GQ Insignia

GALAXY QUEST
Reconstructing GQ: Backstory Ideas


by Dalton S. Spence


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Created: Wed, 16 Feb 2000, 00:51:24 -0500 (EST)
Last Updated: Monday, 30-Aug-2004 14:54:19 EDT

This post was originally going to be about the political structures of the GQ universe, but my train of thought got seriously derailed when I tried to factor in all the data from the movie, the book and the GQ faux fan website at <http://www.galaxyquest.com/galaxyquest;>. GQ has been likened to Star Trek, but was it really so similar? There are a few hints that the backstory may have been so radically different that the show might not even be set in the future!

  1. The National Space Exploration Administration: Why would the space exploration organization of an interstellar (or even a planetary) government use the term "National" in its title? There is not even a hint to which nation runs this outfit.
  2. The Galactic Peace Accord: An "accord" is an agreement, not a government. This indicates that each world and system operates independantly under its own goverment (and is defended by its own military), using the protocols of the Accord as rules to deal with the other signatories. The enforcement of protocols remains a matter of enlightened self interest; if one member ignores a request for aid or mutual defense or violates the Accord in any other way (eg. supporting another violater), they in turn will be ignored when they ask for help. (An agreement of this kind is inherently fragile, providing the Protector with many mission opportunities.)
  3. As naive as the Thermians were, they would have surely noticed the dicotomy between the tech level indicated by the "historical documents" and that exhibited by the Earth, particularly if the dates varied a great deal.
  4. According to the episode summaries on the GQ faux fan website (see introduction), at least one season was devoid of any time travel missions to Earth's twentieth century. This is definitely not true of the original Star Trek series, which had at least one time travel mission per season.

My conclusion: Galaxy Quest was actually set in the present day, with the NSEA being a organization along the lines of the MiB using advanced technology borrowed from extraterrestrial sources to explore the galaxy and protect the Earth. If the GPA prohibited the use of such advanced technology only on the planet's surface, the NSEA could still work if they left all their ultra-tech gizmoes in space. This is why GQ was the show the Thermians choose to emulate; the shows set in the future must be training simulations used to resolve hypothetical problems long before they might occur, while the GQ mission documents were the NSEA's way of keeping the American public informed until the program was (for economic or political reasons) cancelled.

If I missed anything, please let me know by sending any comments and/or rebuttals to the list for further discussion. Thank you.

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