A variety of
Star Trek works and other media have referenced the trope in various ways. The
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine book
Legends of the Ferengi says
Starfleet security personnel "rarely survive beyond the second act break". A 1998 episode of
Deep Space Nine, "
Valiant," also references red as a sort of bad luck omen, in which the plot centers around a group of cadets calling themselves "Red Squad", almost all of whom die in the episode. The 2009
cinematic reboot of the franchise features a character named Olson (portrayed by
Greg Ellis) who dies early on during a mission; he wears a red uniform in homage to the trope from the original series. One episode of
Star Trek: Lower Decks, a comedy series in the
Star Trek franchise, pokes fun at the "redshirt" phenomenon by featuring a club of ambitious junior officers who nickname themselves the "redshirts", since the term does not have the same connotations in the
Star Trek universe that it has in the real world. In other media, the term "redshirt" and images of characters wearing red shirts have come to represent disposable characters destined for suffering or death. The trope, and its particular usage in
Star Trek, has been parodied and
deconstructed in other media. Parodies include the 1999 comedy film
Galaxy Quest, about actors from a defunct science-fiction television series serving on a real starship, which includes an actor who is terrified that he is going to die because his only appearance in the show was as an unnamed character who was killed early in the episode. The novel
Redshirts by
John Scalzi satirizes the trope, as does the video game
Redshirt. ==See also==