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The Cage Landing Party Jackets As TOS Uniforms

Riley

Commander
Red Shirt
I've always been a fan of the field jackets in "The Cage" and while watching "The Menagerie" recently, it occurred to me that they would have worked as part of the standard duty uniform with some tweaking. Either the jackets could have been in department colors with black or gray standard shirts, or they could have been a dark blue with the standard department colored shirts underneath. Either way, their inclusion would give the uniforms more of a military feel, which is not a terrible thing, IMO.

What do you think?

thecagehd0446.jpg
 
Sounds a little monster maroonish. Which I am not a fan of. Jackets are fine for landing parties ( as needed) but not for everyday shipboard wear. My dad was a 25 year USAF vet. Hardly ever wore a jacket unless the weather or situation required it.
That's a valid point, though the field jackets are lighter than the MMs and could be made even lighter if made part of the standard duty uniform.
 
I would have liked them to have had such jackets in the series.

The pilot jackets were made of foam-lined fabric with the foam facing outwards instead of facing inwards towards a lining and the foam fell apart from handling and dry cleaning. I suspect they simply didn't want to spend money to replace them with something more durable.
 
While I agree that having the jackets in TOS would have given the uniforms a more military feel, I personally disagree that that would've been good. Certainly Star Fleet performs martial functions when it needs to, but it's more than a military; and especially as the story-telling evolved and the idea that force was an absolute last resort took hold, it makes more and more sense that the uniforms don't look particularly martial.

Now, to my mid-90s-punk eyes, if they'd had bomber jackets (like the SNW ones), that would parse as more "cop" and less "soldier," and feel apropriate; but that's also clearly outerwear and wouldn't make any sense aboard ship. Also, I suspect that to people who remembered fighting in WW2 and Korea those jackets would have felt very military indeed.
 
Sounds a little monster maroonish. Which I am not a fan of. Jackets are fine for landing parties ( as needed) but not for everyday shipboard wear. My dad was a 25 year USAF vet. Hardly ever wore a jacket unless the weather or situation required it.
Starting with The Wrath of Khan, the uniforms got layered and warm for some reason. Turtleneck sweaters under vests under heavy wool jackets? Is this the Enterprise or Ice Station Zebra?

I think it peaked during an episode of Voyager when Janeway was "the last man standing" or some such, and she had a Rambo-like scene where she girds herself for battle and arms up. She starts by stripping off the layers of her (supposedly) everyday uniform, and the layers just keep coming! She finally gets down to a sleeveless muscle shirt if I recall.

There is no way the actors wore that many hidden layers of designer Starfleet wear all the time. It was one-time costuming and all for show.
 
I would have liked them to have had such jackets in the series.

The pilot jackets were made of foam-lined fabric with the foam facing outwards instead of facing inwards towards a lining and the foam fell apart from handling and dry cleaning. I suspect they simply didn't want to spend money to replace them with something more durable.
That foam-lined fabric was carpet padding!
 
I would have liked them to have had such jackets in the series.

The pilot jackets were made of foam-lined fabric with the foam facing outwards instead of facing inwards towards a lining and the foam fell apart from handling and dry cleaning. I suspect they simply didn't want to spend money to replace them with something more durable.
Wow! Did not know that. Thanks for sharing
 
I’ve always liked jackets. I used to wonder why the TNG-era uniforms seemed perfect for every environment. That scene on the icy planet where they found Hugh (the Borg)? Just watching it gives me chills. And not out of fear from getting assimilated.

I was really glad to see jackets make a comeback in Star Trek: Enterprise. I’m not totally sold on the design in the picture you posted, but jackets in general? Huge fan. I’m also glad Strange New Worlds brought them back.
 
Starting with The Wrath of Khan, the uniforms got layered and warm for some reason. Turtleneck sweaters under vests under heavy wool jackets? Is this the Enterprise or Ice Station Zebra?

I think it peaked during an episode of Voyager when Janeway was "the last man standing" or some such, and she had a Rambo-like scene where she girds herself for battle and arms up. She starts by stripping off the layers of her (supposedly) everyday uniform, and the layers just keep coming! She finally gets down to a sleeveless muscle shirt if I recall.

There is no way the actors wore that many hidden layers of designer Starfleet wear all the time. It was one-time costuming and all for show.
Avery Brooks had to wear four layers of uniform (jacket, vest, turtleneck, and undershirt) while filming the exteriors in DS9: "Rocks and Shoals." The weather was so hot during the shoot, they had stuntmen in Jem'Hadar outfits dropping from exhaustion and folks found the soles of their sneakers melting.

602-rocks-and-shoals-848.jpg

I can't even begin to imagine how much weight Avery lost sweating through all that shit.
 
Starting with The Wrath of Khan, the uniforms got layered and warm for some reason. Turtleneck sweaters under vests under heavy wool jackets? Is this the Enterprise or Ice Station Zebra?

I think it peaked during an episode of Voyager when Janeway was "the last man standing" or some such, and she had a Rambo-like scene where she girds herself for battle and arms up. She starts by stripping off the layers of her (supposedly) everyday uniform, and the layers just keep coming! She finally gets down to a sleeveless muscle shirt if I recall.

There is no way the actors wore that many hidden layers of designer Starfleet wear all the time. It was one-time costuming and all for show.

Voyager had air conditioning (albeit it had to compete with hot theatrical lights).

The cast of M*A*S*H had to wear heavy wool coats and pretend it was December in Korea when it was actually ninety degrees in L.A. in August! :eek:
 
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