star trek next generation skant

Screen Rant

Star trek: why tng abandoned the skant (male minidress) uniform.

Early Star Trek: The Next Generation showed men wearing the iconic minidress uniform, so why did they stop appearing after two seasons?

In the early seasons of Star Trek: The Next Generation , male crewmembers on the Enterprise appeared wearing the skant uniform, the minidress sometimes worn by female crewmates, but this was abandoned after only a few brief scenes. It was a bold and controversial move on television in the eighties, even though these skant-clad men were only relegated to the background. Initially appearing in early seasons of  TNG , the Star Trek  series dropped the idea of men in the minidress without comment. The Starfleet uniforms have changed many times in the show’s history, but it was strange for this change to come and go so suddenly. Although it was rumored that the network disapproved of this low-key progressive move, the male skant was likely dropped for a more practical reason.

The skant uniform seen on male officers was identical to the one worn by female characters in the early seasons. Both Deanna Troi and Tasha Yar wore the skant during scenes of “Encounter at Farpoint,” and female background characters continued to wear the skant in first two seasons. It was a successor to the Star Trek:  The  Original Series minidress that all women wore. Part of the reason the showrunners included men in skants was to make a statement following the changing perspective on TOS’ minidresses. The short-skirted uniform worn by female crew in TOS  was intended as a feminist decision, but like many things about Star Trek , it didn’t age well  and needed to be salvaged if it was going to be used in The Next Generation.

Related:  Why Star Trek’s Animated Shows Are Always Controversial

According to Uhura actress Nichelle Nichols, the miniskirts didn’t carry the same sexist baggage for her in the ‘60s. Instead, they showed that the women of Starfleet were liberated and respected in their jobs no matter what they wore. However, over the following decades, fans started to feel putting the women in miniskirts while the men wore uniform pants was demeaning. When minidresses were revived for the sequel series, the uniform needed to seem less like an excuse to show off the female co-stars’ legs. The men in skants were included to show that it was a unisex uniform anyone could use, given the total gender equality achieved by the 24th century. Star Trek still had plenty of sexist uniform problems like Seven of Nine’s catsuit , but the Next Generation showrunners tried to indicate the skant was merely one choice of uniform anyone could make.

While the skant was used for some of the main cast in the Star Trek: The Next Generation  pilot, it was quickly dropped for everyone besides background characters. Troi’s original minidress and headband was poorly received as looking too much like a "space cheerleader," and Troi instead wore a variety of different civilian outfits after that. Tasha Yar wore the skant in a single scene of the pilot, but always wore the same jumpsuit uniform as the male bridge crew in later episodes. While it’s often been acceptable for some crew to wear a different uniform, it made more sense for the bridge crew to stick to jumpsuits while being thrown around in every combat. The costuming option was clearly not working, and men stopped wearing the skant in background scenes around the same time it was abandoned for women. In canon, the uniform was simply phased out of Starfleet.

The skant is an example of Star Trek ’s unique brand of gender equality, never abandoning the option for eye candy, but often allowing fans to ogle both the men and women. Fortunately, later Star Trek series have moved away from basing their costuming decisions on putting select women in the cast in the most form-fitting uniform. Star Trek has come a long way since its origins, but the male skant is one sign that the franchise tried to be progressive, even when creating The Next Generation ’s minidresses.

Next:  Picard's Knowledge Of Discovery's Mission Could Affect Star Trek's Future

• More to Explore
• Series & Movies

Published May 18, 2018

Behold the TNG Skant

You asked for it, and now you've got it. ThinkGeek has just made available the ANOVOS line of Star Trek: The Next Generation Skant Uniform Dresses. Legendary TOS costume designer William Ware Theiss created the skant for TNG at the behest of Gene Roddenberry, who wanted an outfit that could be worn by any Starfleet crew member regardless of gender.

The skants come in a variety of sizes and in the familar red, gold and blue colors. They're priced at $249.99. Go to www.thinkgeek.com to purchase your skant of choice.

Get Updates By Email

Why Men Wore Mini-Skirts on "Star Trek: The Next Generation"

• Shows For Kids

Every now and then, it comes up. Someone watches an early episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation . They look in the background, and they ask the question: "Why is that man wearing a mini-skirt?"

The answer is rooted in both sexism and non-sexism, Star Trek 's claim to be all about equality, and the reality of pandering to male fans to boost ratings.

There are few more controversial elements about the original Star Trek series than the Starfleet mini-skirt . In the classic series, men of Starfleet had a wide variety of uniforms. They wore pants with shirts, pants with jackets, pants with tunics, and variations in-between. But women of Starfleet almost without exception wore dresses. In fact, the majority of them wore mini-skirts.

An interesting note is that in the original unused  Star Trek  pilot "The Cage, " female Starfleet crew wore pants just like the men. In the reshot pilot, the women were dressed in skirts and remained so for the rest of the classic series. (This wasn't the only change that the studio forced on the production as a step away from feminism. The studio also demanded they cut a female first officer named Number One.)

How Fans Received the Mini-Skirts

Later on, Star Trek fans began to criticize the mini-skirts. They said such overt sexualization of the women on the show contradicted its claims of feminism and equality. Star Trek made bold strides for television at the time, when women were rarely seen in positions of power, and women of color even less so. But this was a glaring exception. The situation only got worse as society moved out of the sixties and into the seventies and eighties.

Of course, Star Trek could have just said, "Yeah, we admit it. We just wanted some cheesecake on the show." But that doesn't fit the narrative of Star Trek being a place for equality and feminism and multiculturalism and what-not.

Mini-Skirts for Male Star Trek Characters

When people began to complain, the Trek community's response was, "Nuh-uh! The mini-skirts weren't sexist! Because, uh, men wore them, too! It was unisex!" This seems to have been most clearly stated in 1995's The Art of Star Trek . In it, the book says, "The skirt design for men 'skant' [a combination of "skirt and pant"] was a logical development, given the total equality of the sexes presumed to exist in the 24th century."

Of course, this is easier said than done. The next question would always be, "So where were all the men in mini-skirts on the original series?" The answer would be that there were some, but you just didn't see them, which left uncomfortable stares and raised eyebrows. That gap is what Star Trek: The Next Generation tried to fill.

The "Skant"

When the pilot episode "Encounter at Farpoint" aired in 1987, the skant is worn by both Deanna Troi and Tasha Yar (briefly). But we also get our first glimpse of the male skant in the background in this episode. Overall, the men wearing skants appeared in five episodes of the first season ("Encounter at Farpoint," "Haven," "Conspiracy," "Where No One Has Gone Before" and "11001001"). They also appeared in second season episodes "The Child," "The Outrageous Okona," "The Schizoid Man," and "Samaritan Snare." Their final appearance came during flashbacks in the series finale "All Good Things..."

However, it's significant that the skant-wearing men only appeared as background characters, never as major characters with speaking parts. It's also significant none of the main male cast wore the skant. That, plus the phasing out of the skant in the third season onwards means that TNG probably felt the point was made, and quietly made them disappear. The skant continues to be a part of Trek culture, but mainly as a source of comedy instead of discussions of gender roles.

• All About the Lost Star Trek Pilot
• 20 Famous Guest Stars on 'The Simpsons'
• Katharine Hepburn Biography: Classic Hollywood's Independent Star
• Vince Vaughn Talks About "The Break-Up"
• Exclusive Interview with Lena Headey, the Queen of '300'
• The Evolution of the Superman Symbol
• The Top 50 Cartoon Characters of All Time
• Interview With Manga Artist Tite Kubo
• 'The Simpsons' Couples
• 'Futurama' Pictures
• Interview With Manga Artist Hiro Mashima
• Days of Our Lives Comings and Goings
• Top 20 Girl Groups of All Time
• Amazing Encounters with Angels
• 21 Best Horror Anthology Movies
• Top 30 Boy Bands of All Time

Why Picard's Special Uniform Is More Important Than You Think

Star Trek: The Next Generation went through an evolving process with regard to their uniforms. For the first two seasons, most everyone was wearing incredibly tight onesies with boot straps. The goal was that there would be no wrinkles, and that worked! Unfortunately, there was a metaphorical wrinkle — the uniforms were so tight that the physically pained the actors wearing them. At the time there was only one other option: the skant, a version of the uniform that ends in a skirt. Both men and women background actors wore the skant on occasion, but the only lead cast member to ever wear it was Counselor Deanna Troi (Marina Sirtis) and even that was temporary.

Much to the relief of most cast members, the standard Starfleet uniform was updated, beginning in season 3, by costume designer Robert Blackman. Rather than being one piece, the new uniform was a jacket and trousers.

However, there is one actor who got yet another version of their uniform: Captain Jean-Luc Picard ( Patrick Stewart ). The reason why his suit was changed is interesting, in more ways than you might guess. Let's talk about the genesis of the uniform, what it consists of, how it came to be, and how it seamlessly evolves the character of Jean-Luc Picard in ways you probably never even thought about.

Darmok and Jalad and a sweet, new suede jacket at Tanagra

The stardate is 45047.2, the actual date is September 30, 1991, and the episode is "Darmok." The Enterprise-D has been tasked with attempting to build The Children of Tama despite extreme difficulty in understanding their language. If you were alive when that episode first aired, you were likely very distracted for one very simple reason: the captain was wearing an open jacket. 

Yes, while everyone else was still in their normal uniforms, Captain Picard was tooling around in a suede coat with black, leather shoulders. And while the leather would ultimately be replaced with microsuede, we'd start seeing Picard in this outfit more and more often. The question is, where did this new jacket come from, and why? 

It turns out that Sir Patrick Stewart himself was interested in making Picard stand out, according to StarTrek.com . Robert Blackman, along with Stewart's input, set about making this new jacket to do exactly that. There's justification for a captain-specific uniform both within the continuity of Star Trek, and in real life: For example, on Star Trek: The Original Series, Captain Kirk (William Shatner) got his own wraparound tunic uniform. In real life, it's not uncommon for certain air carrier and submarine commanders to have a uniform specific to them.

But what makes this new uniform really interesting is the psychological component, as far as Picard himself. We've spent years with everyone but Troi perpetually wearing the same thing, and it's noteworthy that Picard, of all people, is the one to stretch his wings and wear something different. The reason, as it happens, is related to a rather dark incident with the Borg .

What it means for Picard to choose to stand out

Let's look a little further back for a moment. The stardate is 44001.4, the actual date is September 24, 1990, and the episode is "The Best of Both Worlds Part II." Captain Picard has been assimilated by the Borg. His identity has been ripped from him, all his knowledge has been devoured by the Collective, and they are using his face and his voice to act as ambassador while the Borg attempt to systematically dismantle the entirety of the Federation. Using Picard's knowledge and his body, the Borg invade the Alpha Quadrant, engage a fleet of Starfleet vessels, and obliterate them all. 

Eventually the crew of the Enterprise-D stop the Borg and save Picard's life, but the psychological damage is done. Picard has lost a part of himself, and, furthermore, must live with blood on his hands, even though he had no control of his actions.

Picard is, infamously, a bit of a stuffed shirt when we first meet him. After being assimilated by the Borg, it's safe to say that he crawls behind his stiff, public persona for safety. "Darmok" takes place almost exactly one year after Picard recovers from Borg assimilation. What makes that new uniform so interesting, then, is that it explicitly sets him apart from the rest of the crew: That suede coat is Picard expressing (and reclaiming) his individuality, even though he's usually so strict in his following of Starfleet rules. In essence, one year after being assimilated by a collective intelligence, Picard finally finds the strength to publicly declare that he is his own person, and that he has the right to stand out from the crowd.

That new jacket isn't just nice to look at, but is Picard's way of moving on from the Borg, and that's what makes the costume so special. 

Why Deanna Troi Wore a Starfleet Uniform in TNG's Final Seasons

On Star Trek: The Next Generation, Counselor Deanna Troi started wearing a regulation Starfleet uniform in later seasons and it changed the character.

Quick Links

Deanna troi's starfleet uniform, explained, how marina sirtis felt about deanna troi's new uniform, deanna troi almost wore a different starfleet uniform.

• On Star Trek: The Next Generation , Counselor Deanna Troi wore different uniforms than the rest of the USS Enterprise crew.
• In the pilot episode, Deanna Troi was seen the Starfleet skant, which actor Marina Sirits called "the cosmic cheerleader" outfit.
• However, near the end of Star Trek: TNG Deanna Troi starts to wear a Starfleet uniform and she has a good reason to do so

One of the most underappreciated characters on Star Trek: The Next Generation was the newest addition to the Enterprise's bridge crew. Recognizing the importance of mental health, a counselor was added to the cast of Starfleet officers. Yet, Deanna Troi rarely wore a Starfleet uniform until the final seasons of The Next Generation , and the reason is surprising. Interestingly, despite spawning three sequel series, no other Star Trek series of the era included a ship's counselor, making Troi unique.

The real-world reason for Deanna Troi's penchant for civilian attire was not as high-minded as Star Trek is supposed to be. Given the full-body costumes, there was little in the way of showing skin among the cast. Skimpy outfits for series regulars and guest stars were very common for Star Trek: The Original Series . However, the late 1980s and 1990s were different times. The new costumes provided a way for producers to add some "sexy" to the bridge, and it came via the low-cut, skin-tight outfits actor Marina Sirtis was forced to wear. The in-universe rationale, however, makes sense. The USS Enterprise-D was a ship with a crew complement of more than a thousand people, as well as civilians and children. The Starfleet uniform is a symbol of authority, so Troi wore civilian clothes, without rank, to make people feel more comfortable . Yet, it's that symbol of authority that inspired her to later wear only Starfleet uniforms while on duty in The Next Generation Seasons 6 and 7.

Updated by Joshua M. Patton on March 3, 2024: This article has been updated to expand upon the characterization of Deanna Troi and comport to CBR's current formatting standards.

Why Star Trek: The Original Series Was Canceled and Brought Back

In the series pilot episode, Deanna Troi wears the "skant," a mini-skirt uniform worn by both men and women. "I was dressed as the cosmic cheerleader...[i]magine a potato with matchsticks sticking out of it," Sirtis says The Fifty-Year Mission: The Next 25 Years: From The Next Generation to J. J. Abrams: The Complete, Uncensored, and Unauthorized Oral History of Star Trek by Edward Gross and Mark A. Altman. After that episode, however, she sticks to civilian clothes, though the actor didn't find these outfits any more flattering. It wasn't until the two-part episode "Chain of Command" in Season 6, that she finally got her Starfleet uniform.

In the episode, Ronny Cox guest starred as the infamous Captain Jellico, given command of the Enterprise while Captain Picard went off on a secret mission. Jellico's brusque style contrasted in many ways with Picard's, causing serious friction with First Officer Will Riker . As Counselor Troi tries to explain to Jellico why the crew is resisting his many commands, he tells her to start wearing her uniform . He appreciated "formality on the bridge." After this episode, Troi is rarely seen out of uniform. While some might suggest it was Jellico's influence, Troi started this particular journey a season earlier. The Season 5 episode "Disaster" involved a massive power outage on the Enterprise. Troi is the senior officer on the bridge and has to take command. Despite problems with how the character was written, "Disaster" is a great episode for Troi. She's uncertain in her role, and the officers under her command challenge her decisions. A member of the empathic Betazoid species, Troi uses her emotions in command, going with the orders that "feel" right. During "Conundrum," a later Season 5 episode where everyone loses their memories, she's the only one who notices something is wrong.

A Season 7 episode of The Next Generation , "To Thine Ownself," potentially explains why Troi stayed in uniform. She mentions her brief time in command as both a frightening and exciting challenge. So, she decides to go up for promotion to full Commander. While she never mentions the Starfleet uniform, if Deanna Troi wanted to lead, she needed the authority a uniform provided . She still wore civilian clothes while off-duty, but once in uniform, the ship's counselor became a more involved member of the crew. This continued into the movies, where she donned the new grey and black uniform introduced in Star Trek: First Contact . However, in Star Trek: Picard Troi sticks to civilian clothing until she gets one of the leather Starfleet field jackets the rest of the crew wear.

Synthehol: Star Trek's Sci-Fi Take on Alcohol, Explained

The creation of Deanna Troi is one of the Star Trek: Phase II ideas in The Next Generation , recycled by Gene Roddenberry. The character of Ilia, a Deltan, was used in The Motion Picture , and Troi was her replacement. The Betazoid abilities were supposed to be more than mere empathy, specifically manifesting in an increased libido. The character was even supposed to have three breasts, though writer Dorothy "D.C." Fontana talked Roddenberry out of that. While it seems sexist now, it's equally possible it was a misguided attempt to challenge the moral conventions of the time about women and sex. Just as skants provided an updated version of The Original Series ' miniskirt but subverted expectations being worn by both men and women.

Still, as far as Sirtis was concerned, Deanna Troi's characterization improved once she donned a Starfleet uniform . "I was thrilled when I got my regulation Starfleet uniform," she told the BBC in 2001 , "consequently, I got all my brains back because when you have a cleavage, you can't have brains in Hollywood." Once she was in uniform, Troi would go on away missions, use phasers, and generally take part in more action-oriented scenes than she did before. Even still, Sirtis may be selling the early seasons of Troi a little short. While not always written strongly, her character has always been a vital part of the crew in the eyes of both fans and her castmates.

Whether in uniform or more revealing civilian clothes, Deanna Troi is a remarkable character. She is the most compassionate and caring character on the show, save perhaps for Whoopi Goldberg's Guinan. She carved out a place for herself among leaders, warriors, and scientists with her depth of concern for people. At its core, that is what Star Trek is supposed to be about. However, the change had an effect on Sirtis, and her performance as Troi only got stronger once she started looking like a true member of Starfleet .

Star Trek's Patrick Stewart Recalls Lashing Out at Next Generation Co-Stars

While Marina Sirtis appreciated wearing what the cast calls "the spacesuit" more than civilian attire, she almost wore a uniform of a different color. When Star Trek: The Next Generation was still in the casting process, Sirtis auditioned for the role of security officer Tasha Yar. Meanwhile, model and actor Denise Crosby read for Troi. It was series creator Gene Roddenberry who made the call for the two actors to switch roles. According to The Fifty-Year Mission, an oral history of Star Trek , producers "selected [Denise Crosby and Marina Sirtis] for the opposite roles, and Gene said, 'I want Crosby to play Tasha and Marina to play Troi.'" Crosby was ultimately killed off near the end of the first season because, as Crosby reveals in the same book, she felt her character was being under-utilized, but she was forced to stand on the bridge for long hours on shooting days. Crosby would return for two episodes later in the run, however.

Troi's character went through many changes during the development process , but she was always meant to be the counselor. Some writers, like Brannon Braga, felt the character didn't make sense, especially given the "Roddenberry Box," a set of rules declaring Starfleet officers don't have petty disagreements, fights, or jealousy. Despite writing some of the best Star Trek episodes across the franchise, a counselor was very necessary. The ship is often in dangerous and traumatic situations, so it makes sense the crew and civilians aboard the vessel would need someone to talk to. Consulting producer David A. Goodman credited the show and character "for making therapy palatable for a whole new generation," in The Fifty-Year Mission . In fact, her seat on the bridge was meant to reinforce her importance as a member of the Bridge crew.

No matter what uniform she's wearing, a Starfleet spacesuit or the goofy grey and pink workout outfit, Deanna Troi is an iconic Star Trek hero. The decision to allow Troi to wear a proper uniform and take on more command responsibility was, arguably, long overdue by Season 6. Yet, even when the writers struggled to live up to Troi's potential, she was supposed to be as intelligent as Spock, after all, Sirtis was able to elevate the material through her performance.

Star Trek: The Next Generation

Set almost 100 years after Captain Kirk's 5-year mission, a new generation of Starfleet officers sets off in the U.S.S. Enterprise-D on its own mission to go where no one has gone before.

Starfleet uniform (2350s-2370s)

• View history

Starfleet uniforms (2364)

Starfleet uniforms (2369), with optional tricorder and phaser holsters , and armbands

In the early 2350s , the Starfleet uniform was completely redesigned. Closer in appearance to those in service during the late 2260s , the new Starfleet uniform spawned several variants, most notably in 2366 , and inspired versions yet to come.

The next major redesign came in the late 2360s , and was used in conjunction with this design for a few years before both styles were completely phased out.

• 1.1.1 Skant
• 1.2 Transitional versions
• 1.3.1 Captain's variant
• 1.3.2 Maternity uniform
• 1.3.3 Uniform undershirt
• 4.1 Lab coat
• 4.2 Medical skant
• 5 Utility uniform
• 6 Covert ops attire
• 7 Cadet uniform
• 8 Provisional uniform
• 9 Other uniform features
• 10 Rank insignia
• 11.1 Background information
• 11.2 Appearances
• 11.3 External links

Standard duty uniform [ ]

Command red

Operations gold; note that male and female styles are identical

Sciences blue, open

Introduced as early as 2353 , the standard Starfleet duty uniform in use aboard Starfleet starships , at starbases , and at Starfleet Headquarters on Earth , consisted of form-fitting jumpsuits, primarily black but prominently displaying the wearers' division of service. ( TNG : " Suddenly Human ", " Encounter at Farpoint ")

As with earlier Starfleet uniforms, the divisions were distinguished by color, with red for command , gold for operations , and blue for sciences , but switching the command and operations division colors from the earlier uniform designs , while the science division color stayed the same, with the colors shown on the chest, back and sleeves, as well as in piping along the shoulders, collar, and pant cuffs.

Worn with a Starfleet insignia combadge on the left breast, this uniform also displayed rank insignia – in the form of round pips – below the collar on the right side.

Closing at the front, the Starfleet uniform was adaptable for away team missions, including areas to attach phasers , tricorders or other equipment. While most officers wore the single-piece duty uniform, variants were available, such as the "skant" and medical skant versions.

While an updated version of this uniform was introduced in 2366, the 2350s variation remained in service, usually for lower-ranking personnel. This 2350s uniform disappeared from common use between 2367 and 2370. ( TNG : " Encounter at Farpoint ", " The Child ", " Shades of Gray ", " Suddenly Human ", " The Best of Both Worlds, Part II ", " Violations ", " All Good Things... "; ENT : " These Are the Voyages... ")

A similar uniform design was in use by the Starfleet of the alternate reality by 2379 . ( DIS : " Terra Firma, Part 1 ")

Introduced alongside the standard duty uniform jumpsuit, a skirt or " skant "-style uniform was also available to Starfleet officers as early as 2364 . Similar to its jumpsuit counterpart, the skant uniform was a short-sleeved dress that could be worn with or without trousers, and included knee high, or shorter, black boots.

It was worn by all genders – though men tended to wear the shorter boots – until it was phased out of service in early 2365 . ( TNG : " Encounter at Farpoint ", " Where No One Has Gone Before ", " The Child ", " All Good Things... ") In 2381, Ensign Mariner asserted that "nobody wears those anymore," in response to Ensign Boimler 's suggestion that they wear skants to the Command Conference held at Starbase 25 . ( LD : " An Embarrassment Of Dooplers ")

Transitional versions [ ]

A transitional version, between the Type A and Type B, of the uniform, introduced in early 2366, was designed with two vertical seams down the front of the jacket and dart seams in the underarm areas to create a more tailored look. The male design lacked the waistband found in the final Type B jacket revision. ( TNG : " The Survivors ") The uniforms were gradually phased out over a few months. ( TNG : " The Price ")

In 2366, one junior officer wore an unusual hybrid of the two primary uniform designs: a Type A one-piece uniform with division-colored shoulder and ankle piping, but featuring the Type B collar with neckline piping. ( TNG : " Sarek ")

Beginning in 2366, a new uniform variation was introduced to officers serving in Starfleet.

Retaining the same, distinct two-tone style as before, the newer version featured a higher, more formal collar. Division color piping was relocated from the yoke to the top of the collar, leaving a flat black look. The combadge remained on the left breast. Division colors were retained, with wine-red for command/helm, mustard-yellow for operations/security, and teal-blue for science/medical. Uniforms also came with a division color undershirt beneath the uniform jacket that was tucked into the pants just below the breast. ( TNG : " Ensign Ro ")

This alteration to the standard duty uniform was introduced to senior officers only at first, but was ultimately trickled down to lower-ranking crewmembers by 2368 . Still, while all officers aboard starships wore the same basic uniform, senior officers and department heads generally wore the belted version while other crew members wore the tighter, non-belted versions.

Officers continued to wear this style uniform, even after the introduction of the next uniform redesign , which at first was used only aboard starbases. Still, while the two uniforms were worn in service together (giving officers aboard ship a greater choice of wardrobe), the more formal duty uniform fell out of use aboard starships by 2371 . It continued to see use by officers serving at Starfleet Command on Earth or in other diplomatic service as late as 2374 . ( TNG : " Evolution "; DS9 : " Tears of the Prophets "; VOY : " Caretaker ")

Captain's variant [ ]

The captain's variant

In 2368, Starfleet had a uniform variant jacket made available to commanding officers in service aboard starships. ( TNG : " Darmok ", " Unification I ", " Cause And Effect ", " A Fistful of Datas ")

Maternity uniform [ ]

A maternity uniform in 2370

This appears to be a looser-fitting uniform designed to better accommodate the growth of a crew member while pregnant. ( TNG : " All Good Things... ")

Uniform undershirt [ ]

Ro Laren wearing the Type B undershirt

The Type B uniform had a sleeveless undershirt in the wearer's division color, worn beneath the uniform jacket and tucked into the uniform pants just below the breast. ( TNG : " Ensign Ro ")

Flag officer uniform [ ]

Flag officer uniform, pre-2358

Sometime before 2358 , this uniform was available to Starfleet flag officers .

This uniform consisted of a double-breasted jacket that could presumably be opened like the jacket of the previous style , along with a featureless black belt, pants, and boots. The jacket opening was trimmed in gold, as were the black shoulders and large black cuffs. Gold trim also ran down the back in the same manner that black piping had ran down the back of the previous uniform style. Rank insignia was worn on the right shoulder just above the trim halfway between the jacket opening and the center of the collar, as well as on the cuffs. ( VOY : " Coda ")

Admiral Savar in 2364

This uniform variant, available to Starfleet admirals and other higher-ranking flag officers as early as 2364, featured a design distinguishing it from the standard duty uniform.

Consisting of a short, burgundy and black tunic, with black trousers, this uniform featured gold braid at the yoke, shoulders and collar. It was also marked by a distinct wedge of black material extending from the right shoulder down to the left waist. ( TNG : " Too Short A Season ", " Coming of Age ", " Conspiracy ")

Vice Admiral Nakamura in 2365

As early as 2365, another admiral's service uniform was available. Consisting of a short tunic top, with gold braid and yoke piping, the uniform was worn with black trousers.

The uniform rank insignia was displayed as a box-shaped insignia with pips inside, on either side of a high collar. ( TNG : " The Emissary ", " The Measure Of A Man ")

The post-2366 flag officer's uniform

With the alteration of the standard duty uniform in 2366, a new wave of uniforms for flag officers and admirals came into service.

This alteration featured a long service jacket and trousers. Similar to the standard duty jacket, the flag officer's uniform was marked by a V-shaped black cutout, trimmed in gold.

The rank insignia were enclosed pips worn on either side of the uniform collar, as well as displayed on both sleeves with four widely spaced, thin gold braid stripes ending at the cuff. ( TNG : " The Defector ", " Man Of The People ")

In 2369 , a new flag officer's uniform was introduced. Retaining the familiar long jacket and trousers, this newer version was simpler, abandoning the distinctive black wedge cutout from the previous design for a gold-trimmed closure running down the front of the uniform. The sleeves of the uniform were also modified, now bearing the rank insignia within a wide, black cuff.

This version was ultimately retired from service in the year 2374 in favor of yet another design . ( TNG : " Realm Of Fear "; DS9 : " Behind the Lines ")

Dress uniform [ ]

In the early 2360s, Starfleet personnel were issued a standard dress uniform that had a long wraparound tunic top worn with black leggings. An officer's standard rank insignia were not worn; instead, a band of gold braid ran the entire length of the jacket closure. ( TNG : " Lonely Among Us ", " Coming of Age ")

An admiral's version of this uniform also existed, which was worn in the same style, save for the gold braid, which was much thicker. Q once wore this uniform during his second encounter with the crew of the USS Enterprise -D . ( TNG : " Hide And Q ")

Introduced in 2365, this version of the dress uniform introduced rank insignia to the right shoulder and swapped the single gold braid for two narrower braids running parallel to each other (one gold, one silver), which together were the same thickness as the original. The gold braids also no longer extended below the black material that covered the shoulders from the yoke upwards. By 2366, the leggings had given way to a more standard black pants and boots. ( TNG : " Manhunt ", " Sarek "; LD : " Reflections ")

Picard in his dress uniform in 2368

In 2367, the dress uniform was again modified, this time removing several inches of material at the bottom, bringing the bottom of the jacket to mid-thigh just below the hands. A small section of the gold trim that ran vertical from the end of the top opening to the yoke was also removed, leaving only the trim above the rank insignia that ran around the collar. ( TNG : " Data's Day ", " Qpid ", " Cost Of Living ", " The Perfect Mate ", " Chain Of Command, Part I ")

By 2370, the dress uniform jacket had again been shortened, this time just removing enough material to bring the bottom to the hands, just below the waist. This uniform style was used by Starfleet until its retirement in 2374, though officers aboard the USS Voyager used it throughout their mission in the Delta Quadrant ending in 2378 . ( TNG : " Liaisons ", " Sub Rosa "; DS9 : " The Adversary ", " Crossfire "; VOY : " Course: Oblivion ", " Someone to Watch Over Me ", " Tinker Tenor Doctor Spy ", " One Small Step ", " Ashes to Ashes ")

Medical attire [ ]

Lab coat [ ].

Dr. Crusher in her lab coat

Starfleet medical personnel generally wore standard duty uniforms. In some situations, officers like Chief Medical Officer Beverly Crusher of the starship USS Enterprise -D wore medical lab coats over their sciences division uniform. ( TNG : " Evolution ").

Medical skant [ ]

A variant of the Type A standard duty uniform available to medical personnel. This uniform featured a tunic with a cut similar to that of the Skant style uniform, but apart from black shoulders, was completely medical-division blue. This tunic was worn untucked over separate black trousers, and standard duty boots. The initial design of this uniform featured two front pockets and a raised band in the midsection; these elements were later eliminated from the uniform. ( TNG : " The Child ", " Where Silence Has Lease ")

CMO Dr. Katherine Pulaski appeared to prefer this uniform to the Type A duty jumpsuit. ( Star Trek: The Next Generation season 2 )

Dr. Pulaski operating in surgical scrubs

During surgical sessions, scrubs were provided to doctors, consisting of burgundy-colored gowns and caps. Medical personnel also wore rubber-like surgical gloves during more intensive medical procedures and surgeries. ( TNG : " Samaritan Snare ", " Ethics "; DS9 : " Life Support ", " Profit and Lace ", " Tears of the Prophets ")

Utility uniform [ ]

The mid- 24th century uniform issue included a utility jumpsuit for technical personnel. The jumpsuit, in the three standard department colors, was worn over a black, long sleeve mock turtleneck, although some versions had a short black collar built in, and was worn with black boots. Another variation had division-color boots and black sleeves. Personnel wearing utility jumpsuits were sometimes issued combadges. ( TNG : " The Naked Now ", " Where No One Has Gone Before ", " The Big Goodbye ", " Datalore ", " 11001001 ", " Home Soil ", " Coming of Age ", " Heart of Glory ", " Symbiosis ", " Skin Of Evil ", " Conspiracy ", " The Neutral Zone ", " The Child ", " Where Silence Has Lease ", " Contagion ", " Peak Performance ", " Galaxy's Child ", " The Nth Degree ", " Schisms ", " Eye of the Beholder ")

Covert ops attire [ ]

Beverly Crusher and Worf in covert ops uniforms

In certain instances of covert operations or espionage , Starfleet officers were afforded specific attire to aid in the completion of their mission.

As early as 2369, some officers wore a black, tight-fitting jumpsuit uniform, not marked with an insignia or any kind of outwardly identifying marks. Distinguished by an optional jumpsuit hood and black boots, this uniform was sometimes worn with a backpack and technical gear for grappelling or other physically daunting tasks. ( TNG : " Chain Of Command, Part I ", " Frame of Mind ")

Cadet uniform [ ]

During the late 2360s, cadets at Starfleet Academy wore distinct duty uniforms consisting of a black, two-piece jumpsuit with division-colored shoulders, which is a reversal of the Starfleet duty uniform colors, resembling the next uniform design .

Originally, the cadet uniform maintained the low collar of the original uniform design, trimmed in black, and had no rank insignia. Two years later, the cadet uniform featured a high collar, with rank (or student year) insignia being added shortly thereafter. Both versions of the cadet uniform bore several large pockets running down the trousers. ( TNG : " Allegiance ", " The Game ", " The First Duty ", " Journey's End ")

This uniform was in use aboard Terrasphere 8 , Species 8472 's recreation of Starfleet Headquarters and the Academy in San Francisco , in 2375 alongside the next version of the standard duty uniform . ( VOY : " In the Flesh ")

Provisional uniform [ ]

The provisional uniform was worn by crewmen such as acting ensigns . There have been two variations of this uniform; the first had a light blue turtleneck tunic with navy blue shoulders and collar bordered with the colors of all three divisions. The blue division stripe crossed over the others to form an upward-pointing arrow on the left shoulder, while the red division stripe crossed under to point down. The uniform's navy blue pants matched the shoulders. The second variation was a heathered battleship grey turtleneck with matching trousers and dark charcoal gray ribbed shoulders and collar.

The first variation was worn with no combadge; the second worn with an entirely silver-colored combadge.

Other uniform features [ ]

Some officers wore alternate uniforms at times. Deanna Troi often wore casual clothing while on duty. Other officers, such as Worf, were allowed to wear accessories relating to their culture with their uniforms, but this was at the discretion of the captain. Bajoran officer Ensign Ro Laren was allowed to retain her culture's traditional earring, despite the reservations of some of her fellow officers ( TNG : " Ensign Ro ", " Chain Of Command, Part I "), and once wore a headband the same color as her division. ( TNG : " The Next Phase ") Benzite officer Mendon, participating in the Officer Exchange Program wore a uniform variant with a higher collar. It is unknown if this was in some way related to the breathing apparatus attached to his chest.

Rank insignia [ ]

The rank insignia were simplified from complex symbols from the previous uniform to small circular pips . These pips were colored either gold or black, to signify full or partial rank, respectively.

Appendices [ ]

Background information [ ].

Gene Roddenberry reviews a preliminary TNG uniform design

Studying the final uniforms

Robert Blackman examines the original uniform design

The Starfleet uniforms worn during The Original Series were designed by William Ware Theiss , who returned to design the Star Trek: The Next Generation uniforms (which were further adapted into future versions in DS9 , VOY and the TNG -era films by Robert Blackman ).

It is possible that the the command and operations division colors from The Original Series (gold and red, respectively) were switched for The Next Generation to make Patrick Stewart and Jonathan Frakes more "commanding." [4]

Patrick Stewart claimed that the change from this Starfleet uniform to the new version after the second season of TNG was thanks to his chiropractor, who recommended Stewart sue Paramount for "lasting damage done to [his] spine." Evidently, the producers wanted to have a smooth, unwrinkled look to the Starfleet uniforms, which put strain on Stewart's shoulders, neck and back after two seasons in a lycra costume that was one size too small. [5]

Among the costumes and uniforms which were sold off on the It's A Wrap! sale and auction on eBay, was an operations division uniform from this era. [6]

Appearances [ ]

• Season 1 (all episodes)
• Season 2 (all episodes)
• Season 3 (all episodes) (seen on background performers)
• " Suddenly Human " (photograph only)
• " Identity Crisis "
• " Violations "
• " Second Chances "
• " All Good Things... "
• ENT : " These Are the Voyages... "
• DIS : " Terra Firma, Part 1 " (hologram)
• LD : " Reflections " (image only)
• " The Bounty " (flashback)
• " Surrender " (hologram)
• Season 3 (all episodes)
• Season 4 (all episodes)
• Season 5 (all episodes)
• Season 6 (all episodes)
• Season 7 (all episodes)
• " Emissary "
• " Second Sight "
• " The Maquis, Part I "
• " The Maquis, Part II "
• " The Jem'Hadar "
• " Defiant "
• " Explorers "
• " The Way of the Warrior "
• " The Visitor "
• " Homefront "
• " Paradise Lost "
• " Rapture "
• " The Sound of Her Voice "
• " Tears of the Prophets "
• " What You Leave Behind " (flashback only)
• " Non Sequitur "
• " Death Wish "
• " Infinite Regress " (flashback)
• Star Trek Generations
• Star Trek: First Contact
• " Remembrance " (dream)
• " Et in Arcadia Ego, Part 2 "
• " The Next Generation "
• " The Last Generation " (flashback; archive footage)
• " Temporal Edict " (seen on a Miles O'Brien holo-statue)
• " An Embarrassment Of Dooplers " (seen on Data bubble bath bottles)
• " Reflections " (image and flashback)
• " The Stars At Night " (flashback)
• " Parth Ferengi's Heart Place "
• " Old Friends, New Planets " (cadet uniform; flashback)
• PRO : " Kobayashi " (hologram only)
• DIS : " Red Directive " (image only)
• " Worst Contact "
• " Holograms All the Way Down "
• " Walk, Don't Run "

Skant uniform

• " Encounter at Farpoint "
• " The Naked Now "
• " Code of Honor "
• " Where No One Has Gone Before "
• " Lonely Among Us "
• " Justice "
• " The Battle "
• " Hide And Q "
• " The Big Goodbye "
• " Angel One "
• " 11001001 "
• " When The Bough Breaks "
• " Home Soil "
• " Coming of Age "
• " Heart of Glory "
• " The Arsenal of Freedom "
• " Symbiosis "
• " Skin Of Evil "
• " We'll Always Have Paris "
• " Conspiracy "
• " The Neutral Zone "

Utility uniform

• " The Last Outpost "
• " Datalore "
• " The Child "
• " Where Silence Has Lease "
• " Contagion "
• " Peak Performance "
• " The Best of Both Worlds "
• " The Best of Both Worlds, Part II "
• " Final Mission "
• " Galaxy's Child "
• " The Nth Degree "
• " The Host "
• " The Mind's Eye "
• " Redemption II "
• " Silicon Avatar "
• " Cost Of Living "
• " The Next Phase "
• " Schisms "
• " Rascals "
• " Eye of the Beholder "

External links [ ]

• Starfleet uniform (2350s-2366) at Memory Beta , the wiki for licensed Star Trek works
• Starfleet uniform (2366-2373) at Memory Beta , the wiki for licensed Star Trek works
• Starfleet uniform (2351-2365)  at Spike's Star Trek Page
• Starfleet uniform (2366-2372)  at Spike's Star Trek Page
• 24th century Starfleet uniforms  at Ex Astris Scientia
• 3 Star Trek: Discovery

We earn a commission for products purchased through some links in this article.

Star Trek: Discovery to reintroduce Next Generation's unisex 'skant' dress

Costume designer Gersha Phillips says the franchise has often "maintained a really cool non-binary look".

Both male and female officers of the Starfleet wore the minidress, named the 'skant', back in the 1987 series, and costume designer Gersha Phillips confirmed that it will be making a return before the end of the second season of Star Trek: Discovery .

"They haven't come out yet, they'll be later in the season," she confirmed to Daily Dot . "I was looking for a particular character to do it on, and we didn't have anybody specific.

"It'll come up closer to the end, but we did do it and we will try to do it going forward.

"It's true that it's always been there for Star Trek . You know, apart from the original series and the JJ [Abrams] remake, they have maintained a really cool non-binary look throughout.

"So I think that for us going forward, it was really important to do that as well."

Phillips added: "The tunic will come back because so far, Nhan's the only one that's worn them on our ship. She wore the blue Disco one, which turned out really cool. But yeah, our intention is definitely to do them for both men and women."

Phillips previously discussed with Digital Spy the gender neutral Discovery uniforms , saying that she wanted to empower the women on the show.

"We wanted to have something that was non-binary and that was open to all, and I think we've done that," she said last month. "There will be a few other surprises coming up down the road, where we've sort of incorporated and taken that further."

She added of the Discovery uniforms: "I was more conscious of the sexualisation of women, and that's where I was more focused at the time and wanting to come up with something that was less sexist.

"But coming up with something that was less sexist led to non-binary uniforms, which I think ended up being great."

Star Trek: Discovery airs on CBS All Access in the US and Netflix internationally, including the UK.

Want up-to-the-minute entertainment news and features? Just hit 'Like' on our Digital Spy Facebook page and 'Follow' on our @digitalspy Instagram and Twitter account .

Chief Sub-Editor

Jess has more than 10 years of experience writing and editing online, specialising in entertainment. 

As Digital Spy 's Chief Sub-Editor, they oversee the subs' desk while working with the wider team to ensure news and features content fits the brand's editorial vision.

 Jess also helps with gaming coverage, including anything to do with The Sims , and has volunteered as a judge for the Independent Games Festival Awards since 2018. 

.css-15yqwdi:before{top:0;width:100%;height:0.25rem;content:'';position:absolute;background-image:linear-gradient(to right,#51B3E0,#51B3E0 2.5rem,#E5ADAE 2.5rem,#E5ADAE 5rem,#E5E54F 5rem,#E5E54F 7.5rem,black 7.5rem,black);} Star Trek: Discovery

Star Trek Discovery sets final season release date

Star Trek: Discovery star opens up on show's end

New Star Trek movie adds Ted Lasso and Power stars

Star Trek advent calendar available to pre-order

Star Trek: Discovery star addresses MCU return

Star Trek confirms new Starfleet spinoff show

Star Trek Discovery season 5: all you need to know

Star Trek: Discovery confirms when it will end

Star Trek boss gives update on Discovery spin-off

Star Trek: Discovery star joins NCIS: Hawai’i

Star Trek, Suicide Squad stars join Transformers

Verify Your Credentials

Arc Defender

Looks like you are logging in with a new computer or browser. For your security, please verify your account prior to logging in. We have emailed you a pin to verify you are the owner of this account.

Please enter the pin we emailed you above

What is this and why am I seeing it?

Star Trek Online

You are leaving arcgames.com.

Heads up, you are now leaving Arc Games! Remember to not share ac- count information as the site you are attempting to reach is not affiliated with Arc Games.

Continue to link and leave Arc Games.

Take me back to Arc Games.

Celebrate TNG's 30th with a Skant and a Shuttle!

By Ambassador Kael | Thu 28 Sep 2017 09:00:00 AM PDT

It’s time to celebrate the 30 th Anniversary of Star Trek: The Next Generation in style! From Thursday, September 28 th at 9am Pacific, ‘til Thursday, October 5 th at 10am Pacific, the brand new “Skant” uniform will be free to all Captains in Star Trek Online ! This classic uniform style was first seen on Star Trek: The Next Generation , and will be available to both male and female Federation Captains on PC, and coming soon to Xbox One and PlayStation 4!

But that’s not all! Tailors across the galaxy are getting into this retro style, and a Skant-like apparel option will be available to both male and female Captains of the Klingon Empire and Romulan Republic as well! Not only that, but Federation Captains can put themselves into a kilt! All of these costumes will be in the Promotions tab of the C-store, click through below to see them all. **Players will receive the kilts on Tuesday to celebrate the Miracle Worker Specialization**

Itching to fly missions in true TNG style? In celebration of the 30th Anniversary of Star Trek: The Next Generation , all Federation Captains will soon able to claim a Type 7 Shuttle for free!

This versatile and rugged small craft was designed to serve the crew of the U.S.S. Enterprise (NCC-1701-D) in situations where technology such as transporters would otherwise fail, serving a pivotal role during multiple episodes of the television show. And now it can be yours, in the Promotions tab of the C-store!

Type 7 Shuttle

An elite upgraded shuttle, used for short-range missions, Type-7 shuttlecrafts were in limited circulation in the mid-24th century, appearing on a moderate number of starbases and starships, including the Galaxy -class U.S.S. Enterprise (NCC-1701-D).

These hardy small craft are equipped with an Ensign Engineering Bridge Officer station, and an Ensign Universal Bridge Officer station.

• Hull Modifier: 0.55
• Shield Modifier: 0.5
• Weapons: 2 Fore
• Device Slots: 1
• Turn Rate: 22
• Impulse Modifier: .22
• Inertia: 100
• Consoles: 1 Tactical, 2 Engineering, 0 Science
• Bridge Officer Stations: Ensign Universal, Ensign Engineering

Enjoy your new small craft, and enjoy all of the TNG era gifts! Grab them while they last!

sto-news , sto-launcher , star-trek-online ,

Follow / Subscribe

Most Recent More

hover media query supported

Star Trek: 10 Secrets Of The Next Generation Uniforms

Everything you need to know about Star Trek: The Next Generation's Starfleet issue duds.

Arguably as recognizable as The Original Series' color-coded "pajamas" are in pop culture today, Star Trek: The Next Generation's Starfleet uniforms are a distinct part of Star Trek's unique vision of the future.

Originally designed by William Ware Theiss (and notoriously modified by Robert Blackman), Star Trek: The Next Generation's uniforms are deceptively simple creations. Dubbed "spacesuits" by the cast of TNG, these uniforms are more than just lycra spandex and/or wool gabardine television costumes.

TNG's Starfleet uniforms evolved over the course of its seven season run, been the subject of their own real world controversies and production problems, and inspired future generations of costuming – appearing as recently as Star Trek: Picard's first season and Star Trek: Discovery's third season.

Like Star Trek's many famous starships, its props, its sets, its aliens, its fictional history, Star Trek: The Next Generation's uniforms have their own lore and their own secrets.

From the inspirations of Wesley Crusher's acting ensign uniform (which never fully zipped up in the back for some reason) to the iconic and progressive skant to Starfleet-issue jockstraps, we've unfolded ten secrets of Star Trek: The Next Generation's Starfleet uniforms that you need to know (before you get suited up for your next convention appearance).

10. Starfleet Stank

Star Trek: The Next Generation's first take on the 24th century's Starfleet uniforms were formfitting and sleek, with bold color blocking reminiscent of The Original Series' iconic look. However, in order to conform to designer William Ware Theiss' strict "no wrinkles" rule, these costumes were held taught with stirrups that looped under the actors' boots and pulled down on their backs.

The discomfort associated with these early costumes is much storied in the legacy of Star Trek: The Next Generation and fodder for numerous tales told by the actors at Star Trek conventions. Jonathan Frakes even claimed to have "ripped more than one of them off in frustration." In at least one telling of the horrors of those uniforms, Patrick Stewart stated that the uniforms caused so much back pain that his chiropractor suggested he sue the producers.

Less talked about, however, is the smell.

TNG's OG uniforms were constructed out of lycra spandex, a material not know for its breathability. According to Theiss' successor, Robert Blackman:

There was no give in the shoulder and there was this constant pressure on the actors who were wearing the costumes for twelve to fifteen hours a day. They were very, very much disliked by the actors – uncomfortable to wear, hot, and they retained body odor.

So along with cat poop in corridors , the uniforms also apparently smelled. The set of USS Enterprise-D must've been Hollywood magic.

I played Shipyard Bar Patron (Uncredited) in Star Trek (2009).

The TNG-era Uniform Paradigm

• January 15, 2022
• General Star Trek costumes , TNG , TWOK

As an additional preface to my updated TNG costuming resources, I thought it would be interesting to discuss the broader paradigm of the TNG-era uniforms, as conceived and established by William Ware Theiss.

With today’s relatively wide cultural awareness of TNG – decades after its original televised run and numerous spinoffs later – I think there’s much we might now take for granted about these uniforms (and their successors) that at the time, required very calculated and intentional decisions.

This isn’t an examination of any one specific uniform, but more about why things were they way they were, conceptually – the ideology behind the TNG-era uniforms.

And from my outsider’s perspective, what I believe may have been going on in the minds of Gene Roddenberry and William Ware Theiss at the time.

THE ORIGINAL SERIES PARADIGM

“In the beginning, there was William Ware Theiss …”

– Paula M. Block and Terry J. Erdmann

Star Trek Costumes: Five Decades of Fashion from the Final Frontier

Twenty-odd years before The Next Generation , William Ware Theiss was the costume designer on The Original Series and the aborted Phase II .

From the precious little we’ve seen of Phase II , it seems clear that moving forward, Theiss had intended to closely adhere to the original uniforms and wardrobe paradigm he’d previously established.

Between Phase II ’s abandonment and The Next Generation ’s launch, however, there had been four feature films starring the original cast, for which Robert Fletcher was the costume designer and Gene Roddenberry had had limited involvement.

The conception and rocky initial production of TNG has been well-documented, which you can learn about via the TNG Blu-Ray special features and William Shatner’s Chaos on the Bridge , among other sources.

The gist of it is that Gene Roddenberry is said to have been unhappy with certain aspects of the TOS movies (and his lack of creative involvement with them) and had become notoriously protective of his franchise vision of the future.

Being back at the helm for the spinoff series – obsessed with what he believed Star Trek was and wasn’t, and with more creative control – it’s hardly surprising that he’d want to “round up” as much of the original team as possible, including William Ware Theiss.

For this new series, there would again be new Starfleet uniforms, and Theiss’ overall approach seems to have basically been to “pick up where he left off” with The Original Series and Phase II , almost entirely disregarding Robert Fletcher’s work on the movies.

(We’ll look at some of Fletcher’s costumes shortly, as well as some movie-era design elements Theiss decided to discard or incorporate into his TNG-era uniforms. I’ll also discuss why I believe Theiss chose the approach he did.)

The Starfleet uniform paradigm, as established by Theiss in The Original Series , included three division colors.

For the movies, Robert Fletcher had considerably widened the palette of division colors and changed their associations.

For The Next Generation , Theiss disregarded Fletcher’s division colors and instead returned to his original three colors (albeit with the red and gold associations swapped).

The TOS uniforms underwent considerable evolution over the show, but in all their incarnations Theiss had established the crew wearing a Starfleet emblem on their left chest.

Robert Fletcher had adapted and modified this design element for the movie-era uniforms, and Theiss incorporated this idea into his TNG-era uniforms as well.

In The Original Series , Theiss had also established several Starfleet uniform variants for specific crew members and occasions.

For example, the captain would have the option of wearing a more relaxed, semi-casual uniform that was distinctive from everyone else’s standard duty uniform.

Although Theiss himself never explored this possibility with his initial TNG-era uniforms, costume designer Robert Blackman would later follow up on Theiss’ concept.

Theiss also established that the ship’s doctor(s) would have an optional uniform variant.

In The Next Generation , Theiss gave Dr. Crusher an optional lab coat to complement her standard duty uniform, and his immediate successor Durinda Rice Wood dressed Dr. Pulaski in her own series of medical smock variants.

The Original Series also had the crew wearing formal uniforms for special occasions, and Theiss incorporated this concept into his TNG-era paradigm as well.

Another of Theiss’ wardrobe choices was to often have background extras and “worker bees” dressed in coveralls, rather than standard duty uniforms.

He integrated this idea into his TNG-era wardrobe too.

THE MOVIE-ERA PARADIGM ... DISCARDED

Although Robert Fletcher created outstanding uniforms for the movies – several of which would go on to become fan-favorites, like the “monster maroons” – in doing so, he had largely disregarded William Ware Theiss’ work on The Original Series .

Color palette notwithstanding, one of the major ways Fletcher diverged from Theiss’ TOS paradigm was by significantly expanding the Starfleet uniform family to include more classes and variants.

This wider variety of uniform styles added more depth to the Star Trek universe, as well as more visual interest – something arguably needed after the bland and muted uniform colors from The Motion Picture .

One major uniform distinction Fletcher made was between commissioned officers and enlisted crew.

This was something we hadn’t seen in The Original Series .

Indeed, the very existence of enlisted crew members was a departure from the show.

Until I’d taken a closer look at TOS-era uniforms, my personal interpretation was that officers wore the standard duty uniforms and enlisted crew wore the aforementioned coveralls, but “Captain John Chase” of Starfleet.ca addressed the issue in this excellent blog post:

https://starfleet.ca/library/uniforms/enlisted_men/

Coveralls notwithstanding, in Theiss’ paradigm, you were either in Starfleet and wore the standard uniform, or you weren’t – very simple.

Despite the existence of enlisted Starfleet personnel having been firmly established and enlisted crew having visually distinctive uniforms in the movies, Theiss returned to his original “uniform or nothing” paradigm for The Next Generation .

Fletcher also dressed engineering crew members in heavy protective suits – visually implying how powerful and hazardous Starfleet engines could be, how committed Starfleet was to the safety of its crew, and perhaps how intense it could be to work next to a matter/anti-matter reactor that powered a starship.

Theiss disregarded the protective engineering suits for TNG as well; engineers simply wore the standard duty uniforms.

Hell, crew members regularly wore the “skants” within a stone’s throw of the warp core, so perhaps we can surmise that Starfleet had made great strides forward with the safety of its engineering sections over “The Lost Era.”

Nor would Theiss ever dress a TNG-era Starfleet engineer in a vest akin to the one Fletcher designed for Scotty.

For the movie-era uniforms, Fletcher also gave medical personnel a specific uniform style that bore little resemblance to the standard duty uniforms, and which seemed to be less of a “variant” and more of a “class.”

(Although Theiss had established possible medical variants for medical personnel in The Original Series , his medical uniform variants were stylistically much closer to the standard duty uniforms.)

Again though, Theiss returned to his tighter uniform paradigm for TNG; other than Dr. Crusher’s distinctive lab coat, medical personnel just wore standard Starfleet uniforms.

Fletcher gave the movie-era Starfleet security helmets and armor …

… which again, Theiss discarded.

Starfleet security officers marched right into God-knows-what with naught but a phaser and the spandex jumpsuits on their backs.

In the movies, we also saw the crew members don various styles of “field uniforms,” including both jackets and vests.

Even though Theiss himself had designed “landing party jackets” in the original TOS pilot, “The Cage,” he didn’t pursue the concept for TNG.

Characters would just go on away missions in the standard uniform; the most they’d ever bother to do would be to grab a tricorder and/or phaser, just like in TOS …

… including some situations in which it would’ve been really handy to have some field supplies like food, water, first aid, basic tools, and other emergency supplies.

And finally, Fletcher had introduced another semi-casual uniform option, in the form of a 23 rd -century “bomber jacket.”

Obviously Theiss chose to discard that idea as well.

I mean, I don’t really see this guy wearing a “bomber jacket” over his skant, do you?

Why did Theiss so thoroughly discard Fletcher’s work for The Next Generation ?

Well, we can only speculate.

Personally, I believe there may have been several major factors.

First may be the purely practical issues of television vs. movie budget, and television vs. movie needs.

Movies have larger budgets, which allow for more elaborate costumes, and more of them. There are more extras, all of whom need to be costumed.

With more characters over a longer span of time on a giant theater screen, more visual interest is arguably needed … yet the costumes still have to bear scrutiny since they’ll be seen on such a huge screen.

On the other hand, one could argue that – at least in an era long before DVD, Blu-Ray, and streaming – TV costumes should be fairly homogenous and instantly-recognizable so the viewer and/or channel surfer immediately know what show is on.

And at the time TNG launched, the costumes only needed to withstand the scrutiny of real-time VHS quality on an 80s-era TV.

Not that Theiss or his successors ever “phoned it in” – it’s actually amazing just how well the TNG-era costumes hold up in remastered HD!

(From what little we saw in What We Left Behind , DS9’s costumes looked phenomenal in remastered HD!)

But today’s 4k binge-watching is an entirely different production and viewing experience, and the TNG uniforms didn’t need to be as ornate and intricately detailed as Fletcher’s movie-era uniforms.

Even if Roddenberry and/or Theiss wanted to (which I doubt), having an entire TV series’ worth of Fletcher’s uniforms may have been utterly impractical for budgetary reasons.

Second, Gene Roddenberry is said to have been displeased with the apparent militarization of Starfleet in the movies, which was reflected in the movie-era uniforms.

I believe one reason the TNG-era uniforms were so different from their movie-era predecessors was an attempt by Roddenberry to visually distance – or even disassociate – The Next Generation from the TOS movies as far as possible.

And third, it is my personal belief that Theiss may have felt slighted by Fletcher’s radically-different uniform designs and, after Phase II never made it off the ground, the success of the movies was salt in his wound …

After all, how would you feel if:

• You were the original costume designer
• Your show was cancelled, but then became enormously popular afterward and your uniform designs became iconic …
• You were to be the costume designer on the new show, which was abandoned
• The cast went on to do four movies without you, but with another costume designer who had largely disregarded your now-iconic work, and those movies were well-received and successful
• The original producer (for whom the movies were also a sore spot) invited you back to design costumes on the new spinoff series

I know how I’d feel!

Artistic and budgetary differences aside, I believe these circumstances may have been a driving force in the mind of William Ware Theiss when conceptualizing his TNG-era uniforms.

In a nutshell, I believe Roddenberry’s apparent obsession with “recapturing” the essence of Star Trek , Theiss’ own design style being so different from Fletcher’s and his subsequent (possibly bitter) experience about the movies, and the simple budgetary limitations all shaped the decision-making process for TNG’s costume design.

MOVIE-ERA ELEMENTS INCORPORATED

Although William Ware Theiss almost entirely disregarded Robert Fletcher’s movie-era costume paradigm and designs, there were a few elements of Fletcher’s work that he kept and incorporated into TNG.

One tenant of the underlying philosophy for the TNG-era uniforms seems to be a better representation of gender equality than had been presented in The Original Series .

While perhaps progressive for its time, TOS showed us that women didn’t wear pants, told us women weren’t allowed to be starship captains, and generally had (what today might be regarded as) sexist overtones.

Despite being a flawed product of its time, I think most fans would probably agree that, at its best, Star Trek has always presented (or at least attempted to present) an optimistic future for humanity: free of racism, sexism, and bigotry of any kind, populated by people who respect each other, work for the common good of everyone, and accomplish great things together.

At its heart, Star Trek tried to show us a future in which all humans can simply “get along” without our current and historical preconceptions and biases against each other inhibiting us from reaching our full potential.

The issue of gender equality manifested in Roddenberry’s conceptions of The Next Generation .

Rather than populating the show with shallow women obsessed over physical beauty and mindlessly swooning over men – and dismissing ideas such as women not being allowed to be Starfleet captains – he created three female lead characters, all of whom were senior officers and two of them department chiefs.

Theiss may have already been moving in that direction with the aborted Star Trek: Phase II ; it seems that by that time, female crew were finally permitted to wear pants with their Starfleet uniforms, as evidenced by the uniform trousers below (presumably for wear by Janice Rand):

I believe this was perhaps the first notable shift in the psychology of Theiss’ Starfleet uniform design.

(Women wearing pants to work may be a laughable given today, but at the time, this could be considered a significant step – however small – toward gender equality.)

Despite the Phase II uniforms having never made it on-screen and Theiss’ lack of involvement with the movies, Robert Fletcher’s uniform designs were generally unisex.

Furthermore, this psychology may have influenced Roddenberry and/or Theiss to create the now-infamous unisex “TNG skant” uniforms – but more on those shortly.

Unfortunately, the Starfleet insignia situation as seen in The Original Series had been something of a mess.

One could easily be forgiven for assuming that the triangular “arrowhead” emblem we now associate with Starfleet was unique to the Enterprise crew, and the wide variety of assignment patches seemed to indicate unique insignia for each ship, base, institute, etc.

There appears to have even been confusion among the production team as to the original intent, as evidenced by this memo from producer Robert Justman to William Ware Theiss:

https://www.startrek.com/article/starfleet-insignia-explained

In The Motion Picture , a circle was added behind the previous Enterprise emblem, and the patch color indicated the wearer’s division.

The Motion Picture also introduced the notion of the Starfleet emblem being a separate metal (or metal-looking) pin attached to the garment.

Although the design of the emblem was modified again, it was standardized for all Starfleet uniforms in The Wrath of Khan , and the notion of the badge being a separate metal pin (as opposed to a sew-on patch) was fully realized across the cast.

After Fletcher’s standardization of the chest badge and with a second chance at independently establishing consistency, it should be no surprise that Theiss incorporated a standardized metal Starfleet insignia onto his TNG-era uniforms.

For the TWOK-era uniforms, Fletcher placed the wearer’s rank on the upper right shoulder strap.

Although for The Original Series uniforms Theiss had previously established the wearer’s rank with braid on the sleeves, for The Next Generation he adopted metal rank insignia and affixed it to the upper right area of the uniform.

In The Motion Picture , Fletcher introduced a Starfleet uniform that was a skin-tight, jumbo spandex jumpsuit.

Gene Roddenberry is said to have both favored the “sprayed on clothing” aesthetic and abhorred wrinkly costumes, and Theiss favored unstructured garments made with synthetic knit fabrics, so either one or both of them seem to have really latched onto this uniform concept.

The standard TNG-era uniforms were also skin-tight jumpsuits made of heavy jumbo spandex, although thankfully with the more modest areas blacked out.

Theiss’ original Klingon costumes had usually included a baldric, which he gave to Worf for The Next Generation .

(Some believe it may have even been the same one.)

However, the Klingons had been given significant makeup and costume redesigns in the movies.

It was decided to maintain their movie-era “look” – including Fletcher’s Klingon costumes.

I think this was a great call; reverting back to the TOS-era Klingon costumes and make-up would’ve been jarring and off-putting after what we’d seen in three of the four movies at that point.

(And in fact, Fletcher’s Klingon costumes would continue to be used throughout The Next Generation , Deep Space Nine , and Voyager , amassing far more screen time over their numerous television appearances than the movies for which he originally designed them.)

THEISS' AESTHETIC and DESIGN MOTIFS

Now that we’ve discussed the overall paradigm and possible psychological factors behind Theiss’ TNG-era costume designs, in this final section we’ll take a look at some specific ideas and influences that may have played a part in the conception of the show’s wardrobe.

For the third season of The Original Series , Theiss changed the standard uniforms to a double-knit fabric.

The previous (woven) uniforms had proven problematic due to “shrinkage” over time and some members of the cast struggled with their weight, causing additional fitting issues.

This may have intensified Theiss’ aversion to structured uniforms and woven fabrics, and switching to the double-knit seems to have solved – or at least reduced – these issues.

I mention it as possible evidence that Theiss was already moving in the direction of knit fabrics for his Starfleet uniforms … hence all of his TNG-era uniforms being made with nylon jumbo spandex.

Theiss had a singular style, and he seems to have revisited several of his design motifs from The Original Series .

He definitely seems to have enjoyed experimenting with asymmetry, which strongly manifested in his TNG-era uniforms.

Here are a couple examples from TOS, alongside his TNG-era admiral uniform:

Speaking of his admiral uniform designs, in The Original Series he’d consistently established that flag officers wore a distinctive metal accent on their uniforms.

Likewise, his TNG-era admiral uniform would include a unique metal “brooch.”

The TOS-era tunic necklines varied considerably, but by season three, Theiss definitely seems to have favored the V-shaped neckline.

His TNG-era uniforms would have similarly wide, V-shaped necklines (albeit without the collar).

A subtle design motif that Theiss favored right from the beginning with “The Cage” and “Where No Man Has Gone Before” was small openings (which I call “slits”) at the ends of garment limbs.

He used this motif on other costumes as well, including these two asymmetrically-paneled jumpsuits.

Theiss incorporated a (pleated) variation of these “slits” on the bottom of his Phase II uniform trousers.

He would return to this idea for his TNG-era uniforms as well.

Again on the topic of gender equality, in The Original Series the standard uniform for female crew members had been the “skant” mini-dress, most notably worn by Lieutenant Uhura.

I already mentioned how Fletcher’s movie-uniforms were essentially unisex, and how Theiss may have already been moving in that direction with his Phase II costume designs.

The Next Generation took things a step further by demonstrating that in the future, not only was it acceptable for women to wear the same uniforms the men wore, but that men could wear the same ones women wore!

(While perhaps a brave attempt to portray true gender equality in the future, ultimately whether or not it was successful is a matter of personal opinion.)  

Some may attribute the overall concept of Theiss’ TNG-era formal uniforms as a subtle nod to Fletcher’s TWOK-era uniforms, for obvious reasons.

However, I find it far more likely that Theiss was revisiting his costume design for Ambassador Robert Fox.

In The Original Series , Theiss established the “look” of the Romulan uniforms: grayish textured fabrics with dark belts and contrasting sashes over the right shoulder.  

And in his final episode as costume designer, he followed up on his original design when introducing the TNG-era Romulans.

IN CONCLUSION

William Ware Theiss so thoroughly established a paradigm and aesthetic with his TNG-era uniforms that not only would his costume designs set the precedent for the following spinoffs, but decades later his TNG-era uniforms are still instantly recognizable to almost anyone with even a modicum of nerdom and/or pop-culture awareness.

His TNG-era uniform designs were a direct evolution of those he’d designed for The Original Series , and (as we saw with the trousers) the aborted Phase II .

They were perhaps a culmination of design elements he’d introduced and experimented with on the original show, then revisited when conceptualizing what the Star Trek universe might look like a hundred years or so after his 23 nd -century uniforms.

Theiss had already begun favoring knit fabrics for Starfleet uniforms in The Original Series , and may have been moving toward more unisex uniforms for Phase II .

It takes no great eye to see that William Ware Theiss and Robert Fletcher, while both gifted costume designers who made great contributions to Star Trek , had radically different – practically incompatible – artistic visions for the future.

For any combination of the reasons I mentioned earlier, or for other reasons entirely, Theiss established a uniform paradigm for The Next Generation that, while unique (and even striking), was an obvious follow-up to his work on The Original Series .

While some of his more niche ideas (like men wearing “skants” and his season 1 admiral uniform) would be short-lived, other facets of his paradigm (such as the three division colors and rank placement) would continue to be adhered to through the end of Enterprise .

Although Theiss himself was only directly involved with the costumes for a single season and the design of the uniforms would evolve after his departure, the paradigm and “look” of TNG would become – in my opinion – every bit as iconic as his uniforms for The Original Series .

If you enjoyed this blog post, please support my costume research on Ko-Fi .

Every bar of gold-pressed latinum goes toward producing more sewing/costuming resources like this, for everyone interested in Star Trek costumes. 🙂

Related Posts

TNG Jumpsuit Analysis, Part 3

• December 26, 2023

TNG Jumpsuit Analysis, Part 2

• August 29, 2023

TNG Jumpsuit Analysis, Part 1

• June 29, 2023

The switched division colors between TOS and TNG may have been a deliberate change, but to a certain degree, it was a change Fletcher made when engineering changed to gold and command to white in TWOK. A white undershirt doesn't really look like a division color, especially given the ubiquity of white undershirts worn as a base layer and white collared shirts worn under suit jackets, so the red jacket was somewhat of a de facto command division color. So, with red as the de facto command division color and gold (or yellow sweat stain as it looked on VHS) for division, Theiss's division colors are more of a continuation of what Fletcher did.

Also, no mention of the side cutouts Theiss considered? ( https://forgottentrek.com/redesigning-starfleets-uniforms/ )

I can perhaps see a loose connection between Theiss' and Fletcher's division colors, but I really think it was both of them just operating independently of the other.

And yes, Theiss' concept drawings for TNG are wild! Probably the only thing stranger than what we wound up with were the earlier concept illustrations. Truly bizarre stuff. 🙂

Have you ever gotten the chance to inspect any of the trousers that were paired with things like the 1st season dress uniform or admiral jacket? It's clear the cuffs were treated the same as the jumpsuit cuffs, but what about the rest? Were they just the bottom half of a duty uniform, finished with a waistband or were they constructed differently?

There were multiple styles of trousers over TNG, paired with different uniform jackets (etc.).

I'll be posting more about them in my upcoming TNG trousers analysis. 🙂

Leave a Reply Cancel Reply

Name  *

Email  *

Add Comment

Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment.

Post Comment

• Cast & crew
• User reviews

Star Trek: The Next Generation

Set almost 100 years after Captain Kirk's 5-year mission, a new generation of Starfleet officers sets off in the U.S.S. Enterprise-D on its own mission to go where no one has gone before. Set almost 100 years after Captain Kirk's 5-year mission, a new generation of Starfleet officers sets off in the U.S.S. Enterprise-D on its own mission to go where no one has gone before. Set almost 100 years after Captain Kirk's 5-year mission, a new generation of Starfleet officers sets off in the U.S.S. Enterprise-D on its own mission to go where no one has gone before.

• Gene Roddenberry
• Patrick Stewart
• Brent Spiner
• Jonathan Frakes
• 321 User reviews
• 162 Critic reviews
• 39 wins & 61 nominations total

Episodes 176

Photos 3429

• Captain Jean-Luc Picard …

• Lieutenant Commander Data …

• Commander William Thomas 'Will' Riker …

• Lieutenant Commander Geordi La Forge …

• Counselor Deanna Troi

• Lieutenant Worf …

• Doctor Beverly Crusher …

• Enterprise Computer …

• Wesley Crusher …

• Chief Miles O'Brien …
• Youngblood …

• Lieutenant Natasha 'Tasha' Yar …

• Doctor Katherine Pulaski …

• Nurse Alyssa Ogawa …

• Ansata Terrorist …

• Ensign Ro Laren …

• Keiko O'Brien …
• All cast & crew
• Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

Stellar Photos From the "Star Trek" TV Universe

More like this

Did you know

• Trivia When the cast decided to lobby for a salary increase, Wil Wheaton 's first offer from the producers was to instead have his character promoted to Lieutenant. His response was, "So what should I tell my landlord when I can't pay my rent? 'Don't worry, I just made Lieutenant'?!"
• Goofs It is claimed that Data can't use contractions (Can't, Isn't, Don't, etc) yet there are several instances throughout the series where he does. One of the first such examples is heard in Encounter at Farpoint (1987) , where Data uses the word "Can't" while the Enterprise is being chased by Q's "ship".

[repeated line]

Capt. Picard : Engage!

• Crazy credits The model of the Enterprise used in the opening credits is so detailed, a tiny figure can be seen walking past a window just before the vessel jumps to warp speed.
• Alternate versions The first and last episodes were originally broadcast as two-hour TV movies, and were later re-edited into two one-hour episodes each. Both edits involved removing some scenes from each episode.
• Connections Edited into Reading Rainbow: The Bionic Bunny Show (1988)

User reviews 321

• SpiritWolf77
• Jan 3, 2003

Exceptional Robots on Film & TV

• How many seasons does Star Trek: The Next Generation have? Powered by Alexa
• Who is the captain of the USS Enterprise?
• Did any cast members of the original Star Trek series appear in The Next Generation?
• September 26, 1987 (United States)
• United States
• Official Facebook
• Official site
• Star Trek: TNG
• Donald C. Tillman Water Reclamation Plant - 6100 Woodley Avenue, Van Nuys, Los Angeles, California, USA (location)
• Paramount Television
• See more company credits at IMDbPro

Technical specs

• Runtime 45 minutes
• Dolby Stereo

Related news

Contribute to this page.

• IMDb Answers: Help fill gaps in our data
• Learn more about contributing

More to explore

Recently viewed

Why Star Trek: Discovery Chose That Classic Next Gen Storyline To Explore In Its Final Season

Shields up! This article contains major spoilers for the season 5 premiere of "Star Trek: Discovery."

Who knew that "Star Trek: Discovery" would be saving its biggest reveal for last? After being responsible for kickstarting the new era of "Trek" on streaming , the fifth and final season is signaling the beginning of the end for the flagship series. But as fans would expect, the opening episode proves the writing team has no intentions of taking its final bow without crafting one last adventure worthy of Captain Michael Burnham (Sonequa Martin-Green), Mr. Saru (Doug Jones), and the rest of the Discovery crew. (For more on that, you can check out /Film's "Discovery" season 5 premiere review by Jacob Hall here .) So perhaps it was inevitable that the biggest twist of the young season would have its roots in one of the most game-changing hours of "Trek" lore ever.

Trekkies will no doubt remember the classic "Next Generation" episode "The Chase," which first introduced the extinct race known as the Progenitors. Responsible for seeding humanoid life throughout the galaxy, these ancient beings were meant as an in-universe explanation for why almost every alien race encountered by Starfleet looked mostly like, well, ourselves ... give or take a few random ridges on foreheads and such. This also had the side effect of linking even the biggest enemies — humans, Romulans, Cardassians, and even Klingons alike — on a foundational genetic level.

"The Next Generation" mostly breezes past this revelation and reverts to business as usual in later episodes, despite the startling implications, so leave it to "Discovery" to pick up this major dangling thread and weave it into the fabric of this new season. At the season 5 world premiere, producer Michelle Paradise addressed why the show's creatives went back to this  storyline in particular.

'Huge ideas and huge themes'

How do you raise the stakes even higher than the time-traveling shenanigans of "Discovery" season 2, the mysterious dilithium "Burn" of season 3 that caused the breakdown of Starfleet, and the impossibly advanced species of extraterrestrials that put the entire galaxy at risk in season 4? Well, going all the way back to the origin of life as we know it is definitely one way to get the job done and end things with a bang.

It took until the closing moments of the season 5 premiere for the full picture (or part of it, at least) to round into shape, but what a twist it is! As it turns out, the pair of scavengers who absconded with an item of top priority to Starfleet couldn't have possibly picked a more important piece of "Trek" lore: the leftover Progenitor tech that helped them create humanoid life in the first place. So why tie things back to that underrated "The Next Generation" episode , of all things? At the SXSW premiere of "Discovery," producer Michelle Paradise had this to say:

"'The Chase' is an episode that had stuck with many of us because it addresses such huge ideas and huge themes. Where do we come from, the creation of life. And then it was this one episode, and then that was it [...] And it just left us with many, many questions."

That's putting it mildly. Even for a sci-fi franchise like "Star Trek," those are some incredibly heady ideas to attempt to tackle. It's one thing for a random episode in the early 1990s to suddenly establish such a massive change to canon. It's quite another for "Discovery" to double down. According to Paradise, however, this was done with character and theme in mind.

Tackling the big questions

Arguably more than any other ongoing series, "Discovery" has always worn its heart on its sleeve. That doesn't appear to be changing in season 5, but it's only fitting that the final adventure for this cast digs deeper into the psyches of the characters than it ever has before. The biggest question on the minds of the creative team, as it turns out, revolved around ideas of meaning and purpose for Burnham, Saru, and all the rest. According to Michelle Paradise, those are existential topics that translate naturally from the events of "The Chase," set hundreds and hundreds of years before the future timeline of this current season of "Discovery." She went on to say:

"And so when we were thinking about this season in particular and what we were going to be doing thematically and our characters looking at questions of meaning, questions of purpose. It felt like that was a really great place to go back to as a launching point for this adventure and that it was going to have that resonance."

For a crew that's been stranded in the future and cut off from everyone they used to know, these are poignant issues that previous seasons of "Discovery" have sought to explore. After having rebuilt Starfleet to something close to its former glory and putting the officers of the Discovery through the wringer, the rest of season 5 is now primed and ready to push these characters where they have never gone before.

New episodes of "Star Trek: Discovery" season 5 premiere on Paramount+ every Thursday.

Star Trek: The Next Generation's 'Skin of Evil' Story And Impact Explained

Quick links, what happens in 'skin of evil', how does 'skin of evil' end, the reputation of 'skin of evil' and its impact on the star trek franchise.

“Skin of Evil” remains one of the most shocking and controversial episodes in the long-running saga of Star Trek . More often than not, the different eras of the franchise have taken a while to find their space legs, and that’s particularly true of the first live-action sequel to The Original Series . Star Trek: The Next Generation may have presented a more enlightened Federation of the 24th century than its 1960s predecessor, but its first year was notoriously troubled.

The show suffered from a revolving door of writers, with many falling out with Star Trek ’s creator Gene Roddenberry, who kept a tight grip on the series' direction. Roddenberry rewrote 15 episodes of the first year’s run, which also included some blatant remakes of The Original Series episodes. The result was a dysfunctional environment that found actors like Denise Crosby, who played Security Chief Tasha Yar, unhappy with their character development. Crosby’s decision to end her contract during The Next Generation’s first year resulted in the events of the 23rd episode of the first season. The repercussions of “Skin of Evil" would be felt for a long time.

Star Trek: The Next Generation - 10 Things You Didnt Know About The Shows Production

“Skin of Evil” finds the crew of the Enterprise-D attempting an unusual rescue mission. When a shuttlecraft transporting Counselor Deanna Troi and Lieutenant Ben Prieto mysteriously crashes on the deserted planet Vagra II, the Enterprise crew is blocked from beaming up their missing personnel. An away team comprising Data, Dr Crusher, and Lieutenant Tasha Yar, led by Commander Riker, discovers why: A sentient ‘oil slick’ that calls itself Armus is using its impressive powers, including psychokinesis and teleportation, to block access to the crashed shuttlecraft.

Picard frowns at Riker’s description of Armus as “Trouble,” but the Enterprise’s first officer is soon proved right. When Yar attempts to cross to the craft, Armus lashes out, apparently killing her instantly. Despite Crusher’s best efforts on board the Enterprise, the ship’s security chief is pronounced dead.

Star Trek Fans Explain Why The Next Generation Cast Should Never Return

The remainder of the episode is split between somber scenes aboard the Enterprise and return trips to the planet as the crew desperately tries to rescue their hostage shipmates without any further loss of life. While taunting Troi, who’s conscious aboard the crashed craft, Armus reveals itself as a single-minded, rage-filled creature driven by loneliness and emptiness. As the counselor discerns that it’s the rejected side product of an alien culture that managed to separate and maroon their “dark and vile” side, the enterprise notices power fluctuations in the shield Armus has projected around the craft.

The game of oily cat and Starfleet mouse continues, including some haunting visuals when Riker is sucked into the creature and held captive. It ends when Picard beams down to confront the creature, and Armus reveals its goal is to leave the planet to rejoin those who abandoned it. Picard bargains a meeting with Troi, confirming his suspicions that the creature’s powers diminish as its rage grows. He then taunts it into a fury that weakens its shield enough for the Enterprise to beam up everyone safely . Armus, the skin of evil, is left raging on the surface as Picard orders the remote destruction of the shuttle so there’s no chance it can ever leave its prison planet.

Star Trek: The Next Generation's Most Boring Episode

Despite declaring Vagra II off-limits and ensuring Armus cannot escape, Picard admits that "the damage has been done." The senior crew steps into a blue-skied paradise aboard one of the ship’s holodecks, where the captain conducts a short and emotional memorial to his lost Security Chief. In a farewell unlike any Star Trek fan had seen before, Picard hands over to a holographic recording of Tasha Yar.

In a moving speech, she praises each of the assembled crewmembers for their contributions to her life, explaining that she had expected to die quickly and on duty. It’s a lovely narrative move that makes good use of the innovation of the holodeck, although it doesn’t stand up to scrutiny unless Yar regularly re-recorded it during her year aboard the Enterprise-D.

Where it succeeds is putting an emphasis on the crew she’s left behind, with “no goodbyes, just good memories.” That’s summed up in the final lines of the episode when Data queries why his thoughts are not with Tasha but how empty he will feel without her presence. Picard simply confirms that the android’s “got it’.”

Star Trek: The Next Generation - The Best Data Episodes

Unsurprisingly, “Skin of Evil” was instantly controversial, and its bad reputation has persisted for 30 years. Star Trek supremo Gene Roddenberry intended Yar’s blunt and senseless death to show the dangers facing security officers. However, the general response was that the result was that Yar’s death just felt pointless. It’s even worse that it fails to add any real threat to the villain Armus, who, despite some ingenious physical effects, is barely remembered beyond being a relatively shapeless dark blob.

The decision to kill Yar was prompted by Crosby’s disappointment with the character’s development over the season. However, it was fitting that the show’s eulogy turned attention to the surviving crew. With Worf’s immediate promotion to Acting Chief of Security, taking point behind the command chairs, the core crew started to resemble the one the show became famous for.

Geordi La Forge would become Chief Engineer in the second year, and Yar’s departure allowed secondary characters like Chief Miles O’Brien to become more prominent. It was this restructured team that helped propel the series’ massive success. However, Tasha Yar’s death also provided the show’s creators an opportunity they couldn’t resist, leading to one of The Next Generation ’s classic episodes.

Star Trek: The Next Generations 'Cause and Effect' Explained

In the third season’s “Yesterday’s Enterprise, ” the USS Enterprise-D’s crew is amazed to see the long-destroyed USS Enterprise-C emerge from a spacetime rift. However, the ship’s arrival in 2366 immediately transforms the 24th-century timeline. Picard now commands a warship in a fleet locked in a devastating war with the Klingons, with a crew including a survived Tasha Yar as tactical officer. Only the El-Aurian bartender Guinan senses something is wrong and that Yar shouldn’t be there — a neat touch, as Whoopi Goldberg’s Guinan was a female character introduced to fill the gap left by the departure of Denise Crosby.

“Yesterday’s Enterprise” is regarded as one of Star Trek ’s greatest time travel episodes , featuring a solid meditation on fate and choice. Picard must wrestle with the decision to restore a timeline he doesn’t remember by sending the crew of the Enterprise-C back to its death, including volunteer Tasha Yar, who realizes she doesn’t quite belong. However, this great episode was also a clever way for Crosby to retain a role in the franchise.

Star Trek: The USS Enterprise's Best Commanding Officers, Ranked

Future seasons brought the actress back as the villain Sela, the half-Romulan daughter of Yar, born from the paradox of her mother being sent back in time to 2344 and captured before the destruction of the Enterprise-C. Sela’s vengeful masterplan as a Romulan commander was the backbone of the Season 4 cliffhanger two-parter “Redemption,” and she would later become a primary antagonist in Star Trek: Online .

For a little-loved episode, overshadowed by a significant but poorly received death, “Skin of Evil” had major repercussions for Star Trek: The Next Generation . Yar never gained the chance to enjoy the celebrity of her crewmates, but her death was more than the repeat of Spock’s legendary death five years before in Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan . This was the first time Star Trek permanently killed a regular character, and thanks to the show’s time-twisting potential, her tragic journey didn’t stop there. The Security Chief is one of very few Star Trek characters with the tragic distinction of dying twice.

Star Trek is a space exploration franchise originally created by Gene Roddenberry. The series has spanned shows like The Original Series, The Next Generation, and Voyager. More recently, developer Scopely came out with Star Trek Fleet Command, a mobile title where you get to be captain of your own ship.

Star Trek: 5 Deaths That Rocked The Franchise's Foundation