Dans une galaxie près de chez vous
 |
Dans une galaxie près de chez vous (English: In a galaxy near you) is a Quebec French language television series that aired on Canal Famille (later Vrak.TV) from January 25, 1999 to November 25, 2001, and a movie of the same name, released in 2004. The second movie, Dans une galaxie près de chez vous 2, was released in April 2008. There have been rumours of a third movie since 2016, but no official announcements have been made. It is a humorous sci-fi parody.
Television show
Synopsis
The series chronicles the long, futuristic voyage of a team of
Using the classic sitcom style, the characters' interactions drive the main plot in the same recurring spaceship sets (the bridge, dormitories, medical room, hallways). Occasionally, scenes are shot outside of the ship on alien planets being explored; these generic alien-world scenes tend to be shot in-studio. The satirical humor of the show is heightened by playing on the fact that the characters themselves recognize the farfetchedness of the universe in which they live and much of the series' comic relief is derived from the look and feel of low-budget set (an alien is obviously a human only painted green, gadgets are recognizable objects, etc.). The script, written by Claude Legault who also plays Flavien, and Pierre-Yves Bernard, plays a lot on clichés of all types, word play (especially Quebec slang), parodies and sketch comedy. A lot of the comedy is also based on the group's dynamics and reactions to certain events, such as the entire crew turning their heads in the same direction every time the captain says the word "mission". Many aspects of the show reflect Québécois culture; some scenes involve a complete picture of traditional Quebec.
The
The show evolved greatly between the first and last season. In the first episode of the second season, two characters disappeared: Falbo Gotta (Paul Ahmarani), the ship's mercenary and protector, and Mirabella Romario (Pascale Montpetit), the ship's doctor who turned out to be a criminal who faked her way to employment on the ship in order to run away from the world police. It is after being finally revealed as an impostor that Mirabella left the ship, followed by Falbo who got lost looking for her. Not long after their departure, Petrolia and Serge were found and filled in their spots. It is revealed in a later episode that Falbo and Mirabella have survived and are living peacefully on the planet they were left on.
Background
The series is a parody of science-fiction works like Star Trek or Red Dwarf and often dealt with environmentalism, humanitarianism, pacifism and ethics. Most members of the team subscribe to these noble morals, with the notable exception of Brad Spitfire.
The title translates to In a galaxy near you, a pun on the classic cinema advertising line Coming to a theatre near you. It was initially set to be broadcast on a mainstream network under the name Vadrouille de l'espace. Patrouille du cosmos (Space Patrol) is the
Movie
A movie of the same title and premise was released in 2004. It proved to be a hit with younger and older viewers, and drew unanticipatedly good reviews from intellectual critics. It was also groundbreaking for its impressive special effects accomplished with a small budget and a short filming time, and for being one of the few sci-fi Quebec films, along with In the Belly of the Dragon (Dans le ventre du dragon). The second "Galaxie" movie, "Dans une galaxie près de chez vous 2", was released to theatres on April 18, 2008. A third chapter of "Galaxie" was planned; however, only very little information about it has been made public.
See also
- List of Quebec television series
- List of Quebec movies
- Television of Quebec
- Cinema of Quebec
- Culture of Quebec
- Science fiction on television
- Science fiction
