Star Trek: The Original Series - Season 1 (1966)

Costume Design by William Ware Theiss

Perhaps the most iconic science-fiction series ever made, spawning several movies and sequel series and becoming a household name in science-fiction fandom circles for decades afterwards, what definitely separates the original Star Trek from a good deal of even contemporary American science-fiction series such as Lost in Space was a surprising avoidance of outright cliche with the costumes - sure, there was miniskirts and whatnot, but there was no triangular chest patches, pointed shoulder pads or collar tubing to be seen in William Ware Theiss' costumes for the show's run in all of its three seasons. Theiss had worked in science-fiction productions before taking on Star Trek, granted - he had apparently worked on episodes of My Favorite Martian, and then the stage production 'The World of Ray Bradbury', which earned him the Star Trek gig (the full story can be read on this article, 'William Ware Theiss: In & Out of Uniform' on the official Star Trek website), though between the pilot episode and the actual series he also did an episode of The Farmer's Daughter that involved dream sequences set in the future no less, the costume sketches of which still exist. Of course, for this entry we don't really have to cover his iconic colour-coded Starfleet uniforms - there's enough photos of these online!

'The Cage'

The pilot episode of the series, which starred not the (for better or worse) iconic James T Kirk (William Shatner), but instead the more subdued-in-acting Christopher Pike (Jeffrey Hunter) as the captain of the starship Enterprise. The episode's plot involved Pike and his crew - among which was Mr Spock (Leonard Nimoy) - being drawn to an alien planet by a species of telepaths as part of a plot to repopulate their world, with Pike and his crew as slaves. In one of many bizarre sequences where the telepaths create illustions to entice Pike, he is made to sport shiny blue gi-like gown worn with a shiny purple gown and a wiry collar with coloured beads on the end.

This episode also has the first example of what would be jokingly called the 'Theiss Titillation Theory', which was summed up as 'the sexiness of an outfit is directly proportional to the perceived possibility that a vital piece of it might fall off' - basically, outfits that were very revealing, but also covering up enough to not get censored on television. The green-skinned alien in this episode wears an asymmetrically cut dress, with leaf-like segments over it, and a section of the back exposed.

'Charlie X'

In this episode, the titular Charlie (Robert Walker) sports a jacket that also highlights Theiss' design traits, a propensity for rather asymmetrical cuts on jackets and jumpsuits, something that he would do even on the iconic Starfleet jumpsuits he designed for The Next Generation - it is interesting that in a way, the costume design sense from the original 60s series and all its 90s sequels as a consistent motif running through. Charlie's jacket is of green and purple colours, with curved fur lining over the front and shoulders.

'The Naked Time'

This episode also let us see that even Starfleet's hazmat suits are colourful and chintzy, having golden patterns over the orange fabric - if it had just been orange, I probably wouldn't have covered it here!

'Mudd's Women'

This episode introduced the sly conman Harry Mudd (Roger C. Carmel), who in this episode uses three women - Ruth Bonaventure (Maggie Thrett), Magda Kovacs (Susan Denberg) and Eve McHuron (Karen Steele) - as his accomplices, all of which are wearing glittery dresses. Ruth sports a green dress with an asymmetrical revealing opening on the front, Magda wears a blue shawl and Eve wears a pink deal with cuts around the skirt part.

'What Are Little Girls Made Of?'

A surprisingly dark episode involving a group of androids residing in an underground base, created by the mad scientist Dr Korby (Michael Strong) - the denizens of the base all wear costumes involving an blue and green patterned colour scheme, with Korby wearing a jumpsuit with asymmetrical blue and green strips over the front and back, as well as large holes cut around the leg.

Korby's aide, Dr Brown (Harry Basch) wears a set of overalls of the same with the straps at a diagonal cut (one strap blue, one green), with again the holes for the feet and worn over a black jumper as well.

The sole female android, Andrea (Sherry Jackson) wears another fine example of Theiss' 'titillation theory', wearing a set of asymmetrical overalls of the same blue and green colourscheme and diagonal cut as Brown's, but worn over no shirt at all, with the sides of the overalls cut to also show a bit of the midriff.

The other most infamous costume from this episode, albeit not for being revealing, is this robe worn by the brutish android Ruk (Ted Cassidy), with consists of a large grey cape with padded soldiers and an open collar, the undershirt and inner fabric of the cape being a floral pink pattern no less - hey, if a giant guy was chasing after you in a cave, would you pick apart his fashion sense?

'The Conscience of the King'

This episode, which involved somehow an intergalactic war criminal who had disguised himself as the leader of a Shakespearan performance troupe, assisted by his daughter Lenore (Barbara Anderson) who sports a few dresses, the first being this short blue dress with flowers stuck on the front and worn with a black shawl.

Lenore also briefly this green and blue patterned dress with pink streaks on the sleeves and green feather lining on the cuffs as well.

More striking among Lenore's wardrobe is this short furred dress worn with shiny stockings and an oval brooch on the chest as well.

Lenore is the daughter of Kodos (Anton Karidian), who sports a mottled green coat with green fur trim and golden fabric for the insides - and was then reworn in the third season episode 'Whom Gods Destroy', worn by that episode's villain along with a mismatched pair of green and blue boots!

'Balance of Terror'

This was the episode that introduced the Romulans, who would end up becoming recurring antagonists in later series such as The Next Generation and Deep Space Nine - in this first appearance, the Romulans all wear patterned golden sweaters worn with a sash worn over one of the shoulders, the sash being either a patterned blue or pink depending on whether they are an officer or not, and worn with trousers in the same colour as the sash. The soldiers also all wear rounded golden helmets as well. It is interesting that Theiss kept the asymmetrical element when he redesigned the Romulan uniform for the first series of The Next Generation, something which was abandoned in later depictions.

'Shore Leave'

In this rathr surrealistic episode penned by noted science-fiction author Theodore Sturgeon, the Enterprise's crew finds themselves making their fantasies and fears on a strange planet, with Kirk being accosted by the phantom of his former girlfriend Ruth (Shirley Bonne), who sports a lovely black and white dress with flowers fitted on the black side of the dress.

Of course, some of the crew use the planet's abilities to their advantage such as Dr McCoy (DeForrest Kelley) making two girls in very skimpy yellow and pink gear appear, both being clad in a furred bikini and leggings also adorned with furs on them in an asymmetrical fashion, worn with a feather headdress as well.

For most of the episode, Kirk is tormented by the phantom of his academy nemesis Finnegan (Bruce Mars), who wears the same Starfleet uniform with the except that his top is a sparkly silver colour!

'The Galileo Seven'

In this episode, the Enterprise lands on a strange planet, forcing Kirk and the crew to make some very harsh decisions, not helped by the presence of the boorish official Ferris (John Crawford), who sports a futuristic equivalent of a business suit, coloured blue with silver lining with large openings for the shoulders and a diagonal cut at the bottom as well.

'Court Martial'

In this episode, where Kirk is court martialed for a suspected case of manslaughter, another futuristic suit is seen worn by Kirk's attorny Samuel Cogley (Elisha Cook Jr.), who sports a rounded brown jacket with lighter brown patches around the cuffs and pockets, with a deep collar showing the jumper worn underneath it as well.

Leading the prosecution against Kirk is his former flame Areel Shaw (Joan Marshall), who is first seen wearing a green, yellow and purple patterned gown worn over yellowish stockings and sandals.

Also at Kirk's trial is Jame (Alice Rawlings), the daughter of the officer he supposedly killed, who sports this futuristic riff on a typical schoolgirl uniform, with the collar and skirt being made out of a silver-blue material, the rest of the top being made of translucent fabric.

This episode also lets us see the Starfleet dress uniforms in better detail, with the women's being much more striking - essentially the same miniskirt design as the usual, but with diagonal panelling over the front, and with golden lining around the collar as well.

Whilst not really seen in this episode, it is a good time to bring up the casual uniform that Kirk wears in various episodes, consisting of a lime-green wraparound tunic worn over the uniform's black trousers - which, incidentally was the actual colour of the 'gold' uniform top that he usually wore, but due to a combination of the fabric, studio lighting and early television technology, appeared as gold on TV screens all over the world.

'Space Seed'

This episode involved the Enterprise crew running into the escaped Earth dictator Khan (Ricardo Montalbahn), who admittedly isn't dressed as flashy here as he would be in his reapparance in The Wrath of Khan, being just in a red jumpsuit for most of it. Instead, the highlight has to be the golden mesh suits worn by the various women onboard his craft - Khan admittedly also wears such an outfit, but is barely seen properly in the episode itself via the use of closeup shots.

'A Taste of Armageddon'

This episode involved the Enterprise crew arriving on the planet Eminiar IV, as part of a diplomatic mission, bringing the obstinate ambassador Robert Fox (Gene Lyons) with them - Fox is clad in a rather stiff jacket with a large open collar adorned with filigree over the side of it, whilst his aide is in a sleek grey suit with pointed ends and no collar.

The residents of Eminiar IV, who are embroiled in a false state of war where they still execute all civilians supposedly killed in the false nuclear attacks, all have an asymmetrical design to their dress sense, with the women among their number wearing toga-like dresses cut in such a fashion. The most striking is the patterned blue and grey dress worn by Mea 3 (Barbara Babcock), which is worn with black tights as well. Some other women civilians are seen in similar attire, wearing headgear with it too.

The men of Eminiar IV dress with an even more obvious asymmetrical sense, all wearing black jumpers and trousers but with overalls that have been cut down the side to only be in one half, forming a sort of sash shape that goes from one shoulder down to one foot. This cut sash comes in a variety of colours, and is worn with a variety of headgear as well. The leader of Eminiar IV, Anan 7 (David Opatoshu) is distinguished not just by the colour of his 'sash', but also wearing a sort of shawl-like garment with it too.

'Errand of Mercy'

This was the episode that introduced the Klingons, who would end up as recurring villains in the series, as well as the movies that followed in the wake of Star Trek: The Motion Picture and a constant presence in the various 90s shows. In this episode, and all ensuing ones in the series, the Klingos all wear shiny golden tops over black jumpers, worn with metallic golden trousers with boots - in this episode, the commander Kor (John Colicos) is distinguished by the large golden sash he wears over his uniform.

'The Alternative Factor'

In this episode, the Enterprise's crew come across Lazarus (Robert Brown), a man who cam jump between realities, and wearing a sparkly blue jacket and trousers the whole time - it's hard to see clearly due to the outfit being coated in dirt, presumably to show how much wear and tear his reality-hopping antics have caused.

The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (1981)

Costume Design by Dee Robson

Douglas Adams’ comedic science-fiction radio play was adapted for television by the BBC in 1981 as a six-part miniseries. Dee Robson's duties went to designing the various alien characters.

I assume that Simon Jones' costume as Arthur Dent was all bought clothes, and more than likely that was the case with David Dixon's costume as Ford Prefect, but I can't be sure.

When designing Mark Wing-Davey's costume as Zaphod Beeblebrox, 'the worst-dressed person in the universe', Robson came up with a futuristic burgundy jacket covered in circuitry. The jacket was tailored to have extra sleeves for the fake prop arms.

The jacket was worn with a custom-made garish jumper with two collars - one for Wing-Davey's head, one for the puppet head - and orange trousers.

Robson came up with a scarlet 'space babe' swimsuit-like costume for Sandra Dickinson's role as Trillian. This costume is sometimes worn with a red skirt, or red leggings, both custom-made as part of the outfit.

When going outdoors, a custom-made red vinyl jacket is worn over the outfit, with the same deep v-neck collar. A set of gold and black painted boots finish the look.

The Deep Thought sequence has extras in a number of robes, all of which I feel were custom-made for the production. My personal favorite is the silver futuristic togas worn with necklaces of rectangular pieces.

A similar robe in a cream colour, worn over a buttoned gown, was made for Richard Vernon as Slartibartifast. The design is similar to robes that Robson had designed for the Doctor Who serials 'The Invasion of Time' and 'Terminus'.

Robson designed a futuristic tuxedo for Colin Jeavons to wear as Max Quordlepleen, the host of Milliways, 'the restaurent at the end of the universe'. The tuxedo is made of a gold and purple pinstriped material, with large purple collars, lapels and cuffs. Worn with the tuxedo are purple trousers and a golden frilly shirt.

Robson also designed a silver-streaked futuristic suit for Rayner Bourton as the galactic newscaster.

A white gown, and silver and gold cape was made for Colin Bennett as the Great Prophet Zarquon in his brief appearance - again, due to the design matching similar costumes in the miniseries, I feel this was custom-made for the production.

A futuristic white pinstriped suit, with comically oversized lapels, was made for the perfomer playing Hotblack Desiato's bodyguard, making him a parodic take on a 1930s gangster.

When it came to Hotblack Desiato's sparkly armor costume, Robson couldn't make the 'hard parts' in a typical costumiers or the BBC's Wardrobe Department. Robson turned to freelancer Richard Gregory and his firm Imagineering to manufacture the chestplate and gauntlets.

This would be Gregory's first contribution to a BBC science-fiction production, and he would go on to do several monster suits, prosthetics and costume 'hard parts' for Doctor Who over the years.

Perhaps Gregory also contributed the masked helmet worn by the Vl'Hurg commander in one comedic sequence, the mask reminiscent of 'Sutton Hoo helmet'.

Dee Robson used the Sutton Hoo helmet as an inspiration when designing the Vanir armor in the Doctor Who serial 'Terminus'. Similar helmets are worn by extras playing the Norse gods in the Milliways scenes.

The rest of the Vl'Hurg commander's costume consists of translucent material over the chest and shoulders, and a red studded kilt.

A pair of humorously 'space age' costumes were made for the performers playing the ancient Galactic explorers, both costumes having a sun motif emblazoned on the front.

Invidiual futuristic jackets were made for some performers playing the Golgafrinchans stranded on prehistoric Earth (and eventually becoming humanity). These included a zip-up pinstriped jacket for the marketing planner, and a wide-shouldered blue jacket with an embroidered phone patch for the phone cleaner.

(I imagine the various other Golgafrinchan performers were either in minimally altered or off-the-peg bought clothing, as the spaceship's crew are just in stock naval uniforms. And after all, they are meant to be a parody of 20th century humanity...)

Lastly were the uniforms worn by the Vogon performers, which consisted of padded custom-made green overall. The Vogon captain costume had the overalls fitted with a futuristic collar, though in the first episode he wears a different jumpsuit of a darker material and a flat collar - perhaps an earlier version that was replaced?

The Vogon guard's costume consists of similar overalls worn with custom dungarees in a very large size.