uniform change

[Gregzula813]

I don't know the answer to this one so if anyone could share some light on this....

When DS9 started they had TNG uniforms as did Voyager. Why the change in uniforms a few seasons later?? Off the top of my head I can't remember if the change happened inbetween the TNG movies. Also why didn't Voyager have the uniform change when regular contact with the federation was established??

Kinda a dumb question but I'm curious none the less.

 

[Sci]

I don't know the answer to this one so if anyone could share some light on this....

When DS9 started they had TNG uniforms as did Voyager. Why the change in uniforms a few seasons later??

In-universe, because the entire Federation Starfleet changed uniform designs. Out-universe, they wanted new Starfleet uniforms for Star Trek: First Contact, that would be more cinematic. After they debuted in Star Trek: First Contact, they were added to Star Trek: Deep Space Nine.

Also why didn't Voyager have the uniform change when regular contact with the federation was established??

In-universe, probably to conserve replicator rations and/or to help rally the Voyager crew with a sense of their own accomplishments as a crew. (Also because 1/3rd of the Voyager crew were actually Maquis, not legit Starfleet officers.) Out-universe, probably because they wanted VOY to have its own unique visual look to set it apart from DS9.

 

[BDJ]

In the "real" world it was simply done, as all the uniform changes were done...to sell action figures and dolls. I saw an interview with one of the production guys several years back and that's what he said anyway. The change from Trek I to II was really needed. Next Gen changed a little by adding the collar in season II. But then after that the costumes changed simply to keep that lucrative licensing agreement for action figures coming in!

 

[The Librarian]

In the "real" world it was simply done, as all the uniform changes were done...to sell action figures and dolls. I saw an interview with one of the production guys several years back and that's what he said anyway. The change from Trek I to II was really needed. Next Gen changed a little by adding the collar in season II. But then after that the costumes changed simply to keep that lucrative licensing agreement for action figures coming in!

Yeah, it's all about the action figures, not the fact that the TNG uniforms looked like crap on the big screen.

 

[FalTorPan]

The TNG uniforms looked okay to me in Generations.

 

[The Wormhole]

I have heard the action figure excuse used before. It sounds so stupid it has to be true.

 

[Arpy]

But why not change them on VOY too and get even more figures out of it? I think maybe the uniforms don't film well on tv. They looked a lot better in FC than DS9. Maybe they would have looked even worse the way they shot VOY. The TNG/DS9 uniforms looked awful in GEN too.

 

[SoM]

In the "real" world it was simply done, as all the uniform changes were done...to sell action figures and dolls....Next Gen changed a little by adding the collar in season II.

Patrick Stewart's chiropractor made them change the TNG uniforms, since the one-piece spandex (a size too small to keep them tight) were doing serious damage to his back. So they changed to two-piece uniforms for S3 that didn't cause those problems.

 

[doubleohfive]

I'm theorizing here. I've always generally accepted that this is what went down.

-Nick Meyer has said on several occasions that he was the driving force behind changing the uniforms in The Wrath of Khan. He didn't like the The Motion Picture versions and also wanted a more naval like approach to the uniforms for his film. That the succeeding films continued using them is likely a combination of cost-cutting measures and general acceptance of the uniforms as, well, acceptable.

-The original Next Generation jumpsuits changed to the newer, two-piece versions (for the men, anyway) largely because of physical comfort issues. Stewart reportedly had back pains from wearing the jumpsuits day in and out, and they were not easy to cool down in while under hot studio lighting rigs for hours on end.

The switch from the Deep Space Nine/Voyager uniform to the First Contact style uniforms, I think, was done for fairly practical purposes -- to supply Voyager with much-needed wardrobe for it's on screen extras and background performers. Utilizing the feature film budget of First Contact would then be the obvious choice to supplement such a switch and then relay all the background wardrobe from that film to DS9 -- though it's painfully obvious how poorly planned the "switch" was handled in the first episode the First Contact uniforms appear on DS9 -- you have TNG uniforms, the TNG/early DS9 admiral's tunic, regular DS9 uniforms and the new FC uniforms all appearing at one point or another. Yeesh!

The same thing happened with all the Borg makeup, prosthetics, wardrobe and sets after First Contact - Suddenly, Voyager found itself in Borg territory. Likewise, after Nemesis, suddenly the Reman wardrobe was being repurposed as Xindi-Reptilian outfits and then later all the Romulan clothing and apparel showed up in the Romulan-centric stories we got in year four.

I've heard it was all done to sell more action figures, but the fact of the matter is anyone who paid attention to the show could have come up with line after line of action figures without the uniform changes, so it strikes me as unlikely that this is the ONLY reason the changes were made.

If you want to get hung up on 'why' in the Star Trek universe, I look at it as TNG uniforms being 'starship-duty' attire, while DS9/Voyager uniforms are for station-based personnel. The shows, unfortunately weren't entirely consistent, but I don't tend to worry about that much.

 

[zar]

If you want to get hung up on 'why' in the ST universe, I look at it as TNG uniforms being 'starship-duty' attire, while DS9/Voyager uniforms are for station-based personnel. The shows, unfortunately weren't entirely consistent, but I don't tend to worry about that much.

What was inconsistent? Every ship and station were shown to have updated to the FC uniforms after they appeared.

 

[doubleohfive]

By inconsistent, I only meant in regard to my personal theory and I was referring to the pre-FC uniform era. DS9 having the "station" uniforms vs. Voyager having them also, instead of the TNG uniforms.

 

[zar]

Google beta tests software updates by automatically rolling out the changes to only a few random users at first, to minimize the number of people who are pissed off if it turns out to be a bad idea.

Maybe Starfleet does the same thing with uniforms - they get uploaded randomly across the fleet to a select few unlucky officers' replicators, who then have to endure stares from their commonly-dressed colleagues for a month or two before the update goes live.

 

[The Wormhole]

Utilizing the feature film budget of First Contact would then be the obvious choice to supplement such a switch and then relay all the background wardrobe from that film to DS9 -- though it's painfully obvious how poorly planned the "switch" was handled in the first episode the First Contact uniforms appear on DS9 -- you have TNG uniforms, the TNG/early DS9 admiral's tunic, regular DS9 uniforms and the new FC uniforms all appearing at one point or another. Yeesh!

While it is true we continued to see officers wearing the TNG uniforms on DS9 after the switch to the gray-shouldered uniforms from FC the seasons 1-5 DS9 uniforms never appeared after the switch, with the exception of when we saw Dr. Bashir at the Dominion prison camp, but that was intentional to show he was captured before the switch.

A gray-shouldered Admiral's uniform wasn't even introduced until season 6's Behind the Lines. The design used since TNG's 6th season was used in previous DS9 season 5 episodes, and was even worn by Admiral Hayes in FC.

 

[Caesar753]

Also why didn't Voyager have the uniform change when regular contact with the federation was established??

See, I always thought that Voyager should have changed uniforms after they made contact with Starfleet. In my opinion it would have made the crew feel more in touch with Starfleet and home. I know it would have taken a bit of replicator power to create new uniforms, but the power rationing on Voyager changed with ever episode anyway, so what's the difference...

 

[sbk1234]

If you want to get hung up on 'why' in the Star Trek universe, I look at it as TNG uniforms being 'starship-duty' attire, while DS9/Voyager uniforms are for station-based personnel. The shows, unfortunately weren't entirely consistent, but I don't tend to worry about that much.

I always figured that too, until Voyager. Then I figured that there were several different designs of uniforms in Starfleet, and it was captain's discretion which uniform was used.

 

[Herkimer Jitty]

By inconsistent, I only meant in regard to my personal theory and I was referring to the pre-FC uniform era. DS9 having the "station" uniforms vs. Voyager having them also, instead of the TNG uniforms.

OR

The DS9 uniforms are a "Class B" uniform, and the TNG unis are a "Class A". It meshes better with their use on starship deployment, and the mixture seen in Generations.

 

[C.E. Evans]

I kind of look at the early DS9/VOY uniforms as being an interim design.

 

[Arpy]

I think they were the Class A/B uniforms till VOY when they went all B. Though, it IS kind of insulting to the Bajorans that they were Class B 24/7 while there, but the moment Sisko's back on Earth he breaks out the A.

 

[CaptainUBSPoseidon]

The(in-universe)reason for the TNG change from the jump suit to the two piece and then the collar was that Starfleet and the federation council wanted the crew of the flag ship to stand out.(out-universe, in regards to the Captain's jacket is producers wanted Stewart to stand apart from the rest of the cast.)(in-universe) The ds9/Gen uniforms is that Starfleet was instituting a uniform change, just like real-life militaries do. And the (out-universe) reason for the FC uniforms was that the producers wanted to give starfleet a militarized look to reflect the Borg/Dominion plot archs. Voyager retained the uniform simply because due their special circumstances, what uniform variant they wore they were still the only Starfleet crew in the Delta quadrant (with exception the Equinox, however for the same reason Ransom retained the standard uniform, especially it seems Starfleet command want even aware they were missing.)

 

[CaptainUBSPoseidon]

The(in-universe)reason for the TNG change from the jump suit to the two piece and then the collar was that Starfleet and the federation council wanted the crew of the flag ship to stand out.(out-universe, in regards to the Captain's jacket is producers wanted Stewart to stand apart from the rest of the cast.)(in-universe) The ds9/Gen uniforms is that Starfleet was instituting a uniform change, just like real-life militaries do. And the (out-universe) reason for the FC uniforms was that the producers wanted to give starfleet a militarized look to reflect the Borg/Dominion plot archs. Voyager retained the uniform simply because due their special circumstances, what uniform variant they wore they were still the only Starfleet crew in the Delta quadrant (with exception the Equinox, however for the same reason Ransom retained the standard uniform, especially it seems Starfleet command want even aware they were missing.)

*wasn't even...