Why the Gold?

[Robert Comsol]

Which could indicate that she had previously served in the capacity to steer or navigate the ship. IIRC she takes over for Styles in "Balance of Terror".

Bob

She takes over for Sulu in "The Naked Time". (And is later relieved by Ryan/Rand/Leslie.)

That's what I thought first, but then I remembered better: http://tos.trekcore.com/hd/albums/1x14hd/balanceofterrorhd592.jpg

(this is not a late echo from this, me guld, you brons? )

Bob

 

[J.T.B.]

It looks gold to me.

Looks lime green to me.

I am red-green colorblind so I can't get too deep into all this, but if you look at the "rainbow" of the visible spectrum, green and yellow are not only next to each other, but the borderline between the two is pretty close to the center of the whole thing. So it's not surprising to me that there are photographic "issues" between the two, let alone variation between individuals' perceptions.

 

[Praetor Baldric]

In retrospect it does make sense for Sulu and Chekov to be wearing gold. They both went onto command level positons later in their careers (Captain and Executive Officer respectively). And I think one or the other was oftn left in charge of the bridge.

Then shouldn't Spock, the First Officer, be in green/yellow/gold despite his being a scientist? Is he not First Officer first and Science Officer second?

 

[Melakon]

I just wish TNG hadn't screwed everything up by changing the colors around.

 

[Praetor]

I always took Spock wearing gold in WNMHGB to indicate he had a choice, being both XO and Science Officer. Perhaps on some ships one could not pull double duty... or at least some non-Vulcan officers could not.

Gold on Sulu and Chekov makes sense to me for aforementioned reasons - their jobs are related to command and control of the ship. Uhura's color switch was I assume primarily aesthetic, as was the TNG overall paradigm shift, but perhaps Uhura was trained as a technician, but the Communications Officer position was considered Command.

Perhaps in both cases, Starfleet simply changed its mind about which took priority.

And it has always looked fairly gold to me, even when it was supposedly green. RGB/CMY, what's the dif?

 

[Gojira]

I always had wished that including the colors as depicted on TOS that they had instead used a type of green for medical.

 

[Praetor Baldric]

I just had a flashback to an old 80s (or early 90s) sitcom where one of the characters was a Trekkie on his way to a convention and he was wearing a purple TOS tunic. When asked why purple, he replied that that was the color worn by the ship's janitorial staff. Anyone remember what this is from?

 

[Praetor]

Hm, sounds vaguely familiar. Shouldn't it have really been brown, though?

 

[Praetor Baldric]

Hm, sounds vaguely familiar. Shouldn't it have really been brown, though?

USS UPS?

 

[C.E. Evans]

It looks gold to me.

Looks lime green to me.

I am red-green colorblind so I can't get too deep into all this, but if you look at the "rainbow" of the visible spectrum, green and yellow are not only next to each other, but the borderline between the two is pretty close to the center of the whole thing. So it's not surprising to me that there are photographic "issues" between the two, let alone variation between individuals' perceptions.

True. But the only thing is that Bill Theiss--who designed the uniforms--referred to them as being green on set but often looking more gold on people's TV sets. Being a film stock issue, the unintentional green to gold conversion wasn't limited to just TV sets but also in some production and publicity shoot stills. But green was supposed to be the color for command--it's why the formal uniforms and Kirk's casual wraparound tunic are green.

"It photographed one way – burnt orange or a gold. But in reality was another; the command shirts were definitely green.”
--William Ware Theiss
http://startrekmyths.tumblr.com/post/27767952703/kirks-uniform-is-not-gold-its-green

 

[Nerys Myk]

Something about shirt colors that has always bothered me. I get that Blue is for Sciences and Red for Operations, but why is there need for Gold to be worn by anyone but the Captain and what distinguishes those who wear the Gold shirt but who are not the Captain from those who do not wear Gold.

The color isn't just for the Captain, but anyone in the Command Division.

I have always thought that Gold was for Command Crew. Ok, so then why aren't Spock, McCoy or Scotty (all holding command positions) not in Gold?

Its for the Command Division, which includes Navigation, Helm and Weapons (In TOS) Scotty is the Chief Engineer, hence the red. While he seems to serve as Second Officer, his primary concern is Engineering. Spock tends to identify as a scientist first and chose blue over gold.

If by Command Crew, we mean Bridge personnel only, then why isn't Uhura also wearing Gold?

Because its not a "Bridge" thing. Colors are assigned by specialty not location.

Sulu is OPs, so he could have been in Red. Chekov is Spock's protege and is portrayed as being something of a prodigy, so why couldn't he be in Blue?

Sulu is the helmsman, he pilots the ship. Chekov is the navigator, he guides the ship. Learning to use Spock's station is part of his Command training.

Do you start off as a Red or Blue shirt and then get promoted to a Gold shirt (but then that doesn't work for Spock nor Scotty)?

Becoming a Gold shirt is a transfer, not a promotion. ( unless it includes a step up in rank or position)

It seems to me that if you are in the crew, you are either involved in Science or OPs, or a combination of both, so why have Gold Shirts at all for anyone but the Captain?

Because not everything is Science or Ops.

 

[ZapBrannigan]

I think I can add something to the question of gold versus green tunics in the Command division.

The standard Kirk-Sulu-Chekov tunic was lime green in subdued light, but under bright studio lights (or sunlight on location shots) it looks yellow.

TOS costume designer William Ware Theiss was asked about it in an interview:

http://www.startrekpropauthority.com/2008/05/bill-theiss-lost-interview-rare.html

This is next item is neat-- the green tunic changes to yellow when a flashbulb is used:

http://www.startrekpropauthority.com/2009/03/star-trek-exhibition-in-detroit.html

Photo Study:

http://www.startrekpropauthority.com/2008/05/special-photostudy-star-trek-tos-3rd.html

 

[plynch]

1. What ep is that amazing bridge shot from?

2. Chartreuse (Geernish-gold) might in fact be "control." Everything here is inferential, right? "Command" stems from the technical manual, doesn't it?

3. The S3 tunics photo more green than the velours, though occasionally on location those look greenish.

4. I saw the S3 Kirk tunic in Detroit under very white light. It wasn't green or gold. It really was greenish-gold. A BIT more on the gold side to these eyes, but ymmv. Bear in mind also that men and women see colors a bit differently because of different rods or cones, I can't remember.
Update: here it is: http://www.asu.edu/news/research/womencolors_090104.htm

 

[J.T.B.]

1. What ep is that amazing bridge shot from?

"Is There in Truth No Beauty?"

2. Chartreuse (Geernish-gold) might in fact be "control." Everything here is inferential, right? "Command" stems from the technical manual, doesn't it?

The Making of Star Trek, I believe.

 

[ZapBrannigan]

2. Chartreuse (Geernish-gold) might in fact be "control." Everything here is inferential, right? "Command" stems from the technical manual, doesn't it?

The Making of Star Trek, I believe.

Is it in there? I always thought Franz Joseph named the Command division, like Plynch says.

Incidentally, chartreuse is the perfect name for the color we're talking about, thanks. I just looked it up.

 

[Myko]

She takes over for Sulu in "The Naked Time". (And is later relieved by Ryan/Rand/Leslie.)

That's what I thought first, but then I remembered better: http://tos.trekcore.com/hd/albums/1x14hd/balanceofterrorhd592.jpg

(this is not a late echo from this, me guld, you brons? )

Bob

I'll have to rewatch Naked Time now cause I could have sworn Spock yells at someone to "relieve miss Uhura". It could be Brent at navigation instead of Leslie at helm though. Can't find any evidence at TrekCore.

Edit: Found it! http://tos.trekcore.com/hd/albums/1x04hd/thenakedtimehd0577.jpg

Fortunately being a Trekkie, I don't have to care about sports at all!

 

[J.T.B.]

The Making of Star Trek, I believe.

Is it in there? I always thought Franz Joseph named the Command division, like Plynch says.

It's not addressing uniforms specifically, but this is what TMoST says about divisions (p. 205):

Organizationally, the crew members are assigned to one of the three principal operating divisions: Science, Engineering and Ships Services, and Command.​

 

[ZapBrannigan]

Is it in there? I always thought Franz Joseph named the Command division, like Plynch says.

It's not addressing uniforms specifically, but this is what TMoST says about divisions (p. 205):

Organizationally, the crew members are assigned to one of the three principal operating divisions: Science, Engineering and Ships Services, and Command.
​

Got it, thanks. We always knew FJ made extensive use of TMoST. And now a little more than I thought.

 

[plynch]

Re. my use of "chartreuse" I am certain I read somewhere in various "green shirt" threads here, that Theiss called it "apple green." I must say I like the color palette among the characters when Kirk wears green. It was a good thought spoiled by that unpredictable fabric, velour.

 

[Melakon]

Another thing about the colors-- as color television was gradually expanding (we got ours in 1965), many people still had black and white TV's. In monochrome, the green tunics were brighter than the red and blue. It made sense to put your main billed star in the lighter color to draw the eye.