As long as I've been a Trek fan I've always wondered why they switched colors between command and engineering/security from TOS to TNG, and I've never been able to find an answer. Does anyone know?
Uniforms color switch between TOS and TNG
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Pretty much it.
They also put Brent Spiner in gold because Data looked better in that color too.
Really? That's so boring! Well, I was afraid it was something like that. 
^I thought Data looked good in red in "Future Imperfect"
Remember when Spock wore yellow in the second pilot of The Original Series? That still looks weird to me.
Remember when Spock wore yellow in the second pilot of The Original Series? That still looks weird to me.
Yeah that's pretty much it.
I'll also add other theories I've heard
(that may or may not be true)--
Since TWOK, the Starfleet uniform was red. TNG wanted to at least keep some continuity with seeing captains in red (explains why TNG red is not TOS red but more TWOK red).
Also, to change up the running gag of expendable redshirts. Now security wore gold instead.
I'll also add other theories I've heard
(that may or may not be true)--
Since TWOK, the Starfleet uniform was red. TNG wanted to at least keep some continuity with seeing captains in red (explains why TNG red is not TOS red but more TWOK red).
Also, to change up the running gag of expendable redshirts. Now security wore gold instead.
I'm loathed to criticise, especially given TNG S1 on Blu ray was pretty phenomenal, but I don't remember this topic cropping up in any of the documentaries. Perhaps it's mentioned in a commentary I've maybe skimmed over or is yet to come.
Then again if it only boiled down to what colour a producer thought looked good on Patrick Stewart... not the most interesting story ever! Not compared to how they decided on whether he needed a hairpiece or not.
There's something like a decade spent at the movies, where department colours didn't play such a large part in Star Trek at all. Just a collar here or strip of cloth or bit of braid there.
Then again if it only boiled down to what colour a producer thought looked good on Patrick Stewart... not the most interesting story ever! Not compared to how they decided on whether he needed a hairpiece or not.
There's something like a decade spent at the movies, where department colours didn't play such a large part in Star Trek at all. Just a collar here or strip of cloth or bit of braid there.
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If TNG were filmed today, the producers would kill to keep Data's costume blue, you'd "naturally" have the blue/orange(gold) compliments that plague movies like none-other
http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/OrangeBlueContrast
http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/OrangeBlueContrast
A few years ago I did this crummy Photoshop job for a similar thread, just to get any idea of what everyone would look like if they kept the TOS scheme.
Not crummy at all. Now, can you get to work on the actual episodes? That would be fun.
Interesting.
Screen testing of the lead actors' costumes is a very typical part in the creation of a TV series. Of course, the other bonus for shifting to the wine colour for the command division was that it supposedly avoided the old redshirt gag, which had become a fairly mainstream joke by 1987.
Problems can be anticipated via screentests, eg:
The Velcro sides of Nimoy's TV pilot shirt collars, allowed easy off without smearing the greasepaint/pancake makeups of the day. Similarly, his black Vulcan undershirt in ST:TMP served a similar preemptive service.
The change from TOS blue for science to orange for ST:TMP (and to a mint green for medical) was to avoid the solid blue patches and epaulets from confusing the then-newish bluescreen technology.
Similarly, when they went back to blue for science/medical in TNG, they shifted it to a blue-green for the same reason.
Didn't it start off as pretty clearly & specifically blue, and got greener with every revision until you hit the ST:FC uniforms, whose undershirt was more green than blue...
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