'Historical Documents' Plot Hole
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philm94 — 14 years ago(March 06, 2012 06:45 AM)
I saw it as a nod to all those TOS episodes where budget constraints meant they visited a REMARKABLY earthlike planet every week.
There's even one (A piece of the action) where a developing world gets hold of a copy of a book detailing 1920s mob wars which forms the basis of their society. -
mam13143 — 13 years ago(July 01, 2012 06:20 PM)
Lol krisdobo - took the words out of my mouth. Sometimes we act like the "questies" at the opening convention in the film. Taking it all so serious. True there has to be some internal consistency and scientific logic - but it is always a movie. And this one is really a funny spoof.
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dm1499 — 14 years ago(March 12, 2012 08:45 PM)
I love this movie. Its one of my favorites. And I know its just comedy and not to be taken seriously, but one thing has always bothered me -
They learned all about the ship from the "historical documents" including the fuel source, which was the beryllium spheres. Taggart says in one part of the movie that the show's beryllium sphere is made of wire and plaster.
So, what are the odds that the Thermians can not only duplicate the entire ship including operation, but also locate real beryllium spheres that both look like the models AND can be used as a fuel source?
Just sayin'
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sorednax3 — 13 years ago(July 02, 2012 04:54 AM)
The real Beryllium spheres weren't created by the Thermians, but was a real element in our galaxy that helps to produce or store the energy needed to power a ship like nthat, and the Thermians call it Beryllium because it essentially held the same properties.
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DSo1976 — 13 years ago(August 21, 2012 12:25 PM)
I always thought about that.. It never bothered me (didn't detract from my viewing pleasure), but I always wondered how does a race of seeming simpletons build an intergalactic starship patterned after a TV show model, and then get it to work with something that's the same in appearance as a ball of wires and plaster, but coincidentally happens to fulfill the same function as what they say on TV.
"You're going to need a bigger boat." - Chief Brody -
mhlong — 13 years ago(September 12, 2012 07:08 AM)
All these lines of speculation are really funny. Galaxy Quest is not only a comedy, it's pure fantasy. Just because it has some trappings of what we think of as Earth circa 1999 doesn't mean it is. What it is NOT is an Historical Document. And picking it apart destroys the fantasy. You want a logic hole? - an out of this world space ship crashes into a convention center in the LA area and NOBODY NOTICES???????? Except it's enough to give our 'stars' a chance at a TV sequel? We're talking permament containment in Area 51 along with Ginormica, LINK, and Bob. Fantasy,people!!!
Park the 'logic' part of your brain at the door and just sit back and enjoy the ride. -
pushbutton2begin — 13 years ago(January 23, 2013 02:26 AM)
Maybe the cable company cut them off after a month of re-runs because they didn't pay the bill.
My own bet is that the Thermians might have caught a GQ weekend, maybe a Gilligans Island weekend as well, that let them see them in a short period of time.
Or maybe they found a really good torrent and downloaded the whole lot -
mosesglobe-544-963576 — 13 years ago(March 02, 2013 12:56 AM)
The Thermians might have understood the concept of "art" even if they didn't understand "theater". Cartoons are drawn images, "art", and might have been interpreted differently from a sitcom with real actors involved. In other words, they might have easily realized that the animated images of a cartoon were not "real" even though they couldn't comprehend the humor. In fact, this possible lack of comprehension might have caused them to largely ignore cartoons, like us looking at ancient Egyptian hieroglyphics.
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scubadivergeek — 12 years ago(December 15, 2013 10:07 AM)
For the record, the "Aliens pickup TV/radio signals from the past" wasn't unique to the Galaxy Quest universe. Back in the 70's, a British sci-fi series called The Tomorrow People had a group of aliens who based their knowledge of Earth on watching westerns, hence the aliens dressed in cowboy/cowgirl duds and speak with bad accents in an attempt to behave like escapees from Gunsmoke or The Rifleman or whatever.
And in the 80's, I can't remember if it was an Amazing Stories or an episode of the revived Twilight Zone (the one with the Grateful Dead theme music), but there was one where teenagers manage to pick up transmissions from a planet where every TV show is a knock off a classic 50's sitcom. They even recreate the closing "epilogue" comedy bits that George Burns and Gracie Allen would tack onto the end of episodes of their show. They then find out that the aliens have sent emissaries to Earth to find some of the performers from the shows so they can provide them with new material.
And there's probably other examples besides that.
And as a side note, back around 1999-2000, there was a rock group called Star People, who presented themselves as extraterrestrials who came from a planet that worships The Rat Pack as gods. I think the explanation is that TV and radio broadcasts of Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, etc had fallen into a black hole, which then redistributed them throughout time and space. Hence, on their planet, the transmissions were received centuries ago and thus a whole civilization was built on it. Interestingly, they were very much a progressive rock group, but the entire band appeared on stage looking like a wedding band, and the two singers would do the whole Sinatra/Rat Pack "swagger" routine, including making and drink cocktails onstage, etc. Unfortunately, the band eventually broke up for various reasons. I subsequently saw the bass player perform with another group, and he told me the whole story about how they actually had a third album recorded but the whole thing collapsed before they mix and release it.
At any rate, everyone seems to have made the same mistake: how could they isolate and only pick up one specific program or genre of programs? How do aliens only get 1950's sitcoms, and not, let's say any of the TV programs of the era? Or was it simply that they didn't find any of the westerns, sci-fi or anything else interesting enough to totally plagiarize?