JC's Trek Talk

Opinions on Star Trek's Starfleet Uniforms Part 3: The Kelvin Timeline Star Trek 2009 and Into Darkness For J.J. Abrams reboot of the franchise, costume designer Michael Kaplan designed new uniforms for the main cast that paid homage to the TOS uniforms.  While the overall design was very much the TOS uniform design, the execution was quite different.  The department colored overshirts were patterned in a busy two tone Starfleet delta print which is honestly unnecessary and distracting.  Also the pants were needlessly over detailed and busy. USS Kelvin For the opening of Star Trek 2009 we see a new uniform style for the USS Kelvin in the 2230s. The color pallet is slightly reminiscent of the TOS pilot uniforms and the TMP uniforms.  The piping across the chest is very reminiscent of the "All Good Things" uniforms.  The pants not being black but a sort of olive green was a strange choice. Star Trek Beyond For Star Trek Beyond Sandra Hays redesigned the uniforms, ...

Opinions on Star Trek Starfleet Uniforms Part 2: the Rick Berman era TNG season 1-2 William Ware Theiss returned to trek to create the original TNG uniforms.  A simple three color pallet (red for command, yellow operations, teal for sciences/medical) against a mostly black jumpsuit.  One drawback was that because these were jumpsuits to achieve the smooth, creaseless look the costumes were sized too small for the actors (something that would change for season 3-a change reportedly mandated by Patrick Stewarts doctor).  A good start.  As an aside, perhaps as a nod to the TOS uniforms TNG season 1 also featured a shirt (skant) version of the uniform worn by both male and female crewmembers (in some early TNG episodes there were some guys wearing them). TNG season 3-7 William Ware Theiss retired following TNGs first season.  His replacement Durinda Rice-Wood was not fond of the uniforms but did not have the ability or budget to replace them.  That task would f...

Opinions on Star Trek's Starfleet Uniforms Part 1: TOS and the movies Something I have been wanting to do for some time is to run through every main uniform style (Starfleet uniforms) in the franchise and discuss the positives, negatives and my opinions.  Since this is the 60th anniversary year for the franchise, I decided that this would be the perfect time to take look at the haute couture of Starfleet across 60 years of shows and movies.  So without further ado: The pilot uniforms (The Cage, Where No Man Has Gone Before) William Ware Theiss originals.  Very simple, perhaps overly so.  The shirts with the ribbed collars are almost sweatshirt-like.  The gold and tan shirts are a bit close in color, sometimes they're hard to tell apart.  The women have more fitted shirts with larger, baggy collars. TOS uniforms The classic.  Gold, Red, Blue.  Simple and iconic.  And sometimes simpler is better.  The bell-bottomed pants are very sixties, ...

Star Trek Trivia Quiz Delta Answers 1. Robert Picardo as the Doctor (EMH) 2. Delta Quadrant 3. Commander Sonak 4. Terra Prime 5. Altimid 6. Ni'Var 7. Craft 8. Tulaberry Wine 9. Landru 10. Valdez, Alaska 11. The Narada 12. Nacene

Star Trek Trivia Quiz Delta 1. What actor appeared as the same character in Star Trek Voyager, Star Trek Prodigy and Star Trek Starfleet Academy? 2. The planet Tars Lamora, on which the USS Protostar was found is located in which quadrant? 3. Who was appointed science officer of the USS Enterprise under Captain Decker by Admiral Kirk, but later died in a transporter accident? 4. What xenophobic group led by John Fredrick Paxton attempted to stop the formation of the Coalition of Planets in 2155 before being defeated by the NX-01 crew? 5. In the Kelvin timeline, the USS Enterprise was destroyed by Krall's swarm and the crew temporarily stranded on what planet? 6. After Vulcan reunified with the Romulans, what was the name of planet Vulcan changed to? 7. What was the name of the human soldier from Alcor IV who found the abandoned USS Discovery in the 43rd century? 8. In 2370, the Ferengi attempted to open trade relations with the Dosi, a Dominion member species from the Gamma Quadran...

Star Trek Trivia Quiz Gamma Answers 1. USS Constance 2. Vaughn Armstrong 3. USS Stardiver 4. Suus Mahna 5. Goes Nowhere, Does Nothing 6. Destruct sequence 2, code 1 1 A 2 B 7. Joe Piscipo 8. Nothing/Unknown Sample 9. "It was...fun.  Oh my!" 10. Pop Goes the Weasel 11. Ex Astris Scientia (From the Stars, Knowledge) 12. Vau N'Akat

Star Trek Trivia Quiz Beta Answers 1. Her Most Imperial Majesty, Mother of the Fatherland, Overlord of Vulcan, Dominus of Qo'noS, Regina Andor, Philippa Georgiou Augustus Iaponius Centarius. 2. The 28th Century 3. Linear Models of Viral Propagation 4. USS Republic 5. Friendship One 6. Doctari Alpha 7. Captain Saru 8. SS Puget Sound 9. Mistress of the Winter Constellations 10. the Sikarians 11. USS Ranger CVA-61 12. Trellium-D

Star Trek Trivia Quiz Alpha Answers 1. Trakor's Third Prophecy 2. Gene Roddenberry 3. Molly 4. Athos IV 5. Michelob 6. "Welcome home" 7. Project Proteus 8. His cousin Selek 9. "For I dipt into the future far as human eye could see, saw the vision of the world, and all the wonder that would be." - Alfred, Lord Tennyson 10. 2769 11. Valley of Fire, Nevada 12. Azati Prime

Star Trek Trivia Quiz Alpha 1. The events surrounding the deployment of the Gamma Quadrant communication relay were foreseen three thousand years ago and written down in what piece of Bajoran scripture? 2. The ship's chef on the USS Enterprise during Kirk's tenure as captain, who contacted Kirk on the bridge to inform him that the synthesized meatloaf had turned into real turkeys was voiced by whom? 3. When she departed Earth on Voyager's fateful trip to the Badlands, Kathryn Janeway left behind her fiancé Mark and her pregnant Irish setter.  What was the dog's name? 4. Following a distress signal, Starfleet security officer turned Maquis leader Michael Eddington went down in a blaze of glory saving Maquis refugees on a secret base on what planetoid? 5. During the trip to 1986 San Francisco, James Kirk went on a dinner date with marine biologist Dr. Gillian Taylor.  What beverage did they order with their meals at the pizza restaurant? 6. DS9's "The Search, par...

Star Trek Trivia Quizzes Over the next 4 weeks I will be posting a series of quizzes (titled Alpha, Beta, Gamma and Delta like the galaxy's quadrants) to test your knowledge of the final frontier.  These quizzes cover trivia from all 11 series (including the Animated Series) and all 14 movies.  The quizzes will post on Tuesdays, the answers will post the following Friday.  Good luck! 

Star Trek 60th Anniversary 2026 marks the 60th anniversary of Star Trek, September 8 being 60 years since The Original Series first hit the airwaves with "The Man Trap".  This blog will be celebrating the milestone year with trivia quizzes, more retrospective posts, and much more.  Stay tuned!