Why Didn't Harry Get Promoted?

[Oddish]

Precisely. O'Brien might have physically suffered, but he had a loving wife and family. Worf had terrible luck in love, but had a successful career. Data was denied the third pip he spent years earning multiple times over, but he didn't really suffer in other ways. Only Harry got all three: physical suffering, career stagnation, and cold showers. So I take great pleasure in his vindication.

 

[thribs]

Because he simply wasn’t good enough

 

[Guy Gardener]

Resolutions.

The top cats were both gone.

Captain Tuvok.

First Officer Tom Paris, however B'Elanna needed to leap frog over Tom for political reasons, the two chumps with brass rings, in charge needed to reflect the composition of the crew... Oh? Tom was a Maquis for 5 minutes, and then betrayed them, and Chuckles spent every waking moment of the rest of his time on that ship making sure his best friends didn't award Mr Paris a Colombian necktie for Federation Day? You don't say!

Maybe the reason Harry was a little pissant in that episode was that he was really really expecting a promotion this time and they were still whacking his presumptuous nose with a rolled up newspaper?

 

[BohandiAnsoid]

Harry was promoted in alternate timelines that diverged after Resulations.

 

[Guy Gardener]

Harry was promoted in alternate timelines that diverged after Resulations.

So you're saying that there is some cosmic force, let's call it god, that is invested in keeping Harry down, who does not have the patience or the bandwidth to monitor the entire multiverse?

 

[Oddish]

I call it "showrunners being dicks".

 

[Dukhat]

That doesn't really wash with me, because Tuvok was the only one who had received a real promotion during the ship's journey through the Delta Quadrant. Tom Paris had merely regained his old rank after being demoted roughly a year-and-a-half earlier.

Which goes along with what I said about UPN not really caring about the characters.

Why wasn't Harry promoted? I have an answer. His behavior toward Tuvok in the Season Two episode, "Resolutions". Although Tuvok had promised not to mention it again, I suspect Janeway and Chakotay had managed to learn about it anyway.

No. There's no specific reason why Harry wasn't promoted. Because if there was, it would have been specifically mentioned in the show.

 

[Oddish]

There's no specific reason why Harry wasn't promoted. Because if there was, it would have been specifically mentioned in the show.

Undoubtedly, there was a specific reason. It just wasn't an in-universe one. Had there not been a specific reason why they didn't do it, they would have just done what they did with Bashir, LaForge, and Dax: had an extra pip quietly appear on his collar. "Night" was the perfect opportunity.

 

[Dukhat]

Undoubtedly, there was a specific reason.

Yes, the specific reason was that nobody cared.

 

[BohandiAnsoid]

I call it "showrunners being dicks".

They literally made up a Starfleet rule that was only mentioned again once, in passing, just to make Harry Kim suffer (and make even more damage to Janeway's character).

 

[Oddish]

Yes, the specific reason was that nobody cared.

If that had been the case, they would have just quietly thrown a pip on Harry's collar and been done with it. They spent more time on trying to come up with lame explanations of why he was still an ensign than it would have taken to just bump him to LTJG and call it good.

The showrunners clearly cared; keeping Harry at ensign was important to them.

 

[The Wormhole]

Why wasn't Harry promoted? I have an answer. His behavior toward Tuvok in the Season Two episode, "Resolutions". Although Tuvok had promised not to mention it again, I suspect Janeway and Chakotay had managed to learn about it anyway.

Maybe not. When Janeway did reprimand Harry in S5's The Disease, Chakotay noted it was Harry's first reprimand in five years. Which is probably more a reflection of the writers forgetting about Resolutions, but still.

 

[Dukhat]

If that had been the case, they would have just quietly thrown a pip on Harry's collar and been done with it. They spent more time on trying to come up with lame explanations of why he was still an ensign than it would have taken to just bump him to LTJG and call it good.

The showrunners clearly cared; keeping Harry at ensign was important to them.

No it wasn't. You just said it yourself. They would rather have just left him an ensign than to quietly promote him. They just didn't care about it all that much. Certainly less than you're caring about it.

 

[Oddish]

No it wasn't. You just said it yourself. They would rather have just left him an ensign than to quietly promote him. They just didn't care about it all that much. Certainly less than you're caring about it.

And I'd say I'm through apologizing for that... but I never did so in the first place.

And in any case, with Harry's place on the SFA board of names, the matter has been decisively set right.

 

[DonIago]

And I'd say I'm through apologizing for that... but I never did so in the first place.

And in any case, with Harry's place on the SFA board of names, the matter has been decisively set right.

...now I'm actually hoping it's referencing a different Harry Kim.

 

[Corran Horn]

The showrunners clearly cared; keeping Harry at ensign was important to them.

I believe there was a story going around by another Trek castmember - presumably about Berman - that promoting the character was used as a sweetener, and perhaps even a supplement, towards an actor's contractual status. And the actor in question responded with something to the effect of "wtf would I care what fictional rank my fictional character is, I'd like money please."

So there is some 'lore' that advances in rank were done for more than in-universe reasons. (or not)

 

[Dukhat]

I believe there was a story going around by another Trek castmember - presumably about Berman - that promoting the character was used as a sweetener, and perhaps even a supplement, towards an actor's contractual status. And the actor in question responded with something to the effect of "wtf would I care what fictional rank my fictional character is, I'd like money please."

So there is some 'lore' that advances in rank were done for more than in-universe reasons. (or not)

Sorry, not buying that. Nobody got promoted because UPN didn’t want any change in the status quo.

 

[Oddish]

Sorry, not buying that. Nobody got promoted because UPN didn’t want any change in the status quo.

*coughTuvokandTomcough*

 

[Dukhat]

*coughTuvokandTomcough*

I stand corrected, but did that change the order we can view the episodes? Did they constantly talk about their ranks? Did they get some other job because of their ranks? The writers just didn’t give a shit about Harry. They only cared about Janeway, the Doctor, and 7 of 9.

 

[Guy Gardener]

Undoubtedly, there was a specific reason. It just wasn't an in-universe one. Had there not been a specific reason why they didn't do it, they would have just done what they did with Bashir, LaForge, and Dax: had an extra pip quietly appear on his collar. "Night" was the perfect opportunity.

JANEWAY: If this is your way of bucking for a promotion
KIM: No, no, I understand there's a command structure and that our circumstances are unique. But the fact is, if we were back home, I'd be a Lieutenant by now. Maybe even a Lieutenant Commander.
JANEWAY: You're pretty sure of yourself, aren't you?
KIM: I know I can do this, and the Kraylor are giving me a chance to prove it.

From where I'm sitting, in my twighlight years, Janeway is far too young to be this crotchety and pessimesstic about Kim's middling expectations about advancing 2 grades in 7 years.