Star Trek: The Next Generation - Season 5 (1991)

Costume Design by:

- Robert Blackman ( notable efforts: The Running Man (1987), Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (1993 - 1999), Voyager (1995 - 2001), Enterprise (2001 - 2005), Pushing Daisies (2007 - 2009), Mockingbird Lane (2012) )

"Redemption, Part II"

Guinan once again appears in this episode, wearing an interesting gown that sadly is not seen fully onscreen at all, and is obscure by shadow for most of it too - the rounded collar and sleeves are definitely my favorite aspect of its design.

"Darmok"

The first original episode of the season (the actual first episode was a follow-up to the previous season's cliffhanger finale) had Picard (Patrick Stewart) ending up on an alien planet, sporting a variation of the Starfleet uniform suited for outdoor excursions - this consists of a grey jumper with a ridged top, worn with a red jacket with ridged black shoulder pads.

This episode was a bit inspired by the film Enemy Mine, and as such involved Picard having to survive in an alien wilderness with the 'Tamarian', Dathon (Paul Winfield), who only speaks in the mythology of his culture. The Tamarian uniform consists of a tan and green uniform with two-tone coloured sleeves (noticeably, the sleeve patterns are in a different arrangement on each arm), with a large sash-shaped vest worn over it. The sash-like vest is covered in multicolored streaks, adding in the slightly 'tribal' feel of the uniform.

"Silicon Avatar"

In this episode the Enterprise is investigating a mysterious entity, and enlists the help of the scientist Kila Marr (Ellen Geer) whose first outfit is this pink dress with white lining going down the shoulders.

Kila's second outfit is this more stern grey gown that is mostly striking thanks to its curled collars.

I suppose there is also this one Federation citizen whose combination of yellow jumpsuit, thick brown belt and patterned vest is, uh, unique to say the least!

"Disaster"

In this episode, Keiko O'Brien ends up going into labour at the same time as disaster (ha) strikes the Enterprise - Keiko's maternity wear is a brown jumpsuit worn with red mottled shawl.

During said disaster, Picard is aided by a bunch of kids wearing a variety of colourful onesies with panelling over the shoulders and chest.

"The Game"

This episode had the Enterprise's crew all end up brainwashed by a videogame that admittedly looks more interesting than any made in the real world in, oh, the last 25 years! The only one noticing the game's adverse affects at first are Wesley Crusher who wears a grey jumper with shoulder pads. He keeps trying to persuade Robin (Ashley Judd), who wears an reddish asymmetrically cut dress with a neck tie of sorts.

The mind-controlling videogame has been given to the crew by the alien Etana (Katherine Moffat), who is first seen wearing a semi-translucent dress, and later on wearing a REALLY UGLY grey jumpsuit. I cannot stress how much I do not like this jumpsuit design, though it is funny that it is worn by a character advertising a brain-rotting videogame because this is an outfit that looks alarmingly like a lot of modern videogame costume designs (or should that be character designs given they are not physical? Ach whatever), does it not?

"Unification"

This episode, devoted in memory to the series creator Gene Rodenberry's passing, involved the return of Spock (Leonard Nimoy), who was on a lone peace mission between the Vulcans and Romulans, much to the confusion of everyone else. One of those confused by Spock's decision is Perrin (Joanna Miles), the wife of his father Sarek (Mark Lenard). Perring wears a simple blue robe with gold lining, and more of the Vulcan language glyphs adorning the bottom of the robe.

Sarek himself wears a white robin with silver angular lining around the collar.

In addition to Spock having left to Romulus, a Vulcan ship has gone missing, and the Enterprise enlist the help of the alien depot manager Klim Dokachin (Graham Jarvis), who wears a very stiff outfit consisting of a robe made of a stiff green fabric, of which the collar is rounded and adorned with golden symbols. Both the collar and the sleeves also have a stripe of a light mustard collar lining the sides as well.

In the journey to discover the whereabouts of the missing Vulcan craft, the Enterprise crew find a space bar whose musician, Amarie (Harriet Leider), wears a pink robe with a golden strip around the shoulders, with glass-like green shards fixed to one side of it as well - probably due to the method used to achieve the multiple arms, this outfit is never seen in full.

The location of the Vulcan ship is known by a Ferengi arms dealer who has with him two ladies in some very pretty but also very risque dresses! One of the girls sports a sparkly blue lace dress worn with a large fan-like headdress, whilst the other wears a shiny gold dress cut to reveal the belly and underside of the chest (William Ware Theiss, of 'Theiss Titillation Theory' infamy, would be proud!) and jewel-like pieces fixed on the shoulders. The golden dress would make reapparances in episodes of the successor series Deep Space 9, around Quark's bar.

(Also of note is that the blue dress would be seen again in the following season's episode 'Man of the People', worn by Troi without the fan-shaped headdress, letting us see it more clearly)

This episode finally lets us see Romulan civilian life and fashion, which evidently has the same fixation on stiff shoulders as their military does, as even the capes have square shoulders!

The Romulan senator Neral (Norman Large) wears a stiff tunic made of a similar mosaic-like pattern as the various Romulan soldiers - this costume would later be reused occassionally in the sequel series Deep Space 9 and Voyager. Other Romulans wear tunics woth the shoulders as well, with even the cloaks having shoulders such as the one Spock wears when on Romulus.

"A Matter of Time"

This episode featured the devious time-travelling historian (or so he claims) Berlinghoff Rasmussen (Matt Frewer), who spends the entire episode wearing a mosaic-patterned jumpsuit with brown stripes running down the front, worn with a large brown coat.

"New Ground"

This episode involved Worf finally having to raise his son by himself, with his foster mother Helena (Georgia Brown) briefly appearing in a blue and grey patterned dress adorned with golden lining - sadly, this dress isn't seen for very long.

This should also be a good place to hightlight the various onesies and jackets that Alexander (Brian Bonsall) wears in this episode and in his later appearances in the series, a lot of them having heavy padding around the chest and shoulders.

Worf decides to get his son enrolled into the Federation's teaching classes, where his teacher is Kyle (Jennifer Edwards), who sports a purple top and leggings, over with a *very 90s* coloured vest is worn over it, the vest having a cut on the back of it similar to that of a tailcoat. She also briefly wears a purple jacket in one scene, but is sadly never seen in full and I could not yet find any auction photos of it.

There is also an alien scientist briefly seen in this episode, who wears a browm jumpsuit with a dark blue-green band and gown over it.

"Hero Worship"

Another episode featuring kiddy sized outfits, with the traumatized Timothy (Joshua Harris) wearing a green onesie with shiny lining on the front.

When copying his newfound idol Data, he wears a black and yellow jumper, the yellow panelling going over the front and back.

"Violations"

A rather unsettling episode where a bunch of telepathic aliens, the Ullians, use their minds for...well, you take a guess from the title. The Ullians are all dressed identically in all-white gowns worn over jumpers of a slightly sparkly material, worn with coats that are especially notable for how they have triangular holes cut in them all over, even the sleeves.

One of these harrowing dreams that Troi is forced to endure has her wearing this asymmetrically cut purple top that is worn with high-waisted purple pants as well.

"The Masterpiece Society"

This episode involved the Enterprise arriving on the planet Moab IV, a human colony that has followed a path of eugenics, meaning all their citizens are genetically engineered. The colony is run by Aaron Conor (John Snyder), who wears a two-tone yellow and green zip-up shirt over which he wears a green and black patterned jacket.

The other denizens of Moab IV are similarly all dressed in very former suits that are worn over zip-up sweaters, with the futuristic detail being the suits lapels and sides being cut - a design trick that Blackman later did for the 21st century suits in the Deep Space 9 episode 'Past Tense'.

"Ethics"

In this episode, Worf ends up paralysed in an accident, and so has to be treated by the neurologist Russell (Caroline Kava), who wears a two-tone lined brown tunic with rounded edges to the bottom, as well as the darker brown lines going over the shoulder.

Russell's second outfit is a bit more plain, consisting of a grey jacket worn over a brown jumpsuit.

Worf meanwhile wears this set of pajamas of striped earth tones, with a bulky leather top around the shoulders.

"The Outcast"

This episode involved Riker (Jonathan Frakes) falling in love with the alien Soren (Melinda Culea), a member of an androgynous alien species, the J'Naii who is being tried by her species for, well, having a gender and is due to undergo some form of alien conversion therapy, from which Riker saver her from it - as a gay person I DO appreciate the attempt here at trying to acknowledge gender fluidity and the horror that is conversion therapy, the same way I appreciate that Quantum Leap sort of tried to make commentary on social issues in the same way. Soren herself is in a drab brown jumpsuit with lining around the sides, and a stiff collar. The other members of Soren's species, the J'naii, all are in similarly designed jumpsuits albeit in different colours, and cuts to the jumpsuit. The judges of J'naii society wear skullcaps with trailing flaps.

The security forces of the J'naii are in similar headgear as the judges, but worn with bulky chest armor.

"Cost of Living"

This was the episode of the season to feature Lwaxana Troi (Majel Barrett), who had arrived on the Enterprise to host her upcoming wedding, and once again arriving in a variety of show-stopping outfits. Her first one in this episode is a sparkly floral print top, which is worn with a rainbow-coloured bead necklace, and a maroon and golden robe over it - sadly, this outfit is barely seen properly, which meant it was often only seen in motion.

Lwaxana's second dress is a lovely design, consisting of a top made of a mottled blue-green floral pattern fabric, with a hole cut for the chest and fixed at the neck with a diamond-studded disc - this top half is complemented by a translucent green skirt section, which is fixed with a golden belt and similar jewel pieces around the waist.

When due for the wedding, Lwaxana wears an all-silver buttoned up dress fixed with a large bustle, which she complets with a white wig as well - the bottom half of the dress, with the bustle, again makes me remember how Blackman by his own admission had mostly experience in period design, which explains why this does almost feel like a bit of a riff on a Victorian dress (it's certainly prudish by Lwaxana's standards, which is saying something).

Lwaxana's last outfit is much more in line with her character, being a golden-lined dress made up of a diamond-pattern red and gold fabric, which has a large fan-like piece fixed to the back of it - the top half of the dress, consists of a fishnet-like material, which goes around the sleeves as well.

Lwaxana decides to teach Worf's son Alexander a thing or two about life and happiness, and so takes him to the holodeck to experience 'the Parallax colony', whose residents only live a life of enjoyment. Almost all of the Parallax denizens are clad in some form of spandex bodysuits; there is a juggler in a fuzzy red and grey unitard and a flame sculptor in a two-tone blue bodysuit designed to have a large waist

There is also a pair of squabbling jesters in yellow and green unitards (and huge white wigs).

The most striking costumes of the Parallax scenes however, are barely seen onscreen sadly, even in their brief reuse in the sequel series Deep Space Nine - these are two 'learners' sitting around a mudbath, who are both in bright purple unitards that have been specially cut to reveal bits of the skin underneath, the gaps being held with red thread. I assume it was not shown fully due in part to being rather risque, but you can see the full outfit in all its glory in this behind the scenes interview with costume designer Robert Blackman himself - notice how the women in the audience react to it!

Lastly is Lwaxana's would-be husband Campio (Tony Jay), and his fusty assistant Erko (Patrick Cronin), who both are in very formal futuristic suits made of a pinstriped fabric, with stiff collars and blocky black patches around the shoulders and sleeves, completed with a futuristic skullcap. During the wedding itself, Campio wears a variation of his suit, which has a golden lined fabric around the shoulders, and is worn with a golden band around the shoulders.

"The Perfect Mate"

This episode involved Picard falling in love with an alien woman destined for a forced marriage to help end an interplanetary war, with one faction of the war, the Kriosians, having sent an ambassador to the Enterprise already. The ambassador, Briam (Tim O'Connor), is dressed in a two-tone maroon and blue robe, which is worn with a cape and hat made of a floral fabric. Also completing his look is a pair of maroon gloves that go up to a point as well.

The ambassador of the other faction, the Valtian, is the chancellor Alrik (Mickey Cottrell), who is first seen wearing a tunic made of a mottled material fixed with studs along the front, and ending in a diagonal cut, worn with a sash as well.

Alrik's second outfit, worn for his marriage, has a similar cut to it, but is this time made of a golden patterned fabric with large shoulders and a band around the chest, large golden gloves and of course a rounded hat as well, in a similar manner to Briam's outfit.

The marriage is with the Kriosian woman Kamala (Famke Janssen), who for most of the episode wears a ridged blueish-grey dress, with the sleeves and the skirt segment made of a lighter material to the rest of the dress. Fixed in the middle of the chest is a little dangling bit of jewellery.

For the wedding, Kamala wears a lovely white and gold dress, whose top is made out of a see-through material that acts as the gloves for the dress as well, with a band again worn over the chest - finishing this is of course a bridal veil.

Several alien miners are in the Enterprise's 'Ten Forward' bar and start jeering at Kamala, these miners wearing brown overalls with beige tops, side flaps and a shiny silver vest underneath - very similar overalls appeared in the Deep Space Nine episode 'The Passenger', albeit these seem slightly different, and are worn with belts. Are they perhaps the same outfits but slightly altered?

"Imaginary Friend"

Guina (Whoopi Goldberg) appeared in this episode, sporting her first new outfit of the season, this being a red deal with large angular shoulder pads and of course her trademark disk-shaped hat. This outfit would get some reuse in the next season, as well as in the feature film Star Trek Generations.

The episode centers on a child whose 'imaginary friend' happens to be an alien entity, with their costumes being slightly futuristic riffs on typical girls blouses.

More notable are the painting smocks that the various kids wear for art classes, made of a shiny blue material with silvery lining around the cuffs and collars.

"I, Borg"

Guinan again sports a new dress in this episode, which is a dark teal gown made of a more ridged material, looking a bit more stiff than her usual dresses do - again, this is worn with her classic disk-shaped hats.

"The Inner Light"

In this episode, Picard lives through the last few years of an entire civilization, whose members all dress in a variety of light pastel coloured shirts and gowns, the shirts having rather angular cuts to their design - some of these gowns and vests were reused in the Deep Space Nine episode 'Sanctuary'.