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On the three Stack Overflow chat servers, the chat room not available page displays the following image:

Picard, Riker, Worf rainbow hats

Is it from an actual episode, or is it a 'shop?

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  • 12
    This looks shopped. I can tell from some of the pixels .... Seriously, that's my hunch, but I don't know the source of the original image so I'll just leave this as a comment.
    – Saiboogu
    Jun 14, 2011 at 20:46
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    A good place to start looking is probably one of the Q episodes.
    – MBraedley
    Jun 14, 2011 at 20:51
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    The hats are shopped, but I'm pretty sure that image is from a TNG episode.
    – user1027
    Jun 14, 2011 at 20:52
  • I think it's just a cleaned up version of a shopped image. I did a TinEye search. Many of the other versions have different levels or contrast and the fake hat becomes more obvious. Disappointingly, TinEye didn't produce the original screen grab though. tineye.com/search/f19078846913c90f7d5a2cd10a2758b392d07823
    – Saiboogu
    Jun 14, 2011 at 21:03
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    Also following the TinEye lead, this might be the source: http://badassrainbows.wordpress.com/2010/05/16/128/ . It's a blog that adds rainbows to images, of course.
    – Kobi
    Jun 15, 2011 at 5:15

4 Answers 4

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Definitely photoshopped. Worf's sash being silver and not frayed cheap table-cloth-material gold makes it at least 2nd season, but the uniforms make 3rd season or later.

--added for specificity and background--

The simplest way to check this is to go to http://startrek.com and look at stills for ST:TNG episode summaries.

I don't remember all the details, but after the first (or second) season Patrick Stewart threatened to sue Paramount because the one-piece jumpsuits were so tightly fitted they put excessive pressure on their shoulders and spines. There was an initial change to respond to that issue, then another later change. While I wasn't able to tell, off the top of my head, when the changes were made, I went to http://startrek.com and checked stills in episode summaries to verify the uniforms. There's one style in 1st season (the all-in-one), it's changed for 2nd season, and in 3rd season and alter are the simpler collars without the diamond shaped shoulder "pads," just as seen in this image.

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  • I would suggest that you expand the answer somewhat (e.g. include official cannon references to uniform types/sash colors and/or even screencaps). With that info this could be an exemplary (instead of just good) answer.
    – DVK-on-Ahch-To
    Jun 14, 2011 at 23:50
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    while the image is definitely photoshopped, the uniforms are all from the same episode, so much of your analysis here doesn't hold up...
    – KutuluMike
    Sep 13, 2016 at 20:14
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I'm re-watching the series at the moment, and I think I have found the scene where that image was originally taken from:

Star Trek: Men with Hats (Sans Hats)

This is in the teaser for Deja Q - and the reason they're all looking in different directions is that an annoying high-pitched noise has started on the bridge, so they're all looking for the source. Turns out, this noise is heralding the arrival of a very naked Q.

Original Answer:

The hats are most certainly shopped in - as for the rest of the image, the more I look at it, the more it seems to be a composite. Picard, Riker and Worf are all looking in different directions - which would look a bit silly on TV, although this could just be a momentary thing.

It's also possible that the photo is a promotional image - it has that kind of look to it.

I've tried quite a bit of google image search, and cannot turn up anything that could be the original (the problem is - there are so many shots of these three on the bridge).

Still - judging by the uniforms, I'd say this is probably somewhere in season 3-5 - so if someone is watching these at the moment, they might spot them.

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    I'd agree that it's also possible that the characters were edited in as well, but I wasn't sure enough to want to put that in an answer. That sideways glance Picard has does not look like he's focused on the viewscreen, where everyone else seems focused. But I don't see enough to state that for certain.
    – Tango
    Jun 15, 2011 at 0:33
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    Nice find! I'll have to watch for this next time I rewatch that episode.
    – user1027
    Jul 9, 2011 at 1:13
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    Your answer should definitely be the accepted one. That is the original screencap for sure, with Jayne's knit cap obviously shopped onto the characters.
    – Omegacron
    Feb 20, 2014 at 17:10
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    @Omegacron: Well, Jayne's knit cap wasn't quite as colourful.
    – O. R. Mapper
    Dec 25, 2015 at 10:52
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    That cursor. Why!? :'(
    – OrangeDog
    Feb 27, 2016 at 15:48
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The hats are likely to be a reference to Firefly -- Jayne's hat from the episode The Message, although the colours aren't quite right.

I couldn't speak for the rest of the image, although even without the hats, the expressions do seem a bit odd, don't they?

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  • 10
    "Man walks down the street in that hat, people know he's not afraid of anything."
    – Bob Stout
    Apr 21, 2015 at 15:43
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    /me launches into a stirring rendition of The Man They Call Worf
    – Wolfie Inu
    Nov 13, 2015 at 5:31
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Photoshopped. To me, it looks like Worf's and Picard's hats are the same, while Riker's is mirrored and then edited a bit.

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