Does anyone like TMP uniforms?

[tim0122]

It seems TMP uniforms aren't liked by too many fans. Despite liking Kirk and McCoy's uniform, I myself think TMP uniforms are the worst in Trek. But I wanted to see if there was anyone who generally loves them, and if so, why. TMP uniform lovers, let your voices be heard!

 

[STEPhon IT]

I loved the designs of the uniforms, I felt it was more practical for a 5 year mission than wearing Nick Meyers fleet uniforms from TWOK. The one exception to TMP uniforms were the color scheme; it should've incorporated the green, blue, and red colors from TOS. I felt the colors from the new bridge should've been similar to the series as well but the film had a very different tone from what I knew of Star Trek.

 

[drt]

Agreed with STEPhon IT, a bit of color would have improved them greatly. The aesthetic seemed much more like something future astronauts would wear, plus there was also a fair amount of thought in the design, such as no pins that could snag on equipment, etc.

 

[Kor]

I like the TMP uniforms precisely because they are at odds with contemporary sensibilities.

Our clothing would look bizarre to somebody living three or four hundred years ago, and clothing centuries from today should look just as bizarre to us.

The various TMP uniforms really do seem like something you would wear in some far-off era, in a controlled interior spaceship environment in a futuristic world in which everything is automated by computer and your clothes are beamed directly on and off you (as seen when the Ilia probe is introduced).

Aah yes, the good old days when science fiction was imaginative and had some scientific rationale.

Kor

 

[STEPhon IT]

Judging from the look and tone of the uniforms and the production design it seemed Roddenberry was inspired about 2001 A Space Odyssey. A galvanizing film.

 

[David cgc]

I think the uniforms are pretty good. I can't quite figure out the color scheme (is it white for enlisted, brown for yeomen, beige for junior officers and blue for senior officers?), and the one-piece jumpsuits are remarkably unflattering. The big pockets, the odd cuffs, the epaulets, what I will euphemistically refer to as "the tailoring." The other variants are all better-looking (and I like the variety in uniform types, something that's come back in the JJ-verse) and logical, something that hasn't always been the case with the other uniform designs (look at Generations and DS9 showing that the Captain's vest for the TWOK and FC uniforms were worn under the regular jackets, complete with a second badge).

 

[STEPhon IT]

Those First Contact uniforms didn't appear comfortable, not like TMP; the air conditioning had to be on blast in order to wear those things on duty all day.

 

[arch101]

I loved them in 1979, and I still love them. I especially love that there were several kinds of uniforms, so the crew didn't look like they were wearing the same clothes every day and in every situation. I realize that they were very uncomfortable for the actors, but, they looked comfortable and casual. Just the kind of thing I would expect an advanced society that had perfected space travel and put exploration ahead of military conquest to wear on their starship. The TWOK uniforms are WAY too formal and actually look hot and uncomfortable. And there were hardly any variants of it.

 

[2takesfrakes]

I love the uniforms Bob Fletcher designed for The Motion Picture. The variety, the muted colours, the sewn-on insignia ... even the belt buckle is great. I like how the pants have that interesting crease up the front, at the bottom of the leg, I'm not sure I've seen that elsewhere. The synthetic materials (polyester) had a very subtle sheen to them, which was nice. I don't know ... I just thought they looked cool, like a logical follow-up to the TOS uniforms.

However, they did nothing to hide cannonball guts, sagging breasts and unhealthy body shapes, in general. With an aging cast that was reticent to even pretend to try to get fit in any way, these uniforms weren't ideal. Sir Patrick Stewart could've pulled it off, but not this lot. I love these costumes and I've wished that TNG picked them up, but ... they just came out at the wrong time, unfortunately.

 

[drt]

I love the uniforms Bob Fletcher designed for The Motion Picture. The variety, the muted colours, the sewn-on insignia ... even the belt buckle is great. I like how the pants have that interesting crease up the front, at the bottom of the leg, I'm not sure I've seen that elsewhere. The synthetic materials (polyester) had a very subtle sheen to them, which was nice. I don't know ... I just thought they looked cool, like a logical follow-up to the TOS uniforms.

However, they did nothing to hide cannonball guts, sagging breasts and unhealthy body shapes, in general. With an aging cast that was reticent to even pretend to try to get fit in any way, these uniforms weren't ideal. Sir Patrick Stewart could've pulled it off, but not this lot. I love these costumes and I've wished that TNG picked them up, but ... they just came out at the wrong time, unfortunately.

Heh, on that note I've come to appreciate the first/second season TNG uniforms more than the later seasons version for much the same reasons (I also liked the original DS9/Voyager jumpsuits for seemingly being more functional as well).

 

[feek61]

Honestly I was shocked when I saw TMP and hated the unforms. I only slightly like them more now. Standing on their own the TMP uniforms were ok but using TOS as a base the evolution is off; I think it was a bad choice. I did like the white Kirk uniform but to me none of them were really what I know as Star Trek. From my perspective as someone who had been watching TOS for 10 years prior to the first movie; all of the movies seem like a different franchise to me. I like them but they just don't have the same feel or spirit that the original series had, IMO.

 

[trynda1701]

I liked the short sleved variants that you see Sulu and Kirk wear. Plus Kirks Admiral uniform while at Earth.

Plus, I'm sure I've said elsewhere that the TMP uniforms could have taken the TOS colours, if muted, as hinted by this book cover...

...I don't think it's just the fire that's giving Uhuras uniform that colouring!

 

[Terok Nor]

They look bland in the movie but sort of look cool on the Playmates action figures. Admiral Kirk being the coolest uniform.

 

[Nerys Myk]

I liked the short sleved variants that you see Sulu and Kirk wear. Plus Kirks Admiral uniform while at Earth.

Plus, I'm sure I've said elsewhere that the TMP uniforms could have taken the TOS colours, if muted, as hinted by this book cover...

...I don't think it's just the fire that's giving Uhuras uniform that colouring!

I recall seeing that book for the first time and wondering what the heck was going on.

 

[Lance]

I don't "dislike" them. In some ways I'd say I prefer them to the 'monster maroons' we got from II to VI. I do think the TMP uniforms are maybe just a little too monochromatic for their own good, but in other ways they feel more faithful to TOS (the rank stripes) while being a credible step forward in design evolution. And there's probably more variant in the individual designs than in any other Trek uniform format, ironically so given they are often pegged as being bland and lacking in any sort of visual interest. Things like the T-shirts etc give a nice sense of the crew having some freedoms to mix and match their styles while on duty.

If it were down to me, I'd probably choose to outfit everybody in versions of Kirk's Admiral unifom, with the white chest but having the different colored undersleeves and sleeves for each crew division. I like the Admiral uniform, the white gives it a nice sense of subtle style that the plain yellow and blue versions lack without being over-the-top like the TWOK uniforms are.

 

[Kor]

However, they did nothing to hide cannonball guts, sagging breasts and unhealthy body shapes, in general. With an aging cast that was reticent to even pretend to try to get fit in any way, these uniforms weren't ideal. Sir Patrick Stewart could've pulled it off, but not this lot. I love these costumes and I've wished that TNG picked them up, but ... they just came out at the wrong time, unfortunately.

I like to hope that enlightened and advanced humans hundreds of years from now won't be so self-conscious about body image.... though you would think that active members of the space navy would be required to maintain certain physical fitness standards.

Kor

 

[J.T.B.]

TMP uniforms are my favorites, they are conceptually the strongest in all of Trek. Coming up with some grade insignia for enlisted personnel and more specific department colors was a nice expansion from TOS, and combining department color with rank on the shoulder marks (and field jacket sleeve) was a great idea.

The quality of the wardrobe was very strong, too. The materials were not cheap and even though it would not be visible there was some very fine craftsmanship going on. The built-in shoes are the best know example; whether you like the look or not, they definitely did not cut corners to achieve it. The shoulder rank was hand embroidered in military-style gold wire. The zig-zag part of the sleeve rank was hand-sewn gold braid added to standard navy rank stripes.

There are parts of the design I personally don't like. The un-tucked shirt tails line at the bottom of the tunic is probably my least favorite. The field jacket would look better with some kind of collar. Not crazy about the bioscan buckle, either. But as Kor said above, uniforms 300 years in the future should look a little odd too us today. Overall, still stronger than any other set of Starfleet uniforms before or since.

One thing I just noticed recently is that the security guards might wear the arrowhead badge on their cuff instead of the chest, where it would be covered by their armor. It's too small to see, but there's something there. It shows the attention paid to detail, anyway.

Standing on their own the TMP uniforms were ok but using TOS as a base the evolution is off; I think it was a bad choice.

If TMP evolution is off, TWOK must be waaaay off!

 

[Richard Baker]

All in all I liked the design of TMP uniforms, I just do not like the lack of color. The uniforms had a very futuristic vibe to them, appropriate for serving on a starship with advanced technology. IMO the revised uniforms used after that look too conventional.

The whole TMP film was too grey and beige, I think if they and used the new uniforms but made the departmental colors more dominate as suggested upthread they would have looked so much better.

 

[BillJ]

I like them.

 

[JonnyQuest037]

Yeah, I don't like them much. The monotone colors make them look like feetie pajamas rather than uniforms. And Kirk's white short-sleeved number makes it look like a dentist just wandered on to the bridge. I think Kirk's Admiral uniform looks really sharp, though. If all of the uniforms had been more in that vein, I'd like them a lot more.

Judging from the look and tone of the uniforms and the production design it seemed Roddenberry was inspired about 2001 A Space Odyssey. A galvanizing film.

And that's my biggest problem with TMP in a nutshell. It's trying to be 2001 instead of TOS.