The costumes in the 1980 TV movie version of Brave New World strongly resemble those of TMP. Both were produced around the same time and show the same 1970s futurist sensibility.
The sets looked good, and considering just how long parts of that set was recycled into the Berman era, I think they would have worked just fine on a television show for many seasons (apart from the usual wear and tear of filming) The costumes.. no. They didn't work well on the big screen, though clearly some like them, but on the small grainy antenna-provided images of era.. just no. Theiss had it right, going back to bold colors for TNG. It's what audiences expected from a TV show and it worked.
I'm in agreement that the gray/steel aesthetic was off-putting but perhaps the corridor light panels along the floor and ceiling could have provided a sense of warmth. Frankly the orange panels used in corridor scene between Ilia and Decker hint at how effective color could be to designate the function of that part of the ship, especially for areas designated as living quarters. One of the smart things the set designers of Space:1999 did was make the wall panels change color to reflect time of day/mood/function. When all you can see out your window is the gray landscape of the moon, the lighted panels provided some warmth, even a feeling of coziness in areas.
Someone may have said this already, but since TNG used altered versions of those same sets, that it at at least one look that a TV show using those designs as a basis. Since Voyager's sets were built in the same places using the same basic structure in some cases, it could serve as such an example to a lesser extent, as well. Sickbay barely changed in appearance on the 1701-refit, 1701B, 1701D and 1701E, as well as the Intrepid class. It seems odd that Captain Garret would say she had never seen a sickbay like that one before, when she wakes up on the Enterprise-D. I don't see why 1701C would have had all that different looking a sickbay
And THAT was the magic of Star Trek; what's on screen used to open the gateways of imagination. Things didn't have to always be defined from a 20th century point of view. Like Warp Speed and those Propulsion Nacelle Engine Units, we know what it does but the dynamics were a mystery because we shouldn't have a clue -- IT'S FUTURISTIC. Its simply a dumbass of the day moment, clearly bad writing on that one. It's like a person who's been in a hospital and travels into the future and enters a hospital and is clueless of the foundations of what a hospital looks like??? I agree with you. Please try to remember, when TMP was in pre-production the creators were THINKING FORWARD, leaving what was in the past. There will be elements in the project presented that was supposed to feel unrelated to a 20th Century mindset. That's what science fiction was supposed to be about. Glad TMP had the guts to go there implementing a one piece.
From the perspective of the 18th, 19th and early 20th century some of our contemporary fashions would look truly bizarre. The costumes of TWOK-TUC don’t look futuristic—they look rather retro.
Agreed and not very Star Trek at all, but the longing magic from TWOK has lingered the favoritism of those subjective outfits.
It seems like TMP was trying to make something that looked like what a 23rd century person might expect, maybe even at the expense of the expectations 20th century time in which it was made. Supposing that some future material was used that was easier to get on and off, I could see them as more comfortable. I could see the way that some fabrics are worn today, not too different from the way they "looked" onscreen like Troi's or Seven of Nine's outfits, could look uncomfortably tight to someone in a past time who did not know about them...we know in real life that these garment could be uncomfortable on the actress when they show was mad,e but now we have stuff that looks similar but supposedly is more tolerable. Yet another reason to be disappointed with that series from 2001. Is this to support the theory that V'Ger was assimilated by the Borg? I believe that the area behind the glass next to the war core on TNG was supposed to be Geordi's "office."
The set was never expected to remain standing for decades. It created a record in Hollywood for an indoor standing set. The support struts were full of wood rot.
I'm guessing that the layout may have been the same, but - especially to those in the know - the tech was obviously much more advanced.
Yeah, I figure it like If a doctor jumped in time from the 1990s to today. Even if they went to the same hospital they worked in then; the structure of the building would probably be the same, but the fixtures, fittings, technology, would probably stand out as "unlike any hospital I've ever seen." dJE
William Ware Theiss, who designed the uniforms of TOS and TNG, felt clothing was evolving toward a less structured look: I think he was right. Just look at how clothing has developed since the 1960s. It's why I think the uniforms of TMP are much more believable than those of TWOK-TUC.
The clothes of TWOK to TNG don't look very futuristic at all. I will always find it ironic that the TMP uniforms look, by far, the most comfortable of Trek uniforms but were, in reality, among the most uncomfortable to wear. Movie magic, I guess.
Not the best fabric (spandex) as it caused pain... it's also very difficult to remove various bouquets and odors from said synthetic fabric, so it must have been a real joy to walk past the set and take a big whiff after 6PM... (...thank sweat-wicking... if there's any consolation, they're flame-retardant so there's no "Flambé de stunt double" anywhere... again, that sweat wicking comes mighty in handy some of the time... )
Many alien species do not see in colour and/or in the 'visible' spectrum. They will probably be fine. They have plastic armour.
I'm just glad the original Battlestar Galactica kept to the then-trendy "padded deep browns, beiges, and blues". Disco turned the world into pastel puke... I blame Buck Rogers (1979) for introducing the spandex nightmares, though at least few were... pastel *shudder*...