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FILMTRACKS.COM
PRINTER-FRIENDLY VIEW 
Review of Galaxy Quest (David Newman)
FILMTRACKS RECOMMENDS:
Buy it... if you can't resist a really good parody score,
especially one of the very few that takes effective aim at the science
fiction genre.
Avoid it... if the bright and overly enthusiastic style of David Newman's parody writing lacks the resounding depth and power necessary to make such music worthy of a standalone listening experience.
FILMTRACKS EDITORIAL REVIEW:
Galaxy Quest: (David Newman) With so many science
fiction franchises in existence, it seems strange to ponder that there
was only one competent attempt by a major studio to launch a parody of
the genre in the early digital era. When Galaxy Quest stuck its
tongue out at sci-fi fanatics in 1999, those fans generally accepted its
humor with open arms. While most of the jokes in the Dreamworks film
will fly over the heads of viewers not familiar with the "Star Trek"
universe, the chemistry of its own cast of starship officers is
entertaining enough to make Galaxy Quest a worthy standalone
comedy adventure. With the "Star Trek" universe directly in its sights,
the script of Galaxy Quest follows the possibility that aliens
from another planet mistaken the old Earth-originating television series
of "Galaxy Quest" to be real, and in an effort to help them fight off an
alien race, they build the starship they see in the show and kidnap the
real life actors to operate it in their favor. Those washed up actors
are forced to remember how to play their roles in order to run the ship
and in turn survive. By no means washed up was composer David Newman,
who had not been integral to the science fiction universe in the 1990's
but who had proven himself capable of producing large scale parody
scores with ease. The choice of Newman for the assignment was welcome to
score fans who had seen the composer languish with failed mainstream
opportunities for several years. While Galaxy Quest fit squarely
into the parody and general comedy genres that Newman has used before
and after to sustain his career, it was an opportunity to extend those
talents into a more robust, blockbuster atmosphere. The assignment was
seemingly destined to be a John Debney project, for he had been involved
both with "Star Trek" scoring and extensive parody work, though Newman
had his own peripheral connections to the franchise (having conducted
for James Horner very early in his career) and produces a score that
would very likely have resulted from Debney's involvement anyway.
Ultimately, Newman's balance of heroics, awe, and comedy in Galaxy
Quest yielded nearly universal praise and affection from film score
critics, though with the film unfortunately fading quickly into the
realm of funny has-been's, that success, despite leading to a few
subsequent sci-fi assignments, never assisted Newman in reaching towards
a career with more mainstream recognition.
The greatest aspect of Newman's success with Galaxy Quest is his ability to walk the fine line between the cheesy old scores of classic sci-fi shows and beefier expectations of modern ventures into the genre. At once, the score for Galaxy Quest can embody the trite and overblown aspects of those older identities while also providing more of the depth and complexity necessary to meet current expectations. The resulting combination addresses both basic needs to such an extent that you end up hearing what amounts to a massive parody work, the likes of which Debney also tried to create in the 1990's and beyond. The basis for Newman's work is the "Classic TV Theme" that he conjures with skill at the outset of the film, a bouncy piece with a heroic heart but only the force of a couple of brass instruments and perhaps a dozen string players. Tedious as this piece may be in its "original" form, Newman works wonders with it throughout the remainder of the score. As the screen actors are presented with their real life starship, Newman develops the theme for a full ensemble and the light female choir typical to his career (and overdubbed here). The dynamic orchestral variants of the title theme occupy most of the action pieces in Galaxy Quest, with a few of the more anonymous cues mirroring the style he followed for his Bill and Ted parody efforts. Newman throws a few bones at enthusiasts of "Star Trek" music, with a Blaster Beam mirroring Jerry Goldsmith's usage in "Red Thingie, Green Thingie" and a combination of tingling synthetic effects and percussion for the evil Sarris alien character that offer some hints of both Goldsmith and James Horner's treatment of Klingons. The overt connections to "Star Trek" music largely stop there, however, allowing Galaxy Quest to hold its own court. A few temp-track influences appear in places, including some of David Arnold's Stargate at the outset of "Shuttle to Planet," percussive effects from Brad Fiedel's The Terminator in "Sarris Kills Everybody," snare rips and string motifs in the "Crew Quarters" and "The Launch" cues that resemble equivalents from Horner's Apollo 13, a brief but obvious tribute to Richard Strauss in "Revealing the Universe," and, perhaps the most odd of all, Newman's own theme for The Phantom opening "The Battle" and heard again later in the same cue. Likely an inadvertent statement of John Williams' theme for Yoda makes a splash near the beginning of "The N.S.E.A. Protector." Of all these references, the most true parody comes with the adapted use of Goldsmith's synthetic effects, also evident very strongly in "The Battle." When looking back at Galaxy Quest, there are stylistic connections that can be made to the serious science fiction score that Newman would provide for Serenity several years later, a score that turned out to be yet another failed stab at mainstream success for the composer. In both efforts, the main drawback of Newman's writing resides in the lack of depth in his recordings. The compositions themselves are intelligent, with extremely effective use of major and minor key alterations to the title themes, and you can't say that Galaxy Quest lacks character. While the lack of depth and resounding power in Galaxy Quest may have suited the score's parody needs quite well, several subsequent scores from Newman, including Serenity, suggest that this style is simply inherent in the composer's writing. This lack of gravity may explain why Newman didn't bust into the mainstream during the era of Hans Zimmer muscularity, and, for some listeners, may also explain why Galaxy Quest is a praiseworthy score without being a readily enjoyable one for repeat listening. The attitude of the score is just so positive in character and rooted in the treble region (especially with the extensive role for trumpet) that it can potentially irritate despite its strengths. A deeper, mixed choir would have assisted Galaxy Quest considerably (especially in the symphonic and choral culmination of the title theme in "Goodbye Sarris/Happy Ending"), but might have defeated the purpose of the innocence associated with the characters on screen. Overall, Galaxy Quest is a perfect match for its film, and while it's good for an occasional, breezy listen on album, it's a score that doesn't play as well when separated from the film's context. Like many of Newman's scores, no commercial album release was forthcoming in 1999 (despite the film's success), so a SuperTracks promotional release was arranged the following year and sold through soundtrack specialty outlets for just slightly more than a regular retail product. With 50 minutes on over 30 tracks, the presentation of the score is outstanding, though the middle portions do hinder the strong flow of the early discovery tracks and later battle cues. These cues were condensed on a limited 2012 La-La Land Records album that features a few minutes of additional material sprinkled throughout (and an awful 1980's rock version of the main theme hidden at the end). Those who own the promo will have no real need to explore the 2012 product. It's easy to have a soft spot for Galaxy Quest because Newman hit the nail so squarely in the head, but on either album, you can never quite escape the swirling parody elements that make the score such an overly bright, hyperactive experience. ****
TRACK LISTINGS:
2000 Promo Album:
Total Time: 49:49
2012 La-La Land Album: Total Time: 54:00
NOTES & QUOTES:
The insert of the 2000 promotional album includes no extra information
about the score or film. That of the 2012 La-La Land album features notes about
both, as well as corrected cue titles.
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The reviews and other textual content contained on the filmtracks.com site may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the prior written authority of Christian Clemmensen at Filmtracks Publications. All artwork and sound clips from Galaxy Quest are Copyright © 2000, 2012, SuperTracks (Promotional), La-La Land Records and cannot be redistributed without the label's expressed written consent. Page created 1/16/00 and last updated 4/26/12. |
