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“is this a joke” how a classic ‘star trek’ episode broke the rules of the franchise.

Actor-director Jonathan Frakes and writer Brannon Braga look back at the time-loop episode "Cause and Effect," which debuted 30 years ago this week: "There’s got to be a mistake here. The acts just keep repeating."

By Phil Pirrello

Phil Pirrello

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“I thought Brannon was fucking with me.”

It’s easy to see why Star Trek : The Next Generation actor Jonathan Frakes had that reaction when he first read writer Brannon Braga’s script for “Cause and Effect” 30 years ago. Neither the series nor television in general had ever attempted something like it before.

Frakes had the challenging task of both acting in and directing the deceptively simple season five episode, which finds Captain Picard (Patrick Stewart) and the crew of the Enterprise-D stuck in a time loop. The loop results in the crew dying over and over again as their ship explodes upon contact with another starship, the very old U.S.S. Bozeman. With each time loop, Dr. Crusher (Gates McFadden) gets to play detective as she leads the crew’s efforts to escape the loop.

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The result is a riveting, tension-filled hour of Star Trek unlike any before or, really, since. “Cause and Effect” not only made TV history when it aired on March 23, 1992, it also quickly found its way near the top of many fans’ lists of favorite Star Trek episodes.

According to Frakes and Braga, that was not something the production anticipated. Braga’s script was seen as a gamble, as it challenged the tried-and-true episodic formula that has fueled the franchise since the 1960s original series.

In honor of “Cause and Effect” celebrating its 30th anniversary this year, The Hollywood Reporter revisited the episode with Braga and Frakes for a deep dive into the making of a sci-fi classic.

“Originally, I was staff writer at the time, and I was pitching to [the late TNG showrunner and executive producer] Michael Piller a Rashomon -style idea I wanted to do,” Braga tells THR about how he came upon what would become “Cause and Effect.”

Braga had always wanted to tell the same story from several points of view, one that would unfold several times. But he couldn’t quite figure out how to expand that kernel into a full hour of TV, until it dawned on him: “Why not just tell the same story over and over? That seemed like something I haven’t seen before.”

Initially, there was some doubt that anyone would ever see it.

“We weren’t really committed to doing time travel at the time,” Braga recalls. “[ Trek creator] Gene Roddenberry, who was still alive, wasn’t a big fan of time travel, because I think he felt it was a bit of a science fiction cliché. And he’d done it with [the classic Original Series episode] ‘City on the Edge of Forever.'”

Braga got around that strict mandate by arguing that time travel doesn’t have to be just traveling back in time to the past. One could be forced to repeat it, by getting caught up in a time loop. That realization got the episode closer to a green light. And it didn’t hurt that Braga and Ron Moore, the pair that later would co-write the TNG series finale, “All Good Things …”, had somewhat favorable status on staff that allowed for the outside-the-box idea to squeeze past the very specific parameters that Piller and executive producer Rick Berman had about what could pass for a Next Gen episode.

Despite Braga’s cachet as one of the show’s strongest writers, the initial script for “Cause and Effect” was met with some trepidation.

“The early reactions to the script were similar to the reactions that the audience had when watching the episode, which was confusion,” Braga remembers. “Because you’re reading that script and you’re like, ‘Wait a second. There’s got to be a mistake here. The acts just keep repeating. Is this a joke?’”

In fact, following the explosive teaser that sees the Enterprise blow up, Braga opens each subsequent act of the script by repeating the exact same (or similar) dialogue from other acts. (Contrary to popular belief, the episode wasn’t just an easy, “cut and paste” affair for the writer, which is quickly evident if you read his script.)

The time loop format confused audiences to the point where, infamously, viewers called in complaints to their local affiliates that ran the syndicated episode, thinking the repeating acts were a glitch.

How that design would unfold visually fell to Frakes, who lucked out with this episode following three previous directorial efforts on TNG , which include such memorable hours as “The Offspring,” “Reunion” and “The Drumhead.”

“At first, I didn’t really get that what Brannon was trying to do was a different kind of Rashomon story,” Frakes says. “It was an evolution almost of the way [the characters] understand what was going on.” From there, Frakes said it was like an “advanced director’s test” on how to shoot the same scenes in different enough ways that the audience didn’t lose out on the new information that every loop provides.

“There are only so many shots you can do,” Frakes explains. “So, stylistically, we tried different things for different scenes — and J.P. Farrell, who cut the episode, deserves a lot of the credit for making those sequences work. We had a plan that we needed to shoot each scene more than one way … we would shoot the master from either side of the room. But I really enjoyed the challenge. Once I realized that [Brannon] wasn’t fucking with me, it was fun.”

Frakes even discovered a shot that TNG had never done before.

“I think during prep, I was with Doug Dean, he was my first [A.D.], and we’re shooting one of the many scenes in the conference room, the observation lounge set,” recalls Frakes. “And we got an overhead shot of the conference room that we hadn’t used before. I said: ‘What if we go all the way up there?’ And [Doug] said: ‘Well, nobody’s gone there.’ To which I was like: ‘Oh, all the better!’”

Frakes and his crew also found ways to shoot the familiar set from new positions, such as filming a master from Riker’s side of the bridge, or starting from the station manned by Ensign Ro (Michelle Forbes). In one important loop, Frakes even borrowed from the most famous movie director ever.

“We did a lot of those Spielberg-style push-ins and close-ups. We started with Crusher figuring it out first, then [Michael] Dorn (Worf) as he figures it out during a poker game. And then Picard, later in a scene, we push in on him reading a book as he realizes he’s read that section before,” says Frakes. “So there were enough kind of signature, visual metaphors for [the characters] figuring it out and agreeing on what was going on.”

One of the hardest things for Braga was cracking just how the characters figured out their exit strategy from the loop.

“The two most challenging things about the script,” Braga recalls, “was how to get them physically out of the time loop. That was the main hurdle. And the second thing was the crew explaining to themselves, and therefore the audience, just what the hell is going on here.”

For the former, Braga turned to his best resource: His fellow writers in the room.

“It was Michael Piller, Ron Moore, Joe Menoski and Jeri Taylor. I remember being in the room, and I needed help. ‘How the hell does this resolve itself?’” Braga can’t recall if it was him or one of his colleagues that came up with Data (Brent Spiner) seeing the three rank pips on Riker’s collar and using that to send a message to a future loop. But he does remember that “we had an amazing staff of writers, and we helped each other.”

Unfortunately, Braga was largely on his own when it came to the second most difficult thing about writing the episode: The briefing room scene. Here, Geordi (LeVar Burton) explains to his shipmates that they are caught in a very Trek -ian “temporal causality loop.” Ironically, Braga found himself in a time loop of his own, rewriting the scene over and over again.

“It was my first big ‘technobabble’ scene, so it couldn’t just sound cool. It had to sound plausible. It had to resolve all the clues that had been accumulating,” says Braga. “In addition to all the explaining, you have to bring your own voice to it, too. You try to pepper in some cool or shocking moments, like when Picard asks how long we have been in the loop and Geordi responds with something like, ‘It could be years.’ But Piller had me rewrite that scene so many times. I remember over Christmas break of that year, I was working on that scene.”

The episode culminates with Picard faced with the same two choices to get out of this mess that got him into it: In order to avoid collision with the starship Bozeman, he can follow Data’s suggestion of using a tractor beam to push the Enterprise out of the way, or go with Riker’s advice and decompress the main shuttle bay, allowing the explosive reaction to kick them out of the way. Thanks to Data’s message of “three” throughout the ship, the android knows it is his option that dooms the ship, so he goes with Riker’s shuttle bay plan and saves the crew. Originally, this climactic sequence concluded with a visual gag: Glimpses, like after-images, of all the previous times the Enterprise and the Bozeman crashed.

“That was cut for budget,” Braga says. As was the initial concept for the Bozeman to be depicted as a ship from Kirk’s era of The Original Series , with her crew wearing classic series uniforms. Instead, the production “ kit-bashed ” the Reliant starship model from Wrath of Khan to create the Bozeman. They also redressed the Enterprise-D’s battle bridge set to resemble something closer to the Khan era of the 1980s, and put the crewmembers of the Bozeman in Wrath of Khan- style uniforms.

The episode’s final scene hinges on a surprise cameo from a future TV sitcom legend: Cheers ’ Kelsey Grammer as the Bozeman’s captain, Bateson. Grammer’s casting as a captain who has seemingly been stuck in this loop for at least 90 years is one of Frakes’ favorite stories from the production.

“This was pre- Frasier ,” Frakes says. “Before he had his spinoff, he was just a member of the [ Cheers ] ensemble. And they shot that show right around the corner from us, because we were on the same lot. And Kelsey, he was a Trekker. A huge Star Trek fan. And he asked to be on the show, like a number of actors that were fans, like Whoopi Goldberg, did. That’s how I understood it. It was just one day of shooting and I had no idea. But it was fun to shoot.”

“Fun” is a word both fans of “Cause and Effect” and its creators throw around often when discussing this landmark episode of the series, which, after three decades, still remains an outstanding and popular installment of the franchise, which currently clocks in at over 800 episodes.

“When you’re writing it, you have no idea it’s going to turn out to be what it is today,” Braga explains. “I mean, Frakes did a great, great job directing it, but I could never have predicted that we’d be talking about this 30 years later. You just don’t know. You’re not sure if it’s working, which is maybe a good sign when you’re doing something new. But it was unclear to anybody whether or not the audience was going to accept it.”

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“The Lost Era” Uniform Timeline

• January 5, 2022
• General Star Trek costumes , TNG , TWOK

As a preface to my updated TNG costuming resources and my upcoming TWOK-era uniform projects, I thought it would be neat to examine what we know of the “The Lost Era” uniform timeline, from the TOS-era movies to TNG.

I’ll be discussing the evolution of the TWOK-era uniforms in my upcoming TWOK-era costume analyses , so for now I’ll only be mentioning uniform changes that I believe pertain to “The Lost Era” and TNG-era uniforms.

Also, for this discussion I’ll be confining my observations to (what I believe were) intentional creative decisions, NOT errors, omissions, or “goofs.”

QUESTIONS ...

In canon – that is, only taking into consideration what was actually seen on-screen during the film/TV franchise – it’s not clear when exactly William Ware Theiss’ TNG-era uniforms became the standard uniforms for Starfleet.

All we really know for sure is that it seems to have been during “The Lost Era” between the launch of the Enterprise B (as seen in Generations ) and “Encounter at Farpoint” (as seen in The Next Generation ).

How and when the transition between the TWOK-era uniforms and the TNG-era uniforms took place is a vague issue that’s prompted considerable speculation over the years.

Was there another uniform style at some point in the meantime?

Were the TNG-era uniforms phased in slowly, or were they implemented all at once?

After the heavily-structured, naval, even militaristic TWOK-era uniforms, at what point did skin-tight spandex jumpsuits and unisex mini-dresses become the new standard for Starfleet?

The unenviable task of dealing with these questions in a way that would make sense – both chronologically (in-universe), and to the audience (visually) – first fell to William Ware Theiss, as The Next Generation ’s initial costume designer.

WILLIAM WARE THEISS' APPROACH

Prior to the launch of Star Trek: The Next Generation , William Ware Theiss had also been the costume designer for Star Trek: The Original Series and the aborted Star Trek: Phase II .

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

These films featured different Starfleet uniforms and numerous classes/variations, many of which are loved by fans (particularly the “Monster Maroons”), but none of which bore much resemblance to any of Theiss’ costume designs for The Original Series .

After the success of these films, the spinoff TV series was green-lit with Gene Roddenberry “restored to power” as a showrunner, who recruited Theiss to be the costume designer for TNG.

Roddenberry is said to have been unhappy with certain aspects of the films, including what he saw as the militarization of Starfleet, which was also reflected in the movie-era uniforms.

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

Furthermore, Theiss’ approach to designing the costumes for the new series seems to have simply been to “pick up where he left off,” perhaps acknowledging superficial aspects of Robert Fletcher’s movie-era uniforms but mostly just ignoring them.

Theiss favored knit fabrics and unstructured uniforms toward the end of TOS, Fletcher favored heavily-structured wool uniforms for ST2 through ST4, and then Theiss designed unstructured spandex uniforms for TNG.

Theiss established three division colors in TOS, Fletcher introduced more and changed their associations, and Theiss returned to the three division colors for TNG.

… etc., etc.

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 …

In Star Trek Costumes: Five Decades of Fashion from the Final Frontier , Theiss is quoted saying, “Bob Fletcher is a very fine designer, and I mean that sincerely – but we don’t design the same way, and there’s no reason we should. Apples and oranges. My personal feeling is, if you go to a structured, woven fabric, and use the kind of tailoring and structuring he’s done, it puts those costumes back, historically, five hundred years, with shoulder seams and shoulder pads of that type.”

But regardless of the personal feelings of anyone involved or the creative direction from The Powers That Be, Theiss’ approach to “The Lost Era” uniform transition appears to have basically been, “Ignore the TOS movie uniforms and pretend they never happened!”

With that in mind, it should come as no surprise that, right from the beginning of The Next Generation ‘s pilot, everyone was already wearing Theiss’ TNG-era uniforms.

The characters on Farpoint Station waiting for the Enterprise to arrive were already in uniform, as well.

(It wasn’t like the Deep Space Nine pilot in that regard, when the show’s cast members were first introduced wearing the existing TNG-style uniforms and gradually switched over to the new VOY-style uniforms over the course of the episode.)

The only (other) instance in which Theiss had to address the uniform transition was about a third of the way through The Next Generation ‘s first season, in the episode “The Battle.”

During the episode, Captain Picard mentally relived the events from 2355, which was approximately eight years prior to the episode.

By now, it shouldn’t be surprising that for these flashback events, Theiss dressed the former Stargazer crew in his TNG-era uniforms. 

Considering Theiss’ apparent attitude AND the fact that this was ultimately just a mental hallucination inflicted by an illegal telepathic device (with malicious intent), I believe it worthy of mention here … but ONLY as a possible example of the Starfleet uniform timeline, not necessarily a factual one. 

That said, in The Next Generation ’s pilot, Theiss DID dress Admiral McCoy in trousers reminiscent of those from the TWOK-era …

I believe this to have been intended to represent the character as a sort of relic and/or “living legend” from generations prior.

Curiously, for the original wardrobe/make-up tests (as seen on The Next Generation season 1 Blu-Ray set ), McCoy was dressed in a variation of his TWOK-era “monster maroon” uniform.

Note the TNG-era communicator, and the lack of the right shoulder strap.

This may have been done purely for convenience, since Deforest Kelley would’ve probably had several uniforms readily-available from the first four TOS movies, or perhaps Theiss’ TNG-era uniforms weren’t quite ready yet.

It could have simply been an experiment, an abandoned creative direction, or any number of other possibilities.

In any event, it never made it on-screen (in-universe), so it technically “doesn’t count.”

I mention it here because it may have been a source of creative inspiration for Robert Blackman, costume designer on The Next Generation from the third season forward.

ROBERT BLACKMAN'S APPROACH

Whereas William Ware Theiss had created this issue and then more or less ignored it (Gene Roddenberry’s potential directions notwithstanding), Robert Blackman inherited it by default when he came on board the show in season three … and he had to contend with it several times over the remainder of the franchise. 

(Durinda Rice Wood was costume designer for TNG’s second season, although the issue of the uniform transition never arose that production year.)

Blackman’s strategy for addressing the uniform transition – aside from actually acknowledging it, of course! – appears to have been to “bridge the gap” between the two uniform styles by gradually transforming the TWOK-era uniforms into the TNG-era ones to the best of his ability.

He had numerous opportunities to present various stages of the transition, as he seemingly envisioned it.

Robert Fletcher’s TWOK-era uniforms and William Ware Theiss’ TNG-style uniforms were so radically different, transforming the former into the latter was certainly no easy task – probably not even practical to even attempt, but Blackman certainly did the best he could, considering the situation he inherited!

Some fans have criticized various errors and faux-pas with the TWOK-era uniforms seen during Blackman’s tenure, but personally I’m inclined to overlook most of them considering the incredible difficulty of his position.

Blackman inherited a wardrobe full of notoriously uncomfortable uniforms which needed to be redesigned and upgraded, in a way that stayed true to the essence of their original design while still being new, different, and more comfortable for the cast.

In addition to the monumental task of upgrading an entire production’s worth of uniforms AND introducing a whole line of new ones, he also had to continually crank out costumes for the guest stars and “aliens of the week.”

Whenever a flashback/time-travel/etc. scenario showed up in the script, Blackman would probably have had a week or less to make it all happen, with all the other stuff going on as well!

Fletcher’s TWOK-era uniforms were probably the most intricately-detailed costumes in the franchise, particularly regarding all the various accessories, trinkets, accents, detailing, positioning of the various components

Dedicated fans study for weeks, months, or even years trying to wrap their brains around Fletcher’s uniforms, often with the intention of getting their own, personal costume “just right.”

But Blackman would have a fraction of that time AND would nearly always have to address the issue of the uniform transition, each time never knowing if or when the writers would revisit “The Lost Era,” or during what specific window any future visit(s) would be set.

In short, Blackman had to incorporate the work of five (!) other costume designers into the show, carrying their legacies forward while cleaning up other peoples’ messes AND making his own creative contributions, under weekly deadlines.

With that in mind, I’ll outline what we do know about the Starfleet uniform timeline here, in approximate chronological “stardate order” – that is, the order that events took place in-universe, although the actual episodes/movies referenced were in a different production order.

Unsurprisingly, the TWOK-era uniforms were in full-swing in 2278, approximately 85 years prior to “Encounter at Farpoint,” as evidenced by the crew of the Bozeman .

Interestingly, that actually predates the events depicted in The Wrath of Khan by several years, making this the earliest example of the TWOK-era uniforms seen in-universe!

As mentioned previously, the TWOK-era uniforms were still in style at the time of the Enterprise B’s launch in 2293, approximately 71 years prior to “Encounter at Farpoint.”

The following year, 2294, Scotty was aboard the Jenolen when it crashed onto the Dyson Sphere.

He and one other person survived the crash, and he rigged the transporter to preserve them indefinitely until they were rescued.

When the TNG crew discovered the crashed ship and completed the transporter cycle, we saw that Scotty was still wearing the more casual class (or variant) of his movie-era uniform, like he’d worn for most of the final three original movies.

Since he wound up being the sole survivor of the crash, we don’t know what the other Starfleet passengers or crew was wearing, but I think it’s safe to assume they were still wearing the movie-era uniforms at that point.

And I find it interesting that after his wounds were treated and he’d cleaned up, he continued to wear this uniform style for the rest of the episode.

He didn’t seem to feel the need to switch to the present-day Starfleet uniform, nor did any of the Enterprise crew seem at all inclined to make an issue of it.

It made sense for the characters, but I also think it was a great creative choice for two reasons:

First, our most recent (and perhaps strongest) visual association with Scotty by this point was like this ; sticking him in the TNG-era uniform would’ve seemed disrespectful somehow.

And second, it was a great visual representation of Scotty’s situation and what his character was dealing with in this episode; he was a man out of time, a relic of the past who wanted so badly to be useful in a world of new engineering and technology that was beyond him.

Aaaand that’s where things start to get a little hazy …

In 2327, approximately 36 years prior to “Encounter at Farpoint” and shortly after Jean-Luc Picard graduated from Starfleet Academy, the TWOK-era uniforms were still in use.

However, the quilted turtleneck-style division shirts had been replaced with what appeared to be a plain, T-shirt style division shirt underneath. 

In 2343, approximately 20 years prior to “Encounter at Farpoint,” the TWOK-era uniforms were still worn in this manner, as evidenced by the memory of Ian Troi that Deanna experienced inside of Lwaxana’s mind during their telepathic connection.

It IS worth noting that this telepathic projection may not have been Ian Troi as he appeared at the time of his death in 2343, but possibly Deanna’s memory of him sometime prior to that year.

Around that time, major changes seem to have been made to the TWOK-era Starfleet uniforms.

By 2344, approximately 19 years prior to “Encounter at Farpoint,” the TWOK-era uniforms were still worn by Starfleet crew, but the undershirts had been eliminated entirely, as had the belts.

Curiously, though, the uniforms worn by the enlisted crew members were still worn with belts …

A few years later, around 2348 (approximately 15 years prior to “Encounter at Farpoint”), the TWOK-era Starfleet insignia pin worn on the left chest had been replaced with the TNG-era communicator, as evidenced by the hologram Jack Crusher made for Wesley shortly after his birth.

It also looks like the division stripes running down the trousers’ pant legs may have been removed, but it’s difficult to tell for sure …

Chronologically and in-universe, that was the last time that any variation of the TWOK-era uniforms were ever seen on-screen.

As a side note, a minor modification Blackman made to nearly all of the aforementioned “Lost Era” TWOK uniforms was to replace the gold trim on the left sleeve band with red.

In-universe, this trend may have begun as early as 2293 (albeit intermittently), considering these Demora Sulu and actor Tim Russ’ costumes from Generations :

However, at that point it definitely wasn’t a universal change.

If one wanted to, I suppose one could make a case that, in-universe, the “red trim” thing only kicked in with younger and/or junior officers at that point … but I really just think it was one of the (many) confusing ways that Generations fumbled.

On the other hand, Generations did give Blackman the opportunity to further nudge the TWOK-era uniforms toward their TNG-era successors with Captain Kirk’s vest.

The black panels on the sides were not only slimming (definitely more flattering on Shatner at that point), but they were subtly evocative of the black panels on the sides of the TNG jumpsuits and TNG skants .

This was a great way to suggest the beginnings of a uniform transition, and as a crossover/“passing-the-torch” movie the context was perfect!

Considering the beginning and ending, that’s about as fluid a uniform transformation as could be reasonably expected, short of whipping up some transitional skin-tight, spandex, jumpsuit-style “monster maroon” uniforms …

… or some short-sleeved, skirt-length “monster maroons” worn without pants …

Good call, Mr. Blackman!

Opinions vary regarding the aesthetic appeal of Blackman’s transitional “Lost Era” uniforms and quite a few logistical errors were made over the years, but I think he made a great creative decision to approach the issue the way he did, and I don’t think anyone could’ve done a better job reconciling two radically different uniform styles.

By the time of Jack Crusher’s death in 2353 (approximately 10 years prior to “Encounter at Farpoint”), it appears that Theiss’ TNG-era uniforms had become the standard, as evidenced by Beverly Crusher’s flashback of herself and Captain Picard going to view Jack Crusher’s body at what appeared to be a morgue.

As mentioned previously, as of 2355 (approximately 8 years prior to “Encounter at Farpoint”), Starfleet crew seem to have donned Theiss’ TNG-era uniforms, as evidenced by Captain Picard’s hallucinatory recollection.

I find this is somewhat curious, though, since the Stargazer appeared to be a TOS movie-era ship …

In fact, the bridge of the Stargazer looked eerily familiar …

On the other hand, consistency in Starfleet ship design makes sense, and they often built these ships to last!

We know of numerous starships that were in service for decades, perhaps most famously the Excelsior -class.

And in the episode “Relics,” Geordi even told Scotty that the Jenolen – a ship over eighty years old – might’ve still been in service if it weren’t so banged up.

(And I’m sure that the existence of the TOS movie-era sets at the time of The Next Generation had absolutely nothing to do with any of this …) 

A few years later, in 2358 (approximately 5 years prior to “Encounter at Farpoint”), Blackman wedged in this curious variation of a Starfleet admiral uniform …

It appeared to be a stylistic hybrid of both the TWOK-era and TNG-era uniforms, albeit with the Voyager -era communicator – whoops!

Again though, all three of the previous examples I mentioned were telepathically-induced recollections/hallucinations/impersonations, forcibly imposed by malicious aliens, so their reliability as evidence is questionable for our purposes.

However, they do seem to lend a certain amount of credence to each other.

Even if we disregard all three of the previous examples, though, Theiss’ TNG-era Starfleet uniforms had still at least appeared by 2353, as evidenced by the photo of Jeremiah Rossa’s parents.

This seems to validate the Starfleet uniform timeline, as seen in the aforementioned visions/hallucinations/recollections/etc.

There were three additional examples prior to “Encounter at Farpoint” during which we saw Theiss’ TNG-era uniforms being worn by Starfleet crew.

The first was in the Victory ‘s away team sensor logs, about a year before “Encounter at Farpoint,” during which Geordi La Forge was still a junior officer on an away mission with several other crew members, all of whom donned Theiss’ TNG-era uniforms.

The second was Lieutenant “Thomas” Riker, the transporter clone of “William” Riker from perhaps a year or so prior to “Encounter at Farpoint.”

Curiously though, while his uniform was obviously the Theiss-style, it was an unusual variant in two ways:

First, it was a jacket, rather than a jumpsuit.

And second, it appears to have been made from wool gabardine, as Blackman’s TNG-era uniform jackets were, rather than the appropriate jumbo spandex. It was also lined.

And lastly, in The Next Generation ‘s final episode, we saw that at the time of the Enterprise D’s launch, all the crew members were already in Theiss’ TNG-era Starfleet uniforms (again, unlike the Deep Space Nine pilot, in which the cast was introduced in one uniform style then changing to the new one). 

IN CONCLUSION

I have the greatest respect for Robert Fletcher, William Ware Theiss, and Robert Blackman as costume designers … even if their artistic visions for future Starfleet uniforms were radically different. 🙂

I think they all three did fantastic work on the franchise, and assuming my outsider’s perspective is reasonably accurate, I understand why they each made the decisions they did while making their respective contributions.

Personally, I think Robert Blackman chose the best approach to address “The Lost Era” uniform transition, and I believe he did as good a job as could possibly have been done – particularly under extraordinarily difficult circumstances.

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. 🙂

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Awesome article and video! Although there may have been another in-between uniform, as seen in Jean-Luc's crate in his Stargazer cabin in "The Battle". Something I noticed a few years ago.

https://twitter.com/gaghyogi49/status/1284601458265137152?s=20

That was actually Larry Marvick's costume from the TOS episode, "Is There In Truth No Beauty?"

In-universe, I can only assume that it might be in Picard's possession because of his interest in history ... but it might've been Theiss just slipping it into the episodes for reasons of his own.

It's neat to consider it as an in-between uniform concept, but I don't really see any canonical evidence for it.

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Cause and Effect

• View history

In "Cause and Effect" , the Enterprise -D becomes trapped in a time loop . This was the 117th episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation , and the seventeenth episode of TNG 's fifth season . "Cause and Effect" premiered on the week of 23 March , 1992 . The episode was written by Brannon Braga and was the fourth episode directed by Jonathan Frakes .

• 2.1 Characters
• 2.2 Starships and vehicles
• 2.3.1 Shipboard locations
• 2.3.2 Outposts and stations
• 2.3.3 Stellar regions
• 2.4 Races and cultures
• 2.5 States and organizations
• 2.6 Technology and weapons
• 2.7 Ranks and titles
• 2.8 Other references
• 3 Chronology
• 4.1 Related works
• 4.3 Timeline
• 4.4 External link

Summary [ ]

While exploring the Typhon Expanse , the USS Enterprise -D is caught in a temporal displacement loop in which they are repeatedly destroyed while colliding with another starship , the USS Bozeman (NCC-1941) .

After each collision and reset of space and time , the crew starts to have déjà vu and are able to predict a few events as they occur. Among those who experience the déjà vu is Doctor Beverly Crusher , who at first is able to call Commander William Riker 's bluff in a game of poker . After the Enterprise is destroyed multiple times, Dr. Crusher attempts to deviate from the actions she knows she is about to perform. Among those actions is scanning Geordi La Forge and administering a hypospray for symptoms of an ear infection and dizziness. Beverly was going to run the standard tests but somehow had a feeling that they would turn out negative, so she ran an optical diagnostic which traced the problem to Geordi's VISOR . It turned out that his dizziness was caused by a phase shift in his visual receptors, which caused him to see images that were not there, described as "blurry afterimages". Beverly then ran a scan to see if she could detect what he was seeing and picked up minuscule distortions in the surrounding dekyon field. Somehow his VISOR was picking up those distortions and transmitting them as images.

Other symptoms that Beverly observes is that right before going to bed she starts to hear voices which was related to a dekyon field distortion that was detected at the same time. After sorting through all the distortion, Data and Geordi are able to clear up a recording of the voices Crusher heard. During a meeting with the senior staff they play one recording in which Captain Jean-Luc Picard is clearly heard ordering that all hands abandon ship. At this point the crew discover that they are caught in a time loop. During the meeting it is proposed that they try and attempt to send a deliberate echo using a dekyon emission into the next time loop to attempt to prevent the ship from being destroyed again, the only down fall was that the message would only be a few characters in length or a single word. To accomplish this, Data would modulate the dekyon emission to detectable only by him.

During the next loop, Data receives the message and is startled that everything he does comes up with the number three or in multiples of three. Leading up to the Enterprise 's destruction, Data is able to interpret the message he received, the number three, to mean the number of rank insignia on Commander Riker's uniform . To that effect, Data implements Riker's plan, to vent the main shuttlebay to move the Enterprise from a collision course. The plan works. Afterwards, the Enterprise makes contact with the other ship, it is the Bozeman , commanded by Morgan Bateson . The ship was presumed lost with all hands nearly 80 years before.

References [ ]

Characters [ ], starships and vehicles [ ], locations [ ], shipboard locations [ ], outposts and stations [ ], stellar regions [ ], races and cultures [ ], states and organizations [ ], technology and weapons [ ], ranks and titles [ ], other references [ ], chronology [ ], appendices [ ], related works [ ].

• Ship of the Line ( TNG novel )
• Future Shock ( TNG short story , Strange New Worlds VII )
• Star Trek Generations ( movie and novelization )
• Star Trek: First Contact ( movie and novelization )
• TNG episode & novelization : All Good Things...
• Star Trek: The Next Generation Companion

Timeline [ ]

External link [ ].

• Cause and Effect article at Memory Alpha , the wiki for canon Star Trek .
• 1 The Chase
• 2 Ferengi Rules of Acquisition
• 3 Preserver (race)

Screen Rant

Star trek: all the actors who almost played captain jean-luc picard.

Star Trek: The Next Generation features Patrick Stewart as Captain Jean-Luc Picard, but other actors were considered for the iconic TNG role.

Patrick Stewart's depiction of Captain Jean-Luc Picard in Star Trek: The Next Generation   is iconic — but the role almost went to another actor. Debuting in 1987,  TNG  was the second major series in the  Star Trek   franchise and the last  show created by Gene Roddenberry before his death in 1991. TNG  was immensely popular at the time and ran for seven season, concluding in 1994. The cast would go on to reprise their roles in 4 feature-length films — and likely would have been in more if 2002's  Star Trek:  Nemesis  had been better received.

Despite TNG  having ended over 25 years ago, the show continues to have a strong following, thanks in no small part to the cast's performances. A Shakespearean-trained thespian, Stewart in particular brought a unique depth to his character, offering a strong contrast to the ham-fisted and over-the-top energy of William Shatner's Captain Kirk in  Star Trek:  The Original Series . Captain Picard's enduring popularity lead to CBS Television (formerly Paramount Television) reviving the character for the sequel series  Star Trek: Picard , a nostalgia-laden series that focuses on the former Captain's life after retiring from Starfleet.

Related:  Star Trek: Picard Season 2 Should Restart The DS9 Sisko Feud

Although it is difficult to imagine now, given how popular and respected Stewart's portrayal is, he wasn't the only actor being considered to play Captain Picard. According to a Paramount memo posted to  Letters of Note ,  Stewart wasn't the only front-runner for arguably the lead role in  TNG ; what's more, Gene Roddenberry hated Stewart as Picard , believing that the middle-aged Englishman was a poor casting choice for his French character. Thankfully, casting was a collaborative effort, and eventually, the executive decision was made to award Stewart the role.

According to the memo, Belgian actor Patrick Bauchau was actually Roddenberry's first choice to play Jean-Luc Picard. The document reads, " Patrick Bauchau did come in to read for Gene today for the role of 'Picard.' His reading was well received; he and Patrick Stewart seem to be the favorites. " The document also lists several other names under the part: Mitch Ryan, Roy Thinnes, and Yaphet Kotto. It makes sense that Roddenberry would prefer Bauchau for the part: not only was he more believably French, but with his full head of hair and rugged good looks, he was a clear successor to  The Original Series'  handsome rogue captain, James T. Kirk . Patrick Stewart is an excellent actor, but he is incredibly English (" tea, Earl Grey, hot ") — and while he does possess a unique charisma, he's not conventionally handsome in the same way that Shatner was when he first played Kirk.

While the majority of the actors being considered to play Picard share commonalities, there is one interesting standout: Yaphet Kotto. Kotto is of African and Jewish ancestry, and casting him as the ship's captain would have been a major progressive step for the series.  Star Trek  had made similar moves before, with  TOS  elevating female and minority characters to roles unheard of at the time, such as Nyota Uhura (Nichelle Nichols) being a communications officer on TOS . Kotto claims in an interview with  The Big Issue   that it was his choice to turn down the role — a decision he came to regret. Kotto was a known film actor at the time, and had memorable supporting parts in the hits  Alien, Live and Let Die,  and  The Running Man . At that point in his career, he saw moving to TV and a step backwards, not forwards — after all, no one knew how big TNG  would become. The honor of being the first BIPOC captain to lead a  Star Trek  series would go to Avery Brooks, who played Commanding Officer (and later Captain) Benjamin Sisko in  Deep Space Nine . Although it would have been admirable for  TNG to break down that barrier first, it's hard to imagine any actor other than Patrick Stewart playing Jean-Luc Picard .

Next:  Star Trek: Why The BBC Censored The Next Generation Episode "Conspiracy"

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Starfleet uniform (2350s-2370s)

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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
• 1 Abdullah bin al-Hussein