Captain Kirk's green uniform makes several appearances in Star Trek: TOS, and it has always been an odd fashion choice. Markedly different from Kirk's iconic gold command uniform, his green tunic is a wraparound affair that also features his Starfleet delta badge sideways on the left side of his waist. One apocryphal explanation for the outfit was that William Shatner supposedly was gaining weight, but that doesn't hold considering how many times Kirk appeared shirtless in Star Trek. Kirk's green uniform served an important function in the TOS season 1 episode, "The Enemy Within," which featured an evil, duplicate Kirk. The green shirt worn by the good Captain Kirk helped viewers tell him apart from his twisted doppelganger. But after that purpose was served, Kirk donned his green, wraparound uniform several more times seemingly at random, as well as a variation with gold flares on the shoulders and, finally, his green dress uniform Captain Kirk wore in episodes like "Court Martial."

Related: Strange New Worlds Hints At Kirk's Brother's TOS Death

In Strange New Worlds episode 5, Captain Pike is suddenly wearing a variation of Kirk's green uniform. But unlike Kirk's form-fitting velour top, Pike's version is a leather wraparound affair. Kirk's predecessor as Captain of the Enterprise also wears a black undershirt, which Jim didn't bother with, though his shirt had a black trim. Both Captains' green uniforms boast a sideways Starfleet delta on the left waist but Pike also wears a second Starfleet pin over his heart. The fact that the Enterprise is docked at Starbase One undergoing repairs after it survived an attack by the Gorn in Strange New Worlds episode 4, "Memento Mori," may help explain why Pike is wearing a green uniform. It's possible Chris donned the verdant top as formal wear for his assignment to conduct diplomacy with the R'ongovians.

Perhaps the TOS episode best associated with Kirk's green uniform is "The Trouble With Tribbles," which makes sense since "Spock Amok" is Strange New Worlds' first comedic episode in the style of TOS' classic "The Trouble With Tribbles." Just as Captain Kirk was caught in an absurd scenario where Starbase K-7 and the Starship Enterprise are overrun with tribbles, Captain Pike makes the best of a bizarre situation and recruits T'Pring, who is in Spock's body, to negotiate with the aliens in his Science Officer's place. Meanwhile, Spock in T'Pring's body has to do her job and meet with a rogue Vulcan with the help of Nurse Christine Chapel (Jess Bush).

Strange New Worlds has done a fantastic job of upgrading the look of Star Trek: The Original Series while still honoring its familiar iconography. The Starship Enterprise and its crew ideally tread the fine line between being modern as well as throwing it back to the styles pioneered in the Star Trek of the 1960s. Amusingly, the green uniform was also worn by the Mirror Universe Jonathan Archer (Scott Bakula) in the Captain Kirk's green uniform, which brings its own subtle brand of comedy.