If you’ve spent more than five minutes on the internet, you know the joke. A landing party beams down to a jagged, cardboard-looking planet. Kirk is there. Spock is there. And then there’s some guy named Ensign Ricky wearing a bright crimson tunic. You know he’s a goner. Before the first commercial break, a salt vampire or a sentient cloud of gas is going to liquefy him. This red shirt Star Trek phenomenon has become the universal shorthand for "expendable character." It’s a meme that predates memes.
But honestly? The math doesn't actually back up the reputation.
When people talk about the "redshirt," they’re usually referencing The Original Series (TOS). We’ve spent decades convinced that wearing red is a death sentence, yet if you actually sit down and crunch the numbers—which several dedicated fans and data nerds have done over the years—the reality is a bit more nuanced. It turns out that being a "gold shirt" might actually be more dangerous depending on how you look at the percentages.
The Math of the Red Shirt Star Trek Deaths
Let’s get into the weeds for a second. In the 1960s series, there were 79 episodes. According to the Star Trek Compendium and various fan-led audits like those featured on Analytics Vidhya or historical deep dives by fans like Matthew Barsalou, about 55 crew members died across the show's run.
Yes, 24 of them were wearing red.
That sounds like a lot. It is a lot! It’s nearly half the total body count. However, you’ve gotta remember how the Enterprise is staffed. Red shirts weren't just "security." They were the Engineering and Services departments too. Basically, the vast majority of the people on the ship wore red. When you calculate the mortality rate based on the total population of each department, the "gold shirts" (Command) actually had a higher probability of dying in several seasons.
It’s just that we don't notice when a guy in a gold shirt dies because it happens less frequently in total volume. Plus, Kirk and Spock are always in the thick of it, and they have "plot armor" thicker than the hull of the Defiant. The poor security guard? He’s just there to show the audience that the "Monster of the Week" is a legitimate threat. It's a narrative device called "The Worf Effect," though in the 60s, it was definitely the "Redshirt Effect."
Why the trope stuck so hard
Pop culture isn't always about the raw data. It’s about the visual.
There is something visceral about seeing a bright, primary-color uniform crumpled against a grey rock. It sticks in the brain. Gene Roddenberry and the early writers needed a way to raise the stakes without killing off the expensive lead actors. If a phaser blast hits a rock, who cares? If it hits Ensign Smith, the audience leans in.
The trope became so powerful that it actually changed how subsequent shows were written. By the time we got to Star Trek: The Next Generation, they actually flipped the colors. Command became red. Security and Engineering became gold. Some fans joke this was a cosmic attempt to save the lives of the security teams, but the "redshirt" label was already permanent. It had escaped the vacuum of space and entered our everyday lexicon.
Beyond the Meme: The Human Cost of Security
Think about the life of a security officer on the Enterprise. You spend your days calibrating phaser banks and occasionally breaking up a fight in the mess hall. Then, Captain Kirk decides to investigate a "strange energy reading."
Suddenly, you're on a planet where the atmosphere is 10% arsenic and the local flora has teeth. You aren't Spock; you don't have Vulcan strength. You aren't McCoy; you don't have a medical tricorder to warn you. You just have a small hand-held laser and a prayer.
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The red shirt Star Trek legacy is really a tribute to the "everyman" in science fiction. These characters represent the thousands of people working behind the scenes to keep the ship running while the heroes get all the glory. They are the blue-collar workers of the 23rd century.
- Total Redshirt Deaths (TOS): 24
- Total Gold/Yellow Deaths (TOS): 9
- Total Blue Deaths (TOS): 7
- The "Unknown" or Alien Deaths: The remainder
If you look at those numbers, the red shirts are still the "losers" in terms of raw volume. But consider this: there were roughly 239 red-shirted crew members on the ship compared to only about 55 in gold. If you do the division, about 10% of the red shirts died, while about 18% of the gold shirts met their end.
Statistically, you were safer in Engineering than on the Bridge.
Famous Exceptions and the "Named" Redshirt
We often think redshirts are nameless. That’s usually true, but not always.
Take Guy Fleegman from Galaxy Quest. Okay, that’s a parody, but it perfectly captures the anxiety of the character who realizes he doesn't have a last name in the script. Within actual Star Trek canon, we’ve seen red-shirted characters break the mold.
Scotty is the ultimate redshirt. He wore the tunic for years. He was in the line of fire constantly. He survived being hit by probes, tossed across rooms, and drinking "it's green" with aliens. Why? Because he was essential.
Then there’s the modern era. Star Trek: Strange New Worlds and the JJ Abrams films have played with this concept. They know we’re watching the uniforms. In the 2009 film, they give a red shirt to a character named Olson. He jumps out of a shuttle for a space dive, ignores a direct order, and gets pulverized by a giant drill. It was a wink to the fans. A "red meat" moment for the audience.
The Psychology of Expendability
Why do we find it funny?
Maybe it’s because it mirrors the corporate world. We all feel like redshirts sometimes. We’re the ones doing the grunt work while the "Command" staff makes the big decisions and gets the bonuses. Seeing a redshirt die on screen is a manifestation of that fear of being replaceable.
But it also speaks to the optimism of Star Trek. Even the guys who die are part of something bigger. They died for the "Final Frontier." There’s a nobility in it, even if it’s a bit tragic that they never got to finish their shift.
How to Survive as a Redshirt
If you ever find yourself transported into a 1960s sci-fi set, here is how you stay alive.
First, try to get a line of dialogue that mentions your family back on Earth. If you have a backstory, you’re 50% more likely to survive the episode. If you are just "Security Guard #2," you’re toasted.
Second, never, ever be the first person to touch a glowing rock. Let Spock do it. He’s got the science officer's curiosity and the plot armor to survive a localized supernova.
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Third, stay near the back of the group. The guy in the front is the one the salt vampire grabs. The guy in the back is the one who gets to run back to the shuttlecraft and yell into the communicator.
The Evolution into the 21st Century
Interestingly, the red shirt Star Trek trope has evolved into a badge of honor. You can buy red shirts at almost any convention. People wear them proudly. It’s gone from being a sign of a "dead man walking" to a symbol of the fandom’s shared language.
We’ve seen the franchise acknowledge this directly. Lower Decks, the animated series, is essentially one big love letter to the redshirts (and the blues and the golds who don't sit on the bridge). It focuses on the people who have to clean the "bio-filters" and do the menial tasks. It’s the first time the franchise has truly humanized the people we used to laugh at for dying.
It turns out, they have lives. They have romances. They have ambitions. They aren't just fodder for the plot; they are the backbone of Starfleet.
Actionable Insights for the Trekkie and the Curious:
- Check the Credits: Next time you watch an old episode, look for the names of the "disposable" guards. Many were played by the same stuntmen over and over, like Bill Blackburn or Bobby Bass.
- Context Matters: Remember that the color swap in The Next Generation was partly because Patrick Stewart and Jonathan Frakes looked better in red than in gold. It wasn't just a random choice; it was an aesthetic one that accidentally broke the "red equals death" rule.
- Embrace the Trope: If you’re writing your own fiction, use the "redshirt" concept sparingly. It’s more impactful when the "expendable" character actually has a moment of humanity before they go.
- Watch 'Lower Decks': If you want to see the trope turned on its head, this is the show to watch. It’s the ultimate vindication for every fan who ever wondered who cleans up the mess after a phaser battle.
Ultimately, the redshirt isn't a victim of bad luck. They are a victim of the need for drama. But in the grand scheme of the Star Trek universe, they are the ones who make the universe feel populated, dangerous, and real. Without them, the stakes would feel non-existent. So, pour one out for the ensigns who didn't make it to the third act. They served well.