TMP “Class D” Jumpsuit Analysis – Uniform Variations and Additional Observations

Epsilon Nine

There were a few “Class D” jumpsuit variants, both seen and not seen in the movie.

The first I mentioned earlier – the uniforms made for the Epsilon Nine crew, even though they wound up wearing entirely different uniforms in the movie.

These were more or less identical to the “standard” (?) jumpsuits, except for a different chest patch.

(I think the shoulder tabs were positioned like epaulets by the auctioneers and have no other significance.)

The division colors appear to have remained the same, with the possible exception of security gray; this may be what the black patch represented.

Here are some auction photos of these Epsilon Nine chest patches:

Here’s a nice auction photo of both Enterprise and Epsilon Nine chest patches together:

There was one extra wearing a standard “Class D” jumpsuit with what appeared to be an Epsilon Nine patch at Starfleet Headquarters … maybe she’d just transferred, was visiting Earth, or was about to transfer to her new assignment there? If so, she really dodged the bullet!

"Earthbase"

A neat variation of these jumpsuits is generally called the “Earthbase” or “Starbase” uniforms.

Instead of a chest patch, these had a large circular patch on the upper left sleeve showing our solar system and Earth – presumably the solar system and planet of the wearer’s origin or current assignment.

In his notes (which pertain more to ST2-4 than TMP), Robert Fletcher labeled these shoulder patches as “Sol System – Earthbase.”

I think the only time these were seen were on extras milling around at the Starfleet Headquarters hangar near the beginning of the movie.

Nevertheless, I found over a dozen auction listings for these jumpsuit variants.

Here are some auction photos of these “Earthbase” shoulder patches:

Spock Collar

As you may have noticed, Spock’s uniforms had a distinctive collar.

However, it’s probably more accurate to say that he wore an extra collar with his uniform, since I don’t believe they were actually part of his Starfleet uniforms.

(And indeed, multiple auction listings for Spock’s TMP uniforms describe the collar as being part of a separate garment, usually a “dickey” or “sleeveless undershirt.”)

To me, it looks like the same garment he was wearing beneath his Vulcan robe when he first arrived on the Enterprise.

I believe he continued to wear this underneath his Starfleet uniforms after his commission was reactivated – perhaps as a cultural expression like Worf’s baldric and Ensign Ro’s earring, perhaps as an additional layer of insulation since Vulcans are more comfortable in higher temperatures than humans, or perhaps it was simply an effort by the filmmakers to visually represent of his character’s ambiguous motives and loyalties.

Outliers

There were a few other outliers, such as this fellow who wore the engineering radiation suit collar with his standard “Class D” jumpsuit.

There were also several extras who wore standard jumpsuits, but with the engineering radiation suit boots.

(There were several more in the crew briefing scene, if you look closely.) 

Additional Observations

I came across a few other points of interest during the course of my research.

In these publicity photos, Decker wore a tan jumpsuit, rather than the gray version he wore in the movie.

He also wore tan in these cast photos:

In the Blu-Ray special feature, “Costume Tests,” Ilia wore a jumpsuit, even though she only wore the “Class A” two-piece uniform in the actual move.

TMP "class D" uniforms - Star Trek Costume Guide
STAR TREK: TMP Blu-Ray special feature, "Costume Tests"

There are three abnormalities about this uniform, leading me to believe it was an early prototype:

1 – Her shoulder tabs only had the gold division color, without the black felt base underneath.

2 – Her jumpsuit had no chest patch.

3 – Her “perscan” device appears to have been the larger men’s version.

TMP class D jumpsuit analysis - Star Trek Costume Guide
STAR TREK: TMP Blu-Ray special feature, "Costume Tests"

And finally, in these publicity photos, Spock’s jumpsuit is missing a shoulder tab!  

I’m not sure if this was Robert Fletcher experimenting with asymmetry (perhaps as a nod to William Ware Theiss?) or if this was simply a mistake.

His uniform looks completely finished otherwise, including his unique collar (which was absent from several other, and presumably earlier, publicity photos).

Share on facebook
Share on pinterest
Share on tumblr
Share on linkedin
Share on twitter

Leave a Reply