Yup. Pointing out the elephant in the room. How DARE he do that?
Why does Harry Kim never get promoted?
- Thread starter B. L.
- Start date
Yup. Pointing out the elephant in the room. How DARE he do that?
Realistically, I would think that the smartest thing for Harry to do was privately talk to someone like Chakotay or Tuvok and find out if they knew what he was doing wrong. Because if he was passed over that long, something was obviously up.
What he did was (1) speak up when he probably should have let Tom have his moment, and (2) address Janeway directly, which allowed her to shut him down by accusing him of "bucking for a promotion".
Do we ever get any insight as to how crew evaulations are handled on Voyager? On the E-D Picard typically left them to Riker/Troi and presumably the department heads under them. If we apply that same model then one can only imagine the awkward chats Kim and Chakotay must have had.
Harry could have just been on the career path of Lt. Jean-Luc Picard of Tapestry.
If Janeway has her way, I wager he will be. Assuming he even makes LTJG.
At least he made Lt. (j.g), showing that an officer can get to that rank without much effort at all, just by doing their job.
Kor
What I find odd is that we've seen Harry Kim several times in the big chair ( the first time if memory serves is in Future's End) but Tom Paris I don't remember seeing him once there. Am I mistaken? I don't think so. So I guess bridge time means nothing to Janeway.
According to a Reddit search I did, Tom was left in command early in Season 2.
Harry, if I remember right, was often left in nominal command during the night watch. An obvious indication of Janeway's trust and regard for him, and another entry on the very long list of reasons why he deserved his lieutenant's pip.
I have suspicions that Q was maybe exaggerating, or throwing Picard a worst case scenario, for two reasons.
1. Picard was still the tough, determined youngster, smart enough to graduate with honors and determined enough to win the academy marathon. I don't see his career floundering that badly unless (in his arrogance) he did something bad.
2. If Picard was truly that inept as an officer, why on Earth would he get a coveted position on the Enterprise. A 60-year-old JG would more seem like Cerritos fodder.
Harry, if I remember right, was often left in nominal command during the night watch. An obvious indication of Janeway's trust and regard for him, and another entry on the very long list of reasons why he deserved his lieutenant's pip.
I have suspicions that Q was maybe exaggerating, or throwing Picard a worst case scenario, for two reasons.
1. Picard was still the tough, determined youngster, smart enough to graduate with honors and determined enough to win the academy marathon. I don't see his career floundering that badly unless (in his arrogance) he did something bad.
2. If Picard was truly that inept as an officer, why on Earth would he get a coveted position on the Enterprise. A 60-year-old JG would more seem like Cerritos fodder.
What is the deal with a night shift crewed by lower-ranking and less-experienced officers, anyway? Do they think nothing serious could happen while the senior officers are asleep? Do they think all the random aliens out there in the unknown will respect their schedule? 
Kor
Kor
What is the deal with a night shift crewed by lower-ranking and less-experienced officers, anyway? Do they think nothing serious could happen while the senior officers are asleep? Do they think all the random aliens out there in the unknown will respect their schedule?
Kor
In-universe reason: The senior staff are human, or at least organic, and they do need to sleep sometimes. Data, on the Enterprise, typically commands this watch because he doesn't require sleep.
IRL reason: If Chakotay or Tuvok (the other two logical watch commanders) commanded watches at different times, they wouldn't get screen time.
Pick one.
What is the deal with a night shift crewed by lower-ranking and less-experienced officers, anyway? Do they think nothing serious could happen while the senior officers are asleep? Do they think all the random aliens out there in the unknown will respect their schedule?
I think, maybe from "Warhead," the night shift commander is supposed to use judgment of when it's appropriate to request senior staff come back in (though it's a contrivance that that does apparently happen not often, the big issues occur in the main shifts).
The real Harry Kim was killed in 2372, less than two years in the Delta Quadrant, then replaced by a time variant duplicate. The real Harry Kim was scheduled for promotion, but Janeway (and probably Starfleet Admin.) could never accept and treat the duplicate as the real Harry Kim, hence, no promotions, etc.
That's an interesting premise, but it doesn't really hold up to scrutiny. First of all, the "point of division" was so recent, they had effectively been the same person mere hours before. Second, the whole crew was dead in one parallel reality and alive in the other, which put them all on an equal footing. Third, even if this wasn't the "original" Harry Kim, he was still a capable Starfleet officer with two years' seniority as an ensign, and thus rated promotion for that reason. And fourth, Naomi was from thw same alternate reality as Harry was, but there was never any evidence that Janeway (or anyone else) held this against her.
Let's say Janeway had dished out promotions regularly over the course of the series, and the Maquis' provisional ranks would've been confirmed as permanent by Starfleet as well, what do you reckon would be reasonable ranks for our heroes by the time of "Author, Author"/2377?
Paris and Torres would be a full Lt.
Harry either a j.g. or full Lt.
Tuvok stays as Lt. Cmdr.
Chakotay should be a full bird commander, even though he is always referred to as such. His insignia indicates Lt. Cmdr.
Harry either a j.g. or full Lt.
Tuvok stays as Lt. Cmdr.
Chakotay should be a full bird commander, even though he is always referred to as such. His insignia indicates Lt. Cmdr.
