Will We Ever See The 1990s Star Trek Aesthetic Again? Or Hear that “humm” Sound When No One Speaks?

[The Wormhole]

Clothing was another shocking low for Trek in the 80s and 90s. The leisurewear was atrocious. Seems everyone loved a one piece jumpsuit type thing in the off hours.

Civilian clothes in 90s Trek was the worst! But the part that always got me is there are fans who stand by those outfits as the way sci-fi clothes should be. Like when Nu BSG came out everyone whined about how those characters wearing suits and ties was unimaginative, or now everyone's saying something similar about the characters on Picard wearing "outfits from JC Penny." Because apparently poor fitting jumpsuits is the only thing that can be considered "imaginative"?

 

[cooleddie74]

Chekov's jacket in TSFS has to be the worst. I mean, the unitards and jumpsuits on 23rd and 24th century civilians can be really cheesy but Chekov's Star Trek III clothes are so bad that even cocaine won't have anything to do with it.

 

[Tuskin38]

One of the worse times for me was in Voyager's fourth season when the crew is getting letters from home for the first time. Neelix is going around the ship acting as the postman to deliver PADDs to everyone with their letter on it. Because everyone just doesn't have their own e-mail account the letter could be sent to?

Runner up would be Dark Frontier where Seven of Nine's parents' logs are kept on something like two dozen PADDS stored in a crate. Those logs should be stored in the ship's database that can be accessed from a single PADD.

I think TNG (or one of the TNG movies) did the same thing. Maybe even DS9.

 

[fireproof78]

Chekov's jacket in TSFS has to be the worst. I mean, the unitards and jumpsuits on 23rd and 24th century civilians can be really cheesy but Chekov's Star Trek III clothes are so bad that even cocaine won't have anything to do with it.

Of course not.

That's an LSD or peyote outfit.

 

[cooleddie74]

Pretty sure even acid has standards.

 

[The Wormhole]

I think TNG (or one of the TNG movies) did the same thing. Maybe even DS9.

I know Insurrection had stacks of PADDs piled up on Picard's desk to represent all the paperwork he was swamped with. Which, yeah, was just as stupid.

 

[NCC-73515]

One of the worse times for me was in Voyager's fourth season when the crew is getting letters from home for the first time. Neelix is going around the ship acting as the postman to deliver PADDs to everyone with their letter on it. Because everyone just doesn't have their own e-mail account the letter could be sent to?

Runner up would be Dark Frontier where Seven of Nine's parents' logs are kept on something like two dozen PADDS stored in a crate. Those logs should be stored in the ship's database that can be accessed from a single PADD.

It's like sound in space - conveying the impression that it's a lot, and giving the actors props to carry around and exchange...

 

[fireproof78]

Sound in space works. Stacks of PADDs looks inefficient and wasteful.

 

[Weyoun 251]

Sound in space works. Stacks of PADDs looks inefficient and wasteful.

We are already moving towards a paperless society - Trek PADDs are just like folders really.

Company I work for its literally a laptop, spare screen and a keyboard if you want one and we can do the entire job without anything else on our desks.

If the PADDs were at least modelled to be majority screen and look to be multi use then you'd call then an extension of the iPad but right now they are less advanced the a 1st gen iPod.

Been paying closer attention of late and have really noticed how useless LCARS is - the buttons don't appear to give feedback, or correlate to what the typist is doing (often times they aren't even pressing where the eventual buttons are) and seem so limited in scope.

Come to think of it, the Dominion headsets in DS9 actually work for me. I could imagine them as an advancement on modern VR tech and they genuinely feel futuristic in a way

 

[fireproof78]

We are already moving towards a paperless society - Trek PADDs are just like folders really.

Company I work for its literally a laptop, spare screen and a keyboard if you want one and we can do the entire job without anything else on our desks.

If the PADDs were at least modelled to be majority screen and look to be multi use then you'd call then an extension of the iPad but right now they are less advanced the a 1st gen iPod.

Been paying closer attention of late and have really noticed how useless LCARS is - the buttons don't appear to give feedback, or correlate to what the typist is doing (often times they aren't even pressing where the eventual buttons are) and seem so limited in scope.

LCARS will forever be the head scratcher for me. I have played RPGs in the post DS9 era for several years now and trying to sort how LCARS works. It definitely strikes me as rather odd layout at times and I'm not sure I find it very useful.

 

[mdtauk]

LCARS will forever be the head scratcher for me. I have played RPGs in the post DS9 era for several years now and trying to sort how LCARS works. It definitely strikes me as rather odd layout at times and I'm not sure I find it very useful.

It wasn't designed to be fully functional - only to be recognisable as Starfleet technology so it serves as a visual shorthand for friendly ships, and Starfleet props etc.

 

[fireproof78]

It wasn't designed to be fully functional - only to be recognisable as Starfleet technology so it serves as a visual shorthand for friendly ships, and Starfleet props etc.

And that's all well and good but it doesn't scream "Advanced technology" or "The Future" (trademark pending).

 

[mdtauk]

And that's all well and good but it doesn't scream "Advanced technology" or "The Future" (trademark pending).

It did in 1987 - and was until Microsoft brought out Windows Phone, and introduced "Flat Design" to UIs

 

[cooleddie74]

Even in TOS officers had just one clipboard PADD to read information from or one of those handheld screens that looked like chunkier PADDs.

 

[fireproof78]

It did in 1987 - and was until Microsoft brought out Windows Phone, and introduced "Flat Design" to UIs

Good for 1987. By the time I watched it in 94 it meant very little.

 

[Mudd]

And that's all well and good but it doesn't scream "Advanced technology" or "The Future" (trademark pending).

It did.

Nothing about STD screams anything but "producers with money to burn," and the future tech looked dated when it was introduced.

"Holograms."

 

[thribs]

I assume so. Lower Decks was close. I’d rather see the actual TOS look for SNW

 

[fireproof78]

It did.

Nothing about STD screams anything but "producers with money to burn," and the future tech looked dated when it was introduced.

"Holograms."

Give me holograms over suicide by beige or graphically obtuse displays.

No, I never bought TNG as futuristic. I'm sure many did think so. I trust they will produce the beige future everyone is craving.

I assume so. Lower Decks was close. I’d rather see the actual TOS look for SNW

I'd rather see any look but TNG.

 

[BK613]

This is what computer interfaces looked like in the early 90s:
Apple System 7.1
Windows 3.11
LCARS sure the hell looks futuristic compared to that

 

[F. King Daniel]

TNG/VOY LCARS looks like some kind of touchscreen DOS