FEATURE ARTICLE DISCUSSIONS

Clothing comes to TV SF

POSTED BY: ZICSOFT
UPDATED: Tuesday, March 8, 2011 15:22
SHORT URL: http://goo.gl/adefK
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Friday, May 31, 2002 10:43 AM

ZICSOFT


The online images give me another reason to think I'm going to like Firefly: the characters are wearing *real* clothes. No silly body suits, no Star Trek pajamas, no B5 wool armor. In short, no silly attempts to make the costumes look "futuristic" by eliminating buttons, pockets, and belts. No weird styles that make you wonder how people get dressed.

I guess that goes with the ban on latex aliens.


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Friday, May 31, 2002 12:29 PM

JONWES


Hmmm... yeah, a lot of sci-fi shows can end up looking ridiculous *cough*Andromeda 1st season *cough* but the Star Trek costumes never bothered me... and I think Enterprise is a good step in the right direction. Farscape has some of the best costuming, in my opinion. Especially for Crichton. I want one of those long coats like he wears. Futuristic but very cool... I'd just need his body to go with it.




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Friday, May 31, 2002 1:49 PM

ZICSOFT


I'm sorry, but the clothes are the one thing I never liked about Star Trek. I mean, unless Kirk and Picard and all the rest stick their wallets in hyperspace when they're not using them, they still need pockets!

I liked the first-season Farscape costumes, but mainly because it fit in with all the pop-culture references. I guess his NASA (excuse me IASA) T-shirts wore out, so he had to start wearing Peacekeeper uniforms. But this reminds me of something odd about Farscape....

The first episode in which Crichton wears the uniform, he does so in order to pose as a Peacekeeper. He also talks like one -- which means putting on an Aussie accent.

In fact that's the biggest distinction between the aliens and the humans on this show. Aliens talk Australian, humans talk American. Subtext?




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Friday, May 31, 2002 2:19 PM

MOJOECA


I loved it when Crichton switched over to the PK wardrobe. It gave the show a darker feel, somehow.

Anyway, Firefly costumes look pretty cool (judging from cast photos on the T.U.R.). Being a fashion non-afficionado, I can't analyze with any depth the inspiration, but it seems o be an electic mix: some old west styles--formal (Simon) and utilitarian (Mal, Zoe); modern-day (Jayne--kinda outta place in his camo) and more exotic (River,Inara).



--- Joe

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Friday, May 31, 2002 2:56 PM

SHAMUS


Quote:

Originally posted by mojoeca:
Anyway, Firefly costumes look pretty cool (judging from cast photos on the T.U.R.). Being a fashion non-afficionado, I can't analyze with any depth the inspiration, but it seems o be an electic mix: some old west styles--formal (Simon) and utilitarian (Mal, Zoe); modern-day (Jayne--kinda outta place in his camo) and more exotic (River,Inara).
--- Joe



I hadn't really picked up on it until you guys mentioned it, but yeah, real clothes! With pockets. It is bound to help with characterization, not to have them standing there in something that says "Look at me! I'm wearing a costume!"

The Alliance uniforms are a little heavy-handed, though. Peaked-caps and and all that ultra-neo-fascist stuff. Let me guess, they're the Bad Guys, right? I guess having a clear evil easily identified simplifies story telling, but -- from Joss -- you might have hoped for something in the way of the Alliance people doing what they sincerely think is the proper thing ... Ah, what do I know. Goose-stepping Bad Guys. Bring 'em on, mow 'em down in rows.

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Friday, May 31, 2002 3:05 PM

JORGASNAROVA


Star Trek costumes are infamous for being wildly impractical. I had an actress friend who worked as an extra in a few episodes of Star Trek Voyager; she described the experience of wearing her starfleet uniform as trying to maneuver around a stage for ten hours wearing a head-to-toe tourniquet. Yeesh. Makes me wonder how Jeri Ryan must have suffered. In a recent interview in Maxim magazine, Jeri quips she wished she could have burned all of her catsuits when the show ended.


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Friday, May 31, 2002 3:11 PM

JORGASNAROVA


Quote:

Originally posted by shamus:
Quote:

Originally posted by mojoeca:
Anyway, Firefly costumes look pretty cool (judging from cast photos on the T.U.R.). Being a fashion non-afficionado, I can't analyze with any depth the inspiration, but it seems o be an electic mix: some old west styles--formal (Simon) and utilitarian (Mal, Zoe); modern-day (Jayne--kinda outta place in his camo) and more exotic (River,Inara).
--- Joe



I hadn't really picked up on it until you guys mentioned it, but yeah, real clothes! With pockets. It is bound to help with characterization, not to have them standing there in something that says "Look at me! I'm wearing a costume!"

The Alliance uniforms are a little heavy-handed, though. Peaked-caps and and all that ultra-neo-fascist stuff. Let me guess, they're the Bad Guys, right? I guess having a clear evil easily identified simplifies story telling, but -- from Joss -- you might have hoped for something in the way of the Alliance people doing what they sincerely think is the proper thing ... Ah, what do I know. Goose-stepping Bad Guys. Bring 'em on, mow 'em down in rows.





I love Ben Browder's comment on the audio commentary track of the Region One DVD of the "Premiere" episode of "Farscape;" "Now these are the Peacekeepers...they're the bad guys...you can tell they're the bad guys cuz they're wearing black..."


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Friday, May 31, 2002 3:19 PM

JORGASNAROVA


Quote:

Originally posted by Zicsoft:
The online images give me another reason to think I'm going to like Firefly: the characters are wearing *real* clothes. No silly body suits, no Star Trek pajamas, no B5 wool armor. In short, no silly attempts to make the costumes look "futuristic" by eliminating buttons, pockets, and belts. No weird styles that make you wonder how people get dressed.

I guess that goes with the ban on latex aliens.




In the ten centuries since their invention, it is hard to imagine a clothes-fastening device more convenient and versatile than the good old fashioned button. Of course buttons will be around four or five centuries from now...why not?


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Friday, May 31, 2002 4:15 PM

ZICSOFT


Quote:

Originally posted by shamus:
The Alliance uniforms are a little heavy-handed, though. Peaked-caps and and all that ultra-neo-fascist stuff. Let me guess, they're the Bad Guys, right? I guess having a clear evil easily identified simplifies story telling, but -- from Joss -- you might have hoped for something in the way of the Alliance people doing what they sincerely think is the proper thing ... Ah, what do I know. Goose-stepping Bad Guys. Bring 'em on, mow 'em down in rows.


I think it's gonna be better than that -- that is, more complicated. This isn't about the intrepid rebels overthrowing the fascistic empire. (Been there. Done That.) The rebellion is already over, and the "good guys" have lost.

There are supposed to be parallels with the American civil war. Not too many, I hope, but I assume it means that not all Alliance people will be evil and not all anti-Alliance people with be virtuous.

So all the uniforms mean is that the people who wear them are in charge.


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Friday, May 31, 2002 4:22 PM

ZICSOFT


Quote:

Originally posted by Jorgasnarova:
In a recent interview in Maxim magazine, Jeri quips she wished she could have burned all of her catsuits when the show ended.


Yeah, the whole 7of9 thing began my final disgust with Voyager. Nothing against JR, who's a pretty good actress. But she wasn't hired for her acting skills. She was hired for certain very un-Borgish anatomical features.


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Friday, May 31, 2002 4:25 PM

NOVAGRASS


Quote:

Originally posted by Zicsoft:
The online images give me another reason to think I'm going to like Firefly: the characters are wearing *real* clothes. No silly body suits, no Star Trek pajamas, no B5 wool armor. In short, no silly attempts to make the costumes look "futuristic" by eliminating buttons, pockets, and belts. No weird styles that make you wonder how people get dressed.

I guess that goes with the ban on latex aliens.




I think I mentioned this in another topic, but I'll go ahead again...

What I hate most about science fiction shows that depict the future is the fashion. They all wear either horribly impractical fashions, one piece body suits, or freakishly ugly freshly designed costumes.

What I love about Joss is that he understands that in 800 years, fashion won't be much different than it is now. I mean, if you look back to the 19th century... the casual wear of the period wasn't much different than it is now. A constant of fashion is that it will always repeat... clothing popular in the 20s became popular again in the 50s... clothing popular in the 70s is popular now... 80s fashion is even making a comeback (one that I fear with my whole heart). It's logical to presume that the trends will continue to recycle... and that 800 years from now, the western style may be what is in fashion. I also think that Fray is unique in this regard... the fashion in Fray is *very* 80s, and that story takes place 300 years from now.

It's safe to say that improvements on the button, zipper, and snap will never come about. I like that about Farscape... Farscape takes the practical conventions of modern clothing and redesigns it to fit into alien cultures (well... maybe not in all cases... Scorpius comes to mind). It's all very realistic, IMO.

So... upon rereading... I see that there was really no point to my reply... oh well :tounge:

--Dylan Palmer, aka NoVaGrAsS--

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Friday, May 31, 2002 5:01 PM

SHAMUS


Quote:

Originally posted by Zicsoft:
Quote:

...assume it means that not all Alliance people will be evil and not all anti-Alliance people with be virtuous.

So all the uniforms mean is that the people who wear them are in charge.




Yeah, that's what I'm hoping, too. In Joss We Trust, and all that...

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Friday, May 31, 2002 7:44 PM

JORGASNAROVA


Quote:

Originally posted by Zicsoft:
Quote:

Originally posted by shamus:
The Alliance uniforms are a little heavy-handed, though. Peaked-caps and and all that ultra-neo-fascist stuff. Let me guess, they're the Bad Guys, right? I guess having a clear evil easily identified simplifies story telling, but -- from Joss -- you might have hoped for something in the way of the Alliance people doing what they sincerely think is the proper thing ... Ah, what do I know. Goose-stepping Bad Guys. Bring 'em on, mow 'em down in rows.


I think it's gonna be better than that -- that is, more complicated. This isn't about the intrepid rebels overthrowing the fascistic empire. (Been there. Done That.) The rebellion is already over, and the "good guys" have lost.

There are supposed to be parallels with the American civil war. Not too many, I hope, but I assume it means that not all Alliance people will be evil and not all anti-Alliance people with be virtuous.

So all the uniforms mean is that the people who wear them are in charge.





Not all the Federal (Union) troops were anti-slavery, and not all the Confederacy troops were pro-slavery; a very, very strong element of the american civil war was the issue of how much power and autonomy to give individual states, versus the power of a strong central government.
General Robert E. Lee was an abolitionist to the core, yet he chose to support the Confederacy because he feared the federal government was gaining too much power and would become tyrannical.


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Friday, May 31, 2002 8:39 PM

MOJOECA


kinda sorta on topic...

I wonder if Joss will dispense with one particular sci-fi cliche: Will we actually *see* bathrooms on Serenity?



--- Joe

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Friday, May 31, 2002 9:23 PM

SHAMUS


Quote:

Originally posted by Jorgasnarova:
{clip}
Not all the Federal (Union) troops were anti-slavery, and not all the Confederacy troops were pro-slavery; a very, very strong element of the american civil war was the issue of how much power and autonomy to give individual states, versus the power of a strong central government.
General Robert E. Lee was an abolitionist to the core, yet he chose to support the Confederacy because he feared the federal government was gaining too much power and would become tyrannical.


Yeah, I can see how the main issue would be strong-center versus strong-node. That's a difference in viewpoint which will never be completely resolved. I can also see how people of good will could end up in either camp. That's why the fascist wardrobe makes me a little nervous. It is a kind of visual vocabulary that says "These guys are just wrong."

sidebar: Whew! Made it back to "clothes", somehow.

Inline with all the commentary above about buttons, zippers, and snaps -- it all becomes clear... the primary issue in dispute will be boxers versus briefs. The Serenity crew are all on the side of the Boxer Rebellion. No, wait, that was another thing altogether

Joe: Not sure I need to see the toliet. Frequent group showers might be nice, though.

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Friday, May 31, 2002 11:03 PM

CHARLIEBLUE


Quote:

Originally posted by mojoeca:
I wonder if Joss will dispense with one particular sci-fi cliche: Will we actually *see* bathrooms on Serenity?


Hey, I think we just saw Buffy's bathroom for the first time this season. So I'm guessing not.

Of course, in most cases there isn't a whole lot of plot development that goes on in there anyway. (And personally, I will never miss seeing Kevin Sorbo on the pot. )


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Saturday, June 1, 2002 5:34 AM

SHURIKAN


Quote:

Originally posted by Jorgasnarova:

In the ten centuries since their invention, it is hard to imagine a clothes-fastening device more convenient and versatile than the good old fashioned button. Of course buttons will be around four or five centuries from now...why not?




*useless fact* Buttons were actually first used purely for decoration, and clothes fastened with hook's and eyelets, until some bright spark came up with the idea of inserting them into a slit in the fabric

Also, the clothes do look pretty cool

Shuri

Tír gan teanga, tír gan anam

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Saturday, June 1, 2002 5:37 AM

NOVAGRASS


Quote:

Originally posted by CharlieBlue:
Quote:

Originally posted by mojoeca:
I wonder if Joss will dispense with one particular sci-fi cliche: Will we actually *see* bathrooms on Serenity?


Hey, I think we just saw Buffy's bathroom for the first time this season. So I'm guessing not.

Of course, in most cases there isn't a whole lot of plot development that goes on in there anyway. (And personally, I will never miss seeing Kevin Sorbo on the pot. )




Season 4, Xander used the bathroom in Restless. It's a funny, funny scene. There's also a scene in season 5 where Joyce comes out of an unseen master bathroom while she's packing for her night at the hospital.

I think that the topic of bathrooms shouldn't be avoided... if the need arise, they should at least show it.

--Dylan Palmer, aka NoVaGrAsS--

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Sunday, June 2, 2002 8:03 AM

ZICSOFT


Quote:

Originally posted by Jorgasnarova:

Not all the Federal (Union) troops were anti-slavery, and not all the Confederacy troops were pro-slavery; a very, very strong element of the american civil war was the issue of how much power and autonomy to give individual states, versus the power of a strong central government.
General Robert E. Lee was an abolitionist to the core, yet he chose to support the Confederacy because he feared the federal government was gaining too much power and would become tyrannical.




Your descriptions of Bobby Lee's motives are a little simplisitic. But yeah, the civil war and reconstruction wasn't just a matter of good guys against bad guys.

Still, I rather hope that there's more to Firefly than a rehash of that period, which has already been done to death in a zillion movies and tv shows.


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Sunday, June 2, 2002 8:05 AM

ZICSOFT


Quote:

Originally posted by Shurikan:

*useless fact* Buttons were actually first used purely for decoration, and clothes fastened with hook's and eyelets, until some bright spark came up with the idea of inserting them into a slit in the fabric


Aha! So that's why the Amish still refuse to use buttons.


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Tuesday, June 4, 2002 3:15 AM

TIEKA


I spent several years in a group that studied medival living. Anybody ever hear of the SCA? Anyway, I specialized in costuming of the period. Most people don't think about it, but attitudes towards clothing is different now. No, I'm not talking style, but the clothes themselves. Today you go to the store, buy something, wear it, wash it, throw it out. Repeat endlessly.

Prior to the industrial revolution, you had to harvest the wool/cotton/linen, wash/dye/process the fibers, then spin it, and weave it. Now after spending a year or more working on the very threads of your fabric, you want me to CUT A HOLE in it????? Forget that. I'll spend the next ten years patching holes in it, and wear it until it literally falls to pieces, and then I will use the scraps for something else.

But the show is set in the future, so why worry? Well, I'm figuring that the colonies may not be as advanced technologically as the big worlds, so the things they produce and use may not be the latest magnetic-electrostatic-never get dirty-lifesaving-totally protectant lifesuits that we see on ST.

Okay, rant is over. We now return you to the normal world.

Tieka,
to all who ever made thier own of anything.

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Tuesday, June 4, 2002 5:31 AM

ZICSOFT


Quote:

Originally posted by Tieka:

But the show is set in the future, so why worry? Well, I'm figuring that the colonies may not be as advanced technologically as the big worlds, so the things they produce and use may not be the latest magnetic-electrostatic-never get dirty-lifesaving-totally protectant lifesuits that we see on ST.

I guess you have a point, but Star Trek is a bad example. Those weird body suits didn't have any magic function. They got dirty if the plot called for it, and they still need space suits to go outside. Their only purpose was to look futuristic.

As someone who works hard at faithfully re-creating a past time, I would think you'd understand the interests of people interesting in a logically consistent future time.


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Sunday, July 28, 2002 10:54 AM

COMMONSENSEMAN


Quote:

Originally posted by mojoeca:
kinda sorta on topic...

I wonder if Joss will dispense with one particular sci-fi cliche: Will we actually *see* bathrooms on Serenity?



--- Joe



Well I can tell you YES! in the episode Serenity we get a nice close up of Mal's crapper as he folds it up back into the wall and then pulls out the sink to wash his hands.

Joss has been very particular with details like this, that is why I think this series is going to be very good indeed.

Out....................

All are welcome at http://theannex.curvedspaces.com

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Sunday, July 28, 2002 11:00 AM

MOJOECA


Quote:

Originally posted by CommonSenseMan:


Well I can tell you YES! in the episode Serenity we get a nice close up of Mal's crapper as he folds it up back into the wall and then pulls out the sink to wash his hands.

Joss has been very particular with details like this, that is why I think this series is going to be very good indeed.

Hell, yeah!

--- Joe

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Wednesday, July 31, 2002 4:15 PM

CURIOUSIR


Quote:


It's logical to presume that the trends will continue to recycle...
--Dylan Palmer, aka NoVaGrAsS--



so what you're saying is, everyone will be wearing black in the future?

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Wednesday, July 31, 2002 4:30 PM

LIVINGIMPAIRED


The great thing about his holiness Whedon creates, is that he is consistant with his main ideas. For Firefly, the main idea is that humans will not be anymore enlightened, or mature than they are now. The future is just another typical piece of history. It only makes sense that he wold carry that verisimulitude (sp?) over into the costuming as well.

Bored now.

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Thursday, August 1, 2002 7:24 AM

NOVAGRASS


Quote:

Originally posted by curiousir:
Quote:


It's logical to presume that the trends will continue to recycle...
--Dylan Palmer, aka NoVaGrAsS--



so what you're saying is, everyone will be wearing black in the future?



No, not at all. Well, maybe some people will wear all black in the future... who knows?

What I was saying is that historically, fashion trends continue to recycle. That is, fashion from the 50s reemerged to influence the fashion of the 80s. Fashion of the 70s has been influencing current trends and 80s styles have been making a bit of a comeback. Of course, it's not as simple as that, as some styles merge with other styles creating new styles, but you should understand what I'm trying to say.

Perhaps if the 50s beat style (Black everything) comes back into style in the future, everyone will be wearing black? Is that what you meant?

--Dylan Palmer, aka NoVaGrAsS--

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Thursday, August 1, 2002 7:29 AM

NOVAGRASS


Quote:

Originally posted by shamus:


Hmm... speaking of shamus, where has he been lately? I haven't heard a word from him him for months.

--Dylan Palmer, aka NoVaGrAsS--

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Saturday, September 14, 2002 9:00 PM

LEXXLUTHOR


Do the Alliance uniforms have pockets?

I was thinking, StarTrek uniforms have no pockets because there are no personal possesions to carry in them: ie...no personal money...this ~is~ the Federation after all. Pockets are a form of personal privacy--a no no under any Federation.

The Firefly pics I saw of the Alliance made me think of an olde episode of Battlestar Galactica concerning an episode arc about an evil Eastern Alliance. Their ship crew also wore Nazi~ish uniforms and caps. Eastern Alliance dialogue was as simplified as the dialogue of the Imperial officers in StarWars. If anybody knows, is Firefly's Alliance dialogue as confined as this?

Pots. The most tasteful sci~fi depiction of toilets was the way the organic pots on the Lexx would lap out a tongue to wipe the user when he/she was done. They say it felt great and the Lexx was always very, very hungry.

Please forgive my dyslexxia

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Sunday, September 22, 2002 2:13 PM

GREYBARD


You know, on the subject of less industrialised cultures endlessly mending their clothes, did anyone notice the neatly mended horizontal tear in Mal's coat on the sleeve a few inches below one shoulder?

Authentic! I loved it. Three cheers for the wardrobe mavens of Firefly!

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Sunday, September 22, 2002 4:15 PM

JOHNNYANGEL


I was also impressed with the mildy retro look they achieved with the costuming. I noticed that not only does Mal wear braces, they button on the outside of his pants, not on the inside. This is the way it would have been done during the period of western expansion. Lest I come across as a compleat nerd, the reason I know this is because I happen to wear braces, and I have to sew the buttons on myself.

I noticed that the sheriff's uniform in The Train Job looked just like one any a modern cop would wear, and why not? It's very servicable. As for the Alliance wearing fancy uniforms, and that somehow defining them almost too simplistically as bad guys, it's a good point, but just the same not having them wear such uniforms would just not work. It's no coincidence that we see a fancy, somewhat impractical uniform as a sign of fascism. In terms of the psychology of clothing, fascism practically is the state of affairs in which the cops dress better than you do. It would just be psychologically strange for the Alliance not to wear the jackboots, as it were.

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Sunday, September 22, 2002 5:05 PM

TERAPH


Quote:

Originally posted by NoVaGrAsS:
Season 4, Xander used the bathroom in Restless. It's a funny, funny scene. There's also a scene in season 5 where Joyce comes out of an unseen master bathroom while she's packing for her night at the hospital.--Dylan Palmer, aka NoVaGrAsS--



Even earlier--in "Who Are You" (4.16)--we see it when Faith, in Buffy's body, is taking a bath. I haven't noticed one earlier than that (although we do see the bathroom at Sunnydale High at the end of Season One).

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Sunday, September 22, 2002 5:22 PM

MOJOECA


Quote:

Originally posted by JohnnyAngel:
As for the Alliance wearing fancy uniforms, and that somehow defining them almost too simplistically as bad guys, it's a good point, but just the same not having them wear such uniforms would just not work.

The Alliance uniforms are one of the few things I disliked. Derivative -- but I'm holding off because I know how Joss likes to set-up the cliche and then bend it and break it. The dark hues scream "Evil fascist government!" but I trust we'll soon see that the Alliance isn't the caricature the uniforms would suggest.

Can't they just all wear aloha shirts? Now that would be cliche-busting.

--- Joe

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Sunday, September 29, 2002 10:44 AM

PHIL


I am a history buff and a science fiction adimirer. The costumes in FIREFLY are great, I mean I don't really have a problem with the Star Trek ones, but the firefly ones help the show in a tremendous way, I really feel like I'm watching a futuristic western! This show is Great and so are the Costumes, well I am done...

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Sunday, October 13, 2002 8:23 AM

REXRAYGUN


Quote:

Originally posted by mojoeca:
kinda sorta on topic...

I wonder if Joss will dispense with one particular sci-fi cliche: Will we actually *see* bathrooms on Serenity?



Actually, yes. That particular topic was brought up in an interview and a toilet actually appears in the "Serenity" pilot. Toilets are basically pull-out drawers for seats.

Just my dos pesos,

Rex!

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Sunday, October 13, 2002 9:53 AM

DELVO


i can't believe we've gotten this many posts in this thread and nobody has yet commented on the ridiculous jump-out-and-scream-at-you blue dishwashing gloves...

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Tuesday, October 15, 2002 9:39 AM

ILOVEJAYNE


I wondered about those gloves. I might could understand navy blue, but what the heck do you call that color?

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Tuesday, October 15, 2002 3:55 PM

TINYTIMM


Quote:

Originally posted by ilovejayne:
I wondered about those gloves. I might could understand navy blue, but what the heck do you call that color?



Playtex Living Glove Blue.

Jeff
Who remembers the old commercials.

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Wednesday, October 16, 2002 1:35 AM

QUILL


Velcro! Velcroooo!!!

C'mon, it'll still be around. It's just too handy.

As for the blue gloves, I'm probably just being silly (so what else is new) but that sounds like a pretty good identification for whatever nasty little agency these guys come from. They can't be stolen from one's pocket like a normal ID and they are instantly recognizable. Then again, maybe they just needed a rhyme for "two" and "ears of blue" didn't seem to work.

I love the fact that Mal is a belt-and-suspenders man. Cautious, prepared.

I agree that the Alliance uniforms are a bit scary, but what we've seen of them seems to be the military branch anyway. So far, as long as the Academy that held River is working under cover (which is implied by what I've seen but then I haven't seen the pilot) rather than openly supported by the Alliance government, I figure the Alliance is more of an annoying bureaucracy than a real repressive government.

Inside every cynic there's an idealist desperately yearning to be let out, and when they are let out they're usually a real pain and cause all sorts of trouble. --Chris Boucher

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Friday, November 8, 2002 12:46 PM

MARK


If there's one thing I've learned after years of studying Sci-Fi, seeking out the mystical secrets of the universe, there's one thing I can say with certainty...

Whatever you wear as a uniform... Make sure it isn't red.

I want to see a show where the crew of a space-ship/station/base wear Honor Harrington style Skinsuits that are just like wetsuits but serve as armoured pressure suits in case of emergency depresurisation.

One thing I did like, regarding clothing... Mal and Zoe's space suits as opposed to Jayne's. We know that Mal and Zoe are ex-military and they seem to have kept their suits from the war which have armoured panels and reinforced helmets and the like while Jayne, who we know wasn't in the war, has to make do with an obviously civillian suit.

I'm a bit annoyed they don't have wearable computers yet though.


Twelve spheres of unendurable brightness spalled the velvety blackness of space.
The silence on Lester Tourville's flag bridge was absolute
And then the spell was broken as Shannon Foraker looked up from her console from where she had just sent a seemingly innocent command to the main computers of State Security's finest Superdreadnoughts.
"Oops." She said.

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Wednesday, April 28, 2004 12:56 PM

PHOTURISPYRALIS


Quote:

Originally posted by Quill:
Velcro! Velcroooo!!!

C'mon, it'll still be around. It's just too handy.



I'm imagining that an improvement on Velcro would have been made - something just as convenient, but quieter. Strong, flexible magnetic strips or some sort of adhesive tape that doesn't lose its stickiness.

Quote:

As for the blue gloves, I'm probably just being silly (so what else is new) but that sounds like a pretty good identification for whatever nasty little agency these guys come from. They can't be stolen from one's pocket like a normal ID and they are instantly recognizable. Then again, maybe they just needed a rhyme for "two" and "ears of blue" didn't seem to work.


Well, they're pretty much standard laboratory nitrile gloves. Keeps nasty stuff off of them, and leaves no fingerprints.

Quote:

I love the fact that Mal is a belt-and-suspenders man. Cautious, prepared.


Well, as a gun-carrier, I have to say that the belt and suspenders thing is very practical. When you're toting around a heavy pistol on your side and you undo that belt - zing! - the pants fly down and you might lose the gun as it pulls the belt out of the loops and goes clattering along the floor. I'm thinking that a pair of braces will be one of my next clothing purchases.

Photuris pyralis


Six shots, then drop it.

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Monday, May 17, 2004 12:46 PM

SINGLETON


Wallets?
Remember, in the Star Trek future, there is no money, commerce is treated as a naughty word and profit is such an alien concept they had to design a whole ugly troll-race for it!!!

Joe

Muscle.
Humor.
Thuggery.
Jayne.

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Friday, May 6, 2005 5:25 PM

YT

the movie is not the Series. Only the facts have been changed, to irritate the innocent; the names of the actors and characters remain the same


Quote:

Originally posted (Sherman, set the WayBack machine for 2002) by Mark:
One thing I did like, regarding clothing... Mal and Zoe's space suits as opposed to Jayne's. We know that Mal and Zoe are ex-military and they seem to have kept their suits from the war which have armoured panels and reinforced helmets and the like while Jayne, who we know wasn't in the war, has to make do with an obviously civillian suit.


I had almost exaclty the same thought (including I like this), except for "make do". Mal's & Zoe's suits do look military issue -- they're dark. Jayne's is obviously civilian 'cause it's bright, something pioneered by Robert Heinlein, for Destination Moon (1950) & continued by Arthur Clarke & Stanley Kubrick for 2001. But in spite of the lack of armour, Jayne's suit strikes me as kinda spleef. Check out the helmet & gloves, compared to Mal's & Zoe's. Rather than make do, I think he splurged on it.

Keep the Shiny Side Up . . . (wutzon) Molly Hatchet, "Boogie No More", from "Essential"

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Tuesday, August 2, 2005 7:15 AM

TROTSKY


You know, I love the costuming here, mixed yet wholey believable. Mal's trousers to Jaynes Camo Jacket, all pretty fair stuff. I like the quote the future is merely more history, practical clothes rule the day. Why change something that has worked so well for so long. Besides the whole pseudo Victorian theme seems to penetrate society, the Uppers wear fancy clothes that are straight out of the 19th century, complete with uniforms. The lowers wear practical stuff with some occasional finery thrown in. And in keeping with the theme there is stuff that works well but was never, ever "Western", like Jayne's jacket. Best costuming in a while, next to BSG.

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Tuesday, August 23, 2005 5:41 PM

VISITINGMYINTENTIONS


The Alliance can't be all bad. Inara supported Unification. The Tam family was definitely doing well for itself under the law. The Companion Academy seems to be a highly beneficial force to the lives of registered Companions (compare this to the abuse the prostitutes in HoG put up with).

The Rim gets a bad share, it's true ("interfered with or ignored" as is handy for the Alliance, not the individual settlements), but recognize that these people are often those who fought for independence, and thus are not going to get as much political support.

---------------------------------------------------
Early: Where'd she go?

Simon: I can't keep track of her when she's NOT incorporeally possessing a spaceship, don't look at me --

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Wednesday, October 12, 2005 8:46 AM

EFIALTIS


Speaking of "real clothes" as opposed to "futuristic" ones, I was wondering if there is somewhere that they sell clothing like in the movie...
I am taken with the shirt that Mal wears, with the 2 clasps across the front? The color, style...I like it.
Can we get these somewhere, or a pattern to make them?
Anyone have any ideas?

--Now here's something you can't do...

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Sunday, January 1, 2006 4:53 AM

FIZZIX


Poking! They do too have money, it's in an account... and there's something like a sort of credit card (called a solid) to carry it in. >.>

Shows you, doesn't it!

------------------------------------------------
It's the end of the world...

Whee! *doesn't go without her copy of Serenity*

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Saturday, March 11, 2006 3:52 PM

BROWNCOATSANDINISTA


Quote:

Originally posted by mojoeca:
kinda sorta on topic...

I wonder if Joss will dispense with one particular sci-fi cliche: Will we actually *see* bathrooms on Serenity?



--- Joe



We did, I forget which episode, but I think it's The Train Job. The toilet folds into the wall, and then a sink pulls out above it. Edit: But apparently not only was I wrong (It was Serenity) but this has already been covered.

I always thought that River's clothes were just Kaylee's clothes that she didn't want anymore, with the occaisional "Simon brought this when he got me from the Academy" stuff thrown in. I always liked Badger's "Very Fine Hat."

If anyone gets nosy...Shoot em.
Shoot em sir?
Politely.

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Tuesday, March 8, 2011 3:21 PM

DREAMTROVE


Quote:

Originally posted by mojoeca:
I loved it when Crichton switched over to the PK wardrobe. It gave the show a darker feel, somehow.

Anyway, Firefly costumes look pretty cool (judging from cast photos on the T.U.R.). Being a fashion non-afficionado, I can't analyze with any depth the inspiration, but it seems o be an electic mix: some old west styles--formal (Simon) and utilitarian (Mal, Zoe); modern-day (Jayne--kinda outta place in his camo) and more exotic (River,Inara).

--- Joe



I concur. I like sci fi fashion a lot though. Star Trek was a fashion disaster. Farscape was a fashion statement, but I think that it would have worked better if people had not worn the same outfit every day. I mean, the stench alone ;)

A real plus for Firefly: No weird prosthetic head things. This is a real fashion don't. Don't pretend that aliens are ever going to look like humans with a bod mod. If your aliens have to be played by humans, skip the rubber body suit and the nose piece and just make them human.

Either bring in the Prawns, or make them people. If you want to say "they can't pass for human" okay... but keep it simple. I find alien kink as annoying as bad African Queen style romances between people who hate each other

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