[[foldercontrol]]

[[folder:Anime and Manga]]

->I often think about how people like us always tend to be weak foils to stars like you in fiction. Whenever the supernatural protagonist appeared, we'd always be lying in a puddle of blood, just to emphasize the strength of the opponent. That's fine. [[TheWorfEffect It just goes to show how powerful people think we are]]. [[{{Jobber}} It's staged]], so there's not much we can do.
-->-- '''Kinnosuke Kuzuhara''', ''{{Literature/Durarara}}''

[[/folder]]

[[folder:Comic Books]]

->'''Ironfist:''' It was never gonna be Perceptor, was it? Or Springer or Impactor or Kup, if they were here. No, it was always going to be one of us -- the second stringers.\\
'''Pyro:''' Yeah, just because we're not famous -- not Ark-worthy -- one of us has to bite the bullet...
-->-- ''ComicBook/TheTransformersLastStandOfTheWreckers''

[[/folder]]

[[folder:Fan Fiction]]

->A hatch in the belly of the spaceship slid open and Harry hurtled out, screaming the battle cry of the Old Federation. "Death to the redshirts!"
-->-- ''B'Elannarella''

->As Hyuuga went, Ko was not remarkable in any way. He was of average height, average build, average skill, and average looks. If you were to chart all the verious aspects of the Hyuuga clan members and draw up a theoretical median for each of their different traits, the overall result would probably look a lot like Ko.\\\
Basically, he was just one step up from nameless fodder. He had about as much chance as a ''Star Trek'' redshirt, and roughly equivalent chances of surviving any serious shit. If so much as a gentle breeze wafted through the Hyuuga estate, Ko would be one of the first casualties.
-->-- ''FanFic/IAmNOTGoingThroughPubertyAgain''

->''One shirt means you're dead meat''\\
''And another means you're bald.''\\
''And the phasers that they give you''\\
''Don't do any good at all''\\
''Try calling Scotty''\\
''When the Horta scalds''\\\

->''And if you go chasing Romulans''\\
''And you know you're going to fall''\\
''Tell 'em a toupee-wearing captain''\\
''Has given you the short straw''\\
''Call Scotty''\\
''Before we get mauled''\\\

->''When men at their consoles''\\
''Try and tell you where to go''\\
''And you've drunk the water on Scalos''\\
''And your friends are moving slow''\\
''Don't bother calling Scotty''\\
''He won't even know''\\\
''When logic, and emotion''\\
''Are warring in Spock's head''\\
''And the engineers are talking technobabble''\\
''And the captain's off his meds''\\
''Remember what the surgeon said,''\\
''"Jim, he's dead."''\\
''"Jim, he's dead."''

-->-- '''Redshirt Rabbit''' (with apologies to Music/JeffersonAirplane)


[[/folder]]

[[folder:Film - Live-Action]]

->'''Guy:''' I'm not even supposed to be here. I'm just Crewman Number Six. I'm expendable. [[GenreSavvy I'm the guy in the episode who dies to prove how serious the situation is!]] ''I've gotta get outta here!''\\
''[...]''\\
'''Guy:''' Are we doing episode 81?\\
'''Jason:''' ''[very irritated]'' It's just a rough plan Guy, what difference does it make if it's episode 81 or not?!\\
'''Guy:''' Because I died... ON EPISODE 81!!!!\\
''[...]''\\
'''Gwen:''' Let's go before one of those things kills Guy!
-->-- ''Film/GalaxyQuest''


->"When did you transfer into Science out of Security?"\\
"I didn't. I just started taking blue uniforms from the laundry."\\
"Why?"\\
"Trust me, kid. The red shirts will get you killed every time."
-->-- ''[[ParallelPornTitles This Ain't Star Trek XXX 3]]''

->'''Kirk:''' Go put on a red shirt.\\
'''Chekov:''' ''("OhCrap" face)'' Aye, Keptin...
-->-- ''Film/StarTrekIntoDarkness''

[[/folder]]

[[folder:Literature]]

->Under no circumstances are you to jeopardize your life or your ship. The life of your companion, however, is absolutely and thoroughly expendable.
-->-- ''Literature/TheRedTapeWar''

->'''Wreath''': But look on the bright side. Nobody died.\\
'''Valkyrie''': (''frowning'') Lots of people died.\\
'''Wreath''': But nobody you ''like''.
-->-- ''Literature/SkulduggeryPleasant''

->Run, minor character, run! Not that it'll do you any good!
-->-- '''Carmen''' watching a monster movie, ''Film/SpyKids'' books

[[/folder]]

[[folder:Live-Action TV]]

->'''Dalek Sec:''' [[foldercontrol]]

[[folder: Which of you is least important? ]]
\\
'''Rose:''' What's that supposed to mean?\\
'''Sec:''' [[foldercontrol]]

[[folder: Which of you is least important? ]]
\\
'''Rose:''' Nah, we don't work like that. None of us.\\
'''Sec:''' [[/folder]]

[[folder: Designate the least important! ]]

-->-- ''Series/DoctorWho'', "Doomsday"

->'''Boone''': You ever watch ''Franchise/StarTrek''?\\
'''Locke''': Not really.\\
'''Boone''': The crew guys that would go down to the planet with the main guys — {{the captain}} and [[TheSpock the guy with the pointy ears]]? They always wore red shirts and they always got killed.\\
'''Locke''': Yeah?\\
'''Boone''': Yeah.\\
'''Locke''': Sounds like a piss-poor captain.
-->-- ''Series/{{Lost}}''

->'''Felger:''' You are not going to die, Coombs.\\
'''Coombs:''' Oh, come on, Felger! We might as well be wearing red shirts!
-->-- ''Series/StargateSG1'', "The Other Guys"

[[/folder]]

[[folder:Music]]

->Please don't beam me down with Kirk, [=McCoy=] and Spock\\
'Cause if you do, I know that I'll be dead by 1 o'clock\\
Maybe I'll be vaporized or crushed beneath some granite\\
Bones will look at Jim and say "I'm just a doctor, dammit."\\\
I'm an extra - on ''Star Trek''\\
It's my break - on TV\\
The fourth man in the landing crew\\
It's the last you'll see of me
-->-- '''M.O.D.''', [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XtVPbZwDE3g "He's Dead Jim"]]

->I was killed by Gary Mitchell with his psychic powers\\
I was eaten by a salt vampire\\
I was pushed over a cliff by an enormous, ugly android\\
I was killed by a creature called a Gorn\\
The bridge crew is invincible\\
But I'm not impervious\\
To the deadly creatures we meet out there
-->-- '''No-Win Scenario''', [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ISpOkMNJiFM "Red Shirt's Lament"]]

->You'll be expendable\\
You will wear red and be expendable\\
For getting dead, you are dependable\\
In fact you are the perfect guy\\
If shields are down or we blow a warp core\\
It's almost guaranteed you're gonna fry!\\
Expendable...\\
am I
-->-- '''{{Music/Voltaire}}''', "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vh0l00Y1760 Expendable]]"

->I've been a Starfleet brat since the day I was born,\\
But I never should have put on this uniform\\
I could've been a doctor or helmsman, see\\
But I ended up here in Security.
-->-- '''Warp 11''', "I Always Knew I Would Die Alone"

[[/folder]]

[[folder:Stand-Up Comedy]]

->And you always knew, if [[TheKirk any of]] [[TheSpock the main]] [[TheMcCoy cast]] beamed down, [[PlotArmor they were all coming back]]. But if there was [[NewMeat a new bloke beaming down with them]]... you got really worried about the new bloke. Especially if he was wearing a red jumper...
-->-- '''Creator/SuzyEddieIzzard''', ''Unrepeatable'' - one of the most {{Troperiffic}} stand-up shows in history.

[[/folder]]

[[folder:Tabletop Games]]

->Working for the Field Projects Division is messy business. It isn't pleasant, and it's very easy to get dead. Hence, the conspiracy requires quite a lot of cannon fodder - it may seem [[{{Cliche}} cliché]], but not everybody is expected to return, and Cheiron prepares for that inevitability by stocking its FPD cells with a high volume of expendable agents.
-->-- ''TabletopGame/HunterTheVigil: [[{{Sourcebook}} Compacts and Conspiracies]]''

[[/folder]]

[[folder:Theater]]

->'''MasterComputer:''' I see {{the Federation}} has issued new uniforms.\\
'''EnsignNewbie:''' Star Command says it's my lucky red shirt!\\
'''Computer:''' I see they've also given you [[BringMyBrownPants brown pants]] to go with that red shirt.\\
'''Ensign:''' Huh?\\
'''Computer:''' Just gratuitous foreshadowing...
-->-- ''Alien Adventure'' by John Freda

[[/folder]]

[[folder:Video Games]]

-> ''Future zombies look good in red shirts. Future fact #23: [[BlatantLies Nothing bad happens to red shirts]].''
-->-- Future Zombies' almanac description, ''VideoGame/PlantsVsZombies2ItsAboutTime''

[[/folder]]

[[folder:Web Original]]

->Um... Kirk? Not to bother you with trivial details or anything, but do you remember those two Redshirts still on Troyaikman? You know, the ones you tried to beam up when you didn't know the ship had left orbit? Just out of curiosity, any plans to go back for them anytime soon? No? Oh well. I guess it's all in a day's work when you're a Redshirt.
-->-- ''Website/TheAgonyBooth'', "And the Children Shall Lead..."

->Moral of the Week: [[Franchise/StarTrek Starfleet]] is a dangerous place to work.
-->-- '''[[http://www.docohobigfinish.blogspot.co.uk/2012/10/tng-season-one.html Doc Oho]]'''

->Everyone makes it to cover but the redshirt. Ouch. I mean, death by replicated [[BuffySpeak shooty ball thing]]. [[UndignifiedDeath What a way to go.]]
-->-- [[http://eponymous-rose.dreamwidth.org/316150.html Recap]] of ''Series/StarTrekDeepSpaceNine'', "Civil Defense"

->[[MySignificanceSenseIsTingling I sense something]]... As if a bit part [[Film/ANewHope cried out in terror and was suddenly silenced.]]
-->-- '''WebSite/SFDebris''' reviews ''Film/StarTrekFirstContact''

->Hapless soldiers from the sky,\\
Beaming down to quickly die.\\
Men who know their life's crappy\\
Those fighting men in the red jersey.\\\
Kirk, and Spock, [=McCoy=] and him.\\
Bones will soon say, "He's dead Jim."\\
His quick demise we all foresee\\
For he's the one in the red jersey.\\\
Not black. Not white. No race assumed.\\
here's just one hue to seal his doom.\\
And even when he's a she,\\
She's just as dead in a red jersey.\\\
We all know it's too late.\\
Beaming down, we sealed our fate.\\
For Kirk and Spock, they too did see\\
They both did die in a red jersey.
-->-- '''WebSite/SFDebris'''

->Aliens take over facility. Marines get sent in to take care of it in the same way that bits of bread get sent into ponds to take care of the ducks.
-->-- '''Yahtzee Croshaw''', ''WebAnimation/ZeroPunctuation''

->They wouldn't characterize this many [=NPCs=] if they weren't gonna pick them off like After Eight mints.
-->-- '''Yahtzee Croshaw''', ''WebAnimation/ZeroPunctuation''

->An [[ImperialStormtrooperMarksmanshipAcademy Imperial Stormtrooper]] fired at a Redshirt. He missed, and the Redshirt died of a heart attack anyway.
-->-- Old internet joke

->The city guard is here! Not here to help though. Mostly they exist to get beat up by the good guys by [[MookChivalry rushing in and attacking them one at a time]]. And that's if they're lucky. The less lucky guards get eaten by the dragon or killed and zombiefied by the lich in order to establish how dangerous the bad guy is. [[SarcasmMode And clearly the bad guy is very dangerous because he killed a bunch of guards who I established as weak and incompetent in the early chapters. Very scary]]. The guards' only real job is jobbing, but they suck at that too apparently.
->Could I make the guards a competent faction in their own right and force both heroes and villains to contend with them, turning a throwaway batch of characters into a WildCard faction? Of course. But I am not going to waste my time with that when I have PowerFantasy to indulge in.
-->-- ''WebAnimation/TerribleWritingAdvice'' on why combining this trope with TheWorfEffect is a bad idea in his "Fantasy Characters" episode.

->"So Lancelot, Galahad, Gawain, Percival and Bors, along with 145 other knights who are significantly more disposable, all independently head off to quest for the grail."
-->-- '''WebAnimation/OverlySarcasticProductions''', "Legends Summarized: King Arthur"

[[/folder]]

[[folder:Western Animation]]

->'''Kirk:''' All right, men, this is a dangerous mission. And it's likely one of us will be killed. The landing party will consist of myself, Mr. Spock, Dr. [=McCoy=], and Ensign Ricky.\\
'''Ensign Ricky:''' [[ThisIsGonnaSuck Aw, crap.]]
-->-- ''WesternAnimation/FamilyGuy''

->'''Wade:''' Just make sure you're not wearing--\\
'''[[ActionGirl Kim]]:''' A red shirt?
-->-- ''WesternAnimation/KimPossible''

[[/folder]]

[[folder:Real Life]]

->"It was felt at the time that the death of a crewmember would require time to show Archer and the crew dealing with the loss, and there wasn’t time for such a scene. Personally, I always liked how Kirk shrugged off casualty reports like they were yesterday’s sports scores."
-->-- Writer '''Mike Sussman''' on ''Series/StarTrekEnterprise'', "Strange New World"

[[/folder]]

----