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Gold uniforms

I don't know how much the uniforms cost, but I'm sure the producers saved a little money when Eddie Paskey could wear the same outfit even as Lt. Leslie transferred between engineering and security each week ...
They probably saved a lot of money when the same 6 red shirts used for a squad of security guard extras in one episode could be used for 6 extras in an engine room scene in the next episode instead of buying a fourth set of uniforms.

However, I agree that engineering and security aren't even close in their functions, so why not add a fourth color and sell a few more color TVs?
Besides, I'd feel really sorry for Scotty's officers if any of them got killed because the enemy mistook them for a security guard ...

If I could change it, I'd have gold for command, blue for sciences, green for engineering, and red for security. The many ship operations that don't fall specifically under one of the big departments would be part of command.
I'm sure Nichelle Nichols and Jimmy Doohan still would have looked good in green ...
 
^ The uniform Scotty wore in WNMHGB wasn't gold, it was a very light brown/tan. Not the same color worn by Kirk and Spock.
 
Yup. That was the red of the day...

Having blue for "sciences" isn't very practical, because when you are in distress and yearn for medical help, it will be really, really frustrating to get a geologist instead!

For practical purposes, the color codes probably ought to be "medical", "fighting", "repairs" and "the rest". And officers and commanding characters should wear department colors, not special ones, so that the enemy couldn't pick them up too easily; if anybody is in need of being commanded, he or she will listen to the commander regardless of uniform color (and if necessary, by having a look at rank insignia, which are visible at "command distances" but less visible to enemy snipers).

OTOH, the colors need not be practical in that sense, since starship crews extremely seldom see battlefield action. A division into Unrestricted Line, Restricted Line and Staff makes more sense there; any correlation between colors and departments could be coincidental.

Timo Saloniemi
 
Pauln6 said:
Services (never seen this on anything canon just a patch for sale on ebay but nonetheless would be happy for it to exists - being catering, cleaning etc) - blue
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ST:TMP actually avoided blue (hence orange for sciences) because it was the era of chroma key and the frequent use of bluescreens.
 
Those uniforms are actually awesome. If they dropped the blue and replaced it with white, they'd have ideal distinctive uniforms for Admirals.
 
Timo said:
These ST6 guys?
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That's probably the division, yes. Is he wearing a metal breast insignia there (worn too high), or embroidered? The embroidered Lincoln Enterprises patches mentioned only had the six TMP division colours, so if someone is/was selling blue-circled ones, they'd be unlicensed ones.
 
Admiral M said:
Starfleet should always adopt a colour such as black or gray (or even the maroon on the TWOK uniforms) to serve as uniform colours. A person's branch should be indicated by another colour on their shirt, etc.
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I agree with this wholeheartedly. The FC uniforms are the closest to an actual military dress as any in Star Trek. I do think they are more representative of a Class A uniform than a Class C or BDU.
 
The FC uniforms are the closest to an actual military dress as any in Star Trek.
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An actual 20th century military dress, that is.

Which is why it makes very little sense to try and use designs like this. They just make the show look awfully dated, much like the bellbottom pants and laced boots of TOS indicate the past rather than the future.

The Trek universe is supposed to be different and futuristic, not the same-o, same-o that shows like BSG, S:AaB or Stargate deliberately aim for. The militaries of the 20th century are supposed to be despicable barbarian institutions, not something the heroes would be particularly proud of. Really, while a few of our heroes have at least a passing knowledge of the details and nuances of our era, Picard's reaction to the sight of a US Army uniform is no different from Kirk's reaction to a Nazi one.

Timo Saloniemi
 
I well remember my first look at the uniforms in TWOK. I actually had the thought, "Now that's what a uniform should look like! It's about bloody time the bridge crew looked like professionals." I was really very pleased that they looked like ship's officers instead of someone mowing lawns on the weekend...

Things change. Some decades further on I actually find I prefer the look and atmosphere of TOS uniforms. I've watched a decline in the professionalism of appearance in merchant service officers and even a much more casual appearance for some naval officers. It's a trend that Star Trek simply foresaw.

And StarFleet, despite being aboard armed and armored vessels, really isn't the Navy, Royal or U.S. It's a scientific and exploratory force with the additional duties of a peacekeeping force tacked on. Despite DS9 and TNG - especially toward the end of the series - focusing more on the "naval battles in space" aspect of things, I still - like Picard - remember when they were explorers.

So I've come around to actually liking TOS uniforms best. They look, well, uniform, but also comfortable enough to be functional everyday wear. And I like the colors.
 
Timo said:
They just make the show look awfully dated, much like the bellbottom pants and laced boots of TOS indicate the past rather than the future.
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Fashion is cyclic. Always has been. Always will be.

And what "laced boots"? You mean the boots Kirk wore when fighting the Gorn, but which weren't supposed to show the laces onscreen??
 
...Thus actually looking like real military uniforms.

...Of the 1700s.

(Although I suspect the actual inspiration for the costuming dept was an early 20th century or late 19th century trenchcoat, a classic military garment if there ever was any.)

Timo Saloniemi
 
Elder Knight said:
Navigator_NCC2120 said:
Well, since no one has mentioned it, in TOS, besides the Command green wrap-around tunic, Kirk also wore the Command Dress uniform tunic, which was green too.

Navigator NCC-2120 USS Entente
/\
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I remember that Picard and his men had dress uniforms that looked like dresses!
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Funny sotry, when I was 8 and first started watching Star Trek, TNG at that, I thought it was because they resembled dresses that they were called "dress uniforms." I was therefore confused in that episode when Worf complained about hating them because they looked like dresses and Riker was shocked to hear him say that. I was thinking "well, they are the dress uniforms."
 
I wasn't aware that Worf agreed with me on that. Great minds think alike, eh? (I know: Then what's my excuse?)
 
Technically, security is also in charge of weapons and defense systems. If you look at it in this sense, it makes more sense. Blue=Science Red=Command Gold=Technical
 
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