Redshirt (science fiction)
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A redshirt is a stock character in science fiction whose sole purpose is to die violently soon after being introduced. Redshirts are a plot device used to indicate the dangerous circumstances faced by the main characters at the start of a narrative.
Origins
The term comes from the popular American science fiction television series Star Trek. In these series, characters wear shirt colors defining their station and/or area of expertise. In the original 1966 series, a person wearing a red shirt was a member of the Engineering or Security department. Security officers had a habit of meeting tragic ends in nearly every episode.
Typically, an away team would consist of Kirk, Spock, McCoy (all main characters who stood zero chance of dying) and one never-before-seen red-shirted ensign, who would invariably be dead by the end of the mission.
Subsequent uses
Fans of the original series have come to use the term redshirt to describe any nameless and expendable character.
On Futurama, Zapp Brannigan was fond of issuing the command to "Send in the Redshirts!". And on an occasion when the crew were trapped on a planet with a redshirt, he was quickly killed—and then the corpse was repeatedly blasted each time they angered their captor, rather than a 'key' character dying.
A redshirt may also be referred to as "Ensign Ricky", in reference to a scene in Family Guy in which the aforementioned ensign is selected to go on a dangerous mission with the three most important characters from the Enterprise. Foreseeing his demise, he responds "Aw, crap."
In one episode of Stargate SG-1, two scientists are on another planet with the main characters when they come under attack. One turns to the other and says, "We're dead! We might as well be wearing red shirts!"
In the film Galaxy Quest, crewman Guy Fleegman says, "I'm not even supposed to be here. I'm just "Crewman Number Six." I'm expendable. I'm the guy in the episode who dies to prove how serious the situation is. I've gotta get outta here". Ultimately he is the only crewmember not to be shot or killed by Sarris during the final shootout.
In Space Quest 5, another crew member does not wish to stay near the captain (Roger Wilco) who's wearing a red shirt, saying it's "bad luck".
In an episode of South Park, a child on a stranded school bus wore a Redshirt uniform. He tries to flee the safety of the bus and is promptly eaten by a monster.
Redshirt death occurred much more rarely in Star Trek: Voyager and Star Trek: Enterprise, because of the limited crew sizes for those series. Literal red-shirt deaths became unlikely because in the 24th century red uniforms were the trademark of the command staff.
In the Flintstones style parody "Stone Trek", a redshirt meets some hilarious death in every single episode. On the Stone Trek website, a small section that gives viewers the chance to be featured as a Redshirt begins with this title: "Oh, so you want to die in space?"
On the television show Lost, Boone and Locke are tying red cloths to trees. Boone makes a comment about redshirts and explains it. Locke responds with "Sounds like a p*ss poor captain". It is notable that several episodes later, Boone became the first major character to die.
See also
- Sacrificial lamb, a metaphorical reference for a person who has no chance of surviving the challenge ahead, but is placed there for the common good
- Cannon fodder, an expression used to denote the treatment of armed forces as a worthless commodity to be expended