The Original Series

[Niemz]

Great info!

[Mr. Atoz]

Season Two --

In "The Changeling", Nomad took out 4 redshirts.
In "The Apple", they lost Hendorf, Kaplan and Mallory, all redshirts.
In "Catspaw", they lost Jackson.
In "Friday's Child", they lost Grant (redshirt).
In "Obsession", the cloud creature killed 6 crewmen, at least 5 of them redshirts.
In "Wolf in the Fold", they lost Lt. Karen Tracy (a medical tech).
In "By Any Other Name", they lost Yeoman Thompson (redshirt).
In "The Omega Glory", they lost Lt. Raintree (redshirt).
In "The Ultimate Computer", they lost Ensign Harper, an engineer (still a redshirt).

Total: 19 crewmen, 16 redshirts.

[Niemz]

Great updates!

[Decind]

Nice to know. Thanks.

[Mr. Atoz]

Okay, I've finished looking at the third season, so this is my conclusion (I thought about posting it in the Articles section, but what the heck...)

Season One --

In "Where No Man Has Gone Before, 9 crewmen were killed when they hit the energy barrier. Plus Kelso (navigator), Mitchel (helmsman) and Dehner (psychologist), that makes 12.
In "The Man Trap", they lost Darnell (blue), Sturgeon (blue), Green (gold), and Barnhard (unknown).
In "What are Little Girls Made of?", they lost two red shirts, Matthews and Rayburn.
In "Balance of Terror", they lost Tomlinson, a phaser specialist (gold).
In "Galileo 7", they lost Latimer (gold) and Gaetano (red).
In "Arena", they lost O'herlihy (red shirt) and Lang (gold shirt).
In "The Devil in the Dark", they lost Kelly (red shirt).

So my count is 24, only 5 of them red shirts (6 gold, 3 blue, 10 unknown)

Season Two --

In "The Changeling", Nomad took out 4 red shirts.
In "The Apple", they lost Hendorf, Kaplan and Mallory, all red shirts.
In "Catspaw", they lost Jackson (gold).
In "Friday's Child", they lost Grant (red shirt).
In "Obsession", the cloud creature killed 6 crewmen, at least 5 of them red shirts (the other was unspecified).
In "The Deadly Years", they lost Lt. Galway (sciences)
In "Wolf in the Fold", they lost Lt. Karen Tracy (medical tech).
In "By Any Other Name", they lost Yeoman Thompson (red shirt).
In "The Omega Glory", they lost Lt. Raintree (red shirt).
In "The Ultimate Computer", they lost Ensign Harper, an engineer (still a red shirt).

Total: 20 crewmen; 16 red shirts (1 gold, 2 blue, 1 unknown)

Season Three --

In "And The Children Shall Lead", they lost 2 security guards (red shirts)
In "Wink of an Eye", they lost Compton (security)
In "Elaan of Troyius", they lost Watson, an engineer (red shirt)
In "That Which Survives", they lost D'amato (sciences), Ensign Wyatt and crewman Watkins (engineers)
In "Requiem for Methuselah", they lost 3 crewmen (unnamed) to Rigellian fever.

Total: 10 crewmen, 6 red shirts. (1 blue, 3 unknown)

Assuming that I have not missed anybody, we are now in a position to draw some conclusions. Out of a total of 54 casualties, 27 are red shirts (exactly 50%), 7 are gold shirts, 6 are blue shirts, and 14 are not identified. If we assume those 14 are equally split between the three (say 5 gold, 5 blue, 4 red), the totals would be 31 red shirts, 12 gold, 11 blue, which is still a slightly uneven distribution.

But does anything leap out at you? Season Two – 16 out of 20 casualties (80%!) were red shirts, and all but two are security! Moreover, 12 of those come from just three episodes -- "The Changeling", "The Apple", and "Obsession"! Without these three episodes, the totals would be 19, 12 and 11, which is not unreasonable considering the fact that engineers, yeomen, and security together probably make up nearly half the crew.

I submit therefore that the entire myth of red shirt mortality comes basically from a short run of bad luck, chronicled in just these three episodes.

[Niemz]

That is why you don't want to wear a red shirt...

[Mr. Atoz]

A good friend has pointed out to me that I was slightly in error. In "The Galileo Seven", Mr. Gaetano was NOT a red shirt, but a gold shirt. This does not materially change the argument. It merely changes the totals:

Season One: 24 casualties, only 4 of them red shirts, 7 gold, 3 blue, 10 unknown
Season Two: 20 total; 16 red shirts, 1 gold, 2 blue, 1 unknown
Season Three: 10 total; 6 red shirts, 1 blue, 3 unknown
Total: 54 casualties; 26 red shirts, 8 gold, 6 blue, and 14 not identified.

[Niemz]

Still. odds are, red shirt + away mission, mean you have a 50% chance of not coming back!

[Thallassa]

My parents were both Trekkies, so I was brought up on the original series. I supposed it's still my favorite.

[Mr. Atoz]

Always happy to welcome another TOS fan. What did you think of the great red shirt controversy above?

[Thallassa]

I'm afraid I never really thought about it. I assumed that since more than half the crew was in either engineering or security, it only made sense that they would be more than half the casualties.

[Mr. Atoz]

What about the series as a whole? Why is it your favorite? Just because you grew up on it?

[Thallassa]

Yes I suppose that is partly the reason. But it also recalls a happier time, when people were optimistic about the future.