ALL SCI-FI

Pow · Posted: Sun Mar 05, 2023 10:14 pm Post subject: Wardrobes.

Wardrobes.

Star Trek: The Next Generation. Spandex was used for the one-piece Starfleet uniforms for the first two seasons of the series and they were a nightmare for the cast to wear.

They were made two sizes too small on purpose and the actors hated how unforgiving they were.

Spandex retains human body odors; at some point they are unable to clean all of the smell out after a period of time. Also, it retains the odor from the dry cleaning fluid which is unpleasant.

The spandex costumes dug into the actors shoulders over the course of the 12 to 15 hour shooting days. The pressure on their bodies led to back problems for the cast. Patrick Stewart's chiropractor told him that he should sue Paramount Pictures for lasting damage done to his spine.

Wool was used for the uniforms starting in the third season. Wool can be stubbornly inflexible and made it difficult for the cast to move. The uniforms were redesigned to be a two-piece outfit that allowed flexibility.

The cast for Star Trek: The Motion Picture loathed their uniforms on that production. The costume trousers were attached to the shoes which made them ludicrously impractical. The cast said that they would refuse to wear them in anymore Trek feature films.

Star Trek: The Wrath of Khan's new costumes were actually the old beige ones from ST: TMP that had been dyed red.

Star Trek: Voyager. Jerri Ryan's full Borg outfit when we are first introduced to her character made her pass out. The collar pressed into her carotid artery and reduced blood flow.

Later on when Seven-of-Nine is given an outfit, Ryan could not bend over or even sit down in it. She required assistance to remove it for bathroom breaks. The production would have to shut down for 20 minutes during such breaks.

Bud Brewster · Posted: Mon Mar 06, 2023 11:12 am Post subject: Re: Wardrobes.

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Wonderful post, Pow! Very Happy

I never knew that the costumes that looked so good on screen were so uncomfortable and impractical. And the last item on your list is very troubling!

tmlindsey · Posted: Mon Mar 06, 2023 4:26 pm Post subject:

Women's costumes on Star Trek were always designed for male eye-appeal before any other considerations, Next Gen was known for having the "Star Trek Bra" to pad the women up to make them "more appealing".

The cat-suits on Voyager and Enterprise were ridiculous and only for one thing; drooling fanboys.

I never understood why costume designers didn't factor in the comfort for the actors or the practicality for production. Any producer that would allow a production to be regularly held up for someone's complicated "pee break" needs to be fired.
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Bud Brewster · Posted: Mon Mar 06, 2023 8:33 pm Post subject:

Krel · Space Ranger Joined: 19 Feb 2023 Posts: 190

Pow · Posted: Mon Mar 06, 2023 10:29 pm Post subject:

Gentlemen you are so right. How could Hollywood with years and years of both film and television production end up creating such impractical wardrobes for their projects?

"Time is money" is no more crucial than in Hollywood, especially in television. The creator of these science fiction series realize that they do not have a second to waste when shooting their shows. They also are well aware of the fact that the cast is going to be in front of the camera and putting in 12, 13, 14, hour days. It only makes sense to have them be as comfortable as possible and create costumes that are rarely time consuming when filming.

I am not sure if the wardrobe designers are at fault, or if they do indeed point out the flaws of the types of wardrobes that the producers demand and are simply overruled by the producers. Either way you'd think the powers that be would have long learned this lesson by the 21st century.

mach7 · Quantum Engineer Joined: 23 Apr 2015 Posts: 395

mach7 · Quantum Engineer Joined: 23 Apr 2015 Posts: 395

Speaking of Trek costumes, I was watching "I Mudd" not to long ago and something caught my eye.

It looks like Alice 5's has a wardrobe malfunction, she is showing a bit more leg than she should be. Obviously she is not wearing any underwear under the stockings.

I hope the large format photo is ok, it is needed to see the
"mistake".

Bud Brewster · Posted: Sat Apr 15, 2023 3:18 pm Post subject:

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Is the wardrobe malfunction the fact that her crotch is visible? I suspect she's wearing panties under the pantyhose, rather than on top. That would cause the vertical seam in the pantyhose to be visible.

Yes, it probably wasn't meant to show. Embarassed

And yet she seems modestly dressed compared some of the other ladies in the series, such as this gal from "Wink of an Eye". Nice outfit, eh? Very Happy

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Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)

mach7 · Quantum Engineer Joined: 23 Apr 2015 Posts: 395

Well you can see her....
hmmmm....

Her pubic area.
Basically her whole crotch under her shear stockings.

Bud Brewster · Posted: Sat Apr 15, 2023 3:40 pm Post subject:

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Hmmm. I think it's debatable, but perhaps you're right. She's certainly walking around on the set showing something. Shocked

Here's a closer look. Cool

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Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)

Krel · Space Ranger Joined: 19 Feb 2023 Posts: 190

mach7 · Quantum Engineer Joined: 23 Apr 2015 Posts: 395

Yes,

Kirk's wrap tunic was green. It was done for 2 reasons.

First to give the Kirk a uniform that was different from the
other crew, to identify him as the Captain.

Second was to give Shatner a little girdle action as he tended to put on a bit of weight as the season went on.

Star Treks Cinematographer, Jerry Finnerman liked to "paint with light" He would use blue, green, yellow, purple gels over some of the lights. I think this adds to the different colors seen of the TV.

The original costumes have faded a bit over the years, but there has not been much actual color change.
Here are some others from that same exhibit.

Krel · Space Ranger Joined: 19 Feb 2023 Posts: 190

mach7 · Quantum Engineer Joined: 23 Apr 2015 Posts: 395

Thats a good point about the color.

If I remember correctly, and I might not, NBC was owned by
RCA at the time and NBC was going all color in 1966.
This was to help sell RCA color TV's.
I think this is the reason the uniforms were switched from blue and yellow in "The Cage" to the 3 primary colors in the 2nd pilot and production run. I also think that that is the reason the bridge got it's red highlights.

I always thought that Finnerman's "Paint with light" was his artistic choice, but it makes sense that it was part of the whole RCA/NBC order for more color. I'll check my season 1 "These are the voyages" book.