Even if you don’t know an El-Aurian from an Illyrian, even if you can’t tell the original Enterprise from the Enterprise-D, you’re probably familiar with one of the fundamental rules of Star Trek: redshirts always die.
Unlike many of the popular misconceptions about the series, the redshirt stereotype does have grounding in the show. Over the course of three seasons in The Original Series, 26 characters wearing red tunics died, as opposed to 15 wearing gold and blue combined. But that trend stopped with the Star Trek movies, and continued to fall away with The Next Generation and the spinoffs that followed.
Why, you ask? Because the costume colors signify a crewman’s role on their particular ship, and the color scheme changed between Tos and Tng.
Although some Trekkies hate to admit it, Star Trek didn’t really have much in the way of canon in its first few episodes.
Unlike many of the popular misconceptions about the series, the redshirt stereotype does have grounding in the show. Over the course of three seasons in The Original Series, 26 characters wearing red tunics died, as opposed to 15 wearing gold and blue combined. But that trend stopped with the Star Trek movies, and continued to fall away with The Next Generation and the spinoffs that followed.
Why, you ask? Because the costume colors signify a crewman’s role on their particular ship, and the color scheme changed between Tos and Tng.
Although some Trekkies hate to admit it, Star Trek didn’t really have much in the way of canon in its first few episodes.
- 2/27/2024
- by Joe George
- Den of Geek
"Star Trek: The Next Generation" is a truly impressive show that managed to not only expand upon the work of its predecessor, "Star Trek: The Original Series," but it created a found family among the cast and gave them the opportunity to grow as entertainers. A lot of good came from "Next Gen" and it could be a lot of fun to work on, but apparently there was one aspect of creating the show that the cast absolutely loathed. (And honestly? It's hard to blame them.) Along with all of the joys of creating one of the best science fiction programs of all time came one very big setback — though it was definitely worse for some castmates than others.
In a 2007 Entertainment Weekly oral history of the seminal sci-fi series, star LeVar Burton, who played Lieutenant Commander Geordi La Forge, shared the one thing that he really hated about working on "Star Trek,...
In a 2007 Entertainment Weekly oral history of the seminal sci-fi series, star LeVar Burton, who played Lieutenant Commander Geordi La Forge, shared the one thing that he really hated about working on "Star Trek,...
- 2/17/2024
- by Danielle Ryan
- Slash Film
In the "Star Trek" episode "A Private Little War," Captain Kirk (William Shatner) finds himself in the middle of an ethical conundrum. The primitive, agrarian society on the planet Neural, ordinarily peaceful and gentle, has suddenly been granted access to rifles, a technology far ahead of their capabilities. It seems that an evil Klingon named Krell (Ned Romero) has been arming half of the Neural citizens, hoping to perpetuate a vicious civil war. Kirk's initial instinct is to arm the losing side with the same weapons, although others point out that doing so would merely escalate the conflict, not end it. Kirk argues that the losing side would, with weapons, at least be given a fighting chance.
This is, of course, a heavy-handed, Roddenberrian deconstruction of the Vietnam War, which was happening contemporaneously. In "Trek" creator Gene Roddenberry's eyes, Americans were interfering in a civil war they had no vested interest in.
This is, of course, a heavy-handed, Roddenberrian deconstruction of the Vietnam War, which was happening contemporaneously. In "Trek" creator Gene Roddenberry's eyes, Americans were interfering in a civil war they had no vested interest in.
- 1/23/2024
- by Witney Seibold
- Slash Film
The Starfleet uniforms seen on the original "Star Trek" series back in 1966 were designed by William Ware Theiss, a costume designer who had previously worked on major Hollywood productions like "Spartacus," and who would go on to design for films like "Harold & Maude," "Bound for Glory," and "Pete's Dragon." According to an article on StarTrek.com, Theiss became friends with D.C. Fontana on the set of "Spartacus" (Fontana worked as a member of the studio's typing pool), which gave him the connection he needed to land his "Star Trek" job. It was Theiss' idea to make futuristic space uniforms look more shirt-like and casual, which stood in contrast to the shiny-and-chrome sci-fi costumes that were more in vogue at the time.
Theiss was also notorious for the skin-revealing outfits he designed for the show's many female guest stars, and he was noted for being able to ride the line...
Theiss was also notorious for the skin-revealing outfits he designed for the show's many female guest stars, and he was noted for being able to ride the line...
- 12/30/2023
- by Witney Seibold
- Slash Film
If one was in a critical mood, one might point out that many of the Starfleet uniforms seen throughout "Star Trek" don't really scream professionalism. In the original series, futuristic military uniforms were little more than warm, tight-fitting t-shirts, black slacks, and polished black boots. Women, meanwhile, wore tailored minidresses and black leggings, hardly practical for away missions that may involve hiking, phaser fire, or quick movement. One might need to flex their well-toned headcanon muscles to posit that future fabrics were more durable and regulated temperature better than what we have here in the 21st century.
On "Star Trek: The Next Generation," things didn't improve much. For one, some of the original minidresses remained in the backgrounds of the show's first few episodes. This was in the decidedly post-minidress year of 1987. To be fair, the showrunners clearly tried taking the curse off of the inherently sexist costuming by putting...
On "Star Trek: The Next Generation," things didn't improve much. For one, some of the original minidresses remained in the backgrounds of the show's first few episodes. This was in the decidedly post-minidress year of 1987. To be fair, the showrunners clearly tried taking the curse off of the inherently sexist costuming by putting...
- 10/30/2023
- by Witney Seibold
- Slash Film
Gene Roddenberry left Star Trek’s third season to write a Tarzan film that never got produced, setting a tone for the next decade of his career. He produced the wretched Pretty Maids all in a Row and slunk back to television, first with the animated Trek and then a deal with Warner Bros that would see him produce the underrated Questor and Spectre along with a new science fiction film, seemingly designed to distance himself from the optimistic Sf albatross around his neck.
He cut a deal with CBS in 1972 to produce a 90-minute film, Genesis II designed to be a pilot for a potential series. He quickly reunited with many of the behind-the-scenes Trek team and got to work, creating a dystopia that began in 1979. We open in 2133 as Earth is recovering from nuclear war and mankind has been dramatically reduced in number. Apparently, the survivors didn’t...
He cut a deal with CBS in 1972 to produce a 90-minute film, Genesis II designed to be a pilot for a potential series. He quickly reunited with many of the behind-the-scenes Trek team and got to work, creating a dystopia that began in 1979. We open in 2133 as Earth is recovering from nuclear war and mankind has been dramatically reduced in number. Apparently, the survivors didn’t...
- 10/5/2020
- by Robert Greenberger
- Comicmix.com
This year marked the 50th anniversary of Star Trek, and while we saw a new movie hit theaters, for many fans, the best Trek-related entertainment ever created will always be the classic episodes of Tos (The Original Series). If you're looking for a last minute way to celebrate the series' anniversary, BoingBoing points out a good method for paying tribute to the show: visit the set of the USS Enterprise in upstate New York.
No, it's not the exact same set that was used for filming, but it's the next closest thing. James Crowley, a fifty-year-old Elvis impersonator from Ticonderoga, NY, was friends with William Ware Theiss, who worked as Gene Roddenberry's costume designer on the original Star Trek series. When Theiss passed away, he left the original blueprints for the Trek set to Crowley in his will, and Crowley apparently rented out an old 13,000 square foot supermarket and...
No, it's not the exact same set that was used for filming, but it's the next closest thing. James Crowley, a fifty-year-old Elvis impersonator from Ticonderoga, NY, was friends with William Ware Theiss, who worked as Gene Roddenberry's costume designer on the original Star Trek series. When Theiss passed away, he left the original blueprints for the Trek set to Crowley in his will, and Crowley apparently rented out an old 13,000 square foot supermarket and...
- 12/9/2016
- by Ben Pearson
- GeekTyrant
Star Trek: The Original Series aired 50 years ago, Thursday. (Actually, that's a bit of a cheat: The series originally aired Sept. 6, 1966 … in Canada, so you know, it doesn't count.)
The show never achieved high ratings during its original run of three seasons, but as it went into syndication throughout the 1970s, it became the cult classic it is today, with 13 feature films and five additional television series following. In honor of its 50th anniversary, we're rounding up some facts you might not have known about the series that boldly went where no other show had gone before.
1. Some of the...
The show never achieved high ratings during its original run of three seasons, but as it went into syndication throughout the 1970s, it became the cult classic it is today, with 13 feature films and five additional television series following. In honor of its 50th anniversary, we're rounding up some facts you might not have known about the series that boldly went where no other show had gone before.
1. Some of the...
- 9/8/2016
- by Alex Heigl, @alex_heigl
- People.com - TV Watch
Star Trek: The Original Series aired 50 years ago, Thursday. (Actually, that's a bit of a cheat: The series originally aired Sept. 6, 1966 … in Canada, so you know, it doesn't count.) The show never achieved high ratings during its original run of three seasons, but as it went into syndication throughout the 1970s, it became the cult classic it is today, with 13 feature films and five additional television series following. In honor of its 50th anniversary, we're rounding up some facts you might not have known about the series that boldly went where no other show had gone before. 1. Some of the...
- 9/8/2016
- by Alex Heigl, @alex_heigl
- PEOPLE.com
Star Trek: The Original Series aired 50 years ago, Thursday. (Actually, that's a bit of a cheat: The series originally aired Sept. 6, 1966 … in Canada, so you know, it doesn't count.) The show never achieved high ratings during its original run of three seasons, but as it went into syndication throughout the 1970s, it became the cult classic it is today, with 13 feature films and five additional television series following. In honor of its 50th anniversary, we're rounding up some facts you might not have known about the series that boldly went where no other show had gone before. 1. Some of the...
- 9/8/2016
- by Alex Heigl, @alex_heigl
- PEOPLE.com
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