"Nurse Chapel with Tribbles," by Barnaby Ward

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Artist Barnaby Ward, who designed our Boing Boing Beetle T-shirt, recently posted his commissioned drawing of Star Trek's Nurse Christine Chapel with some tribbles at at her feet. A dead-ringer likeness!

Barnaby Ward's Deviant Art Gallery

Mark Frauenfelder is the founder of Boing Boing and the editor-in-chief of MAKE and Cool Tools. Twitter: @frauenfelder. Come and hear Mark speak at the ALA conference in Chicago on July 1.

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http://profiles.google.com/joshuabardwell Joshua Bardwell

I appreciate that there are certain … stylistic conventions … at play here, but my first thought was, “WHY ISN’T SHE WEARING ANY PANTS?” My second thought was to notice the wrinkles in her shirt/pullover that define her pelvis, and to wonder what on earth was causing the fabric to conform to her body in that way. Given that she’s standing, shouldn’t the fabric lay smooth there?

Come to think of it, his “Boing Boing Beetle” girl has the same “pants” problem, but there she’s more explicitly wearing a dress. Looking at his DeviantArt profile, the “lack-of-pants” appears to be a common theme. I once knew a girl who drew people with their hands out of frame, because she wasn’t very good at drawing them. I wonder if Mr. Ward has a similar problem with belt-loops or something.

YOU HEAR ME, BARNABY WARD! I DEFY YOU TO DRAW SOMEONE IN PANTS!!!!
- BookGuy
  
  The skirt-uniforms in the original Star Trek series were very short, so I’m not bothered by it. I would argue with “dead-ringer likeness.” For that, I’d expect to see the actress’s 60s hairdo and less stylized facial features. That said, it’s a cool image in its own right.
  - krylon
    
    Alternately an actual resemblance to the First Lady of Star Trek Majel Barrett-Roddenberry.
  - Steve Taylor
    
    I think the “dead ringer likeness” must refer to the tribbles, which do indeed look like blobs of fur.
    
    Certainly the woman in the picture bears no resemblance to Nurse Chapel.
    - retepslluerb
      
      Funny, my eaten comment (iOS Safari and Disqus don’t seem to mix) said that the dead-ringer likeness can’t refer to the tribbles, because I certainly don’t remember any pink ones.
      
      http://neatnik2009.files.wordpress.com/2011/03/trouble-with-tribbles-10.jpg
- Aeron
  
  He’ll make a special version just for you called The Trousers with Tribbles.
  - Just_Ok
    
    It’ll leave you panting.
    - BDiamond
      
      That’s your best pants-related pun? I think you’re slacking.
      - Just_Ok
        
        Oh, so you’re going to dress me down for that?
      - Mark_Frauenfelder
        
        These puns constitute breeches of decorum.
      - Antinous / Moderator
        
        No reason to get your knickers in a twist.
      - Just_Ok
        
        best zip it.
      - Felton / Moderator
        
        Is punning a learned thing, or is it in your jeans?
      - Antinous / Moderator
        
        A hem. It seams that I may have to cuff you.
      - Just_Ok
        
        Not sure, guess I have to pleat ignorance
      - Felton / Moderator
        
        Either way, it’s good to see you’re not letting the skill go to waist.
      - Just_Ok
        
        Just thought of the best pun ever about this, but I don’t have time to tell you now. I’ll just leave you in suspenders.
      - Felton / Moderator
        
        It seams I have no choice.
      - Felton / Moderator
        
        Dammit, Antinous already used “seams.” That’s what I get for making these jokes on the fly.
      - Just_Ok
        
        well, this thread has been almost kilt
    - Just_Ok
      
      And I used one about zipper. You should be cuffed or belted.
      [EDIT] Dang, cuffs was used too.
      - Felton / Moderator
        
        Aw, come on, we’re a couple of civilized chaps.
      - Just_Ok
        
        naw, you’re a bloomers idiot
http://twitter.com/digitalArtform Joseph Francis

Chapel. And Kirk means ‘church.’ Never noticed that before.
- Just_Ok
  
  NCC = New Catholic Church?
lev36

Lovely graphic! I wouldn’t recognize it as Nurse Chapel, really, without being told who it was, but the visual design is striking and fun.
jmidden

I think the unstated point of no pants is, “so it’s easier to have sex.” And for the wrinkles, “so it’s easier to imagine her naked pubic area.” You know, sex sells. And that’s not always a bad thing.
neurogami

Next post: Why are there not more women in science?
- millie fink
  
  Exactly.
- Antinous / Moderator
  
  Or: Why are there not more men in micro-minis?
  - http://www.jamesbritt.com/ James Britt / Neurogami
    
    Maybe JJ Abrams can work that into the Trek movie
    - bcsizemo
      
      I won’t be able to see it because of all the lens flares…
  - http://openid.aliz.es/Boetacaz Boetacaz
    
    Next Generation had at least one:
    http://en.memory-alpha.org/wiki/Starfleet_uniform_(2350s-2370s)#Skant
    - Coderjoe
      
      There are at least two appearances of men wearing the skant uniform in the first season of TNG. One is pictured in that memory alpha article. The other one I remember is of an asian guy that stops while crossing a corridor intersection and looks up to listen to a ship-wide announcement by Picard in the episode titled “Where No One Has Gone Before”.
      - Antinous / Moderator
        
        That was in the days when Troi was still sporting the electrical accident hairdo, before she moved on to the head dildo.
  - troutfishinginamerica
    
    There’s one ….
- benher
  
  Obviously because mini-skirts, go-go boots, and neckerchiefs are currently out of vogue.
  Once they return to popularity I predict a surge of female scientists.
Editz

This looks like the episode where the crew visits the planet Merkin IV.
spejic

She looks way too young. The original was from a time when women were made up to look more mature, and the character was from a fictional universe that prized experience and earned position.
jandrese

A dead ringer eh? The outfit has some similarities, but the face and hair is completely wrong.