Today, we tell you the sad story of a redshirt who lost his way and wound up on the wrong side of Starfleet and the Federation. But first, a warning that the following story is fictional and any resemblance to the star dates or production order of the episodes are highly unlikely. Just sit back and enjoy Our redshirt is a typical security guard. Steely eyes. Military stance. Perfect choice to stand outside Khan's quarters in "Space Seed," right? But something odd happened just before this.
He's not the same security guard who was outside Khan's door when Kirk first enters Khan's quarters. Different build. Different hair. No wide part.
Even when Kirk gets ready to leave, the same young man is there in the same exact place. Which means he should have been the same security guard in the next frame.
Except he isn't. Somehow a completely different security guard is in the young redshirt's place. There's no way a shift change could have occurred between the time Kirk opens the door and the time he has exited it. So what happened?
To answer this, we need to leave our fictional world a second. Most likely the switch was made because this scene calls for an experienced fall guy. If you are going to get thrown down the hallway by Khan, you have to be able to pull off an acrobatic midair dive for the camera. So a switch was made and a stuntman replaced the first guard. It is this new redshirt who is the main focus of our story. So let us continue...
We see our acrobatic redshirt again in “I, Mudd.” Here he is, standing to the right of Scott in engineering. So obviously, he has changed assignments but still is in the same division since he is still wearing red. Maybe he thinks he's a bit safer down in the engineering room.
Except he'd be wrong. Engineering is probably not the safest place to be. In any case, at least he has lost none of his security guard training. When Norman has knocked out Scotty, this guy braces himself and winds back for what should have been a hell of a punch. But he is no match for Norman and gets knocked out again. *Sidenote - obviously there's been another switcheroo and we have a different Norman here. Loren Janes was Richard Tatro’s stunt double for the engine room scene.
It seems our man in red finally had enough of getting knocked out as a redshirt so he asked for and received a transfer to the command division, where he even earned a promotion to lieutenant. But even as a goldshirt, he still seems to find trouble. Under the influence of the gas Kirk and Spock introduce into the the atmosphere in this scene from “This Side of Paradise,” he tries to take on two other lieutenants at once.
In the Mirror Universe, our lieutenant is a bit more dangerous and has an even stronger pugilistic tendency. We see him as one of Chekov’s guards attacking Captain Kirk in the turbolift on Chekov’s orders.
And the evil side of him we saw in the Mirror Universe now begins to emerge in the Prime Universe. As a result, he has cosmetic surgery and becomes a Klingon. We see him here on the far left walking out as Kirk and Spock are on their way in to the Organian council chambers. Ah, our poor redshirt! The strain from all that fighting seems to have scarred him for life.
Oh, by the way. Memory Alpha seems to think this male android in “I, Mudd”, a member of the “Oscar” series, is Bobby Bass. Take a good look at his hair and body build. No way is this the same guy. Wrong build. Wrong hair. Wrong identification. But of course, this leaves us with the question of just who is this actor? Hmmm... a quest for another time.
Some of you have probably realized that the redshirt with the receding hairline is Bobby Bass, who got his start both as an actor and a stuntman on Star Trek. Next week, we will discuss his background and appearances in other shows and films. And actually, he was a fascinating person with a very interesting background. See you next week with the rest of the story!
