When you watch hours and hours…and hours…of Trek there some things you can’t help but smile at. All of these shows (heck the movies too) had wardrobe and/or make-up changes from their initial pilot through the series. It’s of course normal for there to be a process before the show is on. Check out these early make up tests for Data:
But once in awhile after the show has aired as the characters evolve, so do their designs and wardrobe. Especially when creators realize something they were doing was stupid. From the horrid uniforms from the first movie that NO ONE liked to the inexplicable way DS9 changed uniform’s after “First Contact” came out to the way Kes had to cover her ears because the fake one’s hurt so much on Voyager, it’s fun to look back and at the early missteps and compare them to the designs we’ve grown to love.
Here are ten wardrobe or make up changes which seem odd in hindsight, but at the time was just the creators seeing what would stick and what wouldn’t. These are never explained in universe, they just happen.
TOS-Uhura Gold or Red??
It’s pretty clear in the early days of TOS that the creators didn’t have certain details down. Like who wore what colors. In the second pilot, Scotty is seen wearing some gold thing while Sulu is wearing blue. He was also not a helmsman in the episode and to be fair none of the uniforms in that episode are seen again. But the big one is Uhura wearing gold for one or two early episodes. Thankfully creators realized that not only did red make more sense, but she looked a lot better in it.
TOS-Spock’s eyebrows and his collar
TOS-Chekov’s Wig
I grew up hearing the famous story about how Chekov joined the crew because Gene Roddenberry had read something in Pravda. The truth is, hey wanted a Davey Jones type on the show to appeal to the youth. To that end, they also wanted Walter Koenig to have air like Jones. Which is why is wearing a fairy obvious wig in his first few episodes.
ST III-Chekov's jumpsuit
It's rare to see costume or make up changes in movies because, well, it's a movie! You need to remain consistent in things in like that. But sometimes a wardrobe choice will be so awful, that they actually fix it during filming. Case in point, the horrid pink jumpsuit Chekov is wearing just before they steal the Enterprise. Which is gone the next time we see him.
TNG-No more spandex
The costumes on TNG were not any fun to deal with it. The awful spandex outfits everyone had to wear during Season 1 & 2 not only looked by they felt bad. So when season 3 rolled around they were changed to the more popular two piece wool jump suits we all know and love.
TNG-Troi’s Mini Skirt & Season One Attire
As with TOS, TNG has its own experiments with costumes in their pilot. Troi is seen wearing a mini skirt during the episode. An outfit she would never be seen in again (aside from the series finale). Marina Sirtis herself as said she looked a cosmic cheerleader. Oh and those boots are hideous. And this wasn’t just her’s either, we can see Tasha wearing one at the end of the pilot and extra’s are wearing them in the background of early episodes. Men and women. Early TNG also had these ugly one piece casual outfits which quickly disappeared. By the way Troi’s her look was a lot different in season one even sans mini skirt, as if creators were afraid to let her be pretty. That would stop after the season was over and her looked evolved a lotthrough the series.
TNG-Worf and his always changing look
It seemed like every season on TNG Worf would look a little different. There are a few reasons for this. There’s a story of a mask theft after season one which I am not sure is true. But the nose and head were probably being modified as the show went on to become more comfortable. In the final season, Michael Dorn grew a real goatie to replace the fake one. Another change was the sash Worf wore, it was changed to a less crude one after season .
DS9-Quark’s Ears
Quark had to changes after the pilot epispde of DS9. Since Armin Shimmerman’s nose wasn’t ready, he is wearing Rom’s nose in the pilot. The other change is one no fan would ever see. Before DS9 Ferengi make-up had no ear holes, focing your ears to be pinned back. This is was fine for a guest shot but Shimmerman knew if he was going to this for hours every day this needed to be fixed. And fix it they did also adding a back of the head (early Ferengi’s wore stupid high collars to hide the back of their heads).
DS9-Odo’s Face
Odo went through a few changes, like getting a belt only to lose it later. His face also changes through the series becoming more smoother. One explanation I saw explained at first the make-up was prosthetic pieces. As the series evolved they went to a full face mask which is undoubtedly easier to take on and off.
VOY-Janeway’s Bun
Think it was revolutionary that they put a woman in command on Voyager? Don’t be fooled the biggest concern was how Captain Janeway’s hair looked. We had the bun for two seasons, followed by the french twist. A ponytail appeared once before a short look came around. Until finally her hair grew out and was kept that way for the bulk ot the series.
VOY-7 of 9 Silver Catsuit
If you think Janeway’s never ending hair styles was bad, poor Jeri Ryan had it much worse! Seven of Nine was Voyager’s breakthrough character and revived the show. So of course creators put her in a catsuit to display every porpotion of her body. To bad the suit also kept her from breathing. Yeah true story, they had nurses on set with oxygen in case she passed out! She couldn’t even take it off, going to the bathroom was a twenty minute process. Thankfully she got more comfortable attire later on. Though as bad as Jeri Ryan had it, at least she wasn’t blatantly exploited the way Jolene Blalock was on Enterprise.
The Klingons
I wonder what fans of Star Trek The Motion Picture must have thought when the Klingons appeared on screen. Looking very different than they did on the original series. There have been tons of theories to how and/or why this happened in universe. Enterprise finally tried to explain it as a consequence of gentic research. Either way, to this day this dramatic change is one of the biggest unexplained design changes in Trek history. And don’t get me started on what they did to them on Discovery!
And finally….
The Wardrobe Confusion in Star Trek Generations!
If you know Trek you know this story, but here w ego anyway. When Star Trek Generations was being produced, there was a fear that the Next Gen uniforms would look silly on the big screen That’s stupid, but I digress. They tried out a new version of the uniform (for which action figures were even made) but passed on it. What did hey do? They decided to borrow the uniforms from Deep Space Nine. That would have been bad enough, but there were only so many on hand so not everyone got one. So we literally have both TNG and DS9 styles in the movie, with some of the characters swapping out one uniform style for another in the middle of the movie! With explanation given. Did I mention these uniforms weren’t designed for these actors? Riker for instance had Sisko’s uniform, which looked to big for him. Generations is a confusing mess of a movie right down the bizarre uniform changes.
And yes the same things can happen with ship designs, interior and exterior, but that’s a subject for another day
I decided not to mention the change for Captain Sisko when Avery Brooks was allowed to shave his head (they were afraid he’d be confused for his Spenser:For Hire character) or when Riker suddenly got a beard on TNG since these were acknowledged and/or given a reason in universe.
Did I miss any other wardrobe or makeup oddity
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