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 1998 to 2001, and a movie of the same name, released in 2004. The second movie, Dans une galaxie près de chez vous 2, has been released on April 18, 2008. It is a humorous sci-fi parody.

The series chronicles the long, futuristic voyage of a team of Québécois space explorers who ventures outside their own galaxy, looking for a planet capable of sustaining life for all humankind, in the year 2034, after the destruction of the ozone layer through excessive human pollution, prompting the need to find a new planet Earth. The few habitable planets encountered are ultimately abandoned either because they are already occupied (emphasizing the wrongdoing of invading other civilizations and cultures), or because upon closer inspection they are found to have other problems (cow-sized mosquitoes, high radiation levels, dog overpopulation, unsuitable living environment, ...).

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, 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 (Like 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 starship, christened Romano Fafard, is led by Captain Charles Patenaude (played by Guy Jodoin), a presumptuous but endearing man prone to making pompous, solemn declarations (with a knack for screwing up when saying proverbs or quoting philosophers). Other members include: Flavien Bouchard (Claude Legault), the radar operator who possesses heightened senses and is in desperate search for his dad (it is learned in the last season that his dad is an alien), Bob Dieudonné Marcellin (Didier Lucien), a black chubby pilot who is best friends with Flavien and who obsesses over two things: food and Petrolia Staneslavsky (Mélanie Ménard). Petrolia is a half-Russian space orphan whose inventiveness seems to cause just as many problems as it solves. She is in a relationship with Flavien. Serge (Réal Bossé) is a humanoid robot Petrolia created, stricken with multiple personalities and abilities who is constantly falling in disrepair. Valence Leclerc (Isabelle Brossard first season and Sylvie Moreau subsequent seasons) is the ship's psychologist but assumes all medical functions as well. She and the captain are secretly in love. Brad Spitfire (Stéphane Crête), the resident scientist, is cause for most of the plot conflicts and complications. His main objective is to become captain. He is anti-social, power-hungry, egotistic, Machiavellian and incredibly weak and sensitive, though generally not of other's feelings. Despite these, actor Stéphane Crête makes Brad one of the series' most amusing and lovable characters.

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