My Name is James T. Kirk, and I Hate the Color Red

[Captain Shatner]

...So I ruthlessly dispose of everybody wearing red shirts.

Okay, so maybe it's not that extreme, but I don't think I'm the first to wonder why Kirk has never been court-martialed for his (let's face it) negligent waste of Enterprise Security Officers. This is especially astonishing considering that Kirk goes to all lengths to protect the lives of his bridge officers and normally seems like a humane person. You would think that either

a. Kirk would realize sending only one or two red shirts down gets both of them killed, and would eventually figure out that there is safety in numbers and beam large groups down

or

b. Beam down some sort of Expeditionary robot or android (maybe not on the level of Mr. Data, but surely robotics technology had some level of progress in Kirk's day.)


Sadly, Kirk chooses neither of these options, or for that matter, any other sane option, and continues to beam down red shirts in pairs. Over the run of TOS, Kirk must have lost dozens of red shirts. That might not seem like a lot, but considering the size of the Enterprise crew, that's a significant fraction!

Was the red shirt mortality rate high on all Federation vessels on the day, or was Kirk just incompetent?

 

[Timewalker]

...So I ruthlessly dispose of everybody wearing red shirts.

Okay, so maybe it's not that extreme, but I don't think I'm the first to wonder why Kirk has never been court-martialed for his (let's face it) negligent waste of Enterprise Security Officers. This is especially astonishing considering that Kirk goes to all lengths to protect the lives of his bridge officers and normally seems like a humane person. You would think that either

a. Kirk would realize sending only one or two red shirts down gets both of them killed, and would eventually figure out that there is safety in numbers and beam large groups down

Considering the kinds of nasties that tended to do in the redshirts, a lot of them at once wouldn't necessarily have helped. They would just have been killed faster.

b. Beam down some sort of Expeditionary robot or android (maybe not on the level of Mr. Data, but surely robotics technology had some level of progress in Kirk's day.)

But Kirk never trusted robots or androids. They keep trying to take over the ship, or kill him!

Was the red shirt mortality rate high on all Federation vessels on the day, or was Kirk just incompetent?

Yes. And a lot of bad luck was involved, too.

 

[EEE]

Was the red shirt mortality rate high on all Federation vessels on the day, or was Kirk just incompetent?

A cursory examination of the historical documents shows that the Captains of the Intrepid, Exeter and Constellation lost ALL of their redshirts.

 

[Timewalker]

Was the red shirt mortality rate high on all Federation vessels on the day, or was Kirk just incompetent?

A cursory examination of the historical documents shows that the Captains of the Intrepid, Exeter and Constellation lost ALL of their redshirts.

Not to mention all of their red tunics, blue-garbed crew, and yellow/green-garbed crew!

This reminds me of the time when my local Star Trek club decided to design our own dress uniforms. We went to the fabric store, and the salesclerk kept showing us red-colored cloth. She thought we were crazy when we kept telling her, "NO!!! NOT RED! ANYTHING BUT RED! PEOPLE WHO WEAR RED ALWAYS END UP GETTING KILLED! "

 

[Captain Rob]

It seems to me that if you're female and hot looking. Then you're perfectly safe in a red uniform. Allthough it may get torn. And you might get hit on. Excuse me...WILL instead of might.

 

[Timewalker]

It seems to me that if you're female and hot looking. Then you're perfectly safe in a red uniform. Allthough it may get torn. And you might get hit on. Excuse me...WILL instead of might.

The yeoman who got turned into a styrofoam dodecahedron and then crushed into powder in "By Any Other Name" would disagree with you.

 

[CommanderRaytas]

Exceptions are known to confirm the rule.

 

[scotpens]

This reminds me of the time when my local Star Trek club decided to design our own dress uniforms. We went to the fabric store, and the salesclerk kept showing us red-colored cloth. She thought we were crazy when we kept telling her, "NO!!! NOT RED! ANYTHING BUT RED! PEOPLE WHO WEAR RED ALWAYS END UP GETTING KILLED! "

Which reminds me of Bill Cosby's old "Medic" routine. "Hey, anyone want this helmet with a red cross on it?"

 

[Captain Shatner]

Was the red shirt mortality rate high on all Federation vessels on the day, or was Kirk just incompetent?

A cursory examination of the historical documents shows that the Captains of the Intrepid, Exeter and Constellation lost ALL of their redshirts.

You got me there!