Big day for Harry Kim fans
Why Didn't Harry Get Promoted?
- Thread starter Akiraprise
- Start date
To a great extent, you're right. I actually have three tiers, though. Top tier was J/7/EMH. Mid tier was Tom, Torres, Tuvok. And Neelix, Chakotay, and Harry were the worst neglected.
Even so, they had three separate scenes that made a big deal over Harry still being stuck at ensign. If Harry was truly a character they didn't care about... why do that? In "Night", two months have passed off-screen. It's the perfect opportunity to just have Harry be a lieutenant, with exactly zero scenes devoted to the change.
In my middle age, that scene is an insult to the empathetic, compassionate Janeway we've always known.
I actually wrote an alternative version of that episode's ending that not only has Harry get his lieutenant pip (about 3y too late, but better than nothing), but he actually shows a hint of growth from the experience, and it shows the supportive Kathryn Janeway that we know and love. It's on Page 7 of this very topic, if you're interested.
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The damage to Janeway's character in some episodes of the second half of Voyager series is something else to talk about. A separate thing.
Assuming he'd be going from Ensign to Lieutenant (jg) to Lieutenant to Lieutenant Commander is Harry getting over his skis a little bit for sure.
Depends on if he believes his own crew evaluations. Chakotay, who probably produces said evals, stated that Harry was one of Voyager's best people.
And remember that Will Riker shot up from ensign to full commander in 5-1/2 years: he was an ensign in the Pegasus incident, which was 12 years earlier, and at that point Riker had been on the Enterprise for 6-1/2 years.
So yes, Ensign to LCDR in 6-1/2 years is a stretch... but not an impossibility. And Harry should have been a full lieutenant by then.
I'd clarify that to "Ensign to LCDR" is "getting over his skis" without also including an increase in responsibilities either in department size, role or both.
Yeah, but that also involved him going from CONN to a Diplomatic Assignment then Ops Department Head role (and Second Officer?) on a much larger ship than his previous one, then promotion to First Officer on a sister ship, then a lateral move to First Officer of a larger, more prestigious ship again.
There's also a strong implication of at least one or two people pulling strings to accelerate his career.
Worf took five years to make lieutenant and jumped several rungs in the chain of command in the process.
LaForge took six years just to make JG, while like Harry holding very similar positions, but was quickly promoted once he took on a larger, more important position.
It was Wil Wheaton on TNG:
“One time, when we were renegotiating our contracts, we were all asking for raises.
“We all felt a salary increase was appropriate, because The Next Generation was a hit. It was making gobs of money for Paramount,” (I like that word – gobs) “and we felt that we should share in that bounty.
“Of course, Paramount felt otherwise, so a long and annoying negotiation process began.
“During that process, the producers’ first counteroffer was that, in lieu of a raise, they would give my character a promotion, to lieutenant.”
Well, huh. How about that. I hate Paramount even more now.
