And I still have to give NCIS some credit. The series is a weak copy of what it was when Gibbs was in charge but it's still watchable. Not to mention that they never killed off Gibbs.
Mark Harmon put in... 18 years, was it? A lot of other NCIS actors had long journeys, too: Michael Weatherly, Pauley Perette, and both the ME's. It's pretty impressive.
Voyager would have been perfect for a bunch of recurring character due to what the series was about, a ship lost in space where the crew became a community where they had to trust each other and cooperate.
Indeed, it's almost ridiculous that it was anything else. Janeway called the ship a family, but it didn't feel like one. Just the main characters and a bunch of extras who weren't even allowed to talk. They even had a human version of Morn.
Lynxverse rules!
I have restored Kes and I will restore Garak and Gowron as well!
Good. Having Gowron end the way he did was appalling.
That's true. But I'm sure that they knew exactly what they were doing in the "Kes case" and the "Harry Kim case".
During VOY's run, I have little doubt that the treatment of Harry was a deliberate action. But do understand that when I point out that he's never returned and wonder if the forces that conspired to humiliate him then are still at work... it's like most conspiracy theories: plausible, but unlikely.
I know that there are many who disagree with me when I state that they did what they did on purpose to "show the finger" to certain fans.
Again, not getting involved in the matter of Kes. At your suggestion and others, I skipped "that episode", so not possible to make an educated guess.
But given their insulting response to the people who demanded to know why didn't Harry have a box on his chair? It shows a pattern of behavior.
Garret can redeem Garret.
Garret is not Harry.
Harry is a loser and that is his story.
Fixing Harry is betraying the essential Harriness of Harry.
That's just it... if they had wanted to make Harry a problem child character, fine and dandy. TNG had the troubled but capable Ro Laren, the brilliant but neurotic Reg Barclay. And VOY had templates for such characters, shown in "Good Shepherd", not to mention the psychotic Suder and the snake in the grass Seska.
But that wasn't Harry. Harry was played as smart, athletic, competent, and personable. He was described by both Janeway and Chakotay as an outstanding officer. That's why his lack of promotion seems like gaslighting rather than a deserved fate for an officer who never should have graduated from the academy.
Believe me, that's too bad. The journey of a troubled young man trying to discover his place in the universe would have been an interesting addition to the show.
It's great to see Harry lose in new and spectacular ways, and maybe he leveled up eventually, but I doubt that that happened before he started going gray.
Let's be realistic... Harry was probably putting on lieutenant's pips mere days after Voyager's return home (if not hours). That's why it's essential to the "eternal ensign" crowd that he never make a post-VOY appearance.
The only show where it was plausible that he remain an ensign is "Lower Decks", due to the fact that it plays undeserved demotions for laughs. And while it's theoretically possible that we'll see him pop up unexpectedly there during the final season (I think that given the choice, Garrett would have wanted to be on that one), I kind of have my doubts. Especially since they already had a bunch of promotion hijinks with the main characters.