TOS Door Colors

[Albertese]

I've been wondering about this and, rather than re-watching the entire series to find out, I figured that certain posters here might have already given this some thought.

Seems like the colors of the doors off the corridor set on TOS were a bunch of fun colors. Do you suppose that the colors were meant to identify what lay beyond the door in a similar spirit as having the various department crew wear different colored shirts? If so, what are the correlations?

I seem to recall doors that were red, yellow, gray, and blue.

Thoughts?

--Alex

 

[TIN_MAN]

Yes, I've always assumed they were color coded; it breaks down something like this (in my mind).

Red doors = engineering (and turbo-lifts)

Blue doors = science and medical (at least on the corridor side)

Yellow/gold = command and related

Grey = all others

Of course this was not practically achieved in all instances in the show, but it seems to have been the general idea they were shootin for?

 

[Robert Comsol]

I've been wondering myself but I gave up after the first episodes. It seemed that red doors would indicate turbolifts exclusively (especially with a corresponding sign above) but already in "The Naked Time" there were blue (or grey) turbolift doors.

Bob

 

[blssdwlf]

Ditto. I don't think it is consistent enough for an obvious pattern for door colors - but I could be wrong

 

[wildstar]

The grey ones are in the middle of being sanded down and repainted.

 

[Robert Comsol]

"The grey ones are in the middle of being sanded down and repainted."

Seriously, I watched several episodes (in regard to the transporter room locations) and the door opposite to the transporter room set appears to be constantly yellow (in "Charlie X" the strange lightning of the corridor makes it look orange).

The Season One door to the engine control room (near the turbolift at the corridor end) is also yellow. But if you want to assign an engineering function to it, you'll have a problem at the end of "Balance of Terror" where the editing clearly suggests that the door in this episode leads to the ship's chapel.

I'm wondering if it were better to apply a process of elimination, i.e. what's not behind the door. It would appear colored doors neither provide access to crew quarters or medical facilities. Yellow doors might indicate other ship's facilities. Blue doors (e.g. hangar deck) might indicate doors that also serve as bulkheads in case of an emergency.

Bob

 

[Timo]

Or it might be a matter of clearance after all. Grey is for everybody, including possible passengers and assorted other civilians; you need some sort of a clearance to use the express turbolifts marked in red, or enter the engineering spaces, or use the transporters, or visit the personnel residing in cabins thus marked; and only command staff is cleared to use the yellow doors (such as the one for the Captain's Locker Room in "Charlie X" )...

Timo Saloniemi

 

[TIN_MAN]

Well, a lot depends on whether we're using the Thermion approach or not?

If so, then no, there's not enough consistency to suggest color codes.

If not, then we have a little more wiggle room.

 

[throwback]

Then there is this to consider. Many of the signs adjacent to the doors are unreadable, even on the Blue-Ray. Personally, I don't think there was a thought process behind what color the doors were.

 

[Timo]

"No thought process by the makers of the show" sounds like a good bet. But the question here would seem to be whether there was any thought process from the part of Starfleet.

Timo Saloniemi

 

[Robert Comsol]

I find myself corrected: From Season Three on (after "Elaan of Troyius") the door opposite to the transporter room is red.

I don't think "no thought process" is fair. Take "Amok Time" where at the beginning McCoy is leaving some room at the end of Spock's corridor which usually is a turbolift (with red doors). For this particular scene the door color changed to grey.

And for the signs adjacent to the doors they mostly made an effort, especially in Season One, to change the texts: "Personnel Director", "Science Library", "Computer Systems", "Briefing Room 2", "Astro-Medicine Ward 1" (aka Sickbay) etc.
In the beginning, they tried to mark crew's cabins with black signs and others rooms with blue signs.
One of the signs they appear to have used permanently is a blue one saying "Officers Quarters" with an arrow and cabin numbers.

Bob

 

[throwback]

There were two signs for Officer's Quarters. (This is clearly seen in "Day of the Dove") And there was one sign for Crew Quarters. Unique signage continued into the last episode. One of the last signs seen, in "The Turnabout Intruder", was for the isolation ward of the Astro-Medical Department.

 

[Timo]

I don't think "no thought process" is fair. Take "Amok Time" where at the beginning McCoy is leaving some room at the end of Spock's corridor which usually is a turbolift (with red doors). For this particular scene the door color changed to grey.

Which of the turbolift sets was "wild" and detached for interior shoots? Would the corridor doors have been removed as part of the process of moving the turbolift around, and replaced by whatever was the most conveniently available afterwards?

Timo Saloniemi

 

[Mytran]

During the course of the series, all of the turbolifts were moved at some point.

As for the door in Amok TIme, it was more turquoise wasn't it?



Sadly even the HD screencaps don't reveal what's on the sign - presumably some sort of medical lab.

 

[Robert Comsol]

@throwback

Can you (or somebody else) tell me if an overview of the different text labels in TOS does exist? I'd really like to spare myself this kind of work if someone else has already done it.

@timo

There are odd cases where turbolift locations changed. In "Mudd's Women" they seem to enter the turbolift at the end of the corridor (near the yellow door to engine control) but then actually enter a turbo lift 7 behind an A-frame. This edit seems to suggest a turbo lift in the corridor opposite of engineering (and more like the motion picture turbolifts) which would probably make this the only time in TOS a turbo lift there has been suggested (the original Season One set plans considered this corridor end for a turbo lift location where the set plans for Season Two did not) as I do not recall another example (although this would be the only turbo lift location in the set plans corresponding with the turbolift from the bridge and a vertical shaft).
http://tos.trekcore.com/hd/albums/1x06hd/muddswomenhd119.jpg

In "The Enemy Within" we see the regular turbo lift location (at the end of the circular corridor) Kirk and Spock enter to travel to Sickbay (strange, they didn't notice Evilkirk or Mytran...)
http://tos.trekcore.com/hd/albums/1x05hd/theenemywithinhd280.jpg

In "What Are Little Girls Made Of?" Robotkirk arrives near Kirk's quarters (he moved - again?!?) in a turbolift right next to the aforementioned one where there's also the Season One Jefferies Tube (different angle than in Season Two and Three). The yellow door of this little JT corridor serves no function at all in this particular scene (if the main corridor wall panel is in place - like in "The Enemy Within" - I believe this might be a yellow door to the crew's restrooms).
http://tos.trekcore.com/hd/albums/1x07hd/whatarelittlegirlsmadeofhd500.jpg

@Mytran

A medical lab on Deck 5 (Spock's quarters)? Actually "Amok Time" confused me incredibly and I'm wondering if "Astro-Medicine Ward 1" ("Way to Eden" door sign) or Sickbay is actually located on main deck 7.

After Kirk learns that Spock has changed course to Vulcan he has made up his mind that Spock needs to be examined at Sickbay. He arrives on the bridge and calls Spock to join him. In the turbolift Kirk says explicitly "deck 5" (again, he intends to get Spock to Sickbay and not to his quarters). In the turbolift Kirk orders Spock to "report" to Sickbay. They arrive on deck 5 and Spock leaves the elevator.

IMHO, this scene clearly suggests that Sickbay is located on deck 5 and Kirk at least wanted to accompany Spock there. Measure!

Bob

 

[Timo]

Well, there is always the possibility that Spock exits on Deck 7, the destination manually specified by Kirk (note his hand on the handle), while Kirk continues in the turbolift to his verbally specified destination of Deck 5. After all, when we next meet Kirk, he is in his quarters... This interpretation would also have Kirk escorting Spock basically all the way to Sickbay before backtracking to his own destination - a logical and kind action for the Captain, even if the dazed Spock then wanders about a bit after leaving the turbolift, confusing the issue.

The less likely alternative is that Kirk is taking Spock to his quarters on Deck 5, allowing him the dignity of combing his hair and washing that oddly enticing musky odor off him before he is to report to Sickbay. Naturally, Spock in his confused state wanders the two decks down on foot, forgoing the more logical paths. But where, then, is Kirk himself headed, when he ultimately ends up at his own quarters but does not step out on Deck 5? (Perhaps he resides on Deck 12 that day?)

Regarding the changing positioning of lifts close to Engineering, the concept of multiple roughly similar engine rooms rears its multiple roughly similar heads again...

Timo Saloniemi

 

[Robert Comsol]

"Regarding the changing positioning of lifts close to Engineering, the concept of multiple roughly similar engine rooms rears its multiple roughly similar heads again..."

Sorry for the confusion. I just wanted to provide a sense of orientation in the real life studio sets, not the in-universe location of "engine control room" (Season One) versus "engineering section" (Season Two).

But again, is there any dialogue in TOS where the location of sickbay is explicitly stated to be on deck 7? (According to The Making of Star Trek and the producers' intentions it was deck 7, FJ adopted the concept etc. and this is why we all believe sickbay to be on deck 7).

Bob

 

[Mytran]

I think Amok Time is the only episode where Sickbay is identified as being on Deck 5, Timo-esque arguments not withstanding

However, in Elaan of Troyius Kirk identifies Sickbay as being the "best protected part of the ship", suggesting that its deep in the middle of the saucer. Whether that is Deck 7 or Deck 5 depends on which particular cutaway you use...

In "What Are Little Girls Made Of?" Robotkirk arrives near Kirk's quarters (he moved - again?!?) in a turbolift right next to the aforementioned one where there's also the Season One Jefferies Tube (different angle than in Season Two and Three). The yellow door of this little JT corridor serves no function at all in this particular scene (if the main corridor wall panel is in place - like in "The Enemy Within" - I believe this might be a yellow door to the crew's restrooms).
http://tos.trekcore.com/hd/albums/1x07hd/whatarelittlegirlsmadeofhd500.jpg

That corridor is quite a mess! In season 1, the Jeffries Tube resided in a little room accessed through a yellow door on the short straight corridor. What the director basically did here is remove several sections of corridor in order to compose his shot: Spock can now be seen working at the tube as Robokirk arrives in the lift and passes him by without a word, first arousing Spock's suspicions...

It's a good scene of course, but it does raise several oddities. Firstly (as Robert Comsol observed) the change in corridors mean that Kirk has moved quarters yet again! OK, so it's not the last time it ever happens, but it is the 3rd time in 9 episodes and only the 6th appearance!

Also, Kirk has an open Jefferies Tube right outside his quarters - of course, there's usually mechancic doodads sticking out of the walls in TOS, but this seems to put the Captain even deeper into the guts of the vessel.

Finally, there's that little yellow door. Formally the entrance to the J.T. room, now it is a door that leads from the corridor - into the corridor. OK, the camera pans quickly across this weird structural assembly but it is there.

 

[TIN_MAN]

This might be a good opportunity to ask a (hopefully relevant) question that's been bugging me for a long time.

It seems to me there is a scene somewhere in TOS where it’s established that the action is taking place on deck six, and then Kirk gets into a turbo-lift and says "sickbay" and then we see the light panel move slowly once, indicating that the lift is going up, before the doors open again?

I'm I remembering this correctly? Can anyone shed light on what episode anything like this might have happened in? If this scenario actually played out this way, then it would mean that the director’s intent in this instance was to imply that sickbay is on deck seven, probably because he thought that's where it was supposed to be?

Thanks in advance for any help offered.

 

[TIN_MAN]

Oops, double post. Sorry.