Trek and Awe
Star Trek’s leggy legacy
Star Trek Voyager premiered thirty years ago and would not have lasted seven seasons if it weren’t for T and A: talent and agency. And sex appeal. Would any Trek series have lasted without form-fitting uniforms?
Since Trek’s beginning, Starfleet has been very relaxed about apparel. Much like how Family Matters really took off after Steve Urkel became a mainstay, VOY sealed the deal with Seven. Jeri Ryan’s costumes were merely continuing a tradition of male-gazing, I mean, stargazing.
The female outfits of the original series locked in many viewers like a tractor beam. Sure, Kirk would rip a shirt, but the women embodied Roddenberry’s vision of the future. Big concepts and short skirts contributed to getting three years out of their five year-mission on TV.
The Next Generation and Deep Space Nine cemented the leggy legacy of hip-hugging outfits for their lady characters. Even the male officers wore skirts on occasion. DS9’s Mirror Universe episodes employed tight leather to ensure the wormhole remained open for as long as possible.
Enterprise found it logical to have a fit female, Vulcan T’Pol. Squeezing into a very fascinating onesie, Jolene Blalock’s pointy ears and shapely figure helped the show live for four years. The memories of future fashion will live on for generations to, ahem, come.
Did any Trek show or film *need* an alluring crew member to set audience’s phasers to watch? Though DS9 had its fair share of eye-catching costumes, it could be argued that if Voyager kept its pre-Seven era for the duration of its run, more than the starship would’ve been lost.
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