I love that aspect. Why not?
Crew Rank Insignia?
- Thread starter Chaos Descending
- Start date
They got Pike and Uhura right and M'Benga could go either way.
Where the hell was Bob Fletcher!?!?
"Left ship" after TVH.
https://www.instagram.com/p/CajJdGGLiDC/
This is the offical rank chart posted for PIC Season 2. I guess the SNW costume designer is similarily clueless about ranks. Either that or there was some massive communications breakdown between the writers and the costume department.
Last edited:
Similar thing happened in NuBSG. They had a Warrant Officer or Chief Warrant Officer device that was rarely used and then they needed a Lt Colonel device for Fisk in a flashback in Razor (which never existed up til that point) and they used one of the WO/CWO’s devices for that - can't remember which. They are admittedly similar in design, which is probably why they went with that.
Sergeant-at-Arms Hadrian used one of the Petty Officer devices, despite the different rank name. They never think anyone notices these things.
Update: Here's a little chart I did up way back then. Being the curmudgeon that I am, I placed the devices where I thought they should have been used, not how they were actually used:
Sergeant-at-Arms Hadrian used one of the Petty Officer devices, despite the different rank name. They never think anyone notices these things.
Update: Here's a little chart I did up way back then. Being the curmudgeon that I am, I placed the devices where I thought they should have been used, not how they were actually used:
Last edited:
Early on, I heard Number One addressed as "commander," in which two full stripes would have been correct. Afterward, I heard her addressed as "lieutenant commander" (ala Spock a couple of times during TOS), which nicely blew that idea out of the water. They really couldn't help but get Pike's right since those were the same stripes Kirk wore during TOS, and Cadet Uhura having no stripes should have been easy, IMO.
It's almost as if the rank stripes refer to positions than actual grades.
One stripe, one thin stripe, one stripe = captain
Two stripes = senior officers & senior medical personnel
One stripe, one thin stripe = department head
One stripe = junior officer
No stripe = cadets & cannon fodder
EDITED TO ADD:
There may actually have been. if the costume department wasn't all that familiar with how the rank stripes were done in TOS, that would explain things. SNW may have a ton of producers, but if the costumes weren't given much more than a "yeah, that looks close enough to TOS," then only fans would have noticed anything amiss.
Last edited:
Do we know that? I honestly can't remember.
But yes, it's been pretty clearly established that you can graduate from the Academy, spend thirty years in Starfleet, only go up one level of rank, and still be considered "a very good officer".
Which is probably all the time they were given to get the job done. Close enough and move on, rather than figuring out all the little details. Which, unfortunately, fans will.
"Commander" is appropriate address for a lieutenant commander. The rank is a kind of commander, not a lieutenant.
Don't blame the fans, blame the producers for being lazy if it's indeed a screw-up.
Preaching to the choir there, but if you want to get technical, the origins of lieutenant commander stemmed from the practice of actually putting lieutenants in command of small craft. They were known originally as "lieutenant in command," "lieutenant commanding," or "senior lieutenant" depending in what 19th-Century navy you were in. The USN began addressing lieutenant commanders as commanders as a kind of shorthand, but also in keeping with their practice of commonly addressing lieutenant junior grades as simply lieutenants.
Last edited:
I don't blame anyone.
I just know what to expect from fans.
I know how I would do it if it were my production but I'm super anal-retentive about uniforms, insignia, and such, and Hollywood isn't. So, that' my problem, and one that I have become more relaxed about over the years. Life's too short for high blood pressure.
Hmm...I don't think any kind of entertainment is worth having high blood pressure over, but I tend to view Star Trek fans as not being any worse than sports fans--seriously, I do. The difference is largely in public perception, IMO. But whereas Star Trek fans may argue over lore, sports fans will get just as passionate and long-winded about player and team stats. Trekkies criticize producers & writers, sports fans criticize coaches & managers. It's really not that different. In both camps, the people who take the time to discuss what they like and don't like on message boards likely represent a small minority of their fanbases, but you'll find them if you go looking for them.
So, there's no screw-up on anyone's part in having a character whose rank is lieutenant commander addressed as "Commander." It's common practice in the U.S. Navy.
This is fairly damning, idn't it?
This is fairly damning, idn't it?
Colonels and Lt Colonels are a similar practice - both addressed as Colonel.
I regard sports fans as worse. Not by much, though. I have been both and am rather done with the sports side.
But, it isn't much better. Accusations of laziness, ineptitude and gross incompetence directed at production teams do not strike me as very, shall we say, uplifting.
Even though such accusations can be deserved. Many times it's not, but sometimes it is. Well, it's only a problem if you let it be a problem. Hanging around a Star Trek message board isn't exactly the best way to avoid hearing criticism about Trek. I think the majority of people who enjoy Star Trek and still have lots of fun with it, they don't hang around here. They're too busy actually watching Star Trek...
Calling people lazy strikes me as jumping over a line, but that's just me.
I don't mind criticism. It just strays sometimes in to personal attacks that I find troublesome. Saying "They're lazy" is a quick way for me to check out.
That's probably the best option you should take in such discussions.
This is probably one of the better rationalizations I have heard. It's almost like an extension of the 2 stripes = captain, 1 stripe = officer system from the second TOS pilot.
Still doesn't seem to quite fit for Lieutenant Hemmer, but it wouldn't be Trek without some kind of rank discrepancy.
I hope it's better than the waxy roll of tracing paper I found at the enlisted barracks at HMNS Portsmouth, UK. I was on TAD orders there in October 1980 for five days. I am glad I brought some of the USN's finest paper rolls in my sea bag. I was the Electricians Mate on duty at fleet landing on the first day of the USS Nimitz port call. The Engineman on duty with me saw me packing a roll of US Navy toilet paper in my sea bag and asked "what's that for?" I told him he would find out when we got there. I said "don't come asking for some from me if you don't take your own." He should have listened to me, and after we got there he realized it.
It didn't say Council Property, it said "Property of Her Majesty's Royal Navy." They must be proud of their TP, because I couldn't imagine why anyone would want to steal it.
Last edited:
