In light of the repellent sideshow documentary Trekkies, Galaxy Quest's sanitized depiction of fan culture is pleasantly and refreshingly non-judgmental, with one devoted "Questerian"'s (Justin Long) obsessive knowledge of the series proving vital to the ultimate safety of our heroes. (In the film's most raucous and amusing sequence, he guides Jason (Allen) and Gwen (a comedically chesty Weaver) through the needlessly dangerous bowels of a ship that has been exhaustively replicated to look and function just like the one they piloted on the show.)

This light-fingered approach extends to other aspects of the story and somewhat inhibits the strength of the film's parodic riffs on "Star Trek". Granted, at this point, satirical jabs at James T. Kirk and company are about as relevant as "The Flintstones", which is why caustic wit is necessary for them to have any impact. Consider Allen's character, whom writers David Howard and Robert Gordon take great pains to establish as the Shatner figure--despised by fellow cast members, Jason is dismissed behind his back as vain, selfish, and publicity hungry. While Allen naturally conveys those attributes, in our presence Jason is rarely less than generous and easily humbled; the filmmakers obviously recognize Shatner's divo reputation, but they preferred to make nicey-nice.

A perusal of the Galaxy Quest DVD's deleted scenes section reveals that a plethora of good jokes aimed squarely at the world of television SF were dropped in post-production, perhaps due to their sophistication. We can't have too much inside humour getting in the way of the high-concept now, can we? Despite these grievances (plus one I haven't mentioned, the Screenwriting 101 climax, infuriating in its forced symmetry), the film is richly entertaining on its own cute terms, and the performances are astounding in their professionalism. But the spark of genius is definitely absent.

While in cinemas the projected aspect ratio shifted from 1.85:1 to 2.35:1 once Jason arrived in outer space (to emphasize the vastness of the universe compared to his tunnel-vision existence on Earth), the image on this disc begins at 2.35:1 (well, after a 1.33:1 snippet of "Galaxy Quest" the series) and stays that way--I realize it's a gimmick that works better on the big screen, but the purist in me would prefer a home video presentation as close to the theatrical experience as possible. The 16x9-enhanced master itself leaves little room for complaint, another showpiece from DreamWorks. In terms of colour and contrast, sharpness and detail, Galaxy Quest stacks up favourably against Paramount's best Trek transfers, namely First Contact and Insurrection.

Apart from lacking the deepest bass, the 5.1 Dolby Digital track is (inter?)stellar, a full-throttle surround experience. (A DTS version is also available.) A jaunt through a minefield and Jason's mano a mano with a rock monster are two highlights of this clear, controlled mix. As a special bonus, a unique listening option: the entire film dubbed into Thermian! An interesting feature, to be sure, but a little of the poorly synched screeching goes a long way.

Though not a "Signature Selection" (DreamWorks' collector's edition label), Galaxy Quest includes far more supplemental material than their last release, The Haunting (which actually was a Signature title). First up is an agreeable, soundbite-packed 10-minute featurette. Next, the excerpts "from the cutting room floor." (See above comments.) A "Sneak Previews" link takes us to anamorphically enhanced, 5.1'd trailers for Chicken Run, The Road to El Dorado, and Road Trip (is there any escaping the so unfunny he's actually unfunny Tom Green?). Rounding out this non-SE are a Galaxy Quest trailer, nine video interviews with various cast and crew members (contained in the bios section), and a puzzling "Omega 13" animation that cannot be viewed until you've watched Galaxy Quest front-to-back.-Bill Chambers