Sunday, 6 June 2021
Star Trek: The Next Generation - Season 1 (1987)
One of Theiss's first goals was to the design the new Starfleet uniforms worn by the crew of the Enterprise-D, commanded by Captain Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart), one-piece spandex bodysuits, rather similar to those that Weiss had designed for the PAX scientists in Planet Earth, though in this case the suits had a an asymmetrical pattern, with a colour scheme consisting of a coloured patch (in red, yellow or blue - the same colour ranking as the original series' Starfleet uniforms) and lining over solid black. The uniforms had some individual variations on the costume, such as the golden sash worn by Lieutenant Worf (Michael Dorn), or the blue medical coat worn by Beverly Crusher (Gates McFadden).
The bodysuits were made out of 'jumbo weight spandex', the material used to make swimwear, and as such the suits became legendary for how hellish they were to wear for the actors, as they cut into their backs and made them sweat under the studio lights (these two factors were what contributed to their eventual replacement by the third series) - perhaps the most notable sign of the actors discomfort was how Stewart always had to tug down the lower part of his suit to prevent it bunching up (as spandex is wont to do), something that became such a habit he kept doing it even when he was in the more comfortable costume designed for the third series!
A sort of midway design that was actually constructed for screen tests was this prototype Starfleet uniform, that can be seen here in this photo where Gene Rodenberry himself is judging it - the deep collar makes me think a bit more of the 1970s than 1980s though, which is a bit funny in a way, as Theiss had similarly designed very 1960s-style uniforms for the proposed Star Trek: Phase II series that was being developed in the late 1970s! Maybe being a little bit out of touch with fashion trends was a habit of his...
A secondary Starfleet uniform was designed however, the famous (partly for being made fun of by the most boring nerds on the planet) 'skant' uniform, which consisted of a short-sleeved dress worn with bots of varying lengths - this uniform was the first to be worn by the Enterprise's counselor Deanna Troi (Marina Sirtis), but was also worn by several male uniforms, being intended to be as fully unisex as the main jumpsuit uniforms. Sadly, the skants would be phased out entirely by the end of the second season, during which they were worn with pants to boot - shame!
'Encounter at Farpoint'
The first episode of the series involved the Enterprise's crew running into the omnipotent and rather tricky Q (John de Lancie) in his first appearance in the series, who in this episode puts the crew on trial in a hallucination of the post-apocalyptic dystopian Earth after the Third World War (some time soon then), where he is dressed in the famous 'judge' outfit, a black-lined red cloak worn with a ceremonial necklace and black velvet hat, as well as red leather gloves. This costume was seen again in the series finale 'All Good Things...' and would make reappearances in the Star Trek: Voyager episode 'Q2' as well.
One cameo from the original series is Bones McCoy (DeForrest Kelly), now an old man, and seen wearing a silver-grey cardigan with his striped uniform trousers (looking to be the same trousers of the uniforms designed by Robert Fletcher for the Star Trek movies from Wrath of Khan onwards).
'The Naked Now'
This episode had the Enterprise crew suffering from an ailament that resembled the effects of being drunk, with one of the crew, Tasha Yar (Denise Crosby) getting frisky with Data (Brent Spiner) in a skimpy outfit consisting of a mottled blue top with sleeves, and a light blue skirt.
This episode also introduced a new uniform for Troi, consisting of a grey catsuit with an open collar, and a v-pattern around the waist which was either light pink, or pale green - this would start a trend of Troi wearing a unique catsuit 'uniform' in every series.
This is also the perfect time to bring up the much hated character of Wesley Crusher (Wil Wheaton), whose most common outfit in this season was his acting ensign uniform, which consisted of a grey jumper with a dark grey top, separated by a red, yellow and blue lines, with one shoulder showing the lines crossing over, as well as the jumper's end tapering at the waist like belt over the grey trousers.
Before this, Wesley's outfits had been a variety of 'futuristic' attempts at jumpers, with the most interesting of these designs to me being the one with the two-tone asymmetrical brown trousers - the reddish-brown strip going down one side is fairly appealing to me. And of course I have to mention the jumper that was made for the character's screen tests as well, which consists of a very short blue top going over a mauve shirt.
'Code of Honor'
This episode involved the Enterprise having one of its number kidnapped by Lutan (Jessie Lawrence Ferguson), the leader of the planet Ligon II, whose denizens all dress in a style remnisicent of an Orientalist fantasy (the episode was directed in mind with a '1940s tribal Africa' theme), with Lutan showing his obviously, his outfit consisting of a gold-lined black cloak worn with golden harem pants, and a similarly gold-lined black turban.
Lutan's second outfit follows the same general design, though this time his outfit is made from a shiny orange material, with the harem pants being silver.
Lutan's deputy Hagon (James Louis Watkins) conturines the theme, wearing a glittery mottled blue and silver wraparounds and harem pants, with a multicoloured blue and purple turban.
Yareena (Karole Selmon) is Lutan's first wife, who must fight the kidnapped Tasha in order to decide who will be his true wife, and is seen wearing a variety of outfits in the episode, her first being this glittery patterned gold dress held up at one shoulder.
Yareena's second dress is more concealing, but is also made up of a shiny, light gold material, worn with a small white turban.
When meeting Tasha before their duel, Yareena wears a patterned blue gown, adorned with golden star shapes all over it.
When arriving to the battle itself, Yareena wears a shiny orange cloak, that sadly is not seen fully, or ever again in the episode.
Uner the cloak, Yareena is wearing her duel outfit, which is of a shiny pink catsuit, which itself is worn with a headband made of the same coloured material as her cautsuit - the suit is unfortunately mostly seen in the battle against Tasha, meaning a lot of movement prevented clear shots for the most part.
The guards under Lutan's command are all in grey wraparounds and harem pants similary to Hagon (though with a different material), worn with belts and fez-like hats adorned with silver metallic material.
Other denizens of Ligon II are briefly seen in various colourful, but still rather 'ethnic' looking garb, consisting of golden coloured shiny materials.
'The Last Outpost'
This episode introduced the Ferengi, the alien species intended to be the new foil for the Enterprise crew, who would end up as a recurring force for the rest of the series, especially in Deep Space 9. In their first appearance, the Ferengi wear uniforms consisting of grey tunics and trousers with shiny black lining on the arms, with furs worn over the tunic, as well as fur boots worn with the trousers, with metallic headpieces worn over their heads (something which would be kept in almost all outfits worn by the Ferengi in all following series).
'Where No One Has Gone Before'
This episode introduced another alien who would appear again in later seasons, the Traveller (Eric Menyuk), an enigmatic alien with tremendous powers, who is clad in a mottled grey jumpsuit.
The Traveller transports the crew to the far reaches of the universe, which induces hallucations among the crew, with Picard having a vision of his mother, clad in a paterned blue and silver dress that is sadly partly obscured by a table.
'Lonely Among Us
In this one, the Enterprise be host to two alien species with a vicious hatred to one another, the first of these being the snake-like Selay, who are all clad in red-hooded outfits with light-red garments hooked to the front, with their chief ambassader being claid in yellow with a golden cloak instead.
The second species are the Selay's enemies, the dog-like Anticans, who are clad in mottled grey cloaks with striped fur strips running down the middle and sides of it, thought most of their secenes are in darkness, preventing them being seen clearly.
This episode also introduced the Starfleet dress uniforms which consist of long wraparound tunics worn with black leggings, with shiny lining around the flaps of the tunic, with officers red tunics having gold lining (and the admiral's dress uniform - briefly worn by Q in 'Hide and Q' - has much thicker golden lining over the flaps), whilst the operations yellow uniforms having silver lining. This uniform would be slightly tweaked in later seasons, but would basically remain the same.
'Justice'
This episode was set on the planet Rubicun III, whose denizens are all dressed extremely skimpy, putting the 'Thiess Titillation Theory' - the idea that an outfit is sexier the more it looks like it could fall off at any moment - to the test, with the men being dressed even more skimpy, just being in cloth strips, whilst the women are in skimpy dresses. The security of Rubicun III meanwhile are in similarly skimpy grey outfits consisting of diamond-shaped grey garments worn over the chest, along with shorts.
'Hide and Q'
This episode was mostly with historical costumes (and uniforms at that), but briefly had a female Klingon summoned into existence by Riker (Jonathan Frakes) after Q gave him his powers, this Klingon wearing a patterned grey and black leotard worn over netting, as well as ridged armor and the collar that was a staple of the Klingon's as designed by Robert Fletcher for the Star Trek movies.
'Haven'
This episode introduced Troi's mother, the fabulous Lwaxana (Majel Barrett), who in her debut appearance would wear the first of many wonderful dresses that she would wear in her future appearances, with this particular episode introducting her in a patterned red dress with tubing around the collar and shoulders, which sometimes has a sparkly rainbow coloured foil coat worn over it.
Lwaxana's second outfit, worn during the dinner party for the wedding, is a shiny purple and red coloured dress covered in black markings, and worn with a red jewelled necklace with laurels adorning one of her arms
This episode also introduced Lwaxana's faithful servant, Mr Homn (Carel Struycken), who wears a long grey coat covered in very pale brown markings, giving the suit's fabric the appearance of having almost the texture of wood.
For the party, Troi wears a different catsuit, this being in a shinier pinkish material, with the v-pattern belt marking being this time coloured a dark purple with gemstone-like objects adorned to it.
Troi is getting married to Wyatt (Robert Knepper), the son of Steven (Robert Ellenstein) and Victoria Miller (Nan Martin), with Steven clad in a wonderful blue and brown patterned jacket, with padded pieces worn on the shoulders, as well as a large diamond-shaped piece worn across the front of the jacket, which is worn with brown trousers.
Victoria meanwhile is in a grey dress with a floral pattern on the front, the front itself cut into strips, and the dress also being worn with a grey cloak and large rounded hat and gloves when she has just arrived, as well as when she is about to depart again.
Wyatt is wearing a grey tunic made of a ridged material with a large triangular segment over the front, as well as similar triangular patterns over his cuffs, and worn over a red jumper and grey trousers.
The wedding is partly interupted by the Tarellians, a species almost wiped out by a disease with its survivors looking for Haven, the planet the Enterprise is orbiting - the Tarellians are dressed in either loose shirts or dresses that are either concealing or midriff baring, these outfits honestly resembling Theiss' work on the original Star Trek the most out of his designs for The Next Generation's first season.
This episode also has a very brief appearance from an ambassador from the titular Haven, begging the Enterprise to have the Tarellians leave, who is wearing a shiny green gown that is sadly not seen in full. There are also some holographic harp players in shiny golden and silver gowns.
'Datalore'
This episode introduced Data's evil twin brother, the sociopathic android Lore, who in this appearance just wears the Starfleet utility uniform, which consists of a yellow jumpsuit with a wraparound cut (similar to a gi almost) worn over a black jumper - versions of this uniform also came in blue, and apparently red (I haven't been able to see the red ones yet though...).
'Angel One'
This one was set on the titular planet that was hom to a society where the women where superior to the men (a scenario that had been done previously by Rodenberry in his Planet Earth), with the women, led by Beata (Karen Montgomery) all clad in similarly cut garments of kimono-like gowns, with woolen pieces stuck over the top - Beata in particular is distingtuished by her outfit being dark blue.
When eloping with Riker, Beata dons a purple dress with glittery black splashes over the front, as well as red dots, though sadly this dress is never seen fully.
The security of Angel One are all in grey versions of the blue and purple women's outfit, but with large shoulders and made of a rougher, grey material. as well as trousers instread og a dress part.
The most famous outfits of this particular episode are the revealing outfits worn by the men of Angel One, with one of these outfits being donned by Riker - the men all wear v-cut open shirts made of coloured material, wotn with pastel coloured trousers with straps adorning the legs.
Stuck on Angel One are a group of survivors from a starship crash, the leader of which is Ramsey (Sam Hennings), who is wearing a ridged beige jacket, with pads on the shoulders and dark brown strips on the sleeves, over his tatty grey shirt - I am certain that the jacket was actually reused from a freighter pilot's in Star Trek III: The Search for Spock.
Wesley is seen in this episode doing arctic activities in the holodeck, with him and his friend wearing glittery silver jumpsuits with tubing around the shoulders and neck, as well as headbands made of the same tubed material.
'11001001'
This episode involves the Enterprise's computers being hacked by the Bynar, super-intelligent aliens with an affinity for computers, which translates to even their outfits, which are grey bodysuits with black strips down the middle and metallic patterns covering the front and sides, combining the make the outfits almost resemble computer chips - in keeping with the 'binary code' theme, the costumes are mirror images of each other even, which is seen clearer with how the Bynar travel in pairs.
This episode also briefly shows Worf, Tasha and other Starfleet crewmembers in some form of outdoor sports unifirm, which consists of a brigh blue spandex bodysuit fitted with ridged black segments on one side of the torso, the segment being shaped in a zig-zag pattern too.
'Too Short a Season'
This episode introduced yet another Starflet uniform, this being the admirals uniform, which would be seen again in the episode 'Conspiracy' - the admiral's uniform is an assymetricla red and black tunic with gold lining around the shoulders and frontm as wekk as a black triangle coated in gold lining around the cuffs.
This particular episode has the aged admiral Jameson (Clayton Rohner) arrive on the Enteprrise with his wife Anne (Marsha Hunt) who is first seen wearing a blue dress covered in zig-zag patterns, and wearing a silver necklace, with the dress also having a hood.
Anne's second outfit is a lilac dress with a lighter coloured floral patterned shawl worn around it, the dress even being worn with identically coloured boots.
'When The Bough Breaks'
This episode involved the planet Aldea and its adults kidnapping children from the Enterprise in order to be their new families, and help repopulate their dying world. The children in question are dressed in a variety of garish onesies, often fitted with large shoulders - a lot of the civilian attire in general is fairly garish, but sadly most of the civilians onboard the Enterprise never have their outfits seen clearly at all, nore can I find anything on auction sites.
Rashella (Brenda Strong) meanwhile is in wraparound orange wraparound worn over a yelloish vest, with a floral patterned garment worn over one side- this colour scheme is shared by almost all the outfits worn by the Aldeans, who seem to prefer orange, brown or yellow hues.
Duana (Ive Bethune) is in an orange dress with a brown gown over it, the gown having white rough material lining it.
The rest of the Aldeans meanwhile follow a similar dress sense to Rashella, consisting of wraparounds or gowns, but minus the floral garments!
'Home Soil'
In this episode, the Enterprise investigates a terraforming colony that has suffered a string of strange events, with the colony's scientists all wearing aqua-coloured jumpsuits that have been fitted with square buttons and an asymmetrical panel of grey material on the front and back - the jumpsuit also has a rather oddly cut collar, and a thick black belt around the waist.
'Coming of Age'
This episode involved Wesley taking part in in the exam to join Starfleet Academy, and meets the other budding hopefules, such as Mordock (John Putch), a 'Benzite' alien, who always wears a breathing apparatus fixed onto his tunic, the tunic itself being asymetrical in design, with a zig-zag patterned fabric, and shiny fabric exposed for the cuffs and underside of the tunic.
Oliana (Estee Chandler) is another attendant of the exam, who is in a blue top with a multicoloured top half, the fabric going over the arms and worn with leggings of the same colour and pattern.
T'Shanik (Tasia Valenza) is a Vulcan attendee of the exam, who is dressed rather similarly to Oliana, with a large multicoloured garment worn over her blue tunic, though is wearing purple leggings.
Jake (Stephen Gregory) is a student who failed to join the Starfleet Academy, and is seen wearing a brown jumpsuit with black lining around the collar, waist and shoulders, and is worn over a shiny blue shirt.
'Heart of Glory'
Briefly seen in this episode is a Klingon commander, who wears a tunic designed to resemble the typical Klingon uniform created by Robert Fletcher for the original Star Trek movies, but made of fabric rather than the sleek leather and metal of the original design. It also has a shiny tubed lining around the shoulder board as well.
'The Arsenal of Freedom'
This episode has the Enterprise land on a planet that still has a fully automated weapons system that is also trying to sell itself, literally. to the crew, and represents itself with a hologram of a company spokesman, 'the Peddler' (Vincent Schiavelli), who is clad in a grey patterned tunic with silver lining around the seam, colla and cuffs.
This outfit would be briefly reused in Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country, being seen worn by a Federation delegate, allowing the trouser pattern to be seen better as well.
'Symbiosis'
This episode had the Enterprise negotiating between two planets totally depedant on each other, with one selling the other drugs to cure its populations apparent fatal illnesses - the two denizens of the parasitical society, Sobi (Judson Scott) and Langor (Kimberly Farr) are the most notable outfits, with Sobi in a shiny blue lined tunic that is mostly made up of a wavey beige pattern, worn with pants of the same pattern.
Langot meanwhile is in a pinkish-white dress that is made of a shiny material, and ornately cut, with a pointed skirt, as well as revealing the sides of her midriff, just over the creased midsection.
'We'll Always Have Paris'
This episode involved a former fling of Picard's, Jenice Manheim (Michelle Phillips), ending up on the Enterprise, and she is clad thought in a powdery blue dress that seems to be one single piece (and slightly revealing a bit of the side!), and is even worn with boots in the same colour.
Jenice has only ended up on the ship thanks to being transported to it along with Manheim (Rod Loomis), a scientist who is always clad in a beige jumpsuit with an open collar and a darker pattern on the front.
As per the episodes title, the Enterprise's holodeck manages to mimic the Paris of the future, where we see a few other guests in colourful dresses, but also a futuristic spin on a classic waiter uniform, this waiter wearing a beige synthetic jacket worn over a shirt that has been fixed to have a bow-tie like shape around the neck - and special mention to the other waiter playing a futuristic instrument whilst in a pink shirt and waistcoat.
Briefly seen is this holographic citizen wearing a grey jumpsuit with darker grey material fastened on it, almost making it look like a set of overalls.
'The Neutral Zone'
The last episode of the season finally showed us the Romulans in their first appearance since the original 60s series - the designs here, actually do follow on from that, as like the original Romulan costumes, these new ones have a garment worn over one shoulder, though this time its black rather than blue or pink - this design was only very briefly seen in this episode, and would be replaced in the next season with Durinda Wood's Romulan costumes (which themselves would be reworked by Robert Blackman in ensuing seasons), which emphasizes the shoulders and got rid of the the side garment (and silver collar), though would keep to the general fabric and colourscheme that was in Weiss' design.
Friday, 14 May 2021
Out of the Unknown (1965 - 1971)
A science-fiction anthology series that has sadly been overlooked (and not helped at all by how a lot of its episodes have been lost, thanks to the BBC and its 'junking' procedures - a fate suffered by many old televisions series), Out of the Unknown was partly adapted from many existing scifi stories br writers including JG Ballard, Phillip K Dick, Isaac Asimov and John Wyndham. Though most of the episodes (that are surviving at any rate) just had their cast in contemporary clothing. It should also be worth noting that, sadly, most of these episodes have their costume designers uncredited.
'The Dead Past'
The cast of this episode wore futuristic suits with no collars or lapels, worn over vests with a similar design. One cast member wears a buttonless jacket made of a hexagonal fabric pattern - a time when that wasn't a hoary old scifi visual design cliche.
'Thirteen to Centaurus'
This episode involved a space colonization team, with the civilian members all lined jackets with leather straps on the collars and sides of the jacket, with the position of the straps reversed depending on the wearer's gender. Strangely, these uniforms would be regularly reused in other scifi productions such as; the Doctor Who serial 'The Ice Warriors', The Avengers episode 'The Living Dead' and The Tomorrow People serial 'The Dirtiest Business' - the latter two reuses were in colour, revealing the uniform's colour to be beige.
'The Machine Stops'
Costumes by: Barbara Lane
This episode involved a society in thrall to 'the Machine' which cares for everyones needs under the ground, and had one of the more inventive costumes of the series yet, courtesy of Barbara Lane. Lane would go on to have a long career in costume design, but it is striking that the underground humans such as Vashti (Yvonne Mitchell) are wearing conical headpieces, as Lane would design similar headpieces such as the the one worn by the stone person Eldrad in the Doctor Who serial 'The Hand of Fear', as well as the headpieces worn by the Mutoids in Blake's 7, which Lane was costume designer on for its first series. Vashti doesn't get many good shots, but at first is wearing a slightly shiny bodysuit with the headpiece.
'Too Many Cooks'
This episodes cast wore gowns with robes consisting of cross-crossing fabric stripes; the elder was only distinguished by their robe being in white rather than black.
'Immortality, Inc.'
The denizens of the future in this episode wear wide-shouldered tunics; one notable exception is the woman who wears a silvery dress with ornate jewellery around the collar.
'Liar!'
This episodes cast wear a variety of sleek futuristic jackets and jumpsuits; the jackets and jumpsuits tend to have vinyl lining around the cuffs and transparent patches on the chest, with one woman cast member wearing a jumpsuit with a colourful patterned v-neck panel.
'Beach Head'
Costumes by: Charles Knode
This episode involved a spacecraft crew on an alien planet, all clad in some of the most colourful uniforms ever worn in science-fiction, with the commander and his staff in striped tunics of grey and shades of pink, fitted with red pieces at the shoulders and worn with trailing bellbottoms. The security staff wear uniforms of the same pattern but are of a darker shade of grey and with yellow and brown stripes instead.
The women members of the crew are in less outfit colourful uniforms, though these still have the red shoulder straps, as well as being fitted with a see-through plastic piece around the skirt segment of the tunic.
'The Naked Sun'
Costumes by: Charles Knode
This episode again had its costumes designed by Charles Knode, though the futuristic uniforms this time were not as vibrant, being just grey shirts witn faux-pockets and blue panelling around the shoulders and collar.
'1 + 1 = 1.5'
In this episode, the male scientists wear a variety of futuristic jackets, one of them appearing to have coloured panelling down the front and sides.
'Target Generation'
The future denizens of this episode wear a form of jumpsuit that is cut around the top half to resemble a tunic.
'Get Off My Cloud'
This was an episode of the third season that is, sadly, entirely lost (the fourth season would just entirely head into horror territory, with no science-fiction tales being adapted), just only existing now as a couple of production photos. The story would have involved a science-fiction author retreating into his own imagination, and as such coming face to face with his own characters - these included a space princess in a silvery shiny dress (sadly, no photos of her in full) as well as two space warriors in amazingly cheesy perspex armor and pointed helmets, these absolutely being a spoof of the designs in space opera comics such as Flash Gordon, Buck Rogers or Dan Dare. I only have to wonder who the costume designer for this episode was!
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