Mak'tar, an alien species known for their super intelligence and psionic powers), Fred (Tony Shalhoub) (who played Tech Sergeant Chen, the ship's chief engineer), and Tommy (Daryl Mitchell) (who played Lieutenant Laredo, a precocious child pilot) -- resent him (as Jason has an out-sized ego and doesn't treat his colleagues as his equal) and, to varying degrees, the states of their careers. At a convention, Jason is approached by a group calling themselves Thermians (Before that Jason also met a few diehard fans led by Brandon, whom Jason ignored as he was busy hitting on Gwen. Later he scolds Brandon by saying its just a television show), led by Mathesar (Enrico Colantoni) and Teb (Jed Rees), a Thermian and Mathesar's second-in-command, who request his help. Jason thinks they want him for a promotional appearance and agrees (he is also humbled by hearing some comments in the bathroom about how he has not had a real acting job in 20 years and that Jason is pathetic since his buddies hate him and he has no clue). The next morning, when the Thermians pick him up, Jason is hung over and does not grasp that the Thermians are aliens and that he has been transported to a working re-creation of the bridge of the NSEA Protector, the starship from Galaxy Quest. Believing he is on a set and must perform in character, he confronts the Thermians' enemy, the evil warlord Roth'h'ar Sarris (Robin Sachs), who demands the "Omega 13", a secret super-weapon that has never been used and whose capabilities are unknown. Giving perfunctory orders, Jason manages to temporarily defeat Sarris. After the grateful Thermians transport him back to Earth (with a universal communicator), Jason realizes the experience was real (after returning to Earth he again runs into Brandon, and they drop their communicators (Brandon had the fake one) and they get exchanged). He attempts to convince the other cast members but is rebuffed. When the Thermian Laliari (Missi Pyle) appears and requests Jason's help again, the cast, thinking it is a job, joins him, including Guy (Sam Rockwell), who played an ill-fated redshirt in one episode of the series. Aboard the Protector, the cast learns that the guileless Thermians believe episodes of Galaxy Quest are true historical documentaries. Inspired by the crew's adventures, they have based their society on the virtues espoused by the show and manufactured a functioning replica of the Protector. Mathesar tells them how the entire Thermian society is based on Jason's team's "historical records" (transmissions of their show). Mathesar also tells Jason about how their previous commander was tortured and killed by Sarris. Sarris returns and attacks the Protector again (Jason tries to run away, but the ship's generators overheat when he presses for boosts for far too long), and the ship barely escapes by going through a magnetic minefield. But the ship's power source, a beryllium sphere, is severely damaged and the humans must travel to the surface of a nearby planet for a new sphere. The planet seems to have an abandoned mining colony and many beryllium spheres. But it also has an abundance of critters-like aliens who eat each other as well, when hungry. When Jason's crew tries to take a sphere from the mine, they are attacked by the critters. Jason gets left behind to allow the rest of his team to get away. Fred beams Jason up with a digital converter on the ship and saves his life (The critters had put Jason in a pit where he was being attacked by a rock monster). In their absence, Sarris seizes the Protector (and has destroyed the Thermian home world) and demands the Omega 13. Jason confesses that he is not the ship's commander and shows Sarris the Galaxy Quest "historical documents". Sarris understands they are actors and forces Jason to explain to a disillusioned Mathesar. Sarris activates the Protector's self-destruct mechanism and returns to his ship, leaving the Thermians and the cast members to die. The humans formulate a plan to abort the self-destruct and defeat Sarris' troops on the ship. Jason communicates with Brandon (Justin Long), a Galaxy Quest fan on Earth, and his network of friends with intimate knowledge of the show (Brandon also tells Jason that the Omega 13 is a matter re-arranger which takes everything 13 seconds in the past). They talk Jason and Gwen through the ship's core and help them abort the self-destruct sequence. Meanwhile, Alexander leads the Thermians against Sarris' forces (Fred beams aboard the rock monster that defeats Sarris' soldiers. Fred kisses Laliari, but Quelleck (Patrick Breen) dies from a stray shot and Alexander is distraught. The Thermians still thank Jason, and Alexander is perplexed.) and they take back control of the Protector. With renewed confidence, the crew challenges Sarris and draws his ship into the magnetic minefield. This time, the Protector drags the magnetic mines into Sarris' vessel, destroying it. The Protector approaches Earth to bring the humans home, but Sarris, who escaped his ship's destruction by transporting on to The Protector, ambushes them on the bridge and fatally wounds several crew members. Jason manages to activate the "Omega 13", which creates a 13-second time warp to the past, giving Jason and Mathesar a chance to disarm Sarris before he repeats his attack. The Protector's bridge splits from the main vessel to land the humans on Earth, while the main section departs with Mathesar leading the Thermians. Guided by Brandon and his friends acting as beacons, the Protector Bridge crashes into a Galaxy Quest convention, coming to a stop on the main stage. The dazed cast emerges to the cheers and excitement of their fans, but Sarris reemerges to imperil them again. Jason shoots and obliterates Sarris, and the ecstatic crowd assumes it is all a massive display of special effects. The cast basks in the adoration of Brandon, his friends, and their fans. Sometime later, Galaxy Quest is revived as a sequel series, Galaxy Quest: The Journey Continues, with the cast reprising their roles alongside Guy and Laliari as new characters.
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